NGOs accuse Malta of breaking law by directing migrants to Egypt | Migration News

International NGOs find that the Maltese government breached a part of the 1951 Geneva Convention.

Malta has been accused of breaking international law after ordering a merchant ship to take rescued migrants and refugees to Egypt, despite Malta being much closer and safer.

According to a joint statement by four international migrant rights groups on September 26, 23 people, who had minimal amounts of food and water with them, were rescued by the merchant vessel Shimanami Queen.

The Malta Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC), which is legally responsible for rescue missions in case of emergency, instructed the merchant vessel to take the rescued migrants to Egypt.

NGOs have said Malta’s decision to direct the migrants to Egypt breached part of the 1951 Geneva Convention, which states that countries should not expel or return a person “to the frontiers of territories where his life of freedom would be threatened”, said Alarm Phone, along with Mediterranea Saving Humans, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Sea-Watch.

After they were finally rescued, Malta had taken 23 people to Egypt by a merchant ship. On September 26, Malta ordered the rescued to be taken 760 nautical miles away, even though European ports were much closer. A shocking case of illegal refoulement in the Mediterranean: pic.twitter.com/3M00CPHgAG

— Sea-Watch International (@seawatch_intl) October 19, 2022

‘Forcibly taken’

The joint statement added that the 23 people who were not taken to Malta or Italy, despite being the closest, were instead “forcibly taken 760 nautical miles [1,400km] to Egypt”.

“While Egypt is a signatory to the 1951 Geneva Convention, the country lacks an adequate national legal framework for the protection of refugees and asylum seekers,” it said.

The NGOs denounced the move by Malta to disallow the 23 migrants to find safety in Malta, saying: “Alarm Phone, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) & Sea-Watch demand an end to these serious human rights violations in the central Mediterranean and along the EU’s external borders, committed directly by European authorities through private companies.

“European rescue coordination centres must fulfil their legal responsibilities and ensure the immediate rescue of people in distress at sea, with subsequent disembarkation in a place of safety in Europe,” the rights groups said.

In the past, NGOs have accused Malta of organising the return of migrants to Libya.

Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela has said the island country respects its primary duty not to let anyone die at sea.

There was no immediate reaction from the Maltese government to the accusations of the NGOs.