"There is a battle on how migration is talked about because the words we use are influenced by the way in which people understand migration, and then who they empathise with, and which policies then they are willing to accept."

The #OceanViking has disembarked 14 survivors in Brindisi. They were rescued four days ago from a small, flimsy, three-metre-long rubber boat in international waters. Among them was a seven-year-old girl who told us she could not wait to go to school.

The Italian authorities have indicated #Brindisi as a Place of Safety to disembark the 14 survivors on board #OceanViking. They had initially sent the ship to #Ancona.

This morning, crew members on the #OceanViking have rescued 14 people, including 3 women and a 7 year old girl from a small rubber boat in distress in international waters in the Libyan Search & Rescue Region.

On this #WorldDayAgainstTraffickinginPersons, we underline that policies of deterrence are making routes more costly and dangerous, forcing people into the hands of exploitative networks that they are forced to rely on, as long as there are no safe alternatives. www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

Tunisia-Libya border: UN experts alarmed by alleged system of mass detention, expulsion and trafficking

GENEVA – UN experts* today expressed serious concern over reports that more than 7,400 people, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, are victims of a systematic pattern of arbitrary detention, collective ex...

ohchr.org

@sosmediterranee.org is currently at #ISAR2026, joining SAR experts from around the world to discuss operational challenges & our collective responsibility to save lives at sea. By exchanging expertise & strengthening the global SAR community, we can help save more lives 🛟

1/3 The #OceanViking has disembarked in #Civitavecchia, Italy, the 38 people rescued on Saturday from an extremely dangerous iron boat in international waters off #Tunisia.

The #OceanViking has been assigned #Civitavecchia as the port of disembarkation for the 38 people rescued yesterday. It will take 3 days to bring them to a place of safety, 3 unnecessary days of navigation after everything they have already endured in their search for protection.

🚨 UPDATE This afternoon, the #OceanViking rescued 38 people in distress in the Tunisian Search and Rescue Region. At least 1/3 of them are minors and 8 are women. They were on an overcrowded makeshift iron boat. They are now safe on board.

1/3 The ICC has confirmed all 17 charges against Khaled El Hishri for crimes committed at the notorious Mitiga Prison in #Libya. This is a landmark step toward accountability and a powerful validation of what survivors have long documented and testified.

Read the statement we have co-signed with 30 other organisations, to urgently call the @EU_Commission to end its deadly cooperation with Libyan authorities, responsible for repeated and unpunished abuse on people and on Search & Rescue NGOs. 👇 www.sosmediterranee.org/31-organisat...

31 organisations call on the EU to urgently end abusive migration cooperation with Libyan authorities - SOS MEDITERRANEE

Civil society groups are concerned that ongoing EU cooperation with Libyan authorities on migration control, despite serious abuses continue with impunity. We call on the European Commission (...)

sosmediterranee.org

Amnesty EU@amnestyeu.bsky.social · 3w ago

As the EU plans deepen its abusive migration control with Libya, notably in the east, 30 civil society organizations including @amnesty.org call on the @ec.europa.eu and EU member states to urgently change course and end this shameful cooperation.

Yesterday, #OceanViking received a Mayday relay from an aircraft: an overcrowded rubber boat in distress, in international waters within the Libyan SRR. We were 1h30 away and immediately headed to assist the people in danger at sea. 👇

Three years ago today, the EU-Tunisia Memorandum of Understanding was signed. Since then, the EU has allocated millions of euros to migration control in Tunisia despite mounting evidence of serious human rights violations associated with EU support.

Yet another avoidable tragedy: At least 50 people, including women and children, are feared dead after a wooden boat capsized off Tobruk, Libya. Only 10 survived, amid Europe’s continued failure to assume responsibility for search and rescue at sea.

Reuters@reuters.com · 3w ago

Fifty migrants feared lost in Mediterranean, 10 survive after boat capsizes,  security sources say reut.rs/4pmaytG

Nine years after proceedings were initiated against Search and Rescue staff, including one member of SOS MEDITERRANEE, the Criminal Court of Catania acquitted our colleague and other former Aquarius crew members earlier this week. www.sosmediterranee.org/catania-cour...

Catania Court Acquits Aquarius Crew Member After Nine-Year Legal Proceeding - SOS MEDITERRANEE

After nine years of proceedings, the Criminal Court of Catania has acquitted an SOS MEDITERRANEE colleague and former Aquarius crew member of charges related to alleged illegal activities and (...)

sosmediterranee.org

BREAKING: The Court of Bari has suspended the fine issued against our ship by the local Prefecture of Bari in June 2024, following the detention from December 2023. We welcome this decision, pending the ruling on the merits expected in September.

The 35,000 milestone of people who disappeared in the Mediterranean sea since @UNmigration started to report them in 2014, has just been reached. This is neither an accident nor unavoidable. It is the result of deliberate policies that turn the sea into a wall, then a graveyard.

