Rescue or trafficking?
In a move aimed at reducing illegal migration by sea, the UK government is proposing legalisation to make it easier to prosecute traffickers.
The Nationality and Borders Bill proposes big changes to the asylum system but it also makes an offence of facilitating asylum-seekers’ arrival in the UK, and there is no specific exemption for humanitarian rescue.
In response to a question from barrister George Peretz QC, the Home Office stated (on Twitter) ‘this doesn’t apply to organisations such as HM Coastguard and RNLI helping those in distress at sea.’
Peretz responded: ‘What about individuals or shipping companies rescuing people in distress at sea? What, exactly, are the boundaries of the conduct to which this offence is said not to apply? Unexplained assertions – in a tweet or even by minister in Parliament – don’t cut it. The answers should be in the text of the legislation. But they aren’t.’
The Bill is being opposed by the Law Society and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.
International law does recognise an obligation to rescue those in distress at sea. ‘This duty is based on a long-standing and strongly felt moral obligation among seafarers. It is stated, for example, in the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and Article 98 the International Convention for the Safety of
Life at Sea (SOLAS), Regulation V-33,’ notes Erik Røsaeg, professor at the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law in a report for Oxford University Faculty of Law.
So what should yacht crews do if they come across migrants that appear to be in danger, need help or have called for it?
Stuart Carruthers, cruising manager of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), says: “Report it by radio, note it in the log but be very, very wary about [giving] assistance.
“People believe you must render assistance at sea but you don’t have to if it puts your boat in danger. It sounds very harsh, but you could have a massive bureaucratic problem and be tied up in bringing illegal immigrants into the country. Our advice is stand off and report.”
‘International law does recognise an obligation to rescue those in distress at sea’