Civil sea rescue - challenges and prospects

We are delighted to invite you to the discussion event ‘Civil Sea Rescue – Challenges and Perspectives’ with Tareq Alaows and Julia Leithäuser. The event will take place on 20 November 2024 at 17:00 at the Schwarzkopf Foundation.

For years, thousands of people have died fleeing across the Mediterranean. According to the United Nations, more than 28,000 people have drowned or gone missing there since 2014. At the same time, the European Union and its member states have almost completely withdrawn from sea rescue operations. This is now almost exclusively carried out by civilian search and rescue organisations. However, these organisations are coming under increasing pressure. Countries such as Italy and Malta are increasingly taking action against private sea rescue organisations. For example, Italy passed a law at the beginning of 2023 that significantly hindered the work of sea rescue organisations at sea and led to civilian rescue ships being detained by the Italian authorities in over 20 cases. Although the Italian practice has also been criticised in the European Parliament, Italy also receives backing from other EU Mediterranean states such as Malta, Cyprus and Greece. Accordingly, private sea rescue remains a major point of contention within the EU.

We are delighted to be talking to Tareq Alaows, Spokesman on refugee policy by PRO ASYL, and Julia Leithäuser, spokesperson for SOS Mediterranée Germany, about this topic.

Together with you, Tareq Alaows and Julia Leithäuser, we would like to discuss the following questions, among others: What role do NGOs such as SOS Mediterranée play in sea rescue?What are the political and legal challenges for civil sea rescue?What impact does European migration policy have on the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean?What needs to change to ensure that human rights are respected at Europe’s external borders in the Mediterranean and that people are no longer left to drown? How can civil society contribute to a solution?

We look forward to your participation.We ask for a binding online registration by 19.11.2024.