Sea-Eye calls for immediate actions in the Mediterranean – More than 1,500 children have drowned in the Mediterranean since 2018.

20th November 2024 marks the 35th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. But the agreement, which aims to ensure the protection and rights of children worldwide, stands in stark contrast to the reality at Europe’s borders: according to UNICEF, more than 1,500 children have drowned on the world’s deadliest escape route since 2018 – in 2023 alone, around 300 children lost their lives in the Mediterranean in search of protection.

“It is unacceptable that children continue to lose their lives in the Mediterranean when all EU Member States have committed to protecting the lives and rights of every child by signing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This commitment must not remain an empty declaration. We must act to end the deaths at Europe’s borders and protect children on the move,” says Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e.V.

According to the German Children’s Fund (Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is considered the most important human rights instrument for children and is the convention that has been signed by the most countries to date. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20th November 1989 and entered into force on 2nd September 1990. It has been in force in Germany since 1992.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, more than 117 million people were displaced worldwide by the end of 2023. About 40 percent of them are minors. Sea-Eye has saved more than 18,000 people from drowning since 2016 – many of them children and young people. As part of a campaign to mark the 35th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the organisation is raising awareness of the plight of refugee children.

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Italian coast guard evacuated emergency medical patient

At noon on Thursday, November 7, 2024, the all-weather lifeboat SEA-EYE 5 brought a total of 78 survivors from two separate distress cases at sea that had occurred off Lampedusa to safety in Pozzallo, Sicily.

Sea-Eye’s head of mission had previously tried to be granted permission to use a nearby port from Tuesday onwards, whereupon the Italian coastguard assigned Ortona, although it already knew from a distress case last week that the Sea-Eye all-weather lifeboat would not be able to cover such a long distance for technical reasons. In addition, it is not reasonable for the survivors to remain on the SEA-EYE 5 for more than 24 hours for humanitarian reasons. It was only on Wednesday evening that the Italian coastguard finally named Pozzallo as the port of disembarkation.

“It is simply impressive to see this former DGzRS ship in action in the Mediterranean. The ship and crew have done an outstanding job over the past two weeks, saving a total of 175 lives. The former NIS RANDERS will save many more lives,” says Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e.V.

“In addition to various minor injuries, one patient with a serious chronic medical condition had to be treated on board. Another patient was suffering from a rapidly developing wound infection. He eventually became so unwell that the Italian coastguard had to evacuate him. After I had spent some time with the refugees and built up trust, they told me about the violence, torture and inhumane living conditions they had experienced in Libya,” said Tamsin Drew, a doctor from German Doctors, describing the medical situation.

The crew of the SEA-EYE 5 rescued 110 people off Lampedusa in three operations on Tuesday and Wednesday. 31 people from the third rescue operation were taken over by the Italian coastguard off Lampedusa on Wednesday. In addition, another person was evacuated from the ship by the Italian coastguard for medical reasons. There have been several distress cases off the Mediterranean island since Tuesday morning.