26/06/2025 Session
PACE today called on member states to fully comply with the instruments of international humanitarian law, maritime law and those relating to the protection of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Recalling the obligation to protect the right to life – as set out in the European Convention on Human Rights – the Parliamentary Assembly urged member states “to share responsibility for safety and protection of life in European waters” and “to assist coastal member states in search-and-rescue operations”.
To this end, PACE called on states to further strengthen the financial and material capacities of the coast guard authorities, particularly in the regions covering Greece’s Aegean, Spain’s Canary and Italy’s Sicily islands. Furthermore, it recommended re-evaluating their co-operation with Libyan and Tunisian coast guard authorities, given reports describing violations of human rights.
The resolution adopted by PACE, based on the report by Paulo Pisco (Portugal, SOC), recommends “re-establishing large-scale European search and rescue operations” and “recognising European waters as maritime humanitarian spaces to be regarded as sanctuaries in the name of humanity”.
PACE also called on member states to take measures to address migrant smuggling, to prohibit pushbacks and collective expulsions, and to monitor swiftly and independently all cases of human rights violations at sea and violations of the international maritime law, including allegations of pushbacks. Member states should also allow humanitarian civil society organisations to operate complementarily to public actors without introducing legal and administrative obstacles, according to the parliamentarians.
Finally, the adopted resolution underlines the need to “establish safe legal pathways for migrants in need of international protection”.