Italy drafts code on NGO migrant rescue operations

Italy’s new code of conduct for humanitarian groups that rescue migrants in the Mediterranean was published by Huffington Post’s Italian edition and confirmed by a government source on Friday, as thousands more migrants reach the Italian shore.

Among the rules in the code, there is a ban against NGOs operating in Libyan territorial waters during search and rescue operations, except in cases of emergencies when there is a high risk of drowning.

Roughly nine NGOs regularly deploy boats to rescue migrants, and Italy will present the finalized code to them next week.

The government says so far this year nearly 86,000 migrants have arrived in the country, with nearly 5,000 disembarking on Friday alone, in ports in southern Italy.

(CGTN)