ITALY and other countries must not keep migrants waiting for days on high seas before allowing their disembarkation, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.

The warning followed reports that an Italian coastguard vessel with no fewer than 520 people on board the Diciotti, was stuck on high seas with no authorisation to reach an Italian port.

“The UNHCR reiterates an urgent humanitarian imperative; people rescued at sea must be disembarked as soon as possible,’’ the UN agency said in a statement.

According to the UNHCR, some of the people on board the Diciotti, have been at sea for nine days and have endured the trauma of seeing no fewer than 12 of their companions die.

On Sunday, the Diciotti took on board 41 people, first rescued a week ago by the U.S. Navy ship, Trenton.

The U.S. Navy had to wait for five days before being allowed to make the transfer.

Soon after the UN statement, the ANSA news agency reported that the Diciotti, had finally received clearance to dock in Pozzallo, Sicily, where it was expected to arrive.

ANSA said the boat had also recovered the body of a dead migrant and that it would take 519 people to Pozzallo, while four migrants needing urgent medical care, had been evacuated to the island of Lampedusa.

The cause of delays in the Diciotti affair is unclear, but it comes against the backdrop of increasing hard-line stances on migration by Italy’s new populist government.

However, the Italian coastguard did not respond to a request for comment. (Dpa/NAN)

– Jun. 19, 2018 @ 13:29 GMT |