AMSTERDAM – Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announces today the relaunch of its search and rescue activities in the central Mediterranean Sea to save the lives of refugees and migrants attempting the deadly sea crossing from Libya. Since 2015, MSF medical teams working on search and rescue ships have witnessed with horror the human tragedy … Read more
Amsterdam/Palermo – Misuse of maritime law is providing a smoke-screen for a political decision to prevent rescue ships from saving lives in the Mediterranean, declares Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), as the Sea-Watch 4 becomes the fifth NGO ship to be immobilised by Italian port authorities in less than five months. During its maiden … Read more
Amsterdam/Marseille – As the 213 people rescued by the Ocean Viking last week disembarked in Messina, Italy, SOS MEDITERRANEE and Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have repeated their calls to EU governments to cease hindering lifesaving Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, and to ensure a sustained and coordinated response to the ongoing humanitarian disaster in the central Mediterranean. More than … Read more
After each of the four rescues, the MSF medical team completes a primary medical assessment, examining the medical needs of the rescued people. As well as assessing the physical scars, wounds and other conditions requiring immediate medical attention, we identify those who require additional psychological support. When the rescued people come on board the Ocean … Read more
AMSTERDAM – After four consecutive days of lifesaving search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean, there are 356 vulnerable men, women and children currently on board the Ocean Viking. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and SOS MEDITERRANEE have now formally requested that the Maltese and Italian maritime authorities take on coordination and support … Read more
Op-ed by Dr Joanne Liu, International President On 25 July, tragedy once again hit the Mediterranean. An estimated 150 people drowned whilst fleeing Libya. It brings this year’s toll in the Central Mediterranean Sea to at least 576 people. This entirely avoidable loss of life highlights the desperate lack of search and rescue capacity, and … Read more
Amsterdam – Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announces the resumption of lifesaving search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean, and condemns the criminal inaction of European governments. The return to sea comes after a sustained two-year campaign by EU governments to stop virtually all humanitarian action at sea, and the normalisation of vindictive … Read more
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) strongly condemns the decision by Italian judicial authorities to request the seizure of the Aquarius for alleged anomalies in its disposal of on-board waste. It is a disproportionate and unfounded measure, purely aimed at further criminalizing lifesaving medical-humanitarian action at sea. “After two years of defamatory and unfounded allegations … Read more
