UN Human Rights welcomes Italian SC’s decision in sea rescue case

Caro Rackete was arrested after she violated the orders of Italian authorities to save the lives of about 40 people whom she had rescued during a climate crisis.

In a landmark ruling for the sea humanitarians, the Italian Supreme Court on Friday ruled that Carola Rackete, the German captain of a migrant rescue ship, should not have been arrested. The decision has been welcomed by the High Commissioner of United Nations Human Rights (UNHR) and also by human rights activists from throughout the globe.

"We welcome the ruling of the Italian Supreme Court on @CaroRackete's case. Humanitarian search & rescue activities in the Mediterranean are essential for #migrants' safety. Nobody should be criminalized for carrying out humanitarian & human rights work," said UNHR (@UNHR) in a tweet on Friday appreciating the decision of the court.

🇮🇹 We welcome the ruling of the Italian Supreme Court on @CaroRackete's case. Humanitarian search & rescue activities in the Mediterranean are essential for #migrants' safety. Nobody should be criminalized for carrying out humanitarian & human rights work.#StandUp4HumanRights

— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) January 17, 2020

Sharing the information with enthusiasm, Rackete said, "The Italian Supreme Court confirmed today that I shouldn't have been arrested in June for saving lives. This is an important verdict for all sea rescue activists! No one should be prosecuted for aiding people in need. The EU directive on "crimes of solidarity" needs reform,".

The incident dates to 2018 when she was captain on Sea-Watch 3, which was among the ships deployed to rescue the migrants from North Africa to Europe. On June 12, her ship picked up 53 persons from the coast of Libya. She received an order from Italian authorities to provide health facilities to about a dozen migrants but 40 were asked to wait. As the situations of the trapped migrants went deteriorating, she avoided the orders and sailed towards an island. Later, she was arrested for violating the orders. In a sharp reaction after been provided the relief, Rackete commented, "We are in a severe right-wing era, from the U.S. to Brazil and India to places in Europe. If we don't talk about climate justice as human rights, we aren't going to be able to move forward solutions, particularly for communities from the global south,".