www.humanrightsatsea.orgwww.humanrightsatsea.org/publications/ © FEBRUARY 2019 Human Rights at Sea All Rights Reserved.

Legal and Policy Matters Arising from the Increased Criminalisation of Civil Society Search and Rescue Activities in the Mediterranean

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© FEBRUARY 2019 Human Rights at Sea All Rights Reserved. www.humanrightsatsea.org1

Contents page

1. Introduction 2

2. Fears of Criminalisation Materialised: The Facts 3

2.1 The Seizure & Detention of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms Rescue vessel and the German NGO Jugend Rettet vessel ‘Iuventa’ 3

2.2 TheDe-flaggingofM/VAquarius 4

2.3 IndividualRescuers’CriminalisationSavingMigrants’LivesatSea 4

3. Political Interference in Humanitarian Operations and the Role of the European Union 5

3.1 Sea Watch 3 Case 5

3.2TheEU-fundedLibyanCoastGuard 6

4. Migrants Crossing the English Channel 6

5. The Legal Framework on SAR Operations & the Effects Criminalisation has on Civil Society Humanitarian Individuals and Humanitarian Organisations 7

5.1TheLegalFramework 7

5.2EULegalFrameworktoCombatIllegalImmigration,IllegalEmployment,TraffickinginHumanBeings and the Sexual Exploitation of Children 8

5.3 CommentontheEffectCriminalisationhasonCivilSocietyHumanitarianCitizens and Humanitarian Organisations 8

6. Recommendations 9

7. Conclusion 9

8. HRAS Map 10

Photographcredit:SOSMéditerranée Photographcredit:SOSMéditerranée

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© FEBRUARY 2019 Human Rights at Sea All Rights Reserved. www.humanrightsatsea.org2

Photographcredit:SOSMéditerranée

1. IntroductionIn2016,theUK-basedindependentmaritimehumanrightscharity,HumanRightsatSea,issuedavoluntaryadvisorypublicationentitled: ‘Awareness of Criminalisation for Volunteer Maritime Rescuers,1 inresponsetothethenperceivedandemergingthreatbysomeEuropeanUnionMemberStatestocriminalisecivilsocietyrescuers,whoundertookwhattheyperceivedaslawfulandnecessaryhumanitarianreliefworkboth atsea,and inadjoiningcoastal zones.This reflected the issueofeverydaypeople, invariablyasEUcitizens,whovoluntarilyassisted in the humanitarian rescueofpeople indistress inandalong theCentral andEasternMediterraneanSea routes.2 In2016, therewasa very real perceptionofthethreatthattheymightfacetheriskofbeingindividuallycriminalised“fortheiractionsintermsofbeingsubjecttoexistingEuropean legislationpreviouslyestablishedtocombatpeoplesmuggling’3

Threeyearslaterin2019,thisthreathasbecomeareality,which,atthetimeofwriting,isdirectlyrelatedtotheEU’scollectivestancetowards migration,bothforcedandvoluntaryfromStatesandregionsoutsideoftheEUborders.Asaresult,therehasbeenanumberofincidentsregardingthearrestofhumanitarianNon-GovenmentalOrganisations(NGOs)vesselsinItaly,withtheclaimthattheyconductedsearchandrescue(SAR) operationsinviolationofinternationallaw,4aswellasthearrestanddetentionofyounghumanitariansinGreeceonchargesofhumansmuggling.5

1HumanRightsatSea,‘’VolunteerMaritimeRescuers:AwarenessofCriminalisation’’availableat:https://www.humanrightsatsea.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/HRAS-Voluntary-Maritime- Rescuers-Awareness-of-Criminalisation_2016-SP-LRSecured-.pdf>accessed26January20192ThecentralMediterraneanrouteistheonethatconnectsEuropetoAfricaandtheEasternMediterraneanrouteistheonethatconnectsMiddleEasttoEuropeintheAegeanSea.3HumanRightsatSea,‘’VolunteerMaritimeRescuers:AwarenessofCriminalisation’’availableat:https://www.humanrightsatsea.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/HRAS-Voluntary-Maritime-Rescuers-Awareness-of- Criminalisation_2016-SP-LRSecured-.pdf>accessed26January20194Seeforexample:InfoMigrants,‘’ProActivaOpenArms’RescueShipSeizedinItaly’’availableat:http://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/8174/proactiva-open-arms-migrant-rescue-ship-seized-in-italyaccessed26January5Forinstance:BBCNews,‘’SarahMardini:‘I’mnotapeople’ssmuggler’.‘’availableat:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-46535372/sarah-mardini-i-am-not-a-people-smuggleraccessed26January2019

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ThefearsofcriminalisationofcivilsocietySARNGOs’haveregrettablynow materialised. The seizure of NGO Pro Activa Open-Arms rescue vessel is the most recent example.

