Geneva – The death and disappearance of dozens of migrants and asylum seekers after their boat capsized off the Libyan coast is deeply concerning. This recurring tragedy highlights the significant suffering faced by those fleeing persecution, conflict, and poverty due to border restrictions and the lack of safe pathways for asylum or migration.
This situation occurs as restrictions on civilian rescue operations tighten and humanitarian solidarity is criminalised, putting people at sea at greater risk of drowning without adequate protection.
An inflatable boat carrying around 55 migrants from African countries left the shores of Zawiya, a city in western Libya, on the evening of Thursday, 5 February. The boat travelled for approximately six hours before water started to leak in, causing it to capsize off Zuwara's coast. During the Libyan search-and-rescue efforts, only two survivors were recovered, while 53 others, including two infants, are still missing and presumed dead, based on initial reports from authorities and local sources.
The frequent shipwrecks along the Mediterranean coast highlight a significant failure in providing adequate protection through current safety and rescue systems
The frequent shipwrecks along the Mediterranean coast highlight a significant failure in providing adequate protection through current safety and rescue systems. More migrants and asylum seekers are risking their lives on unseaworthy vessels under dangerous conditions, yet little has been done to tackle the root structural issues that largely contribute to these recurring tragedies.
Data from the Missing Migrants Project by the International Organisation for Migration shows that in 2025, the Western, Central, and Eastern Mediterranean migration and asylum routes accounted for 1,873 migrant and asylum seeker deaths and disappearances. Additionally, from the start of 2026 until 5 February, about 524 people have been reported as missing or dead.
These figures indicate an increase in human losses this year, driven by limited official search and rescue efforts, greater restrictions on humanitarian activities at sea, and stricter migration and asylum policies.
This incident is linked to the wider European policies that facilitate militarised migration governance in the Mediterranean and restrict humanitarian work. These policies involve limiting rescue activities by NGOs, criminalising acts of solidarity, and backing coast guards in dangerous transit countries like Libya. This support enables intercepting migrants and forcibly sending them back to detention centres, which often violate basic humanitarian standards and are known for serious documented abuses.
Many shipwreck incidents should not be seen solely as accidents or inevitable events. Instead, they happen within a broader context of risks created by deterrence and prevention policies. These incidents are sometimes worsened by interception and pursuit practices at sea, which can increase the chance of drowning.
In this context, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor recalls an incident on 3 February off the Greek island of Chios, where at least 15 migrants and asylum seekers were killed, 26 others injured, and an unknown number remain missing.
In that incident, the Hellenic Coast Guard reported that the migrants' boat sailed without lights, ignored warnings from a patrol vessel to stop, and abruptly changed course as the patrol vessel approached, causing a collision and capsizing the migrant boat. However, survivors claimed that their inflatable boat did not change course, that they received no warnings from the Coast Guard, and that they saw the patrol vessel only when it activated its lights shortly before impact.
Euro-Med Monitor suggests there are valid reasons to doubt the Hellenic Coast Guard's explanation, given its inconsistency with survivors' testimonies and repeated documented cases of excessive force and violent pushbacks at sea. This underscores the need for an independent, transparent investigation to uncover the facts and determine responsibilities.
The increase in shipwrecks and violent pushbacks in the Mediterranean is connected to recent EU legislative and policy changes. These include expanding the "safe third country" concept and adopting unified lists of countries considered "safe." Such policies might limit thorough review of protection claims, weaken the principle of individual assessment, and increase the likelihood of asylum seekers being sent to countries lacking adequate protection or without a legitimate link to justify their reception.
These new measures conflict significantly with international legal obligations, especially the principle of non-refoulement and the rights to individual assessment and effective appeals in asylum processes. They exert added pressure on migrants and asylum seekers, increasing their vulnerability to risks such as being pushed onto more dangerous maritime routes and facing higher chances of being sent back to unsafe countries where they risk persecution or violence. Additionally, these measures could be exploited to justify violent pushbacks and forced returns, providing political cover for such actions.
The violent interception of migrants and asylum seekers in the Mediterranean, their forcible return to countries where they risk persecution, and the intentional abandonment of individuals to face drowning in deteriorated boats are clear breaches of international obligations. These include violations of the 1951 Geneva Convention, its 1967 Protocol, and the principle of non-refoulement, a rule binding under customary international law. Moreover, these actions oppose the protections offered by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, which safeguard the right to life and prohibit inhumane or degrading treatment.
The abandonment of people in distress at sea violates international maritime law, which mandates immediate aid. It also weakens European systems that ensure the right to fair asylum procedures and require individual, independent case assessments.
The continued militarisation of borders, obstruction of rescue vessels, and criminalisation of humanitarian solidarity with migrants not only constitute serious breaches of international law and refugee protection norms but also entail international legal responsibility for the foreseeable consequences of such policies, including preventable shipwreck incidents.
The European Union should urgently perform a thorough review of recent legislation, especially laws concerning the "safe third country" concept and the classification of 'safe' countries of origin. It is crucial to establish legitimate and secure legal pathways as viable alternatives to prevent asylum seekers from risking deadly sea journeys and to ensure that states adhere to the principle of non-refoulement.
Furthermore, Mediterranean countries need to stop militarising borders and avoid consistently blocking rescue ships run by non-governmental organisations. Euro-Med Monitor emphasises that maritime authorities, particularly in Greece and Libya, must comply with international maritime law. This law clearly requires them to offer immediate aid and carry out efficient search and rescue efforts, rather than resorting to violent pushbacks and chasing tactics that cause fatal shipwrecks.
All concerned states should initiate official and effective search and rescue operations to help migrants and asylum seekers confronting ongoing dangers in the Mediterranean. They should also establish safe and legal routes for submitting asylum applications. These actions would help prevent individuals from risking their lives on unseaworthy boats and reinforce their rights to protection under international law.
European governments must immediately stop funding and supporting coast guards in transit countries like Libya, where detention centres fail to meet basic humanitarian standards and are sites of serious, documented violations. Euro-Med Monitor stresses that ongoing support could make European states legally complicit in practices such as forced returns and torture, which migrants endure after interception and forced repatriation to unsafe countries.
An independent, transparent international investigation must be launched into shipwrecks involving migrants and asylum seekers, violent pushback, and interception operations in the Mediterranean. Euro-Med Monitor calls for identifying those responsible, including states that execute or fund forcible interception, to ensure accountability for violations and safeguard the human rights of migrants and asylum seekers.
