LONDON: The UN refugee and migration agencies have issued an urgent joint plea to EU states to allow hundreds of refugees and migrants stranded in the Mediterranean, including many rescued by a Banksy-funded ship, to disembark safely.
The statement, by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization of Migration, called for “the immediate disembarkation of more than 400 rescued migrants and refugees currently on board three vessels in the Central Mediterranean.”
The statement added: “The humanitarian imperative of saving lives should not be penalized or stigmatized.”
One of the three vessels identified by the UN is the Louise Michel, a rescue boat funded by UK street artist Banksy.
The Louise Michel attended a mayday call from a dinghy in danger in the Mediterranean on Thursday, and safeguarded over 130 people on board while awaiting further assistance. They say their pleas for immediate help from Italian and Maltese authorities were ignored.
Italian authorities later took custody of 49 of the most vulnerable from the Louise Michel, leaving over 150 people in urgent need of assistance.
Those left on the Louise Michel were then transferred to another NGO rescue vessel, the Sea Watch 4 — which already had roughly 200 rescued people on board — where the total of 350 people are now stranded.
The UN’s statement said the hundreds of people on board the Sea Watch 4 should be “promptly provided with a safe port.”
It also highlighted the case of 27 refugees and migrants who have been stranded on the Maersk Etienne, a commercial tanker, “for an unacceptable three-week period.” Those on the Maersk Etienne should be allowed to disembark safely, the statement said.
The UN highlighted the lack of an EU-wide agreement on handling the issue of Mediterranean migration, warning that an increasing reliance on commercial vessels such as the Maersk Etienne is likely to endanger refugees’ and migrants’ lives.
The crew of the Louise Michel have also expressed dismay at the EU’s attitude toward refugees and migrants, tweeting that the bloc does not adhere to its responsibilities under international law to rescue people in danger at sea. “EU, you don’t respect your own laws,” they said.
