International obligations of Council of Europe member States to protect life at sea
Recommendation 2137
(2018)
Author(s):
Parliamentary Assembly
Origin
Assembly
debate on 27 June 2018 (24th Sitting) (see Doc. 14586, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and
Displaced Persons, rapporteur: Ms Petra De Sutter). Text adopted by the Assembly on
27 June 2018 (24th Sitting).
1. Recalling its Resolution 2229 (2018) “International
obligations of Council of Europe member States to protect life at
sea”, the Parliamentary Assembly recommends that the Committee of
Ministers:
1.1 develop guidelines
for member States on the protection of human life at sea through
search and rescue operations, in accordance with the obligations
arising from the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5)
and other international legal texts;
1.2 pay particular attention to the risks incurred by those
at sea, especially women and children, of falling prey to smugglers
and traffickers, and ensure that they enjoy protection under, in
particular, the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking
in Human Beings (CETS No. 197);
1.3 hold a thematic debate on European policies for the protection
of life at sea, the right to enter a foreign port in circumstances
of distress and the right to apply for refugee status.