24.08.2020

Sea-Watch 4 and Etienne immediately need a port of safety

Etienne immediately needs a port of safety

22 days ago, 27 people in the Maltese area of responsibility were in distress at sea and have been waiting for a safe haven ever since. Maltese authorities coordinated the rescue. The #Etienne, an oil tanker, carried out the rescue. Since then, Malta has refused to assign the ship to a safe haven.
Also the 201 rescued people on board Sea-Watch 4 are still waiting for a safe harbour assignment.

The EU must finally accept its responsibility and provide a predictable and reliable mechanism for disembarkation.
The responsibility for the inhuman situation on Europe's borders does not only lie with the countries bordering the Mediterranean. It is the EU's responsibility to ensure respect for maritime and fundamental rights and to act in solidarity. This includes not only the allocation of a safe haven but also the distribution of rescued people within the EU. This distribution must take place on land and must not be carried out on the backs of rescued people who are then denied access to land for days or weeks. Germany has a particular responsibility in this respect, including the fact that more than 170 towns and cities have declared themselves safe havens in the framework of the sea-bridge movement to receive rescued people. It is up to the policy not to stand in the way of solidarity between cities and municipalities and to make this reception possible.

Comments from on board on the situation in the Mediterranean

“Men, women and children are abandoned to drift for hours or even days without assistance, if they are rescued at all. Our medical team has so far conducted 150 consultations on deck and in the clinic on board Sea-Watch 4. Along with seasickness and dehydration, we have treated patients for recent injuries consistent with reports of abuse and torture in Libya, as well as trauma and burns sustained trying to cross the Mediterranean. And these are only the physical wounds; the wounds we can see. Holding those rescued at sea in a state of protracted limbo puts untold psychological strain on already vulnerable people. It is unnecessary and inhumane. They have endured enough.”

– Barbara Deck, MSF Medical Project Coordinator.

“After each mission, the question arises again for the civilian sea rescuers as to what is to become of those rescued. The rescue ships sometimes wait for weeks for a port of safety. The fact is: According to international maritime law and the UN Convention on Human Rights, Libya is still not a safe place. We do not take people somewhere where they are threatened with torture, rape, and death. The EU must finally accept its responsibility and provide a predictable, reliable mechanism for disembarkation. The rescue of human lives must have the highest priority,"

– Michael Schwickart, Board member United4Rescue

"In the last six months, Malta has shamelessly proved several times that it is willing to let all humanity go overboard to prevent refugees and migrants from reaching their ports. From ghost ships that deport people back to Libya in open violation of international law to offshore refugee prisons on the high seas, to stand-offs like that of Etienne. Although the 27 people got into distress in the Maltese search and rescue zone and were rescued by the Etienne under Malta's coordination, they are now left at sea for 22 days. The Maltese rescue coordination center has also made it abundantly clear to us on Sea-Watch 4 that they will not provide us with a port of safety and forbid us from approaching their territorial waters. This island is by far not only geographically the outpost of Europe, but also the outpost of a racist, European policy of isolation. The rescued people on the Etienne and Sea-Watch 4 have the right to a port of safety, and they need it now",

– Philipp Hahn, Operations Manager on board the Sea-Watch 4.