InMarch 2019, the rescuers of the SpanishNGO, ProactivaOpenArms, declined to follow the ItalianMaritime RescueCoordinationCentre’s(MRCC)instructionstoreturnrescuedmigrants6backtotheLibyanforces.7ThereasonfordoingsowasbasedondocumentedreportsthatmigrantswhoarereturnedtoLibyaaresubjecttohumanrightsabuses.8Infact,adetailedindependentReportissuedbytheUnitedNationsOfficeof theHighCommissioner forHumanRights(OHCHR)reports thatasylumseekers, refugeesandothermigrantsinterceptedbytheLibyancoastguard‘faceindefinitedetentionandfrequent torture and other ill-treatment in centres unfit for human habitation’.9 The detainees are subject to serious human rights violations,as ‘lack of adequate healthcare, and disturbing accounts of violence by guards, including beatings, whippings, and use of electric shocks’ havebeenreportedbyHumanRightsWatch.10 It should also bementionedthatchildrenarenotexcludedfromthesepractices.11

Inlightofsuchevidence,themembersofProactivasOpenArmsrescueshipdidnotfollowItalianauthorities’instructions.Thisdisobedience resultedinalegalcasebeingbroughtagainstProactivainItaly,with theItalianProsecutorchargingthecrewmembersonboardof‘enablingillegal immigration.12

2. Fears of Criminalisation Materialised: The Facts

2.1 The Seizure & Detention of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms Rescue Vessel and the German NGO Jugend Rettet Vessel ‘Iuventa’

Approximatelyonemonthafterchargeswereraised,theSpanishNGO shipwasreleased,butitwasfoundtobedamagedduetoweatherconditionsduringtheperiodofitsconfiscation.13Toaddtothat,theprosecutor, Carmello Zuccaro, still had to investigate whether thecrewmembers should be brought to trial for their alleged crimes.14

Unfortunately,theseizureofProactivaOpenArmsbyItalianauthorities wasnotthefirstincidentofcriminalisingtheSARoperationsintheCentralMediterraneanRoute.

InAugust2017,ItalianauthoritiesimpoundedaboatownedbytheGermanNGOJugendRettet,15the‘Iuventa’,intheportoftheislandofLampedusawiththechargesof‘contactingLibyansmugglers’16 and allegedlyaiding illegal immigration fromLibya.17 The Italian Prosecutor noticedthat thiswasnotacaseof rescuing,butoneofsmugglinginstead.18 The Italian authorities instructed that the rescued migrants should‘betakentoshore’andthenthepoliceinterrogatedthecrew.19

Yet,ithastobeunderlinedthatnoevidenceofJugendRettetreceiving anymonetarypaymentsfromsmugglerswasfound.20Onthecontrary, the German NGO explicitly stated that their SAR operations in theMediterraneanpurelyfollowedthehumanitarianprinciplesof maritime law.21 Intheabsenceofdisclosedevidence,theallegationsbytheProsecutorareunsubstantiatedandotherwisefalse.

6 Thetermmigrantisusedhereinallencompassingmanner,includingtheasylumseeker,therefugee,theindividualinneedofsubsidiaryprotectionandtheeconomicmigrant.Havingsaidthis,asamatterofinternational law,thelegalstatusoftherescuedpersonisirrelevanttothelegaldutytosavealifeindistressatsea.7 HumanRightsWatch,‘’Italy:MigrantRescueShipImpounded,Don’tCriminalizingSavingLives’’availableat:https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/03/19/italy-migrant-rescue-ship-impoundedaccessed26January20198 ibid.9 UNOfficeoftheHighCommissionerforHumanRights(OHCHR)Report‘DesperateandDangerous:ReportonthehumanrightssituationofmigrantsandrefugeesinLibya’20December2018availableat https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/LY/LibyaMigrationReport.pdf 10HumanRightsWatch,‘’NoEscapefromHell,EUPoliciesContributetoAbuseofMigrantsinLibya’’availableat:https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/01/21/no-escape-hell/eu-policies-contribute-abuse-migrants-libya accessed26January201911ibid.12HumanRightsWatch,‘’Italy:MigrantRescueShipImpounded,Don’tCriminalizingSavingLives’’availableat:https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/03/19/italy-migrant-rescue-ship-impoundedaccessed26January201913TheGuardian,‘’Migrant-RescueBoatOpenArmsReleasedbyItalianAuthorities’’availableat:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/16/migrant-rescue-boat-open-arms-released-by-italian-authorities accessed 26January2019

Photographcredit:SOSMéditerranée

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The current general stance of the European states against SAR operationsculminatedinthede-flaggingoftheM/VAquariusDignitus (IMONo.7600574)(“Aquarius”).TheAquariuswasaspecialpurposevessel chartered from Jasmund Shipping by the civil society non- governmental organisation (NGO) SOS Méditerranée (charterers),andoperated inpartnershipwith theAmsterdam-basedbranchof MédecinsSansFrontières(“MSF”).22IthadbeenoperatingintheCentral MediterraneansinceFebruary201623 andithasbeenestimatedthat‘Aquarius assisted more than 29,000 people in distress at sea’. 24

Aquariuswas, foraperiod, theonly rescuevesseloperating in theCentralMediterranean,untilitsde-flaggingfirstbyGibraltarMaritimeAuthority(GMA)whichitwasargueditwasavoluntaryrequestbythe

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2.2 The De-flagging of M/V Aquarius

charterers,andthenbyPanamaMaritimeAuthority(PMA)followingpolitical pressure from Italy.25 It shouldbenoted that theAquarius incidentisnotacaseofcriminalisation,ratheracasethatappearstobeoneofcommercialflagStatesbeingsubjecttopoliticalinterferenceandpressurefromanEUMemberState.Nonetheless,theAquariuswasforcedtostopSARoperations,andithassincebeenhandedbackbythechartererstotheowner.

