Libyan coast guard boats entered Malta's search and rescue zone on Saturday, international NGOs claimed, in what they fear is an attempt to push migrants back to the north African country.
Members of Sea-Watch claimed to have spotted at least two Libyan coastguard patrol boats in Malta’s SAR zone. A smaller boat was seen carrying around 20 people, the NGO said, and it was headed towards a larger boat with around 90 individuals on it.
Migrant rescue hotline Alarm Phone also made similar claims, saying the Libyan coast guard was "conducting pushbacks from Malta SAR zone".
Returning asylum seekers to a country or territory where they face persecution is considered a crime under international law.
Questions about Maltese government involvement
Questions sent to the Armed Forces of Malta remained unanswered at the time of writing.
Three local NGOs - Aditus Foundation, Integra Foundation and Jesuit Refugee Services - expressed concern about the pushback allegations and said they suggested the Maltese government was complicit in the operation.
"Returning migrants to Libya means returning men, women and children to severe human rights abuses,” the NGOs said, adding that “it is entirely unacceptable for Malta to even consider engaging such activities.”
People found adrift at sea within a country's SAR zone had the right to be rescued and taken to a safe port, they said.
The NGOs condemned Malta’s possible engagement with the Libyan Coast Guard as an “illegal pushback, as it will anyway result in the return of persons to a place where lives and human rights will be at risk.”
The collective of NGOs also joined in calls for EU institutions to strengthen assistance measures to ensure Malta can offer “the safety and dignity they are entitled to.”
Spike in activity seen over the past two weeks
The pushback allegations made by Sea-Watch and Alarm Phone come after the NGOs reported two separate claims that Maltese army officials had refuelled boats carrying migrants and sent them on their way to Italy.
In the first case, the Italian coast guard eventually escorted the vessel to Sicily, 33 hours after the original distress call.
In the second, 11 people stranded in Malta's SAR zone lost contact with Alarm Phone, which eventually tracked them to Italy. According to Alarm Phone, one of the relatives of the migrants on this vessel also stated that an AFM boat had refuelled them, only to order them to head to Italy.
Questions about all of these cases, including about the fate of the Maersk Etienne’s 27 rescued migrants, have been sent to the AFM, the rescue coordination centre, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Home Affairs Ministry as well as UN refugee agency UNHCR.
All of them remain unanswered at the time of writing.