The European Union’s naval mission in the Mediterranean, Operation Sophia, saved lives but has failed in its mission to disrupt the business of people smuggling in the central Mediterranean, according to a report by the House of Lords EU External Affairs Sub-Committee.
Operation Sophia vessels have rescued over 33,000 people. The peers found that a unified government in Libya, able to provide security across the country, is a precondition for meaningful EU action against people smuggling networks onshore. An unintended consequence of Operation Sophia’s destruction of smugglers’ boats has been that they have adapted, sending migrants to sea in unseaworthy vessels, resulting in more deaths.
Background
In June 2015, the European Union launched a Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operation to disrupt the business model of people smuggling in the Southern Central Mediterranean. In September 2015, the mission was renamed Operation Sophia, after a baby born aboard one of the mission’s ships off the coast of Libya. It patrols the seas off the coast of Libya to Italy.
What they say
Chair of the EU External Affairs Sub-Committee, the Conservative Baroness Verma, said: “People smuggling begins onshore, so a naval mission is the wrong tool for tackling this dangerous, inhumane and unscrupulous business. Once the boats have set sail, it is too late.
“Operation Sophia has failed to meet the objective of its mandate—to disrupt the business model of people smuggling. It should not be renewed. However it has been a humanitarian success, and it is critical that the EU’s lifesaving search and rescue work continues, but using more suitable, non-military, vessels. Future UK and EU action should focus on tackling people smuggling in source and transit countries, and supporting sustainable economic development and good governance in these countries.
“Italy has found itself on the front line of a mass movement of people into Europe, and deserves credit for its efforts to respond.”