Meantime, the virtual absence of NGO civil society SAR vessels operatingintheCentralMediterraneantranslatestomoreendangered livesatseaashighlightedbyUNHCRinit’sDecember2018DesperateJourneysReport,whichhighlightedthat ‘an estimated 2,275 people perished in the Mediterranean in 2018 - an average of six deaths every day’.26

Apartfromthecivilsociety-ledhumanitarianNGOvessels,individuals alsofacechargesofaidingandabettingillegalmigrationandhuman smuggling. A recent worrying incident has taken place in Greeceon the island of Lesvos, where two young humanitarians, Miss SarahMardini, a refugee from Syria, andMr. Sean Binder, an Irishnational were accused of inter alia,humantraffickinginaneffort tocriminalisehumanitarianactivismonbehalfofrefugeesandmigrants in Greece.27Theyfacedchargesofmoneylaunderingandespionage accordingtoArticle148oftheGreekPenalCode.28Theywereaccused for having violated Law4251of 2014,29 although those provisions do not apply to thosewho assist asylum seekers. Therefore, the chargeswereeffectivelyunfoundedinGreeklaw.30

In addition to human trafficking, the pair was accused of being volunteersinaGreeknot-for-profitorganization,calledERCI.ERCI31

wasdeemedtobeacriminalorganizationbytheGreekauthorities underArticle187oftheGreekPenalCode,andhadtoputitshumanitarianoperationstoanendduetothedetentionofMardini,Binderandone oftheiremployees,MrKarakitsos.32 After spending more than three monthsinjail,SarahMardiniwasfinallyreleasedfromKorydallosprison inAthens,whileSeanBinderwasreleasedfromimprisonmentontheisland of Chios.33

In terms of the same circumstances, the active criminalisation of individualsinGreecewhoparticipateincivilsocietySARoperationsintheCentralMediterranean,showsthatGreeceappearstobefollowing asimilarpoliticaland legal strategy to thatof Italy inaneffort to criminalise those people who volunteer to preserve the fundamental human right to life.34

2.3 Individual Rescuers’ Criminalisation Saving Migrants’ Lives at Sea

14ibid.15 https://jugendrettet.org/en/accessed10February201916JugendRettet,‘’FreeIuventa-SeaRescueisnotaCrime’’availableat:https://jugendrettet.org/en/archiveaccessed29January201917Reuters,‘ItalyseizesNGOSearchandRescueBoatforallegedlyaidingillegalmigrationavailableat:https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-italy-ngo-idUSKBN1AI21B18TheGuardian,‘’ItalyImpoundsNGORescueShipandsendsNavyPatrolBoattoLibya’’availableat:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/02/italy-impounds-ngo-rescue-ship-sends-navy-patrol-boat-to-libya- migrant-refugee-route-europe<accessed26January2019;seealsoHumanRightsWatch,supranote5;TheIndependent,‘’CharityDemandsReturnofShipasCourtHearingBegins’’availableat: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italy-refugee-rescue-ship-jugend-rettet-iuventa-libyan-smugglers-mediterranean-migrant-a7955796.htmlaccessed29January201919ibid.TheIndependent.20ibid.TheIndependent.21JugendRettet,‘’FreeIuventa-SeaRescueisnotaCrime’’availableat:https://jugendrettet.org/en/archiveaccessed29January2019.22 https://onboard-aquarius.org/our-mission/accessed26January2019.23“Aquarius”(GibraltarRegistryflagged)became“Aquarius2”whentheshipownerresignedfromtheGibraltarianRegistryandregisteredwiththePanamanianRegistry.“Aquarius2”(Panamaflagged)wassubsequently deregisteredbythePanamanianMaritimeAuthorityandbecame“AquariusDignitus”forherregistrationwiththeLiberianFlagRegistry.24ibid(Exactfigure29523)25ForadetaileddescriptionandanalysisoftheincidentSeeHumanRightsatSea‘HumanRightsandInternationalRuleofLawRamificationsoftheDe-FlaggingofM/VAquariusDignitus’,availableat https://www.humanrightsatsea.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/HRAS_Aquarius_Review_and_Commentary_2019_SECURED.pdf26UNHCR,‘DesperateJourneys’availableat:https://www.unhcr.org/desperatejourneys/accessed10February201927 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/05/syrian-aid-worker-sarah-mardini-refugees-freed-greece.Seealso,HumanRightsWatch,‘’Greece:RescuersatSeafaceBaselessAccusations,ProsecutionSeeksto CriminalizeSavingLives’’availableathttps://www.hrw.org/news/2018/11/05/greece-rescuers-sea-face-baseless-accusationsaccessed26January201928ibid.29Greece:LawNo.4251,G.G.A’80of2014,CodeforMigrationandSocialIntegrationandotherprovisions(Greece])1April2014,availableat:https://www.refworld.org/docid/54eb40114.htmlaccessed27January201930ibid.31 https://www.france24.com/en/20180919-greek-ngo-founder-arrested-migration-probe32TheGuardian,https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/05/syrian-aid-worker-sarah-mardini-refugees-freed-greece33TheGuardian,‘’SyrianAidWorkerwhoSwamRefugeestoSafetyFreedfromGreekJail’’availableat:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/05/syrian-aid-worker-sarah-mardini-refugees-freed-greece accessed27January201934UNGenralAssembly,UniversalDeclarationofHumanRights,10December1948Article3,‘Everyonehastherighttolife,libertyandsecurityofperson’.

