After three rescue operations carried out over the past two days — on Sunday off the Libyan coast and yesterday off Lampedusa — the ship MEDITERRANEA is now off the Sicilian coast near Porto Empedocle, with 92 shipwreck survivors on board, including 31 unaccompanied minors.

For the disembarkation of those rescued, the Italian authorities yesterday assigned the port of Livorno, located 630 nautical miles (almost 1,200 km) from the rescue site — more than four days of navigation away.

This is a journey the survivors on board cannot safely undertake, as they are all vulnerable people who have suffered long periods of detention and severe violence in Libya, and are deeply traumatized after spending three days adrift without food or water.

Moreover, since yesterday afternoon, bad weather has been battering the Sicilian Channel, with northwesterly winds over 20 knots and waves higher than two meters. These weather conditions have further worsened the physical and mental state of those on board and make it unsafe to sail north.

In light of these facts, MEDITERRANEA yesterday afternoon sent an urgent report—particularly concerning the condition of the unaccompanied minors—to the Office of the Public Prosecutor at the Juvenile Court of Palermo.

The Prosecutor’s Office requested that the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Transport authorize, as soon as possible, the disembarkation of the minors at Porto Empedocle.

During the night, after the CIRM (the institutional body responsible for health at sea) made a similar request to the authorities, MEDITERRANEA also asked that all 92 rescued people be allowed to disembark safely at Porto Empedocle, so they can receive the necessary medical and psychological care on land as soon as possible.

This request has not yet received any response, and it appears that the authorities intend to transfer only the minors to Sicily while forcing the ship to continue toward the distant port of Livorno with the remaining 61 people.

If this were to happen, once again the Italian government would be violating all rules of maritime and humanitarian law, both international and national, trampling on the fundamental rights of the rescued people — their rights to life, care, and dignity.

We have not accepted this before and we will not accept it now: all rescued people must be allowed to disembark in Porto Empedocle without delay.

There is no justification for the Interior Ministry’s decision to deny the disembarkation of all survivors, all of whom need immediate care and assistance.

We will not accept it. No propaganda comes before human beings and their rights, enshrined in international conventions and the Constitution.