Migrant detention on private vessels : legal, humanitarian, and commercial implications

Abstract

This dissertation will explore the questions surrounding the detention of migrants on private vessels and the interdisciplinary nature of the situations that occur most notably in the Mediterranean sea. Firstly, the dissertation will be setting the context for the need of discussion by highlighting the serious humanitarian violations on migrants aboard vessels without information on their future whilst living on ill-equipped vessels. International legal instruments will be analysed from a perspective of efficacy at protecting those in distress at sea and creating a fair and just playing field for all parties involved. In order to better understand the roles of each party, they will be individually analysed in light of existing cases as well as in light of the analysed legal instruments. The recent rise in popularity of COVID-19 used as a justification by States to escape their international obligations will also be explored. The detention of migrants will also be analysed from different human rights perspectives, starting with those of States who ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and then of business owners who operate at sea and may foreseeably find themselves in a situation of migrant search and rescue. Finally, the calculation of costs and a discussion on the liability of those vessels that participate in Search and rescue operations will be discussed to identify the shortcomings in law and insurance policies. This dissertation will then attempt to offer recommendations in an interdisciplinary approach based on what Amnesty International, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Aditus Foundation have pushed for in light of the incidents involving the detention of migrants at sea.