Press conference 10 years of search and rescue in the Mediterranean
Berlin, 10.04.2025. At the beginning of May 2015, Captain Klaus Vogel founded the search and rescue organisation SOS Humanity in Berlin (initially as the German founding association of SOS Mediterranee). Since then, SOS Humanity, supported by civil society, has rescued more than 38,000 refugees from distress at sea on the Central Mediterranean route from North Africa to Italy. The crew of the rescue ships, Humanity 1 since 2022, looks after the survivors on board and brings them to safety in Italy.
However, instead of paying tribute to the search and rescue organised by civil society, it is being increasingly obstructed by the state. SOS Humanity is standing up for human rights through civil society protests and legal action.
Review and analysis of 10 years of search and rescue in the Mediterranean and publication of a report on the externalisation policy of the EU and its member states with exclusive testimonials of human rights violations on board.
Monday, 5. May 2025, 11:00 am
Bundespresseamt (Visitor centre), Room 1, Reichstagufer 14, 10117 Berlin
Dr. Klaus Vogel (Founder, Captain, Historian)
Till Rummenhohl (General Director)
Sasha Ockenden (Author of the report, Public Relations department)
Anne-Katrin Klotzsch (Midwife, 2023 in rescue operations)
Live link to Humanity 1: Marie Michel (Advocacy Manager, currently on board as a human rights observer)
Questions can be asked after the presentations.
Please register by sending an e-mail to presse@sos-humanity.org. After the press conference, the participants will be available for interviews.
Participation in the press conference is also possible online. Please register for online participation at presse@sos-humanity.org and we will send you a dial-in link at a later date.
Press spokesperson Petra Krischok
presse@sos-humanity.org
+49 (0)176 552 506 54
Image and video material for editorial purposes of SOS Humanity’s rescue missions in 2024 can be found here. When using, please mention the name of the photographer / SOS Humanity.
