Duty to rescue people in distress In a joint statement, refugee agency UNHCR and migration agency IOM, said that the duty to rescue people in distress at sea without delay was a “fundamental” rule of the international maritime law. They underscored that the current approach to Mediterranean Sea crossings – one of the world’s most
Read MoreIOM’s Missing Migrants Project documented 441 deaths during this period, though the true toll is likely to be higher. Investigations continue into several reports of so-called invisible shipwrecks – cases where boats are reported missing but there are no records of survivors or search and rescue (SAR) operations. The fates of more than 300
Read More“More people in distress will be made to suffer and more lives risk being lost because timely help is not available, if this law is passed,” he said in a statement. Mr. Türk expressed his serious concerns a day after the Italian Parliament approved legislation that imposes stricter requirements on humanitarian ships which are attempting
Read MorePreliminary criminal proceedings opened last May in Sicily against 21 people charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration in connection with several search-and-rescue missions conducted between 2016 and 2017. Those accused include four crew members of the Iuventa, a former fishing trawler credited with saving some 14,000 migrant lives in the Mediterranean Sea, and human
Read More“Very sad news from the Aegean: Dozens of people are missing after a boat sank off the island of Rhodes this morning (Wednesday),” UNHCR’s office in Greece said in a tweet. News media reported that the vessel sank at dawn after setting sail from southern Türkiye yesterday, heading for Italy. 29 rescued Very sad news
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