Meloni’s policy in the Mediterranean puts lives at risk- MPG’s Dr. Carmine Conte interviewed by Information Dagbladet

In an interview with Martin Göttske of Information Dagbladet, MPG’s Legal Policy Analyst Carmine Conte discusses the recent shipwrecks in the Mediterranean that cost the lives of at least 110 people. “Meloni’s government stands for a policy that puts thousands of human lives at risk,” says Carmine Conte.
Carmine points out that at the beginning of the year, the Meloni government launched an intensive hunt for the NGO-owned ships that rescue refugees and migrants in distress in the waters between Italy and North Africa. In January, Meloni introduced a law which directly seeks to delay and complicate the work of NGO ships, thereby reducing the time they have to rescue people at sea. “The purpose of the new law is to make it more difficult for the NGO ships. They get less time to rescue those in distress at sea, and that will cost human lives,” says Carmine Conte.
“Since Meloni came to power, she has come up with several measures to curb migration, but she has not achieved what she wanted,” says Carmine Conte “NGO rescue ships fill a gap that both the EU and national governments have left in the Mediterranean. The NGOs are in the area to rescue migrants, and there is a need for their rescue ships, as there are not enough official rescue vessels in the area,” he says. The situation surrounding the shipwreck off Calabria clearly shows that there is no coordination between the various authorities and that not enough resources have been allocated to save people in need. No one takes responsibility. And in the lack of an EU-coordinated rescue effort, the NGOs play a fundamental role.”
Read the full article (in Danish) here.
About the Migration Policy Group (MPG)
MPG is an independent think-and-do-tank based in Brussels. MPG’s purpose is rooted in its ability to inspire networks to provide evidence-based projects, research and campaigns in the areas of integration, migration and anti-discrimination.