Unsafe mixed migration by sea

IMO has called for greater focus to be placed on addressing unsafe migration by sea through more safe and regular migration pathways, so that fewer lives are lost due to large numbers of people setting out to cross the sea in overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels.

In order to address the safety of life at sea and search and rescue issues arising from unsafe migration by sea, IMO has been working with its partner organizations in the UN system as well as other international bodies to develop and update guidance for shipmasters and Governments. An information sharing platform has been established.

IMO urges concerted action by the international community to tackle unsafe, mixed migration by sea, in the Mediterranean and other sea areas and has been actively addressing the issue at its own Committee meetings as well as through joint meetings on the matter with UN partners and other relevant international organizations.

In November 2022, at the Maritime Safety Committee's 106th session, a resolution was adopted on recommended cooperation to ensure the safety of life at sea, the rescue of persons in distress at sea and the safe disembarkation of survivors. It emphasizes the importance of effective and timely involvement of Governments in cases of rescue of migrants at sea by merchant ships.

The IMO Secretariat has been participating in the Inter-Agency Group on Protection of Refugees and Migrants moving by Sea, led by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), set up to exchange information, experience and good practices concerning mixed migration by sea, search and rescue (SAR) activities and safe disembarkation of rescued persons. 

Guidance on Rescue at Sea

Rescue at Sea:  A guide to principles and practice as applied to refugees and migrants  has been prepared jointly by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The guide is available in six languages, downloadable below:

IMO has also issued guidelines on the treatment of persons rescued at sea.

The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) adopted a resolution at its 106th session (November 2022) on Recommended cooperation to ensure the safety of life at sea, the rescue of persons in distress at sea and the safe disembarkation of survivors. The resolution is intended to emphasize the importance of effective and timely involvement of Governments in cases of rescue of migrants at sea by merchant ships. See Resolution MSC.528(106) here. 

Global SAR Plan

The Global SAR Plan can be found on the IMO Global Integrated Shipping Information system (GISIS) system (registration required). The Global SAR Plan module contains information on the availability of Search and Rescue (SAR) Services, based on information provided by IMO Member States.

Global Compact for Migration

The Global Compact on Migration is a UN Member State-led process that emanated from the 19 September 2016 New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants approved by Heads of State during the UN General Assembly. This culminated in the adoption of the GCM at an intergovernmental conference on international migration in 2018. Please click https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/migration-compact for the GCM website.

Inter-agency meeting with the maritime industry on mixed migration (October 2017)

The Inter-agency meeting with the maritime industry on mixed migration was held in IMO in October 2017, with representatives from IOM, UNCHR, OHCHR, UNODC, EU NAVFOR, ICS, BIMCO, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the International Federation of Shipmasters' Associations (IFSMA). Please click here for the record of views of the meeting, which was fed into the Global Compact on Migration.

Migration statistics

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 1.4 million migrants have arrived in Europe since 2016 (as at mid-June 2023). Their figures show that in the same period, more than 22,000 have died or are missing. 

In 2022, IOM recorded the most common nationalities of migrants to Europe as Egyptian, Syrian and Tunisian. So far in 2023, the most common countries of origin are Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea and Egypt. 

As at mid-June 2023, more than 70,000 of the 77,000 migrant arrivals in Europe this year travelled there by sea. IOM data says that in 2022, 2,761 died on sea routes departing from the Middle East and North Africa (this includes deaths in the Central and Western Mediterranean, the Eastern Mediterranean departing from Lebanon and Cyprus, and on the Atlantic route to the Spanish Canary Islands). 

See IOM's Migration Flow to Europe statistics dashboard here.

Legal framework

There is a legal framework in place to make this a crime – the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, which is an annex to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

The organized, international crime, in the Mediterranean needs to be addressed, with collective action by all concerned to detain, arrest and prosecute people smugglers. 

IMO can play its part but the ultimate solution lies in collaboration among several other bodies and UN agencies, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, INTERPOL, the African Union, the European Union and European Commission and the Economic Commissions for Africa and for Europe.

IMO films at the RE•THINK exhibition on migration

In 2015, IMO  partnered with the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, United Kingdom,  to take a closer look at issues surrounding migration at sea. The RE•THINK exhibition on migration featured three short films produced by IMO. The films explore the following perspectives: