EurActiv | 12.07.2017
By Georgi Gotev
Thousands more refugees could be at risk of dying at sea if a proposed ‘code of conduct’ for NGOs conducting search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean is put into practice, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday (12 July).
On 6 July in Tallinn, the Italian government proposed a “code of conduct” for NGOs operating privately-owned ships in the Mediterranean to make sure that they don’t act as taxis, ferrying refugees found off the Libyan coast, to Italian ports.
In the absence of such an agreement, Italy says it will close its ports to those ships.
Having reviewed a leaked copy of the proposed code, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said its application would limit the ability of NGOs to save human lives.