Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/817563
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 APRIL 2017 News 13 claims, which were pounced upon by the populist and anti-establish- ment party Five Star Movement (M5S) who accused NGOs of be- ing a "taxi of the Mediterranean." Italy is due to hold a general election and most polls show the M5S has a narrow lead on the rul- ing centre-left Democratic Party. EU border agency Frontex has also criticised NGOs, saying they make it too easy for smugglers to send people to sea on rubber din- ghies and old fishing vessels. But other NGOs were less diplo- matic with German NGO Jugend Rettet saying the move could be an attempt to criminalise rescu- ers and move them away from the operational zones. SOS Mediterranee and Me- decins Sans Frontieres (MSF) did not mince their words when they said that "the EU's failure to reduce the number of deaths in the Mediterranean has forced hu- manitarian organisations to step up and take on search and rescue activities to prevent further loss of life at sea." They also insisted that all ac- tivities are carried out under the coordination of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Rome. Speaking to MaltaToday, a MOAS spokesperson said the NGO was established and contin- ues to function within the frame- work of International Maritime Law and UNCLOS "and we col- laborate at sea with both state and non-state actors under the coor- dination of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Rome." Asked whether EU countries are doing enough to save lives at sea, MOAS said "the civil society re- sponse in the Mediterranean sea was borne out of a gap in the insti- tutional response to the migration phenomenon. MOAS continues to call on European governments to act so that desperate individu- als do not die; not in Libya, nor in the Mediterranean Sea." "We have also been campaign- ing for the creation of safe and le- gal routes as an alternative to the deadly sea crossing." NGOs are often blamed for fa- cilitating the arrival of asylum seekers but according to Philipp Frisch, head of MSF's advocacy unit in Berlin, such arguments are warped. "To say that we, through our presence with our ships, lead to more people coming through this dangerous route, and to go to the extent that we impede the fight against human traffickers or con- tribute to the business model of smugglers: all these accusations are not only wrong. They also by- pass the actual issue: that human- itarian rescuers are present in the Mediterranean Sea exclusively to save lives," he said. Zuccaro also called into ques- tion the funding of the NGOs in- volved in rescue missions, which also include German NGOs Sea Watch and Sea Eye, Spain's Pro- activa Open Arms, and other non-profit groups like Save the Children. "Last summer, we saw some- thing we'd never seen before. At times, there were 13 boats oper- ated by NGOs working at once. Do these NGOs all have the same motivations? And who is financ- ing them?" he asked. Small NGOs seemed to have sophisticated hardware, such as drones, to run their operations. "That's expen- sive, and we're just looking into who is financing them and why," he said. Most NGOs depend on dona- tions and MOAS – founded in 2014 by American millionaire Christopher Catambrone and his Italian wife Regina – denies alle- gations of wrongdoing insisting that it depends on donations to fund it's €400,000 a year opera- tional budge. Frontex backing off Frontex, the European Union's border agency, which supports the Italian authorities in rescue missions, limits its patrols to just 30 miles off Italy's coast, which was about 130 miles from Libya – at least a 12-hour sail. Frontex deliberately does not patrol the area where most of the shipwrecks occur and according to an internal letter published by online magazine The Intercept, Frontex's director of operations privately told Italian authorities that his ships should not be called on to immediately respond to distress calls from outside their 30-mile patrol area. "Frontex is concerned about the engagement of Frontex deployed assets in the activities happening significantly outside the opera- tional area," Frontex's director, Klaus Roesler, wrote to the head of Italy's Immigration and Border Police, Giovanni Pinto, on 25 No- vember, 2014. The letter has been referenced in Italian newspapers and released with redactions that covered de- tailed descriptions of how Frontex coordinated its assistance with rescue efforts. In recent years, Italy has become the main route for people seeking to reach Europe, with 181,000 ar- rivals last year alone and some 4,600 estimated deaths at sea. So far this year arrivals are up more than 40% on 2016, and as many as 1,000 have died, accord- ing to the International Organisa- tion for Migration. The Ministry for Health is seeking to recruit an EESSI Senior Project Executive – EESSI (Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information) Connecting Europe Facility 2014-2020. EESSI Senior Project Executive Contract • Two year definite contract – 40 hours per week Qualifications and Experience • Be able to communicate in the English Language given that due consideration will also be given to applicants who also have the ability to communicate in the Maltese Language; • In possession of a recognized Master's qualification at MQF Level 7 (subject to a minimum of 60 ECTS/ECVET credits, or equivalent, with regards to programmes commencing as from October 2008) in Management or Project Management or Finance or a comparable professional qualification, plus three (3) years relevant work experience of which one (1) year must be in a management position comparable to Scale 8 level or higher in the Public Service. OR • In possession of a recognized Bachelor's qualification at MQF Level 6 (subject to a minimum of 180 ECTS/ECVET credits, or equivalent, with regards to programmes commencing as from October 2003) in Management or Project Management or Finance or a comparable professional qualification plus five (5) years relevant work experience of which one (1) year must be in a management position comparable to Scale 8 level or higher in the Public Service. Interested persons are to submit their application together with detailed Curriculum Vitae by not later than Monday 15 th May 2017. Applicants who are already in the Malta Public Service must produce a Service and Leave Record Form (GP 47); those applying from outside the Service must produce a Certificate of Conduct issued by the Police or other competent authority not earlier than one (1) month from the date of application and state whether they have ever been in Government Service, giving details. Applications should be addressed to: Resourcing and Employee Relations Directorate, Ministry for Health, Palazzo Castellania, 15, Merchants Street, Valletta VLT 1171. Website: http://health.gov.mt Fax number: +356 22992604 Email address: recruitment.health@gov.mt. Applications can also be submitted through the Online Government Recruitment Portal on http://recruitment.gov.mt by the said closing time and date of this call for applications. More detailed information regarding the above job vacancy can be accessed from the government website http://recruitment.gov.mt and Government Gazette issued on Friday 28 th April 2017. The sole responsibility of this publication lies with the author. The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. PHOTO BY JASON FLORIO - MOAS Italian magistrate Carmelo Zuccaro claimed charities could be financed by traffickers