Press Release 9 September 2021 London. UK. Following a 48 hour period of ongoing controversy after the UK Home Office suggested that push-backs of migrant boats crossing the English Channel would be used in limited and specific circumstances by UK Border Force vessels to redirect migrants into French territorial waters, the BBC has spoken with...
London. UK. On the English south coast bordering The English Channel the number of migrants and refugees crossing from France to England seeking a better future has seen a surge this week with a period of good weather. Today, it has been announced in the UK press that the UK Home Office is preparing for the UK Border Force to push back boats containing migrants and refugees into French waters thereby challenging international and maritime law positions for the long-standing assurance of safety of life at sea.
London. UK. A new and comprehensive podcast hosted by China Post (Now News) covering migrant fishers and their rights is now available featuring Kimberley Rogovin, Senior Seafood Campaign Coordinator for the Global Labour Justice & International Labour Rights Forum.
London. UK. At the time of writing, the current situation with over 550 rescued persons onboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian rescue ship operating in the central Mediterranean is dire. Over the past five days, the vessel and crew have conducted six rescues yet have still not been allocated a place of safety to disembark their passengers. Men, women, children, as well as pregnant women remain on overcrowded decks with minimal shelter, while food provisions are running low.
Press Release 6 August 2021 London. UK. VIEWER DISCRETION REQUIRED. Earlier this week, Human Rights at Sea became aware of a video which first appeared on YouTube originating from The Libyan Observer, Libya, concerning the location of women and children at sea off the Tunisian coast by Tunisian fishermen. The unverified video from a phone...
London. UK. In respect of the ongoing English Channel migrant crossing situation, the UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) issued a statement on Thursday 8 July 2021 confirming that asylum seekers entering the UK illegally would no longer be prosecuted unless they have been involved in other criminal activity. The position taken is at odds with the UK Home Office and the UK Home Secretary Piri Patel's attempts to bring into force the Nationality and Borders Bill released on Tuesday 6 July.
SOS MEDITERRANEE chartered ship Ocean Viking still waiting to hear from the Italian and Maltese Maritime authorities on a place of safety for disembarkation of the 572 survivors, including children who are stranded on board the ship since early July.
Following six rescue operations in the Maltese and Libyan search and rescue regions since last Thursday (July 1st), the Ocean Viking, SOS MEDITERRANEE search and rescue vessel is caring for 572 survivors, including 183 minors, who urgently need to disembark in a Place of Safety in accordance with international law.
London. UK. HRAS Commentary. Early last week, the Office of Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, published 'A distress call for human rights', a comprehensive follow-up to the 2019 recommendations drafted in 'Lives saved. Rights protected. Bridging the protection gap for refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean'. Human Rights at Sea has reviewed and today, highlights its recommendations in support.
the Administrative Court in Palermo preliminarily suspended the detention of the Sea-Watch 4 pending the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the general legality of the application of the European Directive on Port State Control to humanitarian vessels.
the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), the treaty body responsible for the monitoring of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, found Italy in violation of its obligations under the Covenant in particular in violation of the right to life as provided in Article 6 of the ICCPR read alone, and in conjunction with Article 2 (3), in the context of Search and Rescue (SAR) operations of migrants at sea. According to the HRC, Italy delayed and failed to actively provide rescue to 200 migrants on the high seas.
London, UK. Human Rights at Sea is delighted to replicate the following breaking press release from our partners at the civil society search and rescue NGO, SOS MEDITERRRANEE highlighting the decision by the Italian Coastguard to release their SAR vessel, the Ocean Viking.
London. UK. As part of the Shoreline insurance podcast series, Human Rights at Sea along with Control Risks participated in the most recent episode covering the policy and legal issues raised by the recent Maersk Etienne case in the central Mediterranean during August 2020.
Press Release Immediate Thursday 2 July 2020 LONDON.UK. Human Rights at Sea has today signed the Open Letter to the IMO Secretary General Mr Kitack Lim prepared by the civil liberties organisation Statewatch which was delivered on 29 June 2020 signed by hundreds of individuals and organisations. The letter openly calls on the Secretary-General to revoke the Libyan...
"Then the Medkon Lines ship passed close by but didn't stop. Three of us started screaming desperately, then jumped in the water and tried to reach the ship. They drowned in a minute." "They looked at us as if we weren't human beings." London.UK. Human Rights at Sea re-publishes a devastating translated witness-based testimony on the events of the Easter weekend 10-12 April in the Central Mediterranean taken from the Italian Repubblica newspaper. This follows previous reporting by the charity as to the tragic and unacceptable circumstances of the weekend's events.
