MAJOR CRITICISMS

The legislation received strong critics since it was introduced in the form of decree law.

In a statement on June 12, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) appealed on Italy's government to reconsider the decree, and on the parliament to amend it "with a focus on refugee protection and saving lives at its core."

The UN agency appeared especially concerned by those rules allowing authorities to put heavy financial fines on NGOs managing rescue operations in the Mediterranean.

"Without them, it is inevitable that more lives will be lost," the UNHCR wrote.

"No vessel or shipmaster should be at risk of a fine for coming to the aid of boats in distress and where loss of life may be imminent," it added.

Similar concerns about "criminalizing the work of NGOs" had been expressed earlier this year to PM Conte by the Council of Europe -- a human rights organization including all European Union (EU) states among its members.

Critics to the new law also included the Catholic Church and related charities such as Caritas, which -- along with other 36 similar groups -- publicly urged Italian senators to "not make solidarity a crime" in the days ahead of the vote.

During the voting procedure in the senate, some 400 people staged a sit-in before the Interior Ministry to protest against the provision, including members of National Association of Italian Partisans and leftists activists.

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