Preventing a repressive EU-directive

SEA-EYE 4

15 organisations call for an end to the criminalisation of flight and humanitarian aid

Together with 14 other organizations – including Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders and the German Refugee Councils – Sea-Eye is calling on the German government to finally put an end to the criminalization of forced migration. Shortly before the negotiations on the EU directive on the so-called facilitation of illegal entry as of October 2024, the appeal calls for the effective protection of migrants instead of fueling human trafficking.

Amidst an increasing erosion of the rule of law and human rights principles, the 15 civil society organizations are calling on the German government to advocate for an end to the criminalization of migrants and human rights defenders in the legislative process to revise the EU directive.

The appeal contains concrete demands, including:

  • The provision of legal certainty through a clear definition of so-called facilitation of illegal entry,
  • The decriminalization of people seeking protection and their families,
  • The implementation of a comprehensive exemption for humanitarian aid.

Instead of preventing human trafficking, the EU directive has so far been used in member states as an instrument to criminalize both migrants and their supporters. According to a study by the organization borderline-europe, people who allegedly steered their own boats are sentenced to an average of 46 years in prison in Greece. On average, proceedings last only 37 minutes, and only 17 minutes in proceedings with mandatory state lawyers. The current draft of the EU Commission repeats this misguided policy, which has been proven to fail time and time again: Only safe passages can end the dying at the external borders.

The open letter with the signatory organizations can be found here.

Further information on the EU directive and the upcoming negotiation process can be found here.

What remains: Four years after Moria

Refugee Camp Moria

On September 8th 2020, Europe’s largest refugee camp burned to the ground. Moria was already known for its overcrowded and disastrous conditions. Four years after the disaster, Sea-Eye is calling for real solutions and an asylum policy based on solidarity.

When the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos went up in flames four years ago, almost 13,000 people were left homeless in one fell swoop. The disaster was followed by widespread horror at the conditions in the overcrowded camp: ‘No more Morias’ was the EU’s message at the time.

But ‘many more Morias’ have now been decided. This year, with the passing of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the EU has enshrined in law what the camp stood for: The deprivation of rights and dehumanisation of people seeking protection – with the aim of deterrence. Moria may have burned down, but the underlying principle of exclusion and isolation continues to burn. The EU is fighting the flames with fire – fuelled by the far right.

We demand: Real solutions must finally emerge from the ashes of Moria – an asylum policy based on human rights and real solidarity! A Europe that does not cram children into segregated detention centres at its external borders. A Europe that does not pay authoritarian regimes to prevent people from fleeing Libyan refugee camps. A Europe that does not send people back to the open sea, to Turkey, Tunisia or Libya – and leave them to their fate in Libyan torture camps. This is what we stand for as part of European civil society!

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