Europe's primary responsibility is safe lives
The Jesuit Refugee Service urges European Union states to establish effective mechanisms for sea rescue in the Mediterranean before more lives are needlessly lost.
Rome, 17 May 2011 – Some 1,200 refugees and migrants are believed to have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in the last two months. Failure to respond in a timely manner is costing lives. The protection of human life needs to be prioritised.
EU states and NATO have frequently responded tardily, and more than once failed to respond, to distress calls. On 7 May, a boat carrying 71 migrants and refugees sank, with only nine survivors. Despite repeated requests for assistance, no rescue effort was attempted. Another boat, carrying 600 refugees, believed to have been drifting at sea for more than two weeks capsized.
International maritime law compels all sea vessels, including military units, to answer distress calls from nearby boats and to offer help where possible.
"It is morally unacceptable that any sea vessel fail to respond to rescue pleas. It is shocking that thousands of African refugees, forced to flee persecution are dying in the pursuit of safety right under the very noses of the EU", said JRS International Director, Peter Balleis SJ.
These constant disagreements between EU states about who is responsible for the rescue of migrants and refugees in distress are shameful. The prioritisation of border security at the expense of the human life contravenes Europe's primary responsibility to protect.
Since the beginning of political unrest in Libya, the EU has received only two percent of the displaced population. In the last three months, boats carrying nearly 14,000 mainly African refugees have arrived on the shores of Italy and Malta.
Many European states – including Germany, Poland, Spain and Slovenia – have agreed to resettle refugees stuck in Libya or those who have arrived in Malta. This is a welcome step. Others need to follow their lead and resettle in larger numbers. Europe is more than capable of protecting those most in need.
Contact information
Jesuit Refugee Service International
James Stapleton, Communications Coordinator
Tel: +39-06 68977468; fax: +39-06 6897 7461
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; www.jrs.net
JRS Europe
Philip Amaral
Policy and Communications Officer
Telephone: + 32 2 250 32 20; fax: + 32 2 250 32 29
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; www.jrseurope.org
Notes to the editor:
JRS works in more than 50 countries worldwide, providing assistance to approximately 500,000 forcibly displaced persons.
JRS has two country offices operating in the southern Mediterranean region: Italy and Malta. JRS Italy provides healthcare, emergency assistance, language training and accommodation services, as well as raising awareness of refugee rights. In 2010, JRS Italy served more than 20,000 individuals in Rome, Palermo, Catania, Trento, Vicenza. In Malta, the JRS team offers legal, social and pastoral services to asylum seekers in closed and open centres, as well as raising public awareness of refugee-related issues.
