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The ship "Ocean Viking" moored at the port of Marseille on July 29, 2019. CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP

Two ships chartered by NGOs, with hundreds of migrants rescued at their edges, are still waiting for a port of reception. The refusal of some States to receive them and the time spent negotiating make daily the situation of these shipwrecked more difficult. Interview with François Thomas, the president of SOS Méditerranée, in charge with Médecins sans frontières of the "Ocean Viking" boat.

The "Open Arms" of the Spanish NGO Proactiva, with 134 migrants on board, is off Lampedusa, an island in southern Italy. The "Viking Ocean", with 365 rescued people, sails between Malta and Italy.

RFI - François Thomas, what is the situation right now aboard your "Viking Ocean" boat?

François Thomas - We have been waiting since August 15th for a decision for the disembarkation of all these survivors. Some have been on board for more than a week and the situation on board is under control. The survivors are with the teams of Doctors Without Borders and SOS Mediterranean. We try to occupy people, of course, with games, music ... But this expectation is, despite everything, intolerable. These people have experienced extremely dramatic situations in Libya, and some have spent more than forty-eight hours on a raft before being rescued. They are tired, stressed people who have been seasick because a few days ago there was bad weather. This is not an acceptable situation, which must last. Unfortunately, I have to say that every extra day spent at sea waiting for a landing solution to be found is a day too long compared to everything they have experienced.

The Ocean Viking rescued 85 people in a third operation off the coast of Libya, August 12, 2019. AFP Photos / Anne Chaon

Who are these people you rescued?

There are 356 survivors rescued from four four-day rescues, all of which are handled by Doctors Without Borders teams. Many of these migrants come from Sudan and there are also people from West Africa. Among them are many minors and the majority are unaccompanied. Many dramatic testimonies have already been collected. These people are really traumatized by what they have experienced. Some were in Tadjourah camp (Libya), which was bombed and others spent several years in that country. According to the testimonies received, all these people bear the legacy of torture and the very difficult living conditions they experienced in Libya. All these survivors knew that if they stayed in the country, their lives were in danger, so they had no choice. We had to cross and they risked their lives, with their children. It was a survival situation for them.

At this moment, what is the situation in this part of the Mediterranean? Are there a lot of departures ?

The situation in Libya does not improve with the civil war, there are many departures, mainly in summer. These departures are always very dependent on weather conditions: these makeshift boats can not leave if these conditions are very bad. A few days ago, there was a period of bad weather. But here, there are probably new departures and no one to be present since the NGO ships are no longer there. "The Open Arms" is in Lampedusa and we, with the "Viking Ocean", are waiting for a decision from the European states to disembark. We are sailing at a reduced speed more than 30 miles from the European coast, that is to say, a little more than 60 kilometers from the coast. There is still Operation Sophia, which has air surveillance capabilities, but there is no longer any means of maritime surveillance.

Rescue operation of the humanitarian ship "Ocean Viking" chartered by SOS Méditerranée and Médecins sans Frontières in the Mediterranean on 10 August 2019. 80 migrants were rescued. Anne CHAON / AFP

What does international law say in the event of rescue at sea ?

The maritime law is very clear: in case of rescue at sea, we must land people in a safe place as quickly as possible. This responsibility belongs to the coastal States.

Today, with the situation in Libya and the situation in Europe, we are in a fog and in notions where this right is no longer respected and it is imperative to find solutions to reframe all this. It is incomprehensible that today this maritime law is not respected by certain European States which close their territorial waters to ships that have made the rescue. This is not normal and it is not legal. The request of some states to land these rescued people in a place that is not safe is also illegal. It is this difficulty that we have today that creates these absolutely intolerable situations of waiting for weeks, with survivors who must be landed as quickly as possible. As is clearly written in international conventions.

The crew of the humanitarian ship "Ocean Viking" during the rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea, August 9, 2019. 85 migrants were rescued by the "Ocean Viking", chartered by the French NGOs SOS Mediterranean and Médecins sans frontières . Anne CHAON / AFP

Is any landing in Libya excluded?

The landing in Libya is totally excluded, since it is not a safe place. All the rescues were carried out in the rescue zones under the responsibility of the Libyan authorities. We complied with international regulations, that is, we contacted the Libyan authorities at the time of the rescue. At that time, we did not receive an answer. The Libyan authorities contacted us [then] asked to land these survivors in Tripoli. What we refused. We first contacted the Libyan authorities, because it is the law, and in copy, the relief coordination centers of Malta and Italy. And so, we are still waiting for a safe place of landing.

Moreover, these people have fled Libya to survive, so it is out of the question to bring them back to this country.

Where are the negotiations with the European Union and the European states ?

We hope negotiations are under way. That was decided at the July 22 meeting in Paris, which gave us some hope. This meeting in Paris, to our knowledge, mentioned eight European states that were ready to sign an agreement to distribute all those survivors, at least five of whom were ready to welcome them. We have no more details, we know that this agreement has not yet been signed [but] that this meeting in Paris had been relatively positive. But today, to our knowledge, nothing has been put in place. What we do know is that there are negotiations between the European Union and the European states, which are ready to find a solution for the ship Open Arms and for the "Viking Ocean". But we are not part of these discussions.

We know that a new meeting is to be held in Malta in early September. In any case what we hope is that in the coming days a decision will be taken very quickly at the level of the European States of good will, who propose to welcome these survivors and we know that France is a driving force in these countries. negotiations.

As we saw on the last rescues, There are countries that are still open to find solutions and to welcome a part of these survivors and France is part of it like Germany, Portugal and other countries. What is needed is that a predictable, coordinated agreement be found so that there is no more waiting. That, as soon as there is a rescue by a ship, that the survivors - whether they are aboard an NGO ship or aboard a commercial vessel rescues, or from a Malta or Italian coastguard ship - that these persons may land in a safe place as soon as possible, as provided for in international conventions.

The humanitarian ship Open Arms, from the Spanish NGO Proactiva, arriving off the Italian island of Lampedusa on August 15, 2019. LOCAL TEAM / AFP

Does the fact that the Viking Ocean is under the Norwegian flag have an impact?

We chose this pavilion because it is very serious and is one of the top ten in the world in terms of safety. Moreover, Norway has the reputation of being a country of great rigor on the respect of the international conventions, in particular on the human rights. According to these same conventions, it is mainly up to the coastal states to find a quick solution for landing in a safe place for the survivors. Can the Norwegian flag influence this landing? This is not his primary role. It is not up to the ship's flag to decide where these people will be landed. It is up to the coastal states to do it.

How do you see the situation today?

We save lives, that's our reason for being. It's the law of the sea, it's humanism. Today Europe is mobilizing to find solutions. I still hope that this absolutely intolerable situation does not last. Because at the time we are talking about the "Open Arms", this intolerable situation has lasted more than two weeks and for some survivors of the "Viking Ocean", for over a week. These people have lived terrible things, they are in conditions of comfort still limited, even if the ship was adapted to the best for the rescue. The political time is absolutely not that of the human, of the humanist: in this case the waiting is absolutely unbearable.