Twenty charities have slammed new rules on rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean introduced by Italy's right-wing government, saying they went against international law and would result in more deaths.

"The Italian law decree contradicts international maritime, human rights and European law," the aid organisations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said in a joint statement on Thursday.

"The decreased presence of rescue ships will inevitably result in more people tragically drowning at sea," the charities said.

Under the new law, which came into effect this week, charity vessels must head "without delay" to the Italian port assigned to them after each rescue, which aid groups will limit the number of people they can help.

Such vessels often perform multiple rescues of people who get into trouble attempting the world's most dangerous crossing, before heading back to shore.

Far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's new government has vowed to stop them from performing what it considers to be a "ferry" service from North Africa.

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Against international law

The order "to proceed immediately to a port, while other people are in distress at sea, contradicts the captain's obligation to render immediate assistance to people in distress, as enshrined in" international maritime law, the aid groups said.

The problem was compounded by Rome's recent move to frequently assign the ships ports which are further from search and rescue areas, they said.

The decree also states that charities must start gathering information from those rescued about their potential requests for asylum, and share the data with the Italian authorities.

The charities said it was "the duty of states to initiate this process and a private vessel is not an appropriate place for this".

"Asylum requests should be dealt with on dry land only, after disembarkation to a place of safety, and only once immediate needs are covered, as recently clarified by the UN Refugee Agency," they said.

'Strong reaction' urged

Parliament has two months to convert the decree into law. It can undergo changes in that time.

The charities urged lawmakers to oppose the decree, and appealed for "a strong reaction" against it from Brussels and other European countries.

Meloni's government took office in October, vowing to stop migrant landings in Italy, which reached more than 105,000 in 2022, according to the interior ministry.

Most of the arrivals were rescued and brought to shore by Italian navy or coast guard vessels, not charity ships.

At least 20,218 people have died or gone missing on the crossing since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

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