“Saving lives is not a crime”

GUE/NGL Hearing

 Wednesday 11th September 2019 , 14:30 – 18:30

European Parliament Brussels, Room ASP 1G2

 Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Swedish, Spanish

 Live webstreaming available

REGISTER HERE

Since 1993, UNITED for Intercultural Action has recorded the reported names, origins and causes of death for more than 34,000 refugees and migrants who have died whilst trying to get into Europe due to the restrictive policies of “Fortress Europe”.

In the Mediterranean sea alone, according to IOM, at least 911 people died in 2019. Since the end of Mare Nostrum, there has been no state proactive search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean.  Because of the increasing number of death at sea following the closure of Mare Nostrum, NGOs have started search and rescue operations. Their life-saving activities ended up being criminalised by many governments and their ships being seized.

This hearing aims at giving a space to those actors that have saved lives where governments should have been the ones rendering assistance to people in distress.

Programme

13.45: Registration (handing in of badges to the people without access to the EP building)

Meeting point: in front of Altiero Spinelli building (next to Place Luxembourg)

14.30-14.40: Welcome introduction by Cornelia Ernst, MEP, Die Linke (Germany), GUE/NGL

14.40-16.30: Testimonies from SAR NGOs

Chair: Miguel Urban, MEP, Podemos (Spain) GUE/NGL

Oscar Camps, Open Arms

Georgia Linardi, Seawatch

Markus Stottut, Jugendrettet

Miguel Roldan, firefighter (tbc)

Mecthild Stier, Lifeline

Giuseppe Caccia and Lucia Gennari, Mediterranea

David Starke, SOS Méditerranée

16.40-18.00: Challenges and mobilisation

Chair: Malin Björk, MEP, Swedish Left Party, GUE/NGL

Violeta Moreno-Lax, Queen Mary University of London

Salvatore Tesoriero, lawyer, Italy

Kashef, Alarmphone

Alina Lyapina, Seebruecke

Conclusion

List of confirmed participants:

Violeta Moreno-Lax, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Law, Queen Mary University of London

Salvatore Tesoriero, lawyer, Italy

Chiara Denaro, Alarmphone

Kashef, Alarmphone

Antonia Debus, Jugendrettet

Markus Stottut, Jugendrettet

Mecthild Stier, Lifeline

Lucia Gennari, Mediterranea

Giuseppe Caccia, Mediterranea

Oscar Camps, Open Arms

Georgia Linardi, Seawatch

Cornelia Schmidt, Seawatch

Doreen Johann, Seawatch

Maria Junker, Seawatch

Alina Lyapina, Seebruecke

Eva Maria Welling, Seebruecke

David Starke, SOS Méditerranée