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.
Tag: libya
Human Rights at Sea signs the Open letter to Secretary-General of IMO requesting the revocation of Libya’s SAR zone
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...
Haunting Testimony of Easter Weekend Deaths of Migrants & Human Rights Abuses
"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.
Italy sees major drop in migrant crossings from Libya to Europe. But is the cost too high?
Human Rights at Sea comments in the recent article by The Christian Science Monitor about the increasing concern about the actions of the Italian State and European Union in trampling on customary humanitarian principles and international human rights law relating to migrants and refugees returned to Libya, and the well-documented human rights abuses suffered by...
[Updated] Planned EU NGO Code of Conduct threatens life-saving search and rescue operations
PRESS RELEASE Immediate 6 July 2017 Planned EU NGO Code of Conduct threatens life-saving search and rescue operations “Failure to sign this Code of Conduct or failure to comply with its obligations may result in the refusal by the Italian State to authorize the access to national ports, subject to compliance with the existing international...
HRAS Intern becomes Erasmus+ Ambassador
Melanie Glodkiewicz selected as an Erasmus+ Ambassador “My internship has been a life-changing period” Wednesday 14 June 2016 Human Rights at Sea is delighted to announce that a former intern, Miss Melanie Glodkiewicz, has been selected to become a European Erasmus+ Programme ambassador following her work on Mediterranean migrant projects for the charity and while seconded to the...
20 Questions exposing the African Economic Migrant Narrative to the Maritime Community
PRESS RELEASE Immediate – 13 June 2016 “I have no worry about crossing the sea, because as soon as I take decision to leave my family for an unknown world, there is no more worry. I will either succeed or die. That is it.” Following extensive field research in the Sahel, Africa, Human Rights at...
New Migrant rescue NGO ProActiva Open Arms joins Human Rights at Sea
Human Rights at Sea is pleased to announce that the NGO ProActiva Open Arms has joined with the charity as a Supporting Entity enabling overt and mutual support to respective work areas. Proactiva Open Arms, an NGO based in Barcelona (Spain), was founded in September 2015 in order to carry out safety and rescue tasks...
Press Release: Launch of new migrant film trailer ‘The Dead Sea’
PRESS RELEASE Launch of new migrant film trailer ‘The Dead Sea’ UK. 27 April 2016. Human Rights at Sea is delighted to be able to support the release of the new trailer for the forthcoming short film, ‘The Dead Sea‘, exploring the abuses suffered, privations and humanitarian issues for migrants travelling to Europe from North Africa. Often harrowing...
End of current SeaWatch migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean
SeaWatch Mediterranean Migrant rescue operations are now complete for the year. We have followed and supported the SeaWatch team since the start of their journey from Hamburg in May 2015. Next stop Berlin. Read the full blog HERE ***
Updated SeaWatch Migrant Rescue Blog
The updated SeaWatch Migrant Rescue blog can be read HERE
Updated SeaWatch migrant rescue blog – offshore Libya
The updated SeaWatch migrant rescue blog offshore Libya can be read HERE YouTube Footage HERE
HRAS Commentary. Legal, humanitarian and practical issues plague military targeting of Libyan traffickers’ boats
HRAS Commentary. Legal, humanitarian and practical issues plague military targeting of Libyan traffickers’ boats. Photo credit. D Hammond. Introduction EU leaders have suggested that military capabilities should be used to deny Libyan human traffickers the use of their boats. The idea, coming from politicians such as the French President, Francois Hollande, Roberta...
The assassination of Mrs Salwa Bugaighis – Benghazi – 26 June 2014
9 BEDFORD ROW INTERNATIONAL Comment by David Hammond UK Counsel to the Libyan National Council for Civil Liberties and Human Rights On Thursday 26 June 2014, Libya suffered one its greatest set backs for human rights in Libya since the fall of the Gadaffi regime; the assassination of the prominent human rights lawyer and democracy...