The fact that people are drowning in the Mediterranean Sea is the result of political decisions on land. The EU and its member states must put an end to the deaths in the Mediterranean. Our demands to them are set out in our position papers “Rescue Refugees Instead of Outsourcing Protection to Third Countries“, “Compliance with international law at sea” and “No delay in disembarkation of survivors” as well as our position paper on the 2024 European elections.
End the EU’s Externalisation Policy!
The lack of safe refugee routes and the restrictive migration policy of the European Union and its member states are forcing people on the move to take increasingly dangerous routes. Externalisation – the outsourcing of border controls and responsibility for asylum to non EU countries – is a central component of the European closed-door policy. Attempting to prevent people from fleeing curtails their right to asylum and causes suffering as well as thousands of deaths at the EU’s external border in the central Mediterranean.
Read our position paper “Rescue Refugees Instead of Outsourcing Protection to Third Countries”!
Position paper on the European elections
At the beginning of June 2024, the citizens of the European Union (EU) elected the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The election were decisive in determining whether refugees will continue to be denied their rights in the EU. SOS Humanity calls on the candidates in the European elections and the elected Parliament to advocate for an urgently needed change of direction towards a human rights-based migration policy.
Read our position paper on the European elections here!
Implement applicable law
EU member states must ensure that international law is respected and implemented in the central Mediterranean Sea. Obligations under international law must not be knowingly circumvented. This includes, among other things: the duty of rescue at sea, state coordination of search and rescue operations, and the fastest possible disembarkation of survivors to a nearby place of safety.
Read our position paper “Compliance with international law at sea“!
Disembarkation at a close place of safety
The EU and its member states must comply with applicable law and ensure that people rescued from distress at sea can disembark as quickly as possible in a place of safety. As competent coastal states, Italy and Malta must coordinate and assign a place of safety in the immediate vicinity of the rescue vessel without delay, in accordance with applicable maritime law. Due to the human rights situation, Libya and Tunisia cannot be considered safe places for people rescued at sea in the sense of international law. Avoidable delays on the part of coastal states in the assignment of the place of safety, as well as delaying the swift disembarkation of survivors by assigning distant ports for the disembarkation, are unlawful.
Read our position paper “No delay in disembarkation of survivors“!
