Repubblika bid to force Malta to rescue migrants in distress rejected by European court

The European Court of Human Rights has not accepted a bid by NGO Repubblika for the Strasbourg court to force Malta and Italy to rescue migrants who find themselves in difficulty at sea.

Repubblika filed the request to the ECHR on Wednesday, after Malta took the decision to halt migrants rescues to continue to focus it resources on the COVID-19 crisis.

The NGO had asked the ECHR to order Malta and Italy's decision to close their ports to migrants due to the coronavirus situation to be reversed.

In a statement on Facebook, Repubblika said that while it was disappointed by the ruling, it had not come as unexpected.

"We insist that, despite the ECHR's reply, the legal and moral obligation of the authorities to save persons who find themselves in clear danger at sea remains, and we will continue to insist that this obligation should come before all other considerations."