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3.1 Sea Watch 3 Case

Mostrecentlyandparticularlyonthe3rdofFebruary2019,thetideappearstohaveturnedwiththedismissingofanypotentialchargesagainstthemigrantrescueshipSeaWatch3heldinCataniaport.TheItaliannewspaper,TheLocal,highlighted:‘It was stated that it had committed no offences when it saved 47 migrants off the coast of Libya and delivered them to Italy. A joint investigation with police had not established any criminal responsibility in the conduct of those running the Sea Watch 3, said a statement from Catania prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro’. 46That said,on11thFebruary,thevesselremainedheldalongsideinCataniawithoutpermissiontosail.

Further,atthetimeofwriting,thereappearstobeajudicialbacklashinternallyagainstSalvini,wheninlateJanuaryathree-judgepanelinCatania,aSicilianportcity,issuedarulingsayingSalvinishouldbeprosecutedforhisdecisiontodetainforseveraldays177asylum -seekersrescuedfromtheMediterraneanSea.47

© FEBRUARY 2019 Human Rights at Sea All Rights Reserved. www.humanrightsatsea.org5

3. Political Interference in Humanitarian Operations & the Role of the European UnionThe so-called ‘migrant and refugee crisis’ which arose in Europe in 201535 has had as an effect the heavily politicising of migration and forced displacement related movements. This is evident in the overall negative stanceofMediterraneancoastalStatestowardsthoseindividualsarrivingattheirshoresonboardSARNGOsvessels.

Italy,whichsince2015haswitnessed478,172arrivalsofmigrants36is facedwithincreasedinternalpoliticalpressurereflectedintheriseoffar-rightandpopulistanti-migrantpolitics,37 as well as in a harsher legal stancetowardsthecivilsocietySARNGOsoperatingintheCentralMediterraneanSea.

The previous Interior Minister, Marco Minniti, was a supporter of the cooperationwith Libya regarding the issue ofmigrant flows in Italianshores.38 Tobemorespecific,in2017,addressingtheCouncilofMinisters, he presented the ‘’Measures to support Italy, reduce pressure along the Central Mediterranean route and increase solidarity.’’39Thisplanbecame known as ‘Minniti Law’, and in reality, the aimwas to restrict the SAR operationsintheCentralMediterraneanultimatelyseekingtoreducethenumberofarrivalsinItaly.

Likewise,hissuccessor,theright-wingMatteoSalviniadoptedananti -immigrationstance,inanefforttoprotectItalianborders,ashedeclared.40 Oneobservesthattheissueofmigrationisstrategicallylinkedtowider

securityandborderrelatedmatters.ItwasunderSalvinithattheAquariuswasforbiddenfromenteringItalyinJune2018,whilstcarrying629rescued onboard.41Toaddtothis,Salvinithreatenedthatanydisembarkation oftherescuedinItalywouldfollowtheirimmediatereturnbacktoLibya,42 despite UN reports documenting human rights violations and even torture.43

Yet,thishostilestancetowardsSARNGOsintheCentralMediterranean isnotonlyItaly’spractice,orsoleresponsibility.Infact,thelackof meaningful responsibility sharing and solidarity at the EU level44 hashadadirect impactupon Italy’s stance.As ithasalreadybeen highlighted,theEU,asaninstitution,andItalyasaMemberState,haveprovidedtechnicalandfinancialsupporttotheLibyanCoastGuard,byequippingthemwithboatssothat inexchangeLibyaeffectively becomes the regional processing center for migrants arriving at Europe.45SuchpracticeraisesaseriesoflegalconcernsbothfortheEU,asaregionalState-ledorganization,aswellasfortheindividualMemberStates,whichisfurtherdiscussedinthenextsection.

Inanutshell,itisobviousthatwhilepoliticalgamesarebeingplayedattheexpenseofvulnerablepeople,theEUasthepowerfulmainplayerwitha leadingMemberState, is lookingtocircumvent internationallaw responsibilities of non-refoulement by attempting to transfer exclusiveresponsibilityforthoserescuedbacktotheLibyanauthorities.

