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| More than 20,000 deaths and disappearances have been registered in the central Mediterranean since 2014 [File: Nora Boerding/Sea-Watch via AP] |
European countries face accusations of complicity in deaths due to their migration policies after a charity vessel retrieved 11 corpses in the Mediterranean and rescued over 160 people.
The aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported recovering 11 bodies and rescuing dozens off the coast of Libya, criticizing both Libyan and European migration policies. On Friday, MSF stated that their Geo Barents rescue vessel recovered the bodies following a nine-hour search operation, which was initiated after a tip-off from the German NGO Sea-Watch.
MSF expressed their concerns on X, stating, "While the cause of this tragedy remains unknown, it is clear that people will continue to take dangerous routes to reach safety. Europe must establish safe and legal pathways. This catastrophe must end!"
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Sea-Watch noted the uncertainty regarding whether the bodies were from a previously unreported shipwreck. They attempted to contact Libya’s coastguard for assistance in recovering the bodies but received no response. "The so-called Libyan coastguard, financed by the EU, ignored our call demanding that the bodies be recovered," the group said.
Thousands of people departing from Africa to Europe use Libya as a launching point, with the Italian island of Lampedusa being the nearest European destination. These migrants undertake perilous journeys across the Mediterranean to escape war, poverty, and persecution. Italy, aiming to halt this migration flow, insists that Libya and neighboring Tunisia must do more to prevent people from setting out to sea. Italy has also restricted rescue ship operations, claiming they encourage migration to Europe, a charge denied by the charities.
Reaffirming its stance on rescue ships, Italy announced on Friday that it had directed the MSF rescue vessel to take the 165 people saved during the Mediterranean operation to the northern port of Genoa. This port is over 650 nautical miles (1,200 km) away from their position, significantly farther than more convenient ports in nearby Sicily, delaying assistance to the rescued.
The central Mediterranean route is considered the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world, with the United Nations recording more than 20,000 deaths and disappearances in the area since 2014. In 2023 alone, over 3,000 refugees and migrants went missing while attempting this route, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Italy’s interior ministry reported a decrease in arrivals in 2024, with fewer than 21,800 people reaching the country since the start of the year, compared to nearly 53,300 during the same period last year.
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