Another vessel conveying migrants from Libya to Italy capsized in the same waters, approximately fifty kilometers from the coast, approximately ten years after the first vessel sank off the coast of Lampedusa, resulting in the loss of 368 lives.
Nine individuals, including an infant, lost their lives on April 10 when their vessel was overwhelmed by seas of up to 2.5 meters. A historic package of immigration and asylum laws was enacted by the European Parliament on the same day, marking the conclusion of nearly a decade of intense negotiations.
The EU’s comprehensive migration treaty
The bloc’s most substantial endeavor to harmonize its immigration policies to date is the implementation of the measures, the majority of which are scheduled for 2026.
The accord’s establishment of border centers to detain individuals while their asylum applications are being processed is a substantial modification. The organization strives to provide migrants with a decision on their eligibility for stay or deportation within five days by conducting a thorough screening process that includes health, identification, biometrics, and security assessmentss.
The accord aims to cultivate a larger sense of solidarity among EU member states by directing the majority of its resources toward nations that have been impacted by migration, such as Italy, Greece, and Malta. Nevertheless, the practice will be discretionary, rather than imposing a mandatory quota on asylum claimants among members. Consequently, countries would have the option of implementing relocations, financial contributions, or other solidarity measures, such as the deployment of personnel or logistical support to other nations.
Upon the Mediterranean becoming a cemetery
I have worn a variety of costumes throughout my professional career. I have acquired substantial experience in humanitarian work, in addition to my current role as a lecturer in public health at the University of Grenoble-Alpes. Previous to this, I served as the president of Action contre la faim (Action Against Hunger) and Médecins du monde (Doctors of the World), two French humanitarian organizations. I have been an active member of SOS Méditerranée, the search-and-rescue organization responsible for Ocean Viking, since September 2019.
There are those who are apprehensive that the new regulations will worsen the situation for migrants, including those who perished off the coast of Lampedusa on April 10 while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
The agreement is the consequence of years of deteriorating operational conditions for rescue teams. The obligation to search for and rescue individuals who have been shipwrecked is unquestionable on paper, irrespective of whether it is a matter of maritime or international humanitarian law. In accordance with Article 98 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea:
“Each state shall mandate that the captain of a vessel flying its flag assist any person found at sea in peril of becoming lost, to the extent that doing so does not pose a serious danger to the vessel, its crew, or its passengers.” and to hasten to the aid of individuals in distress when notified of their predicament and if they are capable of doing so without hindrance.
Nevertheless, the Mediterranean Sea experienced an estimated 29,000 fatalities between January 2014 and 2024. Pope Francis has referred to it as “the largest cemetery in Europe” as a result of these statistics.
In recent years, search-and-rescue teams operating under the auspices of NGOs have confronted EU member states that have grown progressively antagonistic, despite certain instances of benevolence, such as Italy’s transitory “Mare Nostrum” humanitarian endeavor in 2013. Rescue vessels that were assigned the responsibility of unloading migrants at a distance of several thousand miles from their present location have been the subject of reported incidents. This was the situation that occurred in December 2023 with the Ocean Viking, which was chartered by SOS Méditerranée. Despite the critical nature of its services at the time, the Italian authorities dispatched the ship, which was carrying 26 individuals, to the port of Livorno, which was located over 1,000 kilometers away. NGOs are subjected to considerable expenses as a result of these detours. According to SOS Mediterranean, the cost of improbable locations will reach approximately 500,000 euros in 2023.
Furthermore, Italian authorities frequently confiscate humanitarian rescue vessels that deviate from predetermined routes. Ocean Viking has been subjected to administrative detention on three separate occasions since November of last year.
The potential for the accord to worsen the situation for migrants
The conversations I have had with other seasoned professionals in the field of international migration suggest that we share similar concerns.
“Although it is currently challenging to ascertain the exact objectives of the Asylum and Migration Pact, it is evident that it will not resolve the issues condemned by European Union member states, nor will it alleviate the majority of the hardships and violence that migrants face during their journey.” The imperative necessity to establish a search and rescue operation under European supervision, which would avert the Mediterranean from further deteriorating into a vast cemetery, is not addressed in the text.
Guillaume characterizes the agreement as a “horrendous wasted opportunity.” Harlem Désir, the executive vice president of the European division of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), also supports this assertion.
“The pact fails to provide clarity regarding the obligations of nation-states with regard to maritime rescue operations or assistance extended to shipwrecked individuals by the organizations tasked with its implementation,” he informs me. “It appears to have forgotten the maritime law.” States continuing to obstruct rescue operations, lengthen the route of boats, prevent them in ports, and criminalize NGOs, thereby complicating their work, is a legitimate concern.
Désir has identified specific measures that have the potential to substantially impact the lives of individuals who are attempting to cross the Mediterranean. Initially, the accord establishes a framework for the apprehension of individuals who enter the European Union irregularly at its frontiers. This framework may be extended to all individuals who are subsequently identified on the territory of a Member State.
Secondly, the financial compensation that states that are unwilling to welcome refugees will provide is still uncertain. The degree to which the state fulfills its maritime obligations and provides assistance to organizations responsible for the rescue of shipwrecked individuals is still uncertain.
Is there a need for additional search and rescue zones and cemeteries?
The accord was ratified after the EU concluded migration agreements with two additional countries located on the southern coast of the Mediterranean. These countries have been entrusted with the critical responsibility of managing and preventing migration. In 2024, Egypt and Mauritania will participate in the coordination of anti-migrant defenses in Europe, joining Tunisia (2023), Libya (2017), and Turkey (2016). In 2023, migration increased, with over 350,000 irregular entries and 1.1 million asylum claimants entering the EU, despite this.
The protocols that the two most recent additions to the relocated European system would adhere to immediately elicited concerns and uncertainties. The atrocious acts of violence committed against migrants in Libya and Tunisia, such as torture, abuse, and human trafficking, have been thoroughly documented. The Libyan navy’s hostile actions against migrant vessels intercepted at sea and NGO rescue vessels are also frequently condemned.
The immediate complications for maritime operations and rescue coordination were caused by the allotment of a search-and-rescue (SAR) zone to Libya in 2018. The coordination of rescue operations in the Mediterranean may be significantly disrupted by the prospective distribution of identical obligations among Tunisia, Egypt, and Mauritania by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The fortified screening and detention systems will be attempted to be circumvented by a significant number of individuals who are interested in immigrating. As a consequence, they will be compelled to retreat further into the shadows. This will render migrants more susceptible to violence from a variety of factions in the transit nations, as well as to increased exploitation and extortion by trafficking networks, as per Sophie Watt’s account of migrants crossing the Channel.
It is anticipated that the government authorities of the five European Union partner states will intensify their efforts to combat smugglers and institute more stringent controls in the near future. As a result, this will only serve to exacerbate their ability to financially coerce migrants and to deteriorate the terms of their negotiations with those who are still willing to risk everything in order to be considered for a border crossing. The expedition was perilous as it traversed the boundary.
