Migrant and refugee law as relates to the maritime regime

Abstract

Focal to the backdrop of maritime migration lie individuals attempting to flee war, persecution, or natural disasters as well as those seeking to circumvent migration and border controls, often in an attempt to improve their economic circumstances. In recent months, the European community has been faced with an unprecedented number of migrant arrivals. According to statistics compiled by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,85 more than one million migrants reached Europe in 2015.86 They arrived in the greatest numbers from conflict zones such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, but also from Kosovo, Nigeria and beyond.87 Europe has been struggling to deal with what has been labelled a ‘migration crisis’. As of August 2016, there have been more than 260,000 migrant arrivals by sea,88 nearly twice the number recorded by the same month of last year.89 These individuals are entitled to human rights protection irrespective of their classification as genuine asylum seekers or otherwise. This is the so-called ‘human factor’, encapsulating both human rights and humanitarian principles of protection.