The Council of State grants Italian civil society’s precautionary petition
20 June 2024
“Suspension of Patrol Boat Transfer to Tunisia Pending Further Notice. The hearing is Scheduled for July 11 in the Council Chamber. ASGI, ARCI, ActionAid, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Spazi Circolari, and Le Carbet – supported by FTDES – have filed an appeal with the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio, contesting the allocation of 4.8 million euros for the refitting and transfer of six patrol boats to Tunisia.
At the end of May, the Regional Administrative Court rejected the appeal by ASGI, ARCI, ActionAid, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Spazi Circolari, and Le Carbet against the transfer of the patrol boats to the Tunisian Garde Nationale. Following this decision, the transfer of the first three boats was scheduled for June. In response, the associations appealed the ruling to the Council of State, urgently requesting a precautionary suspension of the measure.
“As stated by the United Nations, providing patrol boats to Tunisian authorities increases the risk of migrants facing illegal deportations,” explains Maria Teresa Brocchetto, Luce Bonzano, and Cristina Laura Cecchini from the legal team handling the case.
The human rights violations committed by Tunisian authorities are extremely severe. “The recent surge in arrests and deportations of migrants is now accompanied by the persecution of civil society actors who support them,” adds Filippo Miraglia from ARCI. “Italian and European policies seem to mutually reinforce and justify each other, ignoring the alarms raised by the United Nations and international NGOs, which unanimously condemn the actions of the Tunisian authorities.”
The Lazio Regional Administrative Court had found the contested agreement legitimate, aligning it with decisions made at the EU level – see the Memorandum of July 16, 2023, between the EU and Tunisia – and at the national level, including the recent confirmation of Tunisia as a safe country of origin, considering that the Italian government had conducted a comprehensive investigation in light of its long-term cooperation with Tunisia.
Now, the Council of State’s acceptance of the precautionary petition has altered the situation: the highest administrative court has deemed “the protection needs represented by the appellant prevailing”, suspending the transfer of the patrol boats due to the potential violations that such an act might entail.
“The mass deportations, arbitrary arrests, and violence against migrants indicate that Tunisia cannot be considered a safe landing place. Similar to Libya, Tunisian authorities cannot be seen as partners in rescue operations,” comments Lorenzo Figoni from ActionAid Italy.
“This decision is crucial as it addresses the human rights of people on the move. The suspension of the patrol boat transfer allows the judiciary to assess the legitimacy of the act before any harmful effects can occur. In light of the documentation filed, we consider Tunisia an unsafe port,” concludes Laura Marmorale, President of Mediterranea Saving Humans.”
Website
Picture: ASGI
