EU watchdog calls on bloc to prevent losses of migrant lives at sea

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – The EU human rights watchdog on Thursday urged the bloc to prevent more loss of life at sea following last month’s sinking of a boat off Greece, with hundreds or irregular migrants likely drowned.

In its report following the June 14 sinking of an “unseaworthy and overcrowded fishing boat” in the Mediterranean, Michael O’Flaherty, director of the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), called the “drownings of so many migrants” a “cause of deep shame for Europe.”

The agency also said that last year on average eight migrants lost their lives per day at sea on their way to Europe and that in the first quarter of 2023, the number of fatalities at sea was the highest since 2017.

The report advised EU member states “to improve search and rescue efforts and provide legal pathways to safety to prevent deaths at sea.”

Among other steps, the agency said EU countries should “ensure prompt and independent investigation of all shipwrecks” and apply “transparency and accountability rules.”

It also urged improving search and rescue operations and providing better protection for survivors.

The rights watchdog also suggested the EU set up an “independent border monitoring mechanism.”

After the sinking, 104 people were rescued and 82 bodies were found but, according to the survivors’ testimonies, the vessel was carrying over 750 migrants, mainly from Pakistan, Egypt and Syria.

According to human rights watchdogs, the Greek Coast Guard might have ignored SOS signals from the boat, while some survivors accused Greek authorities of triggering the accident by trying to tow the boat into Italian territorial waters.