An Italian naval vessel carrying 16 asylum seekers who were intercepted in international waters docked in Albania Wednesday, the first in a highly contested new plan by Italy to transfer refugees to Albania while their cases are processed. Rights groups say the policy likely violates international law. This is Giorgia Linardi, with the rescue organization Sea-Watch.

Giorgia Linardi: “The Italy-Albania plan is a way to circumvent responsibilities on asylum. It’s yet another attempt to militarize borders and to delegate responsibilities over the protection of people on the move to other states to make sure that the eyes of the justice system and of the civil society cannot monitor, denounce, and protect those people. It’s clearly not a question of space. There is no need for Italy to go and build extremely costly detention centers in another state.”