Amnesty International has established a well-earned reputation as a fearless campaigner to end grave human rights abuses wherever they occur.
In a report entitled ‘An avoidable tragedy’, Amnesty is highly critical of the European Union for failing to take any meaningful political action a year on from the Lampedusa shipwrecks to improve arrangements for the rescue of migrants at sea.
The report makes five main points. First, it criticises heavily “the shameful inaction of EU countries” which has “contributed to a spiralling death toll” in the Mediterranean.
Secondly, it accuses Malta of employing too narrow a definition of “distress [at sea]” that could be leading to loss of life.
Thirdly, it identifies structural weaknesses in search and rescue in the central Mediterranean and calls for more safe and legal routes to Europe for people fleeing conflict and persecution.
Fourth, it makes the case for a review of the Dublin regulations governing processing of asylum applications in the EU.
It also blames Italy and Malta for the deaths of about 200 people who drowned off Lampedusa on October 11, 2013. Amnesty said the migrants, whose boat was taking on water after being shot at by a Libyan vessel, were rescued at least five to six hours after their first emergency call. This is a powerful indictment by an influential organisation.
While the comment about Italy’s and Malta’s differing interpretations of the application of international maritime law are well taken and could have played a part in the Lampedusa tragedy – which notably occurred in an area twice as far from Malta as from Italy – there are ongoing discussions between the two countries to resolve this issue.
The operational judgements being made daily by the Armed Forces of Malta’s maritime squadron entail extremely fine decisions. They are made in the teeth of fast-moving situations miles out to sea invariably in outrageously difficult conditions, dealing with boats loaded with people who do not wish to be rescued but would prefer to continue their journey to Italy, not Malta.
Saving lives should always be the priority and we have no reason to believe that the AFM are not doing their utmost to do that, despite limited resources. However, there can be no argument that Amnesty International is right in what it says about the shameful inaction of the EU; the need for more safe and legal routes to Europe for people fleeing conflict and persecution; and the long-standing imperative for a root and branch revision of the iniquitous Dublin regulations which forces the countries of first arrival to take responsibility for all asylum seekers landing on their shores.
These are issues on which Malta has been pressing for comprehensive action at the EU Council level for several years. There has simply not been the inclination among countries to grasp the nettle of immigration. Nor the necessary political will to implement practical, creative and, ultimately, humanitarian actions through organised admission and family reunification programmes to bring some order to migration flows into the EU.
Outgoing European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia MalmstrÖm did not mince her words when she said: “When it comes to accepting refugees, solidarity between EU member states is still largely non-existent”. Moreover, a fair and equitable revision of the Dublin regulations would surely require some form of responsibility-sharing and obligatory relocation system to be put in place.
One hopes the new European Commission under Jean-Claude Juncker will take the necessary steps early in his presidency to tackle this running sore on the humanitarian reputation of Europe.