35UNHRTracks,“2015:TheYearofEurope’sRefugeeCrisis’’(8December2015)availableat:http://tracks.unhcr.org/2015/12/2015-the-year-of-europes-refugee-crisis/ 36InternationalOrganizationofMigration,FlowMonitoringEurope,availableat:http://migration.iom.int/europe?type=arrivalsaccessed27January2019.37TheLocal,‘’Salvini’santi-migrantSecurityDecreebecomeslawinItaly’’availableat:https://www.thelocal.it/20181129/salvinis-anti-migrant-security-decree-becomes-law-in-italyaccessed29January2019.38ibid.39EuropeanCommission,‘’ActionPlanonMeasurestosupportItaly,reducepressurealongtheMediterraneanRouteandincreasesolidarity’’,[2017]availableat:https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/ what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-migration/20170704_action_plan_on_the_central_mediterranean_route_en.pdfaccessed27January2019;seealsosupranote840TheGuardian,‘’MatteoSalviniandViktorOrbántoformanti-migrationfront’’availableat:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/28/matteo-salvini-viktor-orban-anti-migrant-plan-brusselsaccessed29January201941BBCNews,‘’Italy’sMatteoSalvinishutPortstomigrantRescueShip’’[2018]availableat:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44432056accessed27January201942UNOfficeoftheHighCommissionerforHumanRights(OHCHR)Report‘DesperateandDangerous:ReportonthehumanrightssituationofmigrantsandrefugeesinLibya’20December2018 availableathttps://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/LY/LibyaMigrationReport.pdf43UNSupportMissioninLibyaOHCHR,‘’DesperateandDangerous:ReportonthehumanrightssituationofmigrantsandrefugeesinLibya’(20December2018)availableathttps://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/LY/ LibyaMigrationReport.pdf>accessed29January2019.44SeeforananalysisETsourdiandandPhilippeDeBruycker,MigrationPolicyCentre,EUI‘AsylumPolicy:InSearchofSolidarityandAccesstoProtection’,availableathttp://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/35742/MPC_ PB_2015_06.pdf?sequence=1%26isAllowed=y45 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/italy-gifts-migrant-rescue-boats-to-libya-coastguard-jf2vtqqdd 46TheLocal,‘ShipcommittedNoOffence’availableat:https://www.thelocal.it/20190203/rescue-ship-committed-no-offence-italian-prosecutoraccessed10February2019.47CourthouseNews,‘Anti-ImmigrantPoliciesFaceoffwithItalianJudiciaryavailableat:https://www.courthousenews.com/anti-immigrant-politics-face-off-with-italian-judiciary/accessed10February2019.

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4. Instances of Migrants Crossing the English ChannelTheCentralMediterranean route is not the only locus ofmigrantscrossing fleeing from their home States, as migrants push furtherthrough mainland Europe to its northern shores.

On 27 December 2018, there were reports to Littlestone lifeboat stationthattherewerepeopleinalifeboatnearthecoastatSandgateinKent.53 There were nine migrants and among them three children. AfterbeinglocateonabeachbyalifeboatcrewfromDoverandaCoastguardhelicopter,theyweredetained.54Further,on21January2019,another23migrants,whoclaimedtobeIranian,werelocatedbytheUKBorderForceintheEnglishChannel.55Afterbeingtransferred

toDoverandexaminedbydoctors, theyweresent to immigration officialsfortheircasestobeinvestigated.56

TheseincidentsshowarecentriseinmigrationflowsthistimefromFrance to theUnitedKingdom.Theyhavebeenconsideredby theImmigrationMinister,Mrs.CarolineNokes,57 as ‘deeplyconcerning.’Additionally,crossingtheEnglishChannelinsmallboatsintheheartofwinterconstitutesadeliberatelyriskyandlifethreateningsituationfacilitated by criminal trafficking gangs operating from the Frenchcoastal areas.58

3.2 The EU-funded Libyan Coast Guard

ItisnoteworthythattheEU,andparticularlyItaly,havespentasignificantamountofmoney,aswellasprovidedtechnicalandmaterialequipmentinordertoassisttheGovernmentofNationalAccordinTripoli‘tointerceptboatsleavingLibyaanddetainthoseintercepted indetentioncenterswheretheyfaceappallingconditions’,asHumanRightsWatchcomments.48Itgoeswithoutsaying,thatthispracticeaimsat‘freeing’Italy’sandEuropeanshoresfromthelargenumbersofmigrantsarriving,aswellascircumventingthelegalresponsibilityforthe rescued.49ItthereforeappearsthattheEUandtheMemberStateshavecollectivelyshownadisregardforthelegalobligationstoshieldthose seekingprotectionfromabusebyshiftingtheresponsibilitytotheunder-resourced,allegedlycorruptandabusiveLibyanCoastguardauthorities.

