The Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station will be suspending its operations in the Mediterranean, citing security concerns, amid a controversial drive to push back fleeing migrants to troubled Libya.
The NGO said there was no guarantee that people fleeing for safety would actually arrive in a safe place and it was, therefore, stopping the mission with immediate effect.
"We simply cannot be rescuing people at sea and forcing them back to Libya. We cannot be an arm of the Libyan coastguard," MOAS co-founder Regina Catrambone told Times of Malta.
Ms Catrambone said she feared the presence of MOAS in the Mediterranean at this point in time would be a "pull factor" for thousands of migrants who hope to be rescued to safety but are instead captured by militia and thrown into detention camps.
Regina CatramboneIf we coordinate with the coastguard, we would lose our humanity- Regina Catrambone
The decision comes after EU ministers promised to "enhance the capacity of the Libyan coast guard," to better patrol its coasts and turn back migrant boats, despite renewed criticism from Amnesty International that such a policy is "reckless" given Libya's lawlessness.
Amid mounting anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe, Italy is insisting it no longer can shoulder the burden of the migrant crisis alone. With national elections looming, the Italian government has recently threatened to close its ports to non-Italian flagged rescue ships in hopes of forcing other European countries to take migrants in.
Ms Catrambone said MOAS cannot be part of a ploy to send back migrants to detention camps in coordination with the Libyan coast guard.
"If we do so, we would lose our humanity," she said, adding that the NGO would have no problem if such a system was coordinated by organisations like the UNHCR rather than unidentified Libyan officials.
"If the migrants are not provided security, if we're not allowed to take them to a safe port - and Libya is not - then we can't continue."
The world-renowned NGO will re-route to South East Asia to provide aid to thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing from Myanmar to Bangladesh. The exodus began last week after the government intensified "clearance operations" following an attack by Rohingya militants on border posts, in which 12 security officials were killed.
In three years, MOAS has rescued over 40,000 people in the Aegean and Central Mediterranean seas.