Recommendation 2137 (2018)

International obligations of Council of Europe member States to protect life at sea

Author(s): Parliamentary Assembly

Origin - Assembly debate on 27 June 2018 (24th Sitting) (see Doc. 14586, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, rapporteur: Ms Petra De Sutter). Text adopted by the Assembly on 27 June 2018 (24th Sitting).

1. Recalling its Resolution 2229 (2018) “International obligations of Council of Europe member States to protect life at sea”, the Parliamentary Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

1.1. develop guidelines for member States on the protection of human life at sea through search and rescue operations, in accordance with the obligations arising from the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5) and other international legal texts;

1.2. pay particular attention to the risks incurred by those at sea, especially women and children, of falling prey to smugglers and traffickers, and ensure that they enjoy protection under, in particular, the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (CETS No. 197);

1.3. hold a thematic debate on European policies for the protection of life at sea, the right to enter a foreign port in circumstances of distress and the right to apply for refugee status.