A journalist from Arte embarked on our #AlbatrosUNO, operated with @hpiswiss.bsky.social . He witnessed our crew spot a boat in distress, a rescue by @soshumanity.bsky.social, and highlights the obstacles people face to reach safety & SAR NGOs face to rescue them. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwCu...

A bord de l'Albatros, l’avion de l’ONG ''SOS Méditerranée'' | ARTE Info

YouTube video by ARTE Info

youtube.com

Thanks to the collaboration between @alarmphone, our aircraft #AlbatrossUNO & rescue ship Solidaire, 56p. will reach safety after drifting at sea. While the EU Pact entering into force today prioritises deterrence and border control, civil society keeps mobilising to save lives.

We have recently collected accounts from survivors who describe witnessing or hearing about alleged forced organ removal, including as a form of extortion in Libya. These reflect a broader pattern of systematic exploitation against people crossing Libya. www.bbc.com/news/article...

300 migrants bound for UK kidnapped and threatened with kidney removal

The Iraqi Kurds were captured by a militia who demanded a ransom of $5,000 (£3,700) per person.

bbc.com

🚨Shipwreck off #Malta: 11 bodies recovered. It's not a tragic accident but the foreseeable consequences of political choices: 👉The withdrawal of state-led search and rescue efforts. 👉The outsourcing of border control. 👉The criminalization of solidarity. timesofmalta.com/article/ship...

Shipwreck off Malta: 53 people rescued, 11 bodies recovered

'Every life lost is one too many': Home Affairs Minister Glenn Bedingfield

timesofmalta.com

In 10 years of search & rescue operations, we have documented 318 deaths and disappearances at sea. They represent a partial account of a much larger reality, as many deaths at sea go unreported. These deaths were neither inevitable nor acceptable. 👇 blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/border-crimi...

One body: a decade of deaths in the Central Mediterranean

blogs.law.ox.ac.uk

🚨New revelation from @statewatch.bsky.social The #EU is expanding its cooperation with Libya’s eastern forces under General Haftar, including training for the coast guard and the establishment of an MRCC in #Benghazi. A leaked document confirms the agreement. www.statewatch.org/news/2026/ma...

Statewatch | Revealed: EU agreement to expand deadly migration cooperation with Libya's eastern forces

A document leaked to Statewatch confirms that the EU has begun collaborating with Libya’s eastern forces on migration control. This collaboration includes training, support and the development of a re...

statewatch.org

This morning, the #OceanViking rescued 68 people from an overcrowded fiberglass boat in distress spotted from the bridge, in the #MalteseSAR. Survivors reported spending 24 hours at sea after departing #Libya. Many were found exhausted and dehydrated. They are now safe on board.

Four days after their rescue, 25 people finally stepped ashore in #Ancona. Half are minors, including 2 women, one pregnant. They were found in distress at night on a damaged, overcrowded rubber boat taking on water. They are now #safe and we wish them well.

Yesterday, #ALBATROSS spotted a dead body floating in the Central Mediterranean. They had a name, and we will likely never know it. Days after multiple shipwrecks off Libya and dozens of bodies washing ashore, 2026 continues to be deadly. www.sosmediterranee.org/a-body-at-se...

A body at sea and a system that makes deaths invisible - SOS MEDITERRANEE

ALBATROSS mission sighting highlights a deadly reality: policy choices lead to more deaths at sea, dehumanisation makes them invisible.

sosmediterranee.org

Over 180 people died in the Mediterranean last week. Preventable deaths, the result of deliberate political choices. This is the deadliest start to a year on record in the Mediterranean. Deterrence has replaced assistance. States must restore search&rescue. Read our statement👇 bit.ly/readourstate...

Over 180 dead in one week: SOS MEDITERRANEE demands accountability - SOS MEDITERRANEE

Over 180 people died in one week in the Mediterranean. SOS MEDITERRANEE calls for search and rescue to be restored and accountability ensured.

bit.ly

After sailing 1100km for 3,5 days from the #Miskar offshore platform, we finally disembarked 116 survivors in Marina di Carrara, the Place of Safety assigned by Italian authorities. Among them, more than a third were #unaccompanied #minors, who are particularly vulnerable.

After navigating for more than 4 days, the 100 survivors rescued on March 5 finally disembarked in Ancona. Some, including teenagers, have been trying to reach safety for years, escaping war, persecution and violence in their home countries and #Libya.

10 years of civilian search&rescue at sea. #SOSMEDITERRANEE releases its Ten-Year Report and a Manifesto calling to restore proactive SAR in the Central Mediterranean. 43,078 people assisted 457 operations Two ships. One mission. bit.ly/Ten_year_rep... Read. Share. Stand with us

STILL AT SEA: Ten Years of Rescue in the Central Mediterranean - SOS MEDITERRANEE

SOS MEDITERRANEE releases a ten-year report marking a decade of civilian search and rescue in the Central Mediterranean, reaffirming its commitment to rescue, protect and bear witness through a (...)

bit.ly