Doctors Without Borders, Stop Rescuing Mediterranean Migrants..."Because of Italian law".

Doctors Without Borders says it is suspending migrant rescue efforts in the Mediterranean due to tough immigration policies by the Italian government.

The Doctors Without Borders said on social media on the 13th local time, "We have suspended the activities of the rescue ship Gio Barents, which has been in operation since 2021," adding, "Italy's laws and policies have prevented us from continuing our activities."

The Italian government has worked to limit the rescue ships' activities, believing that non-governmental organizations' rescue efforts in the Mediterranean Sea play a role in encouraging migrants to sail dangerously.

Under a related regulatory decree introduced by the Italian government in January last year, rescue ships can only rescue one migrant ship at a time and must go to designated ports without delay when rescuing.

In addition, international relief organizations have not been able to easily engage in Mediterranean rescue efforts due to a series of cases in which the Italian government allocates extremely far ports to rescue ships that have requested entry.