27 August 2019

Italy approves anti-NGOs laws and blocks humanitarian monitoring airplanes

Over the last weeks, Italian war against humanitarian NGOs working in the Central Mediterranean has intensified with the approval of a new “security law” sponsored by the Interior Minister/Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and the recent prohibition against NGOs’ airplanes that were carrying on monitoring operations in the Libyan Search and Rescue Area (SAR). On 5 August, the Italian Parliament approved the law proposed by Salvini with 160 votes in favour and 57 against, thanks to the support of the Five Stars Movement and the abstention of Berlusconi’s Forza Italia. The new law establishes a fine up to €1 million for ships that enter Italian waters without permission, furthermore it provides for the arrest of the Captain and the automatic seizure of the boat. Salvini himself declared that the law aims to stop the NGOs’ search and rescue operations. In addition, on 27 August several NGOs, such as Sea Watch, denounced that the Italian Civil Aviation Authority doesn’t allow monitoring airplanes to use Italian airports by using bureaucratic excuses in order to further complicate their work.

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