Close
MyNorthwest
News
Opinion
Sports
Tools
Connect

EXPLAINER: What’s behind Italy’s migrant sea rescue standoff

FILE - Migrants disembark from the Norway-flagged Geo Barents rescue ship carrying 572 migrants, in Catania's port, Sicily, southern Italy, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2022. Italy's new government has blocked humanitarian rescue ships from accessing its ports, resulting in a stand-off with charities that patrol the deadly central Mediterranean Sea smuggling routes, used by people desperate to reach Europe for a new life. (AP Photo/Massimno Di Nonno, file) FIKLE - Migrants stand on the deck of the Humanity 1 rescue ship run by the German organization SOS Humanitarian, at harbor in the port of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. Italy's new government has blocked humanitarian rescue ships from accessing its ports, resulting in a stand-off with charities that patrol the deadly central Mediterranean Sea smuggling routes, used by people desperate to reach Europe for a new life. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli, file) FILE - Migrants stand on the deck of the Humanity 1 rescue ship run by the German organization SOS Humanitarian, at harbor in the port of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, early Sunday, Oct. 6, 2022. Italy's new government has blocked humanitarian rescue ships from accessing its ports, resulting in a stand-off with charities that patrol the deadly central Mediterranean Sea smuggling routes, used by people desperate to reach Europe for a new life. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli, file) FILE - Migrants disembark from the Humanity 1 rescue ship run by the German organization SOS Humanitarian, in the port of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, early Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. Italy's new government has blocked humanitarian rescue ships from accessing its ports, resulting in a stand-off with charities that patrol the deadly central Mediterranean Sea smuggling routes, used by people desperate to reach Europe for a new life. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli, file) FILE - Migrants are wrapped with blankets as they gather on the deck of the Ocean Viking rescue ship, in the Strait of Sicily, in the Mediterranean Sea, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Italy's new government has blocked humanitarian rescue ships from accessing its ports, resulting in a stand-off with charities that patrol the deadly central Mediterranean Sea smuggling routes, used by people desperate to reach Europe for a new life. (AP Photo/Vincenzo Circosta, file) FILE - Migrants wrapped in blankets and waterproof bags lie on the deck of the Ocean Viking rescue ship, in the Strait of Sicily, in the Mediterranean Sea, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. Italy's new government has blocked humanitarian rescue ships from accessing its ports, resulting in a stand-off with charities that patrol the deadly central Mediterranean Sea smuggling routes, used by people desperate to reach Europe for a new life. (AP Photo/Vincenzo Circosta, file) FILE - Migrants wrapped in blankets and waterproof bags lie on the deck of the Ocean Viking rescue ship, in the Strait of Sicily, in the Mediterranean Sea, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. Italy's new government has blocked humanitarian rescue ships from accessing its ports, resulting in a stand-off with charities that patrol the deadly central Mediterranean Sea smuggling routes, used by people desperate to reach Europe for a new life. (AP Photo/Vincenzo Circosta, file) FILE - Rescuers approach a migrants' boat adrift in international waters off Malta in the Mediterranean Sea, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022. Italy's new government has blocked humanitarian rescue ships from accessing its ports, resulting in a stand-off with charities that patrol the deadly central Mediterranean Sea smuggling routes, used by people desperate to reach Europe for a new life. (AP Photo/Vincenzo Circosta, file) FILE - Some 35 migrants including 3 children, mostly from Syria, sit in a boat in International waters off Malta as they are approached by operators of the Ocean Viking rescue ship, early Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. Italy's new government has blocked humanitarian rescue ships from accessing its ports, resulting in a stand-off with charities that patrol the deadly central Mediterranean Sea smuggling routes, used by people desperate to reach Europe for a new life. (AP Photo/Vincenzo Circosta, file) FILE - Survivors are disembarked on the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. Italy's new government has blocked humanitarian rescue ships from accessing its ports, resulting in a stand-off with charities that patrol the deadly central Mediterranean Sea smuggling routes, used by people desperate to reach Europe for a new life. (AP Photo/David Lohmueller, file) FILE - Migrants sail a wooden boat at south of the Italian Lampedusa island at the Mediterranean sea, Aug. 11, 2022. Italy's new government has blocked humanitarian rescue ships from accessing its ports, resulting in a stand-off with charities that patrol the deadly central Mediterranean Sea smuggling routes, used by people desperate to reach Europe for a new life. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, file) FILE - Migrants swim next to their overturned wooden boat during a rescue operation by Spanish NGO Open Arms at south of the Italian Lampedusa island at the Mediterranean sea, Aug. 11, 2022. Italy's new government has blocked humanitarian rescue ships from accessing its ports, resulting in a stand-off with charities that patrol the deadly central Mediterranean Sea smuggling routes, used by people desperate to reach Europe for a new life. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, file)
EXPLAINER: What’s behind Italy’s migrant sea rescue standoff