Switzerland - IOM, UNHCR in coordination with the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL) are this week (7-9 March) holding a workshop on Rescue of Refugees and Migrants in the Mediterranean: Practitioners’ Perspectives from on IIHL’s premises in San Remo, Italy.

The workshop has brought together over 30 experts from Egypt, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, the UK, UN OLA, EUNAVFOR MED, FRONTEX, the International Chamber of Shipping, International Maritime Rescue Federation, MOAS, MFS, Norwegian Shipowners’ Association and Sea Watch Project.

Participants at the workshop are discussing their best practices and identifying gaps, challenges, and lessons learned on search and rescue and disembarkation practices.

This knowledge and experience can then be shared with other regions, such as in the Bay of Bengal/Andaman Sea and Gulf of Aden/Red Sea regions where search and rescue operations are at a much more nascent stage. With generous funding from the UK Government’s DFID, IOM will hold subsequent workshops in these regions. 

As co-funders and partners in this event, IOM and UNHCR opened the workshop providing their views on the situation with a shared objective - to save lives. IOM highlighted its Response Plan for the Mediterranean and Beyond emphasizing that search and rescue falls under the Plan’s core pillar of protecting migrant rights.

In working together with UNHCR and other stakeholders, IOM further mentioned the success of the Prasedium project, which is now considered best practice.

The workshop will delve into the four main phases of search and rescue operations of coast-watching, preparedness and coordination; rescue and first response; non-refoulement and delivery to a place of safety; and disembarkation and first-reception arrangements.

The end objective is for the practitioners to identify the key lessons learned and come up with ways forward to strengthen coordination on this arduous, but most imperative responsibility of saving lives.

IOM is represented by the International Partnerships Division at Headquarters in Geneva along with IOM Turkey and IOM Tunisia.

For further information please contact Rachel Velasco at Email: rvelasco@iom.int