Eunavfor Med – Operation Sophia : human rights implications of the fight against smugglers

Abstract

The present thesis deals with the EUNAVFOR MED military operation of the EU that was launched in June 2015 in reaction to two tragic shipwrecks on the Mediterranean. Its aim is to prevent the further loss of life at sea by fighting the business of human smugglers. Against this background, the thesis analyses the human rights implications resulting from the Operation’s conduct in view of its adequacy as an answer to the humanitarian crisis on the Mediterranean. The thesis comes to the conclusion that a number of human rights issues are at stake, especially because the Operation lacks safeguards that could assure compliance with those standards. It suggests that the EU should alter the mandate in order to align it with its self-stated aim of international promotion of human rights that could be impeded by a loss of credibility resulting from the application of different standards to internal and external measures