Italy sends first asylum seekers to Albania under controversial deal

Rome boasts of woody processing asylum seekers extracurricular EU. Critics kick of ‘cruel experiment’ that undermines quality rights.

An Italian navy vessel has docked successful Albania to present refugees and migrants, the archetypal specified ngo nether a arguable woody betwixt the 2 countries that sends asylum seekers extracurricular the European Union portion their claims are processed.

The ship, carrying 16 men who were picked up successful Italian waters, arrived astatine Shengjin larboard connected Wednesday. The statement has been heralded by Italy’s right-wing authorities arsenic unprecedented and eyed by different EU states seeking to tighten migration policies, but rights groups person slammed it arsenic undermining quality rights.

Ten men from Bangladesh and six from Egypt disembarked from the ship. They are the archetypal arrivals nether the deal, which was agreed by Italy and Albania in November.

The naval vessel Libra near the larboard of Lampedusa connected Monday. The refugees were rescued astatine oversea aft departing from Libya past week, according to officials.

On accomplishment successful Albania, they were escorted towards the gates of a processing centre a fewer metres from the vessel. Their cases volition beryllium heard astatine a adjacent airbase successful Gjader, which tin clasp 3,000 people.

Italy has opened 2 centres successful Albania, wherever it plans to process up to 36,000 asylum seekers per year. The centres volition beryllium operated nether Italian instrumentality with Italian information and unit and judges proceeding cases by video from Rome.

According to the deal, agreed for an archetypal 5 years by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, radical volition beryllium screened initially connected committee the ships that rescue them earlier being sent to Albania for further screening.

Refugees intercepted successful Italian waters who are deemed the astir vulnerable, including women and children, volition beryllium taken to Italy.

The woody is being implemented portion different EU states are seeking to follow harsher migration stances amid unit from the far right, which made important headway successful EU elections successful the summer.

Albania has said it volition enactment exclusively with Italy.

‘Cruel experiment’

A tiny radical of activists gathered astatine the entranceway of the larboard to protestation the accomplishment of the refugees, holding a banner saying, “The European imagination ends here.”

Rights groups person questioned whether the woody complies with planetary law.

Amnesty International has called the centres a “cruel experimentation [that] is simply a stain connected the Italian government”. Doctors Without Borders said the caller strategy “raises superior quality rights concerns”.

Meloni brushed speech the disapproval successful comments connected Tuesday.

“It is simply a new, courageous, unprecedented path but 1 that perfectly reflects the European tone and has everything it takes to beryllium followed besides with different non-EU nations,” she said.

The archetypal ngo nether the woody comes earlier an EU acme successful Brussels this week, astatine which migration is acceptable to beryllium a large topic.

In a missive to subordinate states earlier the talks, European Commission main Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc would “be capable to gully lessons from this acquisition successful practice”.

A radical of rights activists protests aft the archetypal radical of refugees intercepted successful Italian waters arrived astatine Shengjin, Albania, connected October 16, 2024 [Adnan Beci/AFP]

‘Part of the problem’

Critics person declared that fixed the precocious outgo of the operation, the constricted capableness of the processing centres and the information that Italy is improbable to beryllium capable to yet deport astir of the refugees, the woody won’t person the desired effect of “deterrence”.

Migration researcher Matteo Villa of Datalab Europe said: “The much migrants determine to undertake the journey, the higher the probability of being brought to Italy due to the fact that the capableness of the Albanian centre is fixed.”

“No substance however you look astatine it, not lone volition the thought of opening a centre successful Albania not beryllium portion of the solution, but it volition go portion of the problem,” helium argued.

The fig of radical reaching Italy on the cardinal Mediterranean migration way from North Africa fell by 61 percent successful the archetypal 9 months of 2024 compared with the aforesaid play of 2023.

According to the Italian Ministry of the Interior, arsenic of Tuesday, 54,129 refugees had arrived successful Italy by oversea truthful acold this year, compared with 138,947 by the aforesaid day past year.

The 2 centres successful Albania volition outgo Italy 670 cardinal euros ($730m) implicit 5 years.

Source

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies