Italy sends the first ship with migrants to Albania as rights groups warn of a dangerous precedent
Posted 10/14/24
ROME (AP) — Italy is transferring the first group of migrants to Albania, the Interior Ministry said Monday, as part of a contentious plan to process thousands of asylum-seekers outside its …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
Italy sends the first ship with migrants to Albania as rights groups warn of a dangerous precedent
FILE - Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama, left, walks with his arm around Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after a group photo during the European Political Community Summit at the Mimi Castle in Bulboaca, Moldova, on June 1, 2023. Italy's government on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024 formally opened two centers in Albania where it plans to process male migrants who are intercepted in international waters. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
Posted
ROME (AP) — Italy is transferring the first group of migrants to Albania, the Interior Ministry said Monday, as part of a contentious plan to process thousands of asylum-seekers outside its borders.
A naval ship departed from the island of Lampedusa with 16 men — 10 from Bangladesh and six from Egypt — who were rescued at sea after departing from Libya. The ship is expected to arrive Wednesday morning, a ministry spokesman said.
Premier Giorgia Meloni's far-right government on Friday formally opened the two centers in Albania where Italy plans to process thousands of male migrants requesting asylum after being intercepted in international waters while trying to cross to Europe.
The centers can accommodate up to 400 migrants at first, with that expected to increase to 880 in a few weeks, according to Italian officials.
Women, children, older people and those who are ill or victims of torture will be accommodated in Italy. Families will not be separated.
The five-year deal was endorsed last year by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as an example of “out-of-box thinking” in tackling the migration issue, but human rights groups say it sets a dangerous precedent.
A spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, which has expressed serious concerns, said Monday that one of its teams was conducting an “independent mission” on board the ship to monitor the screening process.
The agency also known as UNHCR has agreed to supervise the first three months to help “safeguard the rights and dignity of those subject to it.”
The agreement, signed last year, calls for Albania to house up to 3,000 male migrants while Italy fast-tracks their asylum claims. The migrants will retain their right under international and EU law to apply for asylum in Italy and have their claims processed there.
The two centers will cost Italy 670 million euros ($730 million) over five years. The facilities will be run by Italy and are under Italian jurisdiction, while Albanian guards will provide external security.
Meloni and her right-wing allies have long demanded that European countries share more of the migration burden.
!role~Preview!mt~photo!fmt~JPEG%20Baseline)
