Since 2014, nearly 25,000 people have gone missing in the Mediterranean. It is one of the most deadly migration routes in the world. Many of these migrants and refugees have already risked dangerous journeys across harsh terrains and conflict zones rife with traffickers on their way to the sea, from their home countries in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. When they reach the coast, they are crowded onto small inflatable rafts or rickety wooden boats that are ill-equipped to handle the mercurial sea.

That's where rescue ships come in. Run by humanitarian organizations, rescue ships patrol international waters for signs of travelers in distress or on sinking boats. The delicate rescue operations are a race against time and the Libyan Coast Guard, which is supported by European Union funding to capture migrants and detain them before they can reach Europe's shore.

We hear about this human cost of this ongoing crisis from Jenelle Eli, emergency responder for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies who served on the Ocean Viking rescue ship in 2021, and Bill Frelick, Director of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Division at Human Rights Watch.