LONDON: The EU’s border and coast guard agency Frontex must use its aerial surveillance capabilities to prevent refugee deaths in the Mediterranean Sea, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.
The appeal came after HRW met the agency’s executive director, Hans Leijtens, on April 2. He was delivered an EU-wide petition, signed by almost 18,000 people, urging Frontex to take concrete steps to help expedite the rescue of vessels in distress.
This would involve the agency’s aircraft sharing information with NGO vessels operating in the Mediterranean about sightings of refugee vessels.
Frontex could also issue more frequent emergency alerts to all nearby vessels and provide continuous monitoring, HRW said.
In the past decade, at least 31,700 people have died or been reported missing in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at HRW, said: “The shocking death toll in the Mediterranean requires concerted action. As an actor at sea, Frontex has a responsibility under international law to use its resources to facilitate rescues that end in disembarkation of rescued people in a safe place.”
Part of the HRW appeal focuses on a policy of a “broad interpretation of distress” that if adopted by Frontex would allow it to take a precautionary approach in its alert system.
Late last year, several UN agencies jointly called for a broader understanding of distress, which would “reflect the foreseeable danger facing unseaworthy boats at sea and the positive obligations attached to the right to life,” HRW said.
The European Commission has suggested expanding Frontex significantly, tripling the number of border guards to 30,000 and allowing the agency to carry out increased deportations through a mandate review in 2026.
Since its creation in 2004, Frontex’s size, role and responsibilities have grown. Its annual budget reached €922 million ($1 billion) in 2024, up from just €142 million in 2015.
Changes to its mandate must strengthen its human rights standards, transparency and accountability, HRW said, highlighting the utility that a “broad interpretation of distress” would provide in saving lives at sea.
Frontex previously faced criticism over its sharing of aerial intelligence with authorities in Libya, with HRW documenting the agency’s complicity in the abuse and indefinite detention of migrants in the North African country.
The intelligence-sharing is part of an EU policy to bolster the ability of Libya and Tunisia — common departure countries for refugees — to patrol their coastlines.
“People across the EU are sending a message that no one should be left to die at sea,” Sunderland said. “As warmer weather may see more attempts to cross the Mediterranean, Frontex should act now to ensure it does everything it can to prevent avoidable tragedies.”
