Italy's New PM Giorgia Meloni Govt Turned Away Ship Carrying 179 Migrants

The ship carrying 179 migrants bound for Italy will be turned away from Italian ports and diverted to international waters once the minors and vulnerable people have disembarked. Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting on Friday, new Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the government had passed a decree allowing the German-flagged ship Humanity 1, currently anchored off Sicily, to stay in Italian waters only temporarily. 

This applies only to the time required to look for emergencies, health or otherwise, on board the, Piantedosi said.  According to the Italian press agency Adnkronos. Piantedosi said that children, pregnant women and people with health problems should be allowed to enter Italy. People not in  need of urgent assistance should be returned to international waters," the minister said.

According to media reports, among the migrants rescued at sea by Humanity 1 are more than 100 unaccompanied minors, including a seven-month-old baby. Piantedosi said  the ship "forced the situation" by entering Italian waters. 

The position of Italy's newly installed  government, led by right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, is that ships must go to their flag country to gain access to a safe port. Italian newspaper La Repubblica, citing people on board Humanity 1, reported that people on deck were sick and shaking and that the bad weather left the crew with no choice but to head into Italian waters to seek shelter. "to respect their obligations" while respecting human rights.

But it's unlikely to be the last: in a statement released at the end of October, the Home Office singled out the Humanity 1 alongside the Norwegian-flagged Ocean Viking, also based off Sicily and with 234 people on board the ships, who may be prohibited from entering Italian waters. 

In his press conference, Piantedosi mentioned another ship, Rise Above, which is dealing with an apparent mutiny. Adnkronos reported that government decrees are being prepared for these two, corresponding to those passed for Humanity. 

His coalition partner in government, Matteo Salvini, had taken a similarly combative stance on rescuing migrant NGOs at sea as interior minister in 2018-2019,  making the slogan “Close the ports” one of his presentation cards.