School of Politics and International Relations

Dr Sarah Wolff, Why Italy wouldn’t accept a boat carrying 600 migrants – but Spain will

11 June 2018

Dr Sarah Wolff, a lecturer in Public Policy at Queen Mary, was quoted in the i about why Italy refused to allow a rescue boat carrying more than 600 migrants from Libya to dock in its ports. Dr Wolff said rescue at sea is regulated by international law, which “is clear on the fact that any shipmaster has the obligation to provide assistance to persons in distress at sea.” She added: “It remains to be seen if the Italian center could be under breach of international law. In general states have the obligation to provide assistance to persons in distress at sea.”
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