<SPAM> Women on Wawes: Portugal

[anna balint]

The reaction of Women on Waves at the decision of
the portuguese secretary of state for the sea
affairs is that this is a violation of
international conventions:

Following the normal procedures, yesterday, Women
on Waves has officially requested authorization
to enter the harbour of Figueira da Foz.

Within the European Union the request for
authorization is only a formality. Usually, the
captain of the ship calls the harbour to ask for
permission to enter, when the ship arrives to
national waters, and the answer is given
immediately. Although the Women on Waves' ship,
Borndiep, is officialy registered as a commercial
vessel under the Dutch Shipping Inspectorate, has
been inspected by the Dutch authorities and given
permission to sail to Portugal, although it is
complying with all the international regulations
and has all the paperwork in order, the
portuguese authorities have refused its entrance
and the innocent passage through portuguese
waters.

The captain of BORNDIEP received a fax saying:
On behalf of the Portuguese Maritime authorities,
we inform the following: refering to the request
of authorization for the ship BORNDIEP to enter
into portuguese territorial waters with
destination to the Port of Figueira da Foz we
inform you that under the provisions of Section
III Part II of the 1982 United Nations Law of the
Sea Convention, namely the articles 19 and 25 and
the portuguese law, that request was denied.

There was no explanation as to which Portuguese
laws that decision was justified. Women on Waves
was later also notified by the President of the
Instituto Portuário e dos Transportes Marítimos
of the decision taken by the State Secretary for
the Sea Affairs.

According to this decision the State Secretary determined that:
1. it shouldn't be authorized the passage of the
ship BORNDIEP through the portuguese waters;
2. because this decision is urgent, due to the
approach of the mentioned ship to national
waters, and the inexistence of other adequate
means to protect the public interest protected by
this decision, there is no place for a hearing of
the parties, according to what is stated in
article 103.º, n.º 1, al. a) of the
Administrative Procedural Code;
3. by all the necessary means of comunication,
namely the Portuguese Marine, the captain of
BORNDIEP, its charterer, its owner, if different,
and the consul of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
in Lisbon, should be notified of this decision.

The government justifies this decision by saying
that there are strong indications, by means of
the media, national and internacional, that Women
on Waves wants to enter portuguese territory to:
1. desembarque, distribute and publicitize
farmaceutical products that are not authorized in
Portugal;
2. to have public meetings to publicize, provoke,
and incite the pratice of illegal acts in Portugal;
3. to develop a typical activity in a health
infrastructure without license or inspection by
portuguese authorities, which will endanger the
public health.

The decision also states that the above mentioned
activities are in violation with the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982)
and the sanitarian laws of Portugal (the
government did not specificaly mentioned which
laws).

The government furthermore claims that Women on
Waves is underminding the juridical sovereignty
of the Portuguese State and that the decision is
respecting the freedom of navigation in
internatonal waters and the UN Convention on the
Law of the Sea and the Dutch legislation.

Concerning the first accusation, Women on Waves
has always said that it will never disembark,
distribute or publicize any pharmaceutical
products. Women on Waves is authorized by the
Dutch Government to carry all the medicines that
are on board the BORNDIEP. The medicines that are
on board the Borndiep have been sealed by a Dutch
notary, to secure that it isn't in any moment
opened when in portuguese waters.

Furthermore, the lock can only be opened in
international waters in the presence of a medical
doctor. Concerning the second accusation, Women
on Waves has never and will never incite to
illegal acts in Portugal or in any other country.
Women on Waves is a non profit association,
registered under Dutch laws, licensed in the
Netherlands. It has never been charged or
convicted for any crimes or incitement to crimes.

Women on Waves consider this accusations
offensive to their dignity, an insult to our good
name and a defamation.

Concerning the third accusation, Women on Waves,
as it has always pointed out, will not and never
had the intention of performing any medical act
in Portugal. Women on Waves has official
permission from the Dutch Government for its
actitivities on board the ship in international
waters. Its medical personnel is officially
licensed by the Dutch authorities and provide
very high standard of care. But again no medical
act will or was ever intended to be made in
Portugal. Also the medical facility on board is
inspected and authorized by the Dutch Health
Inspection. The accusation that the activities
performed by Women on Waves would be a danger to
Portuguese public health is an offence to the
standards of the Dutch Health Care.

The decision of the Portuguese authorities
violate the international and european
conventions. The Portuguese authorities are
denying the right of innocent passage and entry
to portuguese internal waters.
According to article 19, this can only be done,
for example, if the passage of the foreign ship
poses any threat or use of force against the
sovereignity, territorial integraty or political
independence of the coastal State; the pratice of
weapons; and propaganda affecting the defence or
security of the state. This is clearily not what
Women on Waves is doing ( the organisation would
never get licensed to do that). Furthermore,
article 25, n. 3, of the United Nation Convention
on the Law of the Sea, states that a State may
only suspend the access to its territorial sea if
such suspension is essential for the protection
of its security, but only after being duly
publicized. Women on Waves is not posing any
threat to the security of Portugal and the
portuguese State has never publicize anything
assuming that Women on Waves would.

According to european laws, article 27 of the
Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 29 April 2004, the member
states can only restrict the freedom of movement
of Union citizens on grounds of:
1. Public policy or public security, which shall
comply with the principle of proportionality and
shall be based exclusively on the personal
conduct of the individual concerned. The personal
conduct of the individual concerned must
represent a genuine, present and sufficiently
serious threat affecting one of the fundamental
interests of society. Justification on the basis
of general prevention shall not be accepted (art.
27, n. 2) (non of the Women of Waves or crew of the
ship has ever behaved in a any way that could justify this measure).
2. Public health. The only diseases justifying
measures restricting freedom of movement shall be
the diseases with epidemic potential (art. 29, n. 1).

Women on Waves has sailed before to Ireland and
Poland and the ship has never been refused
authorization to enter an harbour.

Women on Waves emphasises the need for the
responsable Dutch and European and United Nations
officials to call upon the Portuguese government
and remind it of its obligation to respect and
implement the international and european
conventions and laws.

For further information:
www.womenonwaves.org