Three search and rescue (SAR) NGOs slammed Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri for “spreading myths” after saying that NGO rescue boats serve as a “pull factor” for migrants.

Camilleri made this comment on Thursday while also verbally supporting the decree passed by the Italian authorities, the Times of Malta reported.

The decree was signed by the Italian government on 2 January. It requires civilian rescue ships to immediately head to Italy after each rescue and not rescue any other people in distress, which counters the job of SAR NGOs that stay out at sea for numerous days rescuing people.

“The only pull factor I can see is that such a policy invites more and more racists to express their inhuman ideas,” a spokesperson for SAR NGO Sea-Eye told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

The decree has been under scrutiny by SAR NGOs who are calling for it to be withdrawn as it will reduce rescues, increase the already high number of tragedies in the Mediterranean and contradicts international maritime, human rights and European law.

“What Italy is doing is aimed at preventing NGOs from being a pull factor,” Camilleri said.

Camilleri said that he agrees with the decree passed by the Italian government as it works towards combating illegal immigration and human trafficking.

He added that Malta will continue working hand in hand with the Libyan coast guard to reduce deaths in the Mediterranean.

The Malta Independent on Sunday got in contact with hotline support NGO Watch the Med-Alarm Phone and SAR NGOs Sea-Watch and Sea-Eye, to get their reactions to the minister’s comments.

A spokesperson from Alarm Phone said: “These comments by the Maltese Home Affairs Minister are as tiresome as they are wrong.”

“It is the same old story: the pull factor myth is used to score political points, regardless of the fact that there is simply no evidence in support of this claim. Quite to the contrary: lots of research has shown that the presence of NGOs does not change the number of crossings.”

A spokesperson from Sea-Watch, Oliver Kulikowski said that the Italian ISPI has done a lot of research which either cannot prove that such a pull factor exists or denies its existence.

He quoted the article, Migration and the myth of the pull factor in the Mediterranean by Matteo Villa which states: “Departures seemed to be affected by meteorological conditions – with rising temperatures slowly increasing departures and strong winds sharply decreasing them – and political conditions in Libya, not the arrival of rescue boats.”

Alarm Phone added that only a small number of boats are actually rescued by NGOs, and in reality, much larger numbers reach Europe autonomously or are rescued by the Italian authorities.

“The factors that really matter when it comes to Mediterranean migration are some of the following: wars and conflicts, persecution, climate change as well as economic, social and political inequalities in the world. Maybe the minister should focus on tackling some of those issues or get the Armed Forces of Malta to engage in rescues in the Maltese SAR zone once in a while, instead of attacking the NGOs by spreading myths,” Alarm Phone said.

A spokesperson from Sea-Eye accused politicians of “repeating the narrative of the pull factor despite knowing better, to justify brutal measures against people seeking protection. But the same politicians remain guilty of the scientific proof for such a pull factor”.

“They abuse the interpretive authority of their office to make claims for which there is simply no evidence. It is like claiming that the mere existence of the fire department causes fires to occur. That is irresponsible.”

Commenting on Camilleri’s remarks, Sea-Watch said: “It’s true that the current situation created by the EU and its member states benefits human traffickers. The answer however is safe and legal escape routes, so that people don’t have to rely on these strictures and don’t have to risk their lives to be able to claim their right to an asylum process.”

However, in response to Camilleri’s agreement to continue working with the Libyan coastguard, Sea-Watch said: “It’s also widely reported that the militias of the so-called Libyan coastguard are entangled with human traffickers.”

Sea-Watch went on to say how the EU has invested massive amounts of money in aid of the Libyan coastguard.

“By no means has this led to fewer deaths at sea, but to a dramatic increase of illegal pullbacks to Libya, a breach of the non-refoulement principle and international law, that leads to people on the move being trapped in an endless cycle of human rights violations at sea and in Libya.”

Sea-Watch made reference to the report, Complex persecution: Complemented system of oppression and exploitation of migrants and asylum seekers in Libya, which gives an overview of the situation for refugees and migrants in Libya.

Twenty organisations signed a statement saying that they are concerned about the new Italian decree as it will reduce the number of rescues at sea, which will make the Mediterranean, an already extremely dangerous migrant route, even worse.

“The decree ostensibly targets SAR NGOs, but the real price will be paid by people fleeing across the central Mediterranean and finding themselves in situations of distress.”

The statement further says that this decree will delay further lifesaving operations, as ships usually carry out multiple rescues over the course of several days. The argument is that this “contradicts the captain’s obligation to render assistance to people in distress, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea”.

Under this decree, NGOs not abiding by these rules are at risk of being fined up to €50,000 and could have their vessel impounded after repeat offences.

Besides these new measures, Italian officials have also been assigning ports further north, away from migrant routes.