An Italian navy ship has docked in Albania to ship refugees and migrants, the primary such mission underneath a controversial deal between the 2 international locations that sends asylum seekers outdoors the European Union whereas their claims are processed.
The ship, carrying 16 males who had been picked up in Italian waters, arrived at Shengjin port on Wednesday. The association has been heralded by Italy’s right-wing authorities as unprecedented and eyed by different EU states seeking to tighten immigration policies, however rights teams have slammed it as undermining human rights.
Ten males from Bangladesh and 6 from Egypt disembarked from the ship. They’re the primary arrivals underneath the deal, which was agreed by Italy and Albania in November.
The naval ship Libra left the port of Lampedusa on Monday. The refugees had been rescued at sea after departing from Libya final week, based on officers.
On arrival in Albania, they had been escorted in direction of the gates of a processing centre a couple of metres from the vessel. Their instances will likely be heard at a close-by airbase in Gjader, which may maintain 3,000 folks.
Italy has opened two centres in Albania, the place it plans to course of as much as 36,000 asylum seekers per yr. The centres will likely be operated underneath Italian legislation with Italian safety and employees and judges listening to instances by video from Rome.
In keeping with the deal, agreed for an preliminary 5 years by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, folks will likely be screened initially on board the ships that rescue them earlier than being despatched to Albania for additional screening.
Refugees intercepted in Italian waters who’re deemed essentially the most susceptible, together with ladies and kids, will likely be taken to Italy.
The deal is being applied whereas different EU states are looking for to undertake harsher immigration stances amid stress from the far right, which made vital headway in EU elections in the summertime.
Albania has stated it can work solely with Italy.
‘Merciless experiment’
A small group of activists gathered on the entrance of the port to protest the arrival of the refugees, holding a banner saying, “The European dream ends right here.”
Rights teams have questioned whether or not the deal complies with worldwide legislation.
Amnesty Worldwide has known as the centres a “merciless experiment [that] is a stain on the Italian authorities”. Docs With out Borders stated the brand new technique “raises severe human rights issues”.
Meloni brushed apart the criticism in feedback on Tuesday.
“It’s a new, brave, unprecedented path however one that completely displays the European spirit and has all the pieces it takes to be adopted additionally with different non-EU nations,” she stated.
The primary mission underneath the deal comes earlier than an EU summit in Brussels this week, at which migration is about to be a serious subject.
In a letter to member states earlier than the talks, European Fee chief Ursula von der Leyen stated the bloc would “have the ability to draw classes from this expertise in follow”.
![A group of civil rights activists gather in protest, after the first group migrants intercepted in Italian waters, arrived at Shengjin port in Albania on October 16, 2024 [Adnan Beci / AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/e-dream-1729079114.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513)
‘A part of the issue’
Critics have declared that given the excessive price of the operation, the restricted capability of the processing centres and the truth that Italy is unlikely to have the ability to finally deport a lot of the refugees, the deal gained’t have the specified impact of “deterrence”.
Migration researcher Matteo Villa of Datalab Europe stated: “The extra migrants resolve to undertake the journey, the upper the chance of being delivered to Italy as a result of the capability of the Albanian centre is fastened.”
“Irrespective of the way you have a look at it, not solely will the thought of opening a centre in Albania not be a part of the answer, however it can turn out to be a part of the issue,” he argued.
The variety of folks reaching Italy alongside the central Mediterranean migration route from North Africa fell by 61 % within the first 9 months of 2024 in contrast with the identical interval of 2023.
In keeping with the Italian Ministry of the Inside, as of Tuesday, 54,129 refugees had arrived in Italy by sea to this point this yr, in contrast with 138,947 by the identical date final yr.
The 2 centres in Albania will price Italy 670 million euros ($730m) over 5 years.