Non-FAU Project
Start date : 01.01.2020
End date : 29.02.2020
Places of Safety in the Mediterranean: The EU’s Policy of Outsourcing Responsibility
Over the last six years, more than 19,000 people have lost their lives in the Mediterranean. After the European Union decided to cease ship patrols in the frame of Operation Sophia in March 2019, no EU or national search and rescue vessels are any longer in place to prevent more deaths. By stopping rescue activities in the Mediterranean, EU governments have outsourced their responsibility for saving lives. Nongovernmental organisations stepping in and trying to fill this gap have been increasingly criminalised and prosecuted. At the same time, EU Member States and the European Commission have explored ‘regional disembarkation platforms’ outside the European Union since 2018. Against this background, the Brussels office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation has commissioned Prof. Dr. Anuscheh Farahat and Prof. Dr. Nora Markard to write a study which examines the concept of ‘Places of Safety’ and legally assess whether Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia can be considered places of safety for migrants and refugees. The study also analyses the legal situation when rescued persons are disembarked in unsafe places by EU Member State vessels, when a Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre orders private vessels to disembark rescuees in unsafe places or to stand by while third country authorities proceed to the rescue followed by disembarkation in unsafe places.On 19 February, the study ‘Places of Safety in the Mediterranean: The EU Policy of Outsourcing Responsibility’ will be presented by the authors. The presentation will be followed by a discussion on the political implications arising from its findings