Search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean and fundamental rights - June 2025 update | European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights regularly collects data on the operations of NGO vessels involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean. This includes any legal proceedings against them, as well as any difficulties in disembarking migrants in safe ports. This paper provides an overview of criminal investigations and other legal proceedings initiated by European Union (EU) Member States against civil society organisations deploying search and rescue vessels and aircraft in the Mediterranean and/or against individual crew members. The latest update covers the period from 2018 up until 1 June 2025.
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The International Organization for Migration has estimated that from 2014 to the end of May 2025, over 32 000 people died or went missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. These individuals sought to escape war or persecution or to pursue a better life.
In 2023, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) identified six areas for action to tackle the increasing death toll at sea, after an unseaworthy and overcrowded fishing boat capsized some 50 miles off the coast of the Peloponnese, resulting in over 600 casualties. These range from effective investigations of all shipwreck accidents to better protection for shipwreck survivors, more legal pathways to the European Union (EU) and improved search and rescue (SAR) at sea. See the FRA report, Preventing and responding to deaths at sea – What the European Union can do, published in July 2023 for more information.
SAR capabilities at sea remain inadequate, as most recently reported in FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2025. In the central Mediterranean, by engaging in SAR operations at sea, civil-society organisations play a key role in saving lives. These organisations do not deploy assets in other parts of the Mediterranean. In Greece, following a law adopted in 2021, civil-society organisations providing services in maritime areas of responsibility of the Hellenic Coast Guard may only act after the coast guard’s prior authorisation. Otherwise, they risk penalties, including fines and imprisonment.
Since 2018, some national authorities have begun administrative and criminal proceedings against crew members or vessels involved in SAR operations at sea – see FRA’s 2018 note, Fundamental rights considerations – NGO ships involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean and criminal investigations. Since then, yearly FRA updates provide an overview of criminal investigations and other legal proceedings initiated by EU Member States against civil-society organisations deploying SAR vessels and aircraft in the Mediterranean and/or against individual crew members (regular updates are available at Search and rescue| European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights).
This update reports on the situation as of 1 June 2025. It aims to contribute to discussions, in various EU settings, on how to tackle two unresolved fundamental rights issues.
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The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights regularly collects data on the operations of NGO vessels involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean. This includes any legal proceedings against them, as well as any difficulties in disembarking migrants in safe ports. This paper provides an overview of criminal investigations and other legal proceedings initiated by European Union (EU) Member States against civil society organisations deploying search and rescue vessels and aircraft in the Mediterranean and/or against individual crew members. The latest update covers the period from 2018 up until the end of May 2024.
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The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) regularly collects data on the operations of NGO vessels involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean. This includes any legal proceedings against them, as well as on any difficulties in disembarking migrants in safe ports. The International Organization for Migration estimates that from January to 15 June 2022 about 842 people died or went missing while crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe to escape war or persecution, or to pursue a better life. This is an average of five people per day.
This FRA report examines the conditions at Europe’s southern sea borders with respect to the most fundamental rights of a person, the right to life and the right not to be sent back to torture, persecution or inhuman treatment. It looks at sea border surveillance and disembarkation procedures, as well as training and Frontex-coordinated operations. It examines practices across the EU Member States researched – Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain.
