The EU risks becoming “complicit” in migrant deaths because of failings in Frontex’s search and rescue operations, European ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has said.
Last July, the European Union watchdog, which looks into alleged mismanagement by EU bodies, launched an independent investigation into the actions of Frontex, the bloc’s border agency, after hundreds of people died in the wreck of the Adriana ship off the coast of Greece the previous month.
The enquiry was published yesterday, saying Frontex’s role in search and rescue operations showed that current rules prevented the agency from fulfilling its obligations to protect fundamental rights and was too reliant on member states to act when boats carrying migrants were in distress.
According to O’Reilly, there is an “apparent contradiction between Frontex’s obligations to respect fundamental human rights and its duty to support member states in border control”.
The sinking of the migrant vessel made international headlines because of its scale, but the tragedy was not unique to the Mediterranean Sea, which is the world’s deadliest migration route.
Up to 750 people were on board the overcrowded fishing trawler Adriana, who had been picked up in Libya and were trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Around 100 of them were rescued, but it is thought that around 600 drowned.
After the sinking of the ship, The New York Times reported that the Greek Coast Guard waited several hours before responding to a distress call.
Yesterday’s report said Frontex had offered to help Greek authorities with aerial surveillance of the Adriana four times but had received no response, according to documents reviewed during the investigation. According to the ombudsman, current regulations mean that Frontex was not authorised to visit the location of the Adriana vessel at critical times without authorisation from the Greek authorities.
Frontex representatives were therefore only at the Adriana wreck site twice – once by aeroplane two hours after Italian authorities first reported the Adriana wreck, and then 18 hours later by drone when the vessel had already sunk.
The investigation also found that Frontex had no internal guidance on the use of distress signals (e.g. Mayday signals) and that there was insufficient involvement of Frontex’s fundamental rights monitors in maritime emergency decision-making. O’Reilly said:
We must ask ourselves why a boat so obviously in need of help never received that help despite an EU agency, two member states’ authorities, civil society, and private ships knowing of its existence.
She questioned why reports of “overcrowding on the ship, a distinct lack of life jackets, children on board and possible fatalities did not lead to timely rescue operations that could have saved hundreds of lives.” O’Reilly added:
The Frontex organisation has the phrase “coastguard” in its name, but its current mandate and mission clearly do not match this. If Frontex has a duty to help save lives at sea, but lacks the tools to do so, then this is clearly an issue for EU lawmakers.
O’Reilly noted that there was an “apparent contradiction between Frontex’s obligations to respect fundamental rights and its duty to support member states in border control.” She said:
Cooperating with national authorities when there are concerns about them fulfilling their search and rescue obligations risks making the EU complicit in actions that violate fundamental rights and cost lives.
Greek authorities separately launched two investigations into the incident. However, in December, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch published a joint report stating that the investigations “failed to make meaningful progress”.
The ombudsman also drew conclusions about wider systemic problems beyond the Frontex investigation and proposals.
She noted that while the Greek Ombudsman is investigating the Greek Coast Guard, there is no single accountability mechanism at EU level that can independently investigate the role of the Greek authorities, the role of Frontex and the role of the European Commission.
The Ombudsman called on the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the Commission to establish an independent commission of enquiry to assess the causes of the high number of deaths in the Mediterranean Sea and to draw lessons from the Adriana shipwreck. O’Reilly said:
Nearly eight months after the Adriana incident, no changes have been made to prevent such an incident from reoccurring.
