Italy's anti-migrant interior minister Matteo Salvini on Wednesday dismissed claims by Human Rights Watch that a new decree toughening up rules for refugees and asylum-seekers is "inhumane", saying such "insults" from "left-wing do-gooders" were "badges of honour".
"The inhumane individuals are the people-traffickers. Insults from leftwing do-gooders are all badges of honour," Salvini stated.
HWR's director for Europe and Central Asia, Judith Sutherland, said the populist Italian government’s "inhumane approach to refugees and migrants has reached a new low," after it allegedly pressured Panama to revoke the use of its flag on the Aquarius, the only NGO rescue ship rescuing migrants off the Libyan coast.
Sutherland also slammed the 'Salvini decree' issued by the cabinet this week, warning that a number of its key measures most likely fall foul of the 1951 Refugee Convention and European Union asylum law.
"The UN refugee agency and the European Commission should clarify to the Italian authorities the ways in which the decree runs counter to its obligations under international and regional law," she added.
Sutherland also said the Italian parliament, which has 60 days to examine and enact the decree should ensure that the version that is vote into law "complies with Italy’s rights obligations".
Salvini has claimed the decree, which must be signed by head of state Sergio Mattarella to enter into force, "will make Italy a safer place".
One of the decree's provisions strips convicted terrorists of Italian citizenship while another allows authorities to suspend the claims of asylum-seekers charged with a crime deemed to "endanger society" and broadens the list of offences for which refugee status can be revoked.