MostnotablywastheUNaction(reportedearlyJune2018)tofreezetheassetsandimposesanctionsonthoseLibyansinvolveddirectly with theCoastGuard, therebychallenging thevalidityof theEU-funded initiative.As reported inTheGuardianNewspaper,AbdAl Rahmanal-Milad,whoistheheadoftheEU-fundedregionalunitoftheLibyancoastguardinZawiyah,hasbeentargeted,ashasAhmadOumaral-Dabbashi,whoisquotedasbeing“widelyseenascentraltoadealwiththeItalianinteriorministrylastyeartocontroltheflowofmigrants.”50

Meantime,thereismuchacademicworktodayexploringtheissueofcomplicityininternationallawaslegalbasisfortheinternationalresponsibilityofaStateundertheILCDraftArticlesonStateResponsibility.51WiththeEUtohavefundedandequippedtheLibyanCoastGuardtointerceptmigrantsattemptingthecrossing,infullknowledgeofthelarge-scalehumanrightsviolationsoccurringinLibya,52 theargumentthatsuchactscouldamounttocomplicityisextensivelyexploredinacademicscholarship.Havingsaidthis,itisacomplexlegalargumenttomakebothininternationallaw,aswellasintermsofgatheringthedegreeofthenecessaryevidencetoproveanysuchallegations,whichwouldberequiredtobebroughtatState-level.

48HumanRightsWatch,‘’NoEscapefromHell,EUPoliciesContributetoAbuseofMigrantsinLibya’’availableat:https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/01/21/no-escape-hell/eu-policies-contribute-abuse-migrants-libya accessed 26January2019.49ibid.50TheGuardian,‘UNAccusesLibyanlinkedtoEUFundedCostguardofPeopleTrafficking’availableat:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/08/un-accuses-libyan-linked-to-eu-funded-coastguard-of-people-trafficking accessed11February2019.51DraftarticlesonResponsibilityofStatesforInternationallyWrongfulActs,withcommentaries.http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/commentaries/9_6_2001.pdfSeeforanoutlineofsuchargument https://www.ejiltalk.org/torture-in-libya-and-questions-of-eu-member-state-complicity/,EPapastavridis,Rescuingmigrantsatseaandthelawofinternationalresponsibility,inHumanRightsandtheDarkSideofGlobalisation. Transnationallawenforcementandmigrationcontrol,GammeltoftHansen,JensVedsted-Hansen(eds)2016.52HumanRightsWatch,‘’NoEscapefromHell,EUPoliciesContributetoAbuseofMigrantsinLibya’’availableat:https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/01/21/no-escape-hell/eu-policies-contribute-abuse-migrants-libya accessed26January2019.53EveningStandard,‘NineMigrantsIncludingthreeChildrenFoundonKentBeachafterCrossingChannelin13ftInflatableBoat’availableat:https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/nine-migrants-including-three-children-found- on-kent-beach-after-crossing-channel-in-13ft-inflatable-a4025771.htmlaccessed11February2019.54ibid.55EveningTelegraph,‘’Another23MigrantsInterceptedinChannelbyUKBorderForce’’(2019)availableat:https://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/2019/01/21/another-23-migrants-intercepted-in-channel-by-uk-border-force/ accessed27January2019.56ibid.57DailyEcho,‘NumberofIncidentsofMigrantstryingtoCrossChannelDeeplyConcerning,availableat:https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/national/17322565.number-of-incidents-of-migrants-trying-to-cross-channel- deeply-concerning/accessed11February2019.58ibid.

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Photographcredit:SOSMéditerranée

5. The Legal Framework on SAR Operations & the Effects Criminalisation has on Civil Society Humanitarian Individuals and Humanitarian Organisations

5.1 The Legal Framework

The recent incidents of SAR NGOs criminalisation raise serious concerns from an international law perspective. The issue is complex and therefore requiressomeunderstanding.

Tostart,onecouldmentionthattherearetwocounterforces.Ontheonehand,theexistenceoflegally-bindinginternationallawtreatiesthatprotect andpromote fundamentalhuman rights, andon theotherhand, the variousdomestic national legislations (both criminal and administrativeones)thatmayhinderthehumanitarianworkofNGOs.59

Thefundamentalandundeniablerightto life, isaffirmedinvarious internationallawprovisions.Firstandforemost,itisenshrinedinArticle 3ofthe1949UniversalDeclarationonHumanRights60 and is further reiteratedinArticle6oftheInternationalCovenantonCivilandPolitical Rights.61 The right to life of persons under the age of 18 and the obligationofStatestoguaranteetheenjoymentof thisright tothemaximumextentpossiblearebothspecificallyrecognizedinarticle6of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.62AttheEUlevel,thereis the European Convention of Human Rights and the EU Charter of FundamentalRightsbothrespectivelyprovidingfortherighttolife.63 InthecontextofSARoperations, there isaclear international legalframework pertinent to rescue operations, precisely developed insupport for the right to life. The starting point here is the 1982 United NationsConventionLawoftheSea(UNCLOS)64explicitlyprovidingforthedutytorenderingassistancetothoseindistressatseabythe‘master of the ship’ as well as the duties of coastal states. The same rationale is also found in the 1979 SafetyOfLifeAtSeaConvention(SOLAS).65

