Germany to Criminalize Migrant-Ferrying NGOs
6th December 2023
The German Ministry of the Interior has proposed a draft amendment to its Residency Act to redefine what constitutes human trafficking into the EU—a move which could criminalize the work of ‘search and rescue’ NGOs operating on the Mediterranean Sea, EU Observer wrote.
Existing German laws already prohibit facilitating irregular entries into the EU for the sake of financial gain or personal advantage, which means NGOs can ferry migrants from the Libyan and Tunisian shores to Europe under the term ‘rescue’ unobstructed.
While several EU countries, including Italy and Greece, have already passed legislation to clamp down on the systemic abuse of sea rescue regulations observed when it comes to North African migrants, Berlin remained the biggest defender—and financier—of these shady NGOs.
About fargin time.