Sea rescue is not a crime – it is a duty

As sea rescuers are nevertheless criminalised, the Sea-Watch Legal Aid Fund was founded. It supports people who are being investigated against due to their commitment to sea rescue with financial means.

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Sea rescue in the central Mediterranean – Foto: Tim Wagner

Sea-Watch Legal Aid

Rescuing people in distress at sea is not only a humanitarian duty but also a duty under international law: According to Art. 98 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, masters of ships are obliged “to render assistance to any person found at sea in danger of being lost”.

Nevertheless, not only the activists of civil sea rescue NGOs but also the crews of commercial ships and private vessels are increasingly affected by the criminalisation of sea rescue by the European Union and its Member States. The criminal proceedings faced by many people are not only lengthy, but also costly, and serve a policy of deterrence: commercial and private vessels are increasingly reluctant to rescue people in distress, while the additional risks and challenges further complicate the work of activist sea rescue.

Despite or even because of the escalating political situation, the protection of individuals and groups in connection with the activities, demands and objectives of sea rescue is essential. The aim of the Sea-Watch Legal Aid Fund is to support people in protecting and enforcing their rights in the field of sea rescue. This is to ensure that the humanitarian and international legal obligation of sea rescue continues to be fulfilled in the future.

Sea-Watch Legal Aid Fund Blog Series

Welcome to the Sea-Watch Legal Aid Fund blog series! In these posts, we hope to showcase insights from researchers, practitioners and activists on judicial proceedings carried out in connection to sea rescue and the assistance given towards those on the move.

The Administrative Repression of Search and Rescue: a History

Beyond the criminalisation of civil rescue, states have relied for decades on administrative means of suppressing solidarity at sea. These attempts to restrict rescue operations are couched in technical, bureaucratic language but serve a political end: to limit the movement of people seeking safety.

No Money for Frontex

The EU border agency Frontex wants to obscure its dubious work. But with transparency activism, the public can shine a light on human rights violations at the EU's borders.

"We Can No Longer Hire You"

Crewing agencies in the shipping business are a common route for seafarers to find a job around the world. But what happens when you are refused work by a crewing agency based on your previous work in search and rescue?

Campaigning from Samos: a call for Frontex to abide by law and trigger Article 46

Frontex is not fulfilling its obligation to monitor and report possible human rights violations in its area of operation. As a coalition of 7 Samos-based organisations, we have gathered evidence of this and call on Frontex to comply with EU law and leave Samos and wider Greece.

Fighting the Detention of Asylum-Seeking Minors in Greece

The Legal Centre Lesvos describes its legal battle to support Μ.Μ., a seventeen year old Afghan teenager, who arrived by boat to Northern Greece in March 2022 in order to seek asylum.

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