scholarly journals Taking Onboard the Issue of Disembarkation

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 492-517
Author(s):  
Jasper van Berckel Smit
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
New System

Abstract Disembarkation of rescued refugees is increasingly denied by Mediterranean States, as disembarkation triggers obligations of refugee reception in the absence of a distribution mechanism. This article assesses the international law of the sea to answer the question why a distributive mechanism is needed to provide for a predictable solution for disembarkation of rescued refugees in the Mediterranean. It concludes that, due to States’ shared obligation to allow disembarkation of seaborne refugees and uncertainties over ill-defined essential concepts and responsibilities, States enjoy much discretion to securitize maritime migration. It frustrates search and rescue (SAR). A successful way to reestablish the integrity and effectiveness of the SAR regime is to create an effective and foreseeable relocation mechanism. Finally, this article’s critical analysis of the Malta declaration—which failed to resolve the stalemate in the central Mediterranean—provides for valuable lessons towards a new system of responsibility-sharing in Europe.

scholarly journals The Legal Status of Archipelagos in the International Law of the Sea

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. p189
Author(s):  
Maher Gamil Aboukhewat
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
The Other ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
Marine Areas ◽  
New System

The archipelagic States, which attempt to extend their control over the waters surrounding their islands, are demanding the establishment of a legal system for archipelagos in order to preserve their interests, their maritime wealth and their regional security. On the other hand, there are the great maritime States that hold on to the freedom of the sea and international navigation.The problems raised by the islands constituting the archipelago did not stand at the end of sovereignty disputes and their right to their own maritime areas, but many other problems were associated with the presence of archipelagic islands. The measurement of marine areas of archipelagic islands requires a description of how the baselines from which these areas are measured are to be drawn. Also, the measurement of marine areas of the islands of individual problems is different from those raised by the presence of the islands in the form of an archipelago. Drawing baselines also varies according to the archipelagic islands site, and whether they are located in front of the coast regions or at the entrances to the bays in these coasts, or were located in the sea or ocean.These problems remained subject to international controversy and tension until a new system of archipelagic State was adopted under Part IV of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982, which represents a very important renewal of the international law of the sea.

scholarly journals EU Search and Rescue Activities in the Mediterranean

European View ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18
Author(s):  
Lena Düpont
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
International Law ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Eu

This article focuses on the EU’s search and rescue activities in the Mediterranean, the location of some of the world’s deadliest migration routes. It argues that saving lives at sea is not an act of grace, nor of simple solidarity with those at risk. Rather, it is first and foremost a legal obligation under international law. Understanding this fact is essential when engaging in the underlying and frequently misleading debate on our humanitarian obligation to render assistance to people in distress at sea. The article also makes the point that the EU must clearly distinguish between economic migrants and refugees in need of humanitarian protection, and prioritise dedicating its resources to those genuinely in need of safeguarding. Legal pathways and humanitarian corridors can only be set up for refugees.

scholarly journals Current and Prospective Roles of the Arctic Council System within the Context of the Law of the Sea

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.J. Molenaar
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Institutional Structure ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
The Law ◽  
Maritime Search And Rescue

Abstract This article examines the current and prospective roles of the Arctic Council System (ACS) within the context of the (international) law of the sea. Its first part focuses on the role of regional cooperation under the law of sea, with special attention to the way in which the pacta tertiis principle has shaped some regional regimes. The second part examines current features of the Arctic Council, including its mandate and main approaches, participation and institutional structure. The new concept of the ACS is offered to clarify the connection between the Arctic Council and the 2011 Agreement on Cooperation in Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic and future legally binding instruments negotiated under the Council’s auspices, but not adopted by it. The article concludes with a synthesis of the current and prospective roles of the ACS under the law of the sea.

scholarly journals Health conditions of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers on search and rescue vessels on the central Mediterranean Sea, 2016–2019: a retrospective analysis

BMJ Open ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. e053661
Author(s):  
Elburg van Boetzelaer ◽  
Adolphe Fotso ◽  
Ilina Angelova ◽  
Geke Huisman ◽  
Trygve Thorson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Female Population ◽  
Acute Injuries ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

