Yesterday's rescue of migrants from a vessel in distress by the Maltese authorities highlighted the lack of clarity of existing rules on rescue at sea and admission of survivors, the Jesuit Refugee Service said.

In a statement, JRS Malta called upon the European Union to establish clear rules in this regard.

Yesterday, the government admitted to Malta 66 irregular migrants rescued from their dinghy, even though they were a short distance away from the Italian island of Lampedusa.

“This incident underscores the need for a system that allows for effective responsibility sharing among member states of the EU, to ensure that the states along the Mediterranean border are not left to deal with maritime arrivals single-handedly,” JRS director Fr Joseph Cassar SJ, said.

“Many people making the crossing are in fact in need of international protection, which means that they will face serious harm if they are returned to their country. They use an irregular route because it is impossible for them to reach a place of safety in any other way,” he said.

JRS Malta commended the “courageous decision” to put people’s needs first, in spite of possible misgivings regarding legal responsibility.

“We must highlight the significance of the decision. On the fifth anniversary of Malta’s accession to the EU, this action sets out the true values that give us direction as a nation,” Fr Cassar said.

He said that Mediterranean states could not respond with solidarity to the human drama unfolding in the region without the support of other member states.

JRS was concerned that lack of adequate burden-sharing mechanisms could lead to situations where states refused to grant admission to migrants, as witnessed in recent days or, worse, to refuse to save migrants in distress because of the implications of a decision to accept them.

It called for the creation of effective burden-sharing mechanisms among EU member states to ensure that the right to seek asylum was safeguarded.