In the last few days, Sea Watch rescued 129 human lives and the Ocean Viking was assigned a Place of Safety for the 247 rescues on board. But people are still dying in the attempt to cross the Mediterranean and reach Europe… Nonetheless, on the 21st-22nd February the Austrian government is organizing a conference hosting 23 countries to speed up the repatriation of illegal migrants, ensure stricter controls at the EU’s external border and to assist the Balkan countries in operationalizing repatriations and Frontex is promising assistance in Cyprus...

Both the Ocean Viking and Salvamento Maritimo rescued over 200 people in the last week: the first one in the Central Mediterranean and the second on the dangerous Atlantic route. However, there seems to be a new migration route across the Balkans: the one from Serbia to North Macedonia and then into Greece.

It's been 5 years since the Italy-Libya agreement: 5 years of EU-sponsored abuse in Libya and the central Mediterranean based on the Memorandum of Understanding on Migration. A similar Memorandum is expected to be signed in Cyprus, in order to control migrant movements with the assistance of EU bodies like EASO and Frontex. 

However, little is being done to protect the Rights and Lives of migrants around the world: the CommemorAction on the 6th of February was dedicated to the victims of Migration.

The Court of Agrigento shelved the investigation for the rescue of May 9, 2019 and acquitted the Commander of our ship MareJonio and the Head of Mission Beppe Caccia of all charges, found to be fulfilling their rescue duty, provided for by national and international law. 

Once again, it was stated that Libya cannot be considered a "place of safety"; thus, solutions are desperately needed and the voices of the refugees protesting peacefully (for over 3 months now) in front of the UNHCR in Tripoli must be heard.

715 people were saved in the last few days by 3 rescue vessels: our Mare Jonio, Banksy's Louise Michel and the GeoBarents (MSF).

Our ship has completed its 10th mission and will soon be ready to embark on a new one. 

On the other hand, the situation of the refugees at the Belarusian border, in Libya and in the Middle East is worsening day by day, due to the indifference and the externalization policies sustained by Europe.

The EU and UNHCR officials have announced that Latvia, Lithuania and Poland STILL use "pushbacks and other violations of human rights" at the borders to keep migrants out…  "Pushback" has actually been declared the Non-Word of the Year 2021 in Germany, which is trying to improve its migration policies, also by introducing a common European asylum system.

After 100 days of peaceful protests, on the 10th of January, the refugees gathered in front of the UNHCR main office reported brutal beatings and persecution by the Libyan police, meant to prevent them from demanding their own legal rights. Their situation has reached a point of no return and urgent measures are desperately needed!

The year 2021 has witnessed over 5500 deaths along the different migration routes towards Europe, especially on the Atlantic and the Central Mediterranean one. What Europe still fails to understand is that migration is not a crisis, but a natural occurrence - particularly within the current global context.

There is some good news: the investigation against Carola Rackete was finally shelved and the French authorities were accused of manslaughter in the English Channel shipwreck. 

However, the situation in the Central Mediterranean and in Libya remains unstable: the elections have been postponed to the 24th of January. Over 1500 migrants have perished on this route in 2021...

The 18th December was the international Migrants Day - that didn't bring much hope this year either: European heads of state and government just agreed to increase pressure on countries to take back rejected asylum seekers.

The EU has deals with more than 20 countries, including Pakistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia and Gambia, to send back migrants.