Navigating the human rights trajectory of the EU migration and Asylum Pact in search and rescue operations (part two)

Abstract

In Part One, an overview of the Pact was examined in order to set the context for the following discussion on maritime search and rescue aspects contained in the instrument as well as an analysis of the human rights considerations.

While the duties of SAR remain firmly within the Member State’s competence, bound by international law, the Pact aims to promote a more coordinated approach to SAR issues being based on principles of solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility. At the outset, it is to be noted that the definition of SAR in the various instruments making up the Pact reflects that found in the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (e.g. Screening Regulation, Article 2(15), AMMR Article 2(23)).