SOS Méditerranée

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SOS Méditerranée (proper spelling SOS MEDITERRANEE) is a sea ​​rescue organization founded in May 2015, exclusively financed by donations, based in Marseille .

founding

The organization was founded in response to the discontinuation of the state-organized Italian sea rescue operation Mare Nostrum . The founders are Klaus Vogel , a German captain active in international merchant shipping, and Sophie Beau, a French human rights activist. In Berlin, SOS Méditerranée is registered as a non-profit association and has an office.

Sea rescue operations

The sea rescue operations were initially started in cooperation with the organization Doctors of the World . They have been continued since April 2016 together with the organization Doctors Without Borders . According to the company, more than 28,000 refugees have been taken in by the Aquarius since the operation began. Most of the refugees were rescued by the Aquarius using its dinghies from inflatables that were used by tugs in Libya and were unseaworthy.

The Aquarius also took over refugees from other private sea rescue vessels, from merchant ships and from naval vessels. The rescue operations are coordinated by the Italian national sea rescue control center MRCC Rome , which always determines the ports in which the rescued may disembark.

The rescued would be brought ashore according to the instructions of the MRCC. SOS Méditerranée explains, referring to systematic human rights violations in Libya, where refugees are exposed to slavery, rape, torture and imprisonment: “The international law of the sea states that people in distress must not only be rescued but also brought to a 'safe place' “( International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), Chapter 5, Rule 33). It must therefore be guaranteed that people receive food, shelter and medical care and that there is no risk of further persecution. According to the activists, these criteria do not apply to the North African coastal states - especially Libya.

On her 2019 assignment with the Ocean Viking , Sam Turner, head of MSF's Mediterranean operation, said they were going to the Mediterranean to save lives. MSF is aligning its aid to humanitarian principles and will therefore continue to save people from drowning. Turner went on to claim that international law requires people to be moved to a safe place where they can access an asylum procedure.

Rescue ship Aquarius

In February 2016, SOS Méditerranée chartered the survey ship Aquarius, which is sailing under the flag of Gibraltar . SOS Méditerranée uses the former fisheries protection ship of the German coast guard in the Mediterranean between Libya and Italy to rescue refugees from distress at sea. In December 2018, the organization announced that it would end the operation of the Aquarius because the political pressure was too great. It lamented a "high point in the criminalization of humanitarian aid at sea." By then, the Aquarius had rescued around 30,000 migrants at sea.

Rescue ship Ocean Viking

In 2019, the activists from SOS Méditerranée and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) jointly chartered the Ocean Viking , a Norwegian offshore utility built in 1986 . The ship is operated by nine crew members. 200 people can be accommodated, 13 SOS Méditerranée activists are responsible for the seafaring part of the rescue, while nine MSF activists are to ensure medical care.

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ FAQ SOS Méditerranée , SOS Méditerranée.
  2. ^ SOS Méditerranée office in Berlin , SOS Méditerranée.
  3. ↑ 3 years SOS MEDITERRANEE e. V. - Contribution by the captain and founder Dr. Klaus Vogel , SOS Méditerranée, May 9, 2018.
  4. ^ A Perfect Storm. The Failure of European Policies in the Central Mediterranean , Amnesty International, 2017 (PDF, 728 kB).
  5. ^ Libya - Events of 2016 , Human Rights Watch.
  6. ↑ a b "Doctors Without Borders and SOS Mediterranee resume sea rescue - the crisis in Libya and the Mediterranean has intensified" Doctors Without Borders from July 21, 2019
  7. ↑ Maik Trettin: "Aquarius" starts the rescue mission , Ostsee-Zeitung, December 11, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Aquarius" saved over 10,000 people from the Mediterranean , Ostsee-Zeitung, January 4, 2017.
  9. ↑ SPIEGEL ONLINE: "Aquarius" ends its mission in the Mediterranean. December 7, 2018, accessed December 7, 2018 .
  10. ↑ "SOS MEDITERRANEE receives Schwarzkopf Europe Prize for rescue operation in the Mediterranean" November 14, 2016
  11. ↑ European Citizens' Prize 2016 , accessed on May 13, 2019.
  12. ↑ SOS MEDITERRANEE receives German-French Media Prize 2017 . Euronews, March 17, 2017, accessed June 13, 2018.