As a non-governmental search and rescue organisation, we strive for a world in which the human rights of all are respected. SOS Humanity stands for humanity at sea and on land. We are committed to ensuring that no person drowns while fleeing at sea and that everyone is treated with dignity.
Ten years of rescuing, protecting and testifying
SOS Humanity was founded in Berlin in 2015 under the name SOS Mediterranee Deutschland and has been operating a rescue ship in the Central Mediterranean since the beginning of 2016. By the end of 2021, together with the European network SOS Mediterranee and the rescue ships Aquarius (from 2016) and Ocean Viking (from 2019), we had saved more than 34,600 children, women and men from drowning. In 2022, as SOS Humanity, we started operating an additional rescue ship in the Mediterranean: Humanity 1.
Our search and rescue ship
Our ship Humanity 1 has been on rescue missions since August 2022 and by the end of March 2025, has rescued over 4,000 people from distress at sea and brought them to a place of safety. This means we have saved more than 38,600 people from drowning in the Mediterranean.
In addition to our search and rescue work, we have also drawn public attention to the consequences of the EU’s inhumane policies of sealing off Europe and outsourcing EU’s external border management. Donations from civil society are enabling our work at sea and on land. Our name SOS Humanity points in the right direction: towards solidarity and humanity. Because saving lives is a duty – also in the Mediterranean Sea.
The people behind SOS Humanity
Founded by citizens in 2015 in response to the deaths in the Mediterranean and the failure of the European Union to prevent these deaths, SOS Humanity reflects different personal and professional backgrounds. SOS Humanity lives from all the people opposing the dying in the Mediterranean: civil society, members, board members, the teams ashore and at sea, volunteers and donors.
The ordinary members of SOS Humanity determine the principles of our life-saving work and elect the board. The honorary board manages the association in accordance with our statutes and the resolutions of the general meeting.
Saving lives together
The team at the office in Berlin implements the goals of SOS Humanity. The operational department ensures the implementation of the missions through crewing, logistics and ongoing ship operations. The crew on board rescues, accompanies the rescued on board and collects their stories.
The members of the eight volunteer groups in Germany multiply our work and are our anchor in civil society. In direct interaction with citizens, they create much-needed awareness for the situation in the Mediterranean.
Our goals
We save lives
With our rescue ship we rescue people fleeing from distress in the Central Mediterranean Sea since August 2022.
We protect and assist
We provide the rescued people on board with clothing and food, as well as medical and psychological care. Furthermore, we identify special protection needs and communicate them to the respective agencies on land.
We testify
We document the stories of survivors and release information on abuses such as human rights violations at Europe’s external borders.
We create change
We inform the public about the inhumane consequences of European migration policies. On a political level we advocate for the rights of people fleeing across the sea.