New Technologies in International Law / Tymofeyeva, Crhák et al.

of boats, 908 effectively disregarding the humanitarian imperative of saving lives at sea. Consequently, the adoption of technologies in external border management is expected to grow even more within the highly technologically militarized border regions, lacking adequate accountability measures and human rights oversight systems. 909 As Molnar argues, the heightened over-reliance on reinforcing border security and surveillance via contemporary technologies of remote control, as highlighted by the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum with its emphasis on border enforcement and deterrence, also sends a stark message that Europe prioritizes border protection over the safety of human lives. 910 3. Technologies of Control and Rescue at Sea Without a doubt the dominant representation of migration and people on the move as problematic to a host community fuels destructive attitudes and allows for stricter security measures to address a supposed threat. The following two examples will map the role of technologies during irregular migrant crossings in the Mediterranean. The Cutro migrant shipwreck of 26 February 2023 exposes is a vivid illustration of the practice of abandonment at sea and serves as a paradigmatic example of how technologies could have been utilised to advance the human rights and safeguard the lives of migrants but have instead been instrumentalised as a mean to control movement and keep foreigners out. In brief, a Turkish wooden vessel, carrying more than 150 migrants navigated along the Calabria route towards Italy. During its journey, the vessel encountered adverse weather conditions and became in distress as large quantities of water entered the boat. A Frontex aircraft, part of Operation Themis surveilling the area, detected the boat 40 nautical miles from Italy and communicated this information to the Italian law enforcement authorities and those of maritime rescue. Thermal imaging provided information to the authorities that not only the boat was overcrowded but also, that there ‘might be people below the deck’. 911 However, no rescue operation was ever launched. Instead, Italy mobilized two patrol boats of Guardia di Finanza (GDF) initiating a police operation to investigate the situation, who had to then return to the port due to bad weather and sea conditions. It is important to stress that the GDF is ill-equipped to conduct a SAR operation; had the Italian coast-guard been deployed 908 Push-back practices include the forced return of migrants, including applicants for international protection, to the country from where they attempted to cross or have crossed an international border without allowing them to apply for asylum or submit an appeal which may lead to a violation of the principle of non-refoulement. See, European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs ‘Glossary’, . 909 Molnar E, ