International refugee charities and NGOs have accused the Maltese armed forces of having instructed a merchant ship carrying 23 rescued people, to disembark the people in Egypt rather than to the safest and nearest port of call. “In line with maritime conventions, RCC Malta is legally responsible for coordinating any rescue operations in the event of an emergency or accident within its SAR region,” the NGOs said. Instead, the rescued people were forcibly taken 760 nautical miles to Egypt. Egypt is a signatory to the 1951 Geneva Convention, but the country also lacks an adequate national legal framework for the protection of refugees and asylum seekers. “As organisations engaging in SAR activities at sea, we denounce the forcible transfer of these 23 people to Egypt and call for consequences to Malta’s blatant violations of maritime and international law,” the NGOs said.

Source: Libya Today October 18, 2022 22:37 UTC