A group of nine NGOs engaged in search and rescue operations in the central Mediterranean have written an open letter to the Italian government, condemning its latest migration bill.

The NGOs argue that behind the approval of the immigration bill lies "a government strategy to push NGOs out of sea rescue operations in the Mediterranean," describing it as merely "the latest step" following the so-called Piantedosi law and the Flows Decree.

Among those voicing criticism are leading actors in maritime rescue operations: Alarm Phone, Emergency, Médecins Sans Frontières, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Open Arms, ResQ People Saving People, Sea-Watch, SOS Humanity, and SOS Méditerranée.

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'Bill measures will increase the number of deaths'

According to the NGOs, the bill's measures "are not aimed at managing the flows of people on the move, but at targeting and blocking humanitarian vessels, with the result of increasing the number of those who lose their lives at sea."

Save the Children also expressed "concern" over the proposed provisions, which it says represent "a serious step backwards for unaccompanied minors," and called on parliament to oppose "an approach that prioritises deterrence over the protection of vulnerable people."

The nine NGOs also criticize the fact that the new rules intend to speed up border procedures and repatriations, expand the list of so-called "safe countries of origin", now including Egypt and Tunisia, and facilitate the transfer of asylum seekers to third countries even in the absence of genuine links.

The result, they stress, is "a compression of the right to asylum and the risk of exposing many people to persecution and inhuman treatment."

The list of measures, they add, confirms the Government's strategy, pointing to past "operational restrictions, mandatory returns after a single rescue, the systematic assignment of distant ports and sanctions against those providing assistance."

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'Naval blockade will produce more suffering for shipwreck survivors'

Under the new bill, NGOs say, there will be a ban of up to six months from entering territorial waters. "A measure that violates international law and rescue conventions, calling into question the non-derogable obligation to save human lives," they state.

They further complain that the naval blockade is subject to "broad discretion," resulting in "fewer safeguards, more suffering for shipwreck survivors and fewer vessels ready to intervene."

The NGOs also deem it "unacceptable" that the Italian government considers "a threat to national security the people who risk drowning in the Mediterranean and those who attempt to save them."

For those operating at sea, these rules "do not make the state safer. What endangers the rule of law is instead a government that chooses to suspend legality in cities and at sea, to restrict the right to asylum, and to criminalize those who demonstrate or save lives."

The nine NGOs pledge that they "will continue to operate in compliance with international law to provide assistance and save human lives, without turning a blind eye."

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