The latter obliges States to establishmaritime rescue coordinationcentres (MRCC)andoutlinesoperatingprocedures to follow in theevent of emergencies and during SAR operations.66 Another legal instrumentdealingwiththedutyofprovidingassistance‘toanyperson in distress at sea’ is the 1979Convention onMaritime Search and Rescue.Tobemorespecific,chapter2.1.10explicitlystatesthatthepartiestotheConvention‘shallensurethatassistancebeprovidedtoanypersonindistressatsea’.67

Additionally,Article33ofthe1951ConventionRelatingtotheStatus of Refugees stipulates the principle of non-refoulement, which is consideredtobethe‘cornerstoneofinternationalrefugeelaw’68 and iswidelyacknowledgedbystatestobepartofcustomaryinternational law.69Pursuanttotheprohibitionofrefoulement,refugeesmustnotbereturned to ‘frontiers of the territories’ of the countries where their ‘life orfreedom’mightbeatrisk.70BeyondtheRefugeeConvention,theprinciple of non- refoulement canbefoundinavarietyofinternational andregionaltreatiesaswell.Tonamebutafew,itisArticle3inthe1984 Convention against Torture and other Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights.71Thus,Italy’sreturnofmigrantsbacktoLibya,whereitisprovedthattheymightfaceimminentdanger,amountstorefoulementunder international law.

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5.2 EU Legal Framework to Combat Illegal Immigration, Illegal Employment, Trafficking in Human Beings and the Sexual Exploitation of Children

Regarding the EU Framework of the aforementioned obligation on thedutytorenderassistancetopeopleindistressatseaoneshouldrefer to ‘Facilitation Directive and its accompanying Framework Decision 2002/946/JHA’ both known as ‘’EU Facilitation Package’’,72 which explicitly declares thatMember States ‘punish anyonewho assists a persontoirregularlyenter,transitorstayintheterritoryofaMemberState.Member Statesmay,however, refrain from punishment if the aim of enabling the migrant in an irregular situation to enter or transit through the country is to provide that person with humanitarian assistance.’ 73

Theaboveframeworknotwithstanding,thecriminilisationofNGOsandvolunteers’indomesticforaonthebasisoftheEUFacilitationsDirective

rendertheirjobbothharderandrisky.In2018,theEuropeanParliament in an attempt to prevent the criminalisation of SAR operations and humanitarianassistance‘formulatedguidelines’foritsMemberStates.74

Inadditiontothis,inmanycasesNGOsandVolunteers’SARoperationsintheCentralMediterraneanhavebeenlinkedtoaidingandabettingillegalentry.All28MemberStatesoftheEUcriminalisesmugglingaswellas‘irregularentry’accordingtoFRA.75Again,themainproblemlieswithinthedomesticlegislationofStates,whichisnotinaccordancewitharticle1(2)oftheFacilitateDirective,hencethisresultsinpunishmenteven of those providing humanitarian assistance. 76Consequently,bothNGOsandvolunteers face the riskofbeingcriminalisedor someofthemhaveindeedbeen.

5.3 Comment on the effect Criminalisation has on Civil Society Humanitarian Citizens and Humanitarian Organisations

ThereisacurrentandworryingtrendinsomeMemberStatesoftheEUto criminalise citizens acting as humanitarians who provide assistance to thoseindistressatsea,oradjoiningcoastalregions.Thesecitizensareadvocatesandguardiansoffundamentalhumanrights,whoseefforts, apart from being individually viewed as being legitimately neededare,intheabsenceofeffectiveandcoordinatedState-ledSARfacilities,evenmoreessential for thosepeople indistressatsea.Tothisend,EUMemberStatesshouldassessindividualactionswhendecidingon thelegitimacyofsuchhumanitarianactsunderrespectivedomesticlaws, including the layingof anypotential criminal charges. Respect for

well-establishedinternationalrulesmustbemaintainedatalltimes,evenif strict adherence to itmay conflictwith national interests,while the criminalisationofindividualsactingingoodfaithmustbeavoided.

If there is extensive push for criminalisation of civil society SAR operations,thenthose,whodirectandrunthemingoodfaith,mayunderstandablybereluctanttocontinuetheirworkinthefearofbeing criminalised,arrestedandjailed.TheEUshouldneverforgetthejobNGOs have undertaken in theMediterranean Sea and howmany humanliveshavebeensavedbecauseofthem.

