TIM eMagazine Vol.1 Issue 3
The United Nations Security clear affirmation of the necessity to put
an end to the recent proliferation of, and endangerment of lives by, the
smuggling of migrants and trafficking of persons in the Mediterranean Sea
and the strong measures advocated to address these criminal activities.
organized criminal enterprises for migrant smuggling
or human trafficking from Libya, including inflatable
boats, rafts and dinghies. Since the current migrant
crisis in the Mediterranean started in early 2014, Mr.
Sekimizu has consistently called for concerted action to
be taken to tackle people smugglers.
Echoing his recent statement to the side event on
migration, held on 30 September 2015 and
convened by the United Nations Secretary-General
during the High-Level segment of the
70th Session of the United Nations General
Assembly, Mr. Sekimizu stated: “As the United Nations
specialized agency with the remit for safety of life at sea,
IMO closely monitors the global crisis involving the
unsafe transport of mixed migrants by sea and strongly
condemns the criminals involved in people smuggling
- sending completely unseaworthy ships to sea without
the slightest
consideration for the safety of those onboard.
This disregard for even the most basic of the safety
regulations embodied in the IMO regulatory regime
has resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent
people. As any experienced mariner knows, even in
calm weather, the sea is a dangerous place, and the
risk of death and injury can only be properly mitigated
through adherence to IMO standards. These grossly
overloaded, unfit, unsafe vessels should never take to
sea at all and should be stopped before they leave port.”
IMO has been addressing the issue of unsafe mixed
migration by sea and the international maritime search
and rescue (SAR) system in various fora, including
the high-level inter-agency meeting hosted at IMO in
March, and during IMO’s Legal and Maritime Safety
Committees and the IMO Council. IMO also hosted a
recent informal meeting to review the legal framework
for the rescue of mixed migrants at sea.
Mr. Sekimizu added, “There is a clear recognition
among IMO Member States that using the SAR system
to respond to mass mixed migration was neither
foreseen nor intended, and that although Governments
and the merchant shipping industry will continue
rescue operations, safe, legal, alternative pathways to
migration must be developed, including safe, organized
migration by sea, if necessary”.
The need for a sustainable solution to the problem
of migrants being placed in distress in hope of rescue,
to include a response which does not focus solely on
the existing search and rescue system, was the topic of
a letter from the International Chamber of Shipping
(ICS) to IMO, which IMO Secretary-General Sekimizu
forwarded to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations prior to the 30 September side event on
migration at the United Nations in New York.
IMO closely monitors the global crisis involving the unsafe transport of
mixed migrants by sea and strongly condemns the criminals involved in
people smuggling—sending completely unseaworthy ships to sea without
the slightest consideration for the safety of those onboard.
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