Tragedy struck again in the Mediterranean on 14th June 2023 as up to 600 individuals are suspected to have lost their lives off the coast of Pylos, Greece.

The Greek Coastguard was alerted to the vessel’s presence at around 0800GMT on Tuesday, 13th June. It capsized later that evening, and exactly what happened in the intervening hours remains unclear, with disputed accounts of the Coastguard narrative from BBC and NGO investigations.

The current approach to policing the Mediterranean Sea, one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes, has proven ineffective, combined with a majority reliance on civil society search and rescue operations to rescue persons in distress.

The recent tragedy adds to the already staggering statistics, but it is essential to continue to note that the duty to rescue people in distress at sea without delay is a fundamental and well-established rule of International Maritime Law.

In March 2022, Human Rights at Sea launched the Geneva Declaration on Human Rights at Sea to define and defend the human rights of the global maritime population, including those crossing the world’s oceans and seas.

Given the challenging, often underregulated and unenforceable nature of the global maritime environment, protecting human rights at sea remains wholly inadequate as people continue to disappear, die, be assaulted and abused at sea.

As a consequence, Human Rights at Sea continues to advocate for State and UN adoption of the four fundamental principles of the Geneva Declaration:

1. Human rights at sea are universal; they apply at sea, as they do on land.

2. All persons at sea, without any distinction, are entitled to their human rights.

3. There are no maritime-specific reasons for denying human rights at sea.

4. All human rights established under both treaty and customary international law must be respected at sea.

Yesterday, on World Refugee Day, Human Rights at Sea, in collaboration with Sea-Watch, and over 180 human rights organisations and initiatives, demanded an end to systemic border violence. This included the positions that:

1. Both Greek and European governments and institutions ensure that full, thorough, and independent investigations into these events are conducted. It’s time for complete transparency about what happened and accountability of those responsible. This includes officials who were directly involved in the events through decision-making, as well as those political leaders who have been facilitating and perpetuating the hostile practices at the external borders for years. Access to justice for the victims and their loved ones must be ensured.

2. The Greek government immediately releases the Pylos shipwreck’s survivors from (semi-)closed facilities and instead provides them with dignified accommodation and any kind of support needed, such as independent legal counselling, psychological support, and the possibility to communicate with families and friends. Furthermore, we petition for the release of the 9 men arrested. We condemn the criminalisation of people on the move, blamed for illegalised entries and deaths at sea. These accusations are intended to exonerate responsible state actors.

3. All European member states at the external borders stop the weaponising of time by delaying rescue efforts. Furthermore, we demand independent investigations and conclusive measures by the European Commission against the systematic practice of pushbacks and non-assistance at sea and on land conducted by European member states – as widely demonstrated by organisations and activists in recent years.

4. The European Union and its member states provide safe and legal routes to Europe as the only solution to avoid further loss of life at sea. The CEAS reform, further eroding the right to asylum in the European Union, must not become law. Additionally, we demand the creation of a long overdue European state-led rescue program.

HRAS Comment

It is crucial to remember that these victims are not numbers but human beings. Men, women, and children who fled their native countries in desperation, often with direct threats to life, were travelling alongside people seeking to better their life prospects. It is, therefore, our responsibility to ensure their lives were not lost in vain.

It is time for States to come together and urgently address the known coordination gaps in the timely conduct of maritime search and rescue operations, provide assured access to disembarkation in safe ports, and commence the establishment of a network of safe pathways to support the movement of migrants and refugees. The criminalisation of search and rescue efforts must cease.

Human Rights at Sea stands in solidarity with all survivors and the families and friends of the deceased and expresses its deepest condolences.