- Title: Aid groups split over Italy's code of conduct for migrant rescues
- Date: 31st July 2017
- Summary: ROME, ITALY (JULY 31, 2017) (REUTERS) INTERIOR MINISTRY ITALIAN AND EU FLAGS FLYING OUTSIDE MINISTRY NGO DIRECTORS EXITING INTERIOR MINISTRY (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERS (MSF) ITALY DIRECTOR, GABRIELE EMINENTI, SAYING: "Medecins Sans Frontiers met with the Interior Ministry this afternoon and we let them know that our decision was not to sign the code of conduct, but at the same time that we will be compliant with all the measures of the code of conduct expect for three that led us to the decision not to sign it." MEDIA OUTSIDE MINISTRY (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERS (MSF) ITALY DIRECTOR, GABRIELE EMINENTI, SAYING: "In principle, nothing will change, because even before this code, there are national and international laws and treaties that regulate search and rescue activities at sea that are hierarchically legally superior. These are laws that we have always respected from the first day and that we will clearly continue to respect." MEDIA IN FRONT OF MINISTRY SAVE THE CHILDREN ITALY DIRECTOR, VALERIO NERI BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) SAVE THE CHILDREN ITALY DIRECTOR, VALERIO NERI, SAYING: "We have nothing to hide, we are one hundred percent transparent, therefore we signed. We hope that this will end the polemic on NGOs, which in comparison with the death of people at sea sounds really preposterous." MEDIA INTERVIEWING NERI (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) SAVE THE CHILDREN ITALY DIRECTOR, VALERIO NERI, SAYING: "We would not have signed if even one single point would have compromised our effectiveness. This is not the case, not one single point of the code will hinder our activities." GERMAN NGO JUGEND RETTET COORDINATOR TITUS MOLKENBUR BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) GERMAN NGO JUGEND RETTET COORDINATOR, TITUS MOLKENBUR, SAYING: "For us the most controversial point that made us not sign the code of conduct was the commitment for us to help the Italian police with their investigations and possibly taking armed police officers on board and that is in direct… that is antithetical to the humanitarian principles of neutrality that we adhere to and we cannot be seen as being part of the conflict." MEDIA INTERVIEWING MOLKENBUR (SOUNDBITE) (English) GERMAN NGO JUGEND RETTET COORDINATOR, TITUS MOLKENBUR, SAYING: "So to be very honest the whole process of how this code of conduct came to be for us is very difficult to accept because we think if it is really about saving as many people as possible a code of conduct also needs to include the EUNAVFOR MED vessels and the Frontex vessels that are going around there, because most of the time we do not see them in the search and rescue area, they are not engaged in active search and rescue and we think in order for the search code of conduct to be as effective as possible you need all the actors at the table and not just the NGOS."
- Embargoed: 14th August 2017 18:44
- Keywords: sea rescue Italy NGOs migrants Mediterranean Medecins sans Frontiers Save the Children Juggend Rettet
- Location: ROME AND CROTONE, ITALY AND AT SEA
- City: ROME AND CROTONE, ITALY AND AT SEA
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0026S1TG7B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: At least two aid groups that operate migrant rescue ships in the Mediterranean refused on Monday (July 31) to sign a code of conduct produced by the Italian government, but others said they had signed up.
Italy fears the groups, which pick up migrants from rickety boats alongside military and commercial vessels, are facilitating people smuggling from North Africa and encouraging people to make the perilous passage to Europe.
The government had threatened to bar groups that did not sign the code from Italy's ports.
Among those who refused to sign was Medecins sans Frontiers/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), whose ship has taken part in many of the roughly 95,000 Mediterranean rescues this year. MSF objected to a ban on transferring migrants between boats, which they said limited their ability to save lives, and to an obligation to allow armed police on board.
But Save The Children gave its backing, saying it already complied with most of the rules and would monitor to be sure that their application did not obstruct rescues.
Spanish group Proactiva Open Arms had still not decided whether to sign, a spokeswoman for the group said. Small German organisation Jugend Rettet refused to sign. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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