ObjectivesThis study will contribute to the systematic epidemiological description of morbidities among migrants, refugees and asylum seekers when crossing the Mediterranean Sea.SettingSince 2015, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) has conducted search and rescue activities on the Mediterranean Sea to save lives, provide medical services, to witness and to speak out.ParticipantsBetween November 2016 and December 2019, MSF rescued 22 966 migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.Primary and secondary outcome measuresWe conducted retrospective data analysis of data collected between January 2016 and December 2019 as part of routine monitoring of the MSF’s healthcare services for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers on two search and rescue vessels.ResultsMSF conducted 12 438 outpatient consultations and 853 sexual and reproductive health consultations (24.9% of female population, 853/3420) and documented 287 consultations for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The most frequently diagnosed health conditions among children aged 5 years or older and adults were skin conditions (30.6%, 5475/17 869), motion sickness (28.6%, 5116/17 869), headache (15.4%, 2 748/17 869) and acute injuries (5.7%, 1013/17 869). Of acute injuries, 44.7% were non-violence-related injuries (453/1013), 30.1% were fuel burns (297/1013) and 25.4% were violence-related injuries (257/1013).ConclusionThe limited testing and diagnostics capacity of the outpatient department, space limitations, stigma and the generally short length of stay of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers on the ships have likely led to an underestimation of morbidities, including mental health conditions and SGBV. The main diagnoses on board were directly related to journey on land and sea and stay in Libya. We conclude that this population may be relatively young and healthy but displays significant journey-related illnesses and includes migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who have suffered significant violence during their transit and need urgent access to essential services and protection in a place of safety on land.

scholarly journals Criminalizing solidarity: Search and rescue in a neo-colonial sea

2021 ◽  
pp. 239965442097931
Author(s):  
Ċetta Mainwaring ◽  
Daniela DeBono
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Legal Geographies ◽  
Central Mediterranean Sea ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Trade And Exchange

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rescued over 110,000 people in the Central Mediterranean Sea between 2015 and 2017. From 2017, EU member states and agencies increasingly criminalized these organizations, accusing them of ‘colluding with smugglers’ and acting as a pull factor. In this climate, as Italy, Malta and the EU increased cooperation with Libya to stop people from taking to the seas, many suspended their operations. This article explores the search and rescue efforts of NGOs in the Central Mediterranean Sea between 2014 and 2018. We examine the criminalization of this NGO activity and argue that it is made possible through an oscillating neo-colonial imagination of the sea as mare nostrum and mare nullius, our sea and nobody’s sea, respectively. We build on the work of other scholars who have pointed to the activation of the Mediterranean as ‘empty’ in response to migration flows, erasing the historical connections of colonialism, empire, trade, and exchange in the Mediterranean as well as the contemporary legal geographies that govern the space. Here, we go further to develop the idea of a neo-colonial sea, which is alternately imagined as empty and ‘European’. We explore how NGOs disrupt these depictions, as well as the disappearing figures of the migrant and refugee amidst the contestations between NGOs and states.

Post-rescue Innocent Passage by Non-governmental Search and Rescue Vessels in the Mediterranean

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 740-771
Author(s):  
Valentin J. Schatz ◽  
Marco Fantinato
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Italian Legislation

Abstract This article analyses the conformity of Italian legislation adopted in 2019 – and its implementation – with the regime of innocent passage in the territorial sea under Part II of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea with respect to civil rescue vessels returning from rescue operations with rescued persons on board. It first gives a brief overview over the international legal regime applicable to search and rescue (SAR) operations. Next, the article introduces Italian legislation adopted in 2019, which establishes a legal basis for administrative orders prohibiting ships the entry into, transit through, and stopping in Italy’s territorial sea. In a third step, the article shows how the new Italian legislation has so far been implemented vis-à-vis SAR vessels of non-governmental organizations in post-rescue situations. This is followed by an analysis of the conformity of the Italian legislation and its implementation with the regime of innocent passage.

scholarly journals The Appeal of Civil Disobedience in the Central Mediterranean

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-61
Author(s):  
Klaus Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
First Century ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Public Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Nation States ◽  
The Mediterranean

The European responses to irregularised migrants in the second decade of the twenty-first century have been qualitatively new not so much because of the often-celebrated cultures of hospitality in countries such as Germany and Sweden, but because of acts of solidarity that have challenged the prerogative of nation-states to control access to their territory. I discuss elements of the public response in Germany to the criminalisation of one such act, the search and rescue (SAR) operation of the Sea-Watch 3 in the Central Mediterranean in June 2019, which led to the arrest of the ship’s captain, Carola Rackete, by Italian authorities. I argue that while the response to Rackete’s arrest was unprecedented, it built upon a year-long campaign in support of private SAR missions in the Mediterranean, which drew on the discourse of rights and was therefore not reliant on a short-term outpouring of compassion. Rackete’s supporters have also been energised by alternative visions of Europe, and by the vitriol reserved for her by followers of the populist far right.

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