59EuropeanUnionAgencyforFundamentalRights(FRA),‘’FundamentalRightsConsiderations:NGOShipsInvolvedinSearchandRescueinMediterraneanandCriminalInvestigations’’availableat:https://fra.europa.eu/en/ theme/asylum-migration-borders/ngos-sar-activitiesaccessed27January2019.60UNGeneralAssembly,UniversalDeclarationofHumanRights,10December1948,217A(III)availableathttp://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/index.html article 361UNGeneralAssembly,InternationalCovenantonCivilandPoliticalRights,16December1966,UnitedNations,TreatySeries,vol.999,p.171,availableathttps://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3aa0.html accessed11February201962UNGeneralAssembly,ConventionontheRightsoftheChild,20November1989,UnitedNations,TreatySeries,vol.1577,p.3,availableat:https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b38f0.html[accessed11February2019]. Therighttolifeisfurthercontainedinthefollowingtreatyprovisions:CharteronHumanandPeoples’Rights(Article4),AfricanCharterontheRightsandWelfareoftheChild(Article5),ProtocoltotheAfricanCharteron HumanandPeoples’RightsontheRightsofWomeninAfrica(Article4),ArabCharteronHumanRights(Article5,6)AmericanDeclarationoftheRightsandDutiesofMan(Article1),AmericanConventiononHumanRights (Article4),Inter-AmericanConventiononthePrevention,PunishmentandEradicationofViolenceagainstWomen“ConventionofBelémdoPará”(Article4).64UNGeneralAssembly,ConventionontheLawoftheSea,10December1982,availableathttps://www.refworld.org/docid/3dd8fd1b4.htmlaccessed28January2019Article9865InternationalMaritimeOrganization(IMO),InternationalConventionfortheSafetyofLifeAtSea,1November1974,1184UNTS3,availableat:https://www.refworld.org/docid/46920bf32.htmlaccessed28January2019.66 SAR Convention67InternationalMaritimeOrganization(IMO),InternationalConventiononMaritimeSearchandRescue,27April1979,1403UNTS,availableathttps://www.refworld.org/docid/469224c82.htmlaccessed29January2019.68UNHighCommissionerforRefugees(UNHCR),UNHCRNoteonthePrincipleofNon-Refoulement,November1997,availableathttps://www.refworld.org/docid/438c6d972.html69UNHighCommissionerforRefugees(UNHCR),AdvisoryOpinionontheExtraterritorialApplicationofNon-RefoulementObligationsunderthe1951ConventionrelatingtotheStatusofRefugeesandits1967Protocol, 26January2007,availableathttps://www.refworld.org/docid/45f17a1a4.html70ConventionRelatingtotheStatusofRefugees,Article33.71 https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf72EuropeanUnion:CounciloftheEuropeanUnion,CouncilFrameworkDecision2002/946ontheStrengtheningofthePenalFrameworktoPreventtheFacilitationofUnauthorizedEntry,TransitandResidence,28November 2002,11015/01,availableathttps://www.refworld.org/docid/3ddce9a14.htmlaccessed28January2019.73 Article 1 (2) of the Facilitation Directive74Fundamentalrightsconsiderations:NGOshipsinvolvedinsearchandrescueintheMediterraneanandcriminalinvestigationshttps://fra.europa.eu/en/theme/asylum-migration-borders/ngos-sar-activities 75ibid.76ibid.

7. ConclusionSummingup,itcanbearguedthatthecurrentmigrantcrisisinEuropeislessofacrisisaboutlogisticalcapacity andpoliciesatsea(whilehighlightedasinadequate,hencecivilsocietyintervention),andmoreacrisisand challenge of the previously accepted norms of territorial integrity which have been destabilised through the unexpectedincreaseinmigrationthroughNorth-AfricanandEasternMediterraneanroutesintoEurope.InthecaseofNorthAfrica,theunintendedandunplannedforconsequencesofthe2011militaryinterventioninLibyaledbyFrenchandUKGovernmentshascomebackto‘bite’Europeasawhole.

Inresponsetothemigrantcrisis,theEUcollectively,andsomeofitsleaders,inanattempttoguaranteeterritorial controlovertheirborders,currentlyactinawaythatputsthelivesandhumanrightsofmigrantsinseverejeopardy.Alongsidethis,thosetowhomitapplies,appeartohaverelegatedalltheusualresponsibilitiesforthoserescuedatseainanattempttocircumventtheirlegalobligationsunderinternationallawtoprotectthoseinneed.EUStateshavethereforeregrettablyprioritizedtheirnational interestsovertheir internationalobligations,therebyfurthererodingtheheartoftheidealisedunifiedEuropeanmodelthatisfoundedontherespectforfundamentalhumanrights and the rule of law.

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• EUMemberStatesmustassesseachincidentonacase-by-casebasisthroughcompetentconstabularyand judicialauthoritiestoavoidautomaticallycriminalisinghumanitarianassistanceprovidedbyindividuals,and othervolunteers,tothoseindistressatsea

• ThereshouldbeacommoncooperativeSARframeworkwithcollectivelyavailablemaritimeassetsbackedby meaningfulsolidarityamongEUMemberStatesfortheprotectionofthoseindistressatsea

• Thenon-derogablehumanrighttolifeshouldneverbeforgotten,norweightedlesserthanotherinterests, betheycommercialorpolitical

• MemberStatesshouldneverputmigrants’livesandsecurityatriskbysendingthembacktoStatesthat arenotsafe,andwheretheirlife,and/orpersonalfreedomcouldbethreatened

6. Recommendations

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Area of Interest

CentralMediterranean

Sea

Infographic: Credit National Geographic 2015

Legal and Policy Matters Arising from the Increased Criminalisation of Civil Society Search and Rescue Activities in the Mediterranean

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