Amnesty International said Italian lawmakers must reject a deal that would detain people rescued at sea by Italian vessels in Albania, as the Italian parliament begins deliberations on ratifying the deal today.
Plans to build migrant detention centers in Albania are part of a broader international trend to move border controls and asylum procedures to third countries, a move that threatens the human rights of migrants and refugees and could lead to greater suffering. There is.
Matteo de Bellis, Migration and Asylum Researcher at Amnesty International, said: “This agreement is yet another attempt by Italy to circumvent international and EU law by externalizing asylum procedures and detention outside its borders. “This is a shameful endeavor and could have serious consequences for people seeking asylum.”
“This unworkable, harmful and illegal proposal would subject people in distress to prolonged and unnecessary sea transport, resulting in automatic and potentially prolonged detention in violation of international law. Let’s go.”
Rather than ratify this harmful agreement, Italian parliamentarians should support measures to ensure adequate reception in Italy, access to effective asylum procedures, and safe and regular access routes. It is.
Mateo de Bellis, Amnesty International
Amnesty International has expressed concern that the Italy-Albania agreement could have a negative impact on human rights in a wide-ranging new analysis.
There are hundreds of miles between the central Mediterranean and Albania, where most voyages and shipwrecks occur, and the agreement clearly violates Italy’s obligation to disembark those rescued at sea as soon as possible after rescue. ing. It could also weaken widespread search and rescue systems, putting the safety of people in need of rescue at sea at risk.
The protocol envisages Italy retaining jurisdiction over the center in Albania, unlike externalization attempts by other European countries such as the UK-Rwanda bill. Although the application of Italian jurisdiction appears to promise access to procedural guarantees and asylum rights under Italian and EU law, in practice access to such guarantees is significantly may be hindered.
Anyone brought to the Albanian center will be automatically detained, including asylum seekers. Automatic detention is inherently arbitrary and therefore illegal. Combined with recent changes to Italian law, the agreement could mean people can be continuously detained for more than 18 months. Moreover, accessing legal aid and legal representation to challenge the legality of detention from Albania in Italy will necessarily be extremely difficult, increasing the risk of arbitrary detention.
The agreement also risks undermining systems for the identification and protection of children, pregnant women, survivors of trafficking and torture, and other groups of individuals in need of special care. The agreement does not clarify how assessments will be carried out to determine the vulnerability of individuals and how minors and other vulnerable groups who cannot be detained will be protected. do not have.
“Children, pregnant women, and survivors of human trafficking and torture must endure long and unnecessary sea transport and may be exposed to further harm due to inadequate screening procedures. People who disembarked in Albania “They will be arbitrarily detained and face serious challenges in accessing asylum and effective remedies for human rights violations,” said Matteo de Bellis.
“Rather than ratifying this harmful agreement, Italian parliamentarians must ensure that Italy has a proper reception, access to effective asylum procedures, and in particular safe and regular access routes for those seeking international protection. should support measures to ensure that
background
On November 6, 2023, the Italian government signed an agreement with Albania to establish two centers on Albanian territory for the detention of people rescued or intercepted at sea by Italian state-owned vessels. The agreement is aimed at the extraterritorial processing of asylum claims and the extraterritorial detention of people who are forcibly returned, with the stated goal of preventing crossings.
In Albania, ratification of the Protocol has been temporarily suspended while the Constitutional Court examines the legality of the steps taken to conclude it.
The English and Italian versions of this official statement are available here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/EUR30/7587/2024/en/