“LET THEM DIE”

THE CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN ROUTE, MISSING MIGRANTS, AND THE CRISIS OF INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN MARITIME RESCUE

Resumo

This study undertakes a legal analysis of migrant disappearances along the deadliest route in the Mediterranean, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM): the Central Mediterranean Route, particularly the segment between Italy and Libya. It aims to delve into the profound state and supranational omissions by the European bloc regarding the duty to search for and rescue these large migrant groups at sea. Given the persistence of ineffective international accountability mechanisms and the emergence of the New Migration and Asylum Pact—focusing on condemnation and shared responsibility—this topic’s relevance becomes clear, as reports of human rights violations on this route continue to rise, as evidenced by data presented herein. To achieve the general objective of examining Italy’s and the European Union’s international legal obligations in the context of migrant disappearances on this route, specific aims will include analyzing the compatibility of Italy-Libya cooperation with international human rights and maritime law standards; reviewing relevant case law from the European Court of Human Rights, particularly Hirsi Jamaa v. Italy (2012) and S.S. v. Italy; identifying key obstacles to international accountability for omissions in the duty to rescue and related violations of the European Convention; and, finally, proposing international legal cooperation mechanisms aimed at preventing further deaths and ensuring dignified treatment of the families of the missing. I understand the primary research problem to be why, despite clear international norms on the duty to rescue at sea and their evolution—such as in the New Migration Pact—thousands of migrants continue to disappear between Libya and Italy without effective state accountability. This raises secondary issues, such as whether Italy-Libya cooperation (including European funding of the Libyan Coast Guard) violates international norms, and if so, what limits exist on state responsibility under the current European System. To answer this, the study will employ a qualitative methodology, adopting a critical approach through case study, documentary and literature review, supporting a doctrinal analysis. Laws and conventions on human rights in Italy and the European bloc—including the Migration Pact and the European Convention on Human Rights—maritime law, and refugee law will be examined. I initially hypothesize that the EU’s current policy of externalizing its borders, combined with the criminalization of rescue NGOs and the deliberate omission by coastal states like Italy, contributes to the systematic violation of migrants’ rights to life, integrity, and dignity. This, in my view, spreads a necropolitics over European maritime space. Consequently, this research points to the urgent need for a common European protocol for body identification, family notification, and transnational reparation. I conclude that partial state accountability has led to an international legal crisis which, I believe, can only be resolved through structural human rights-based responses grounded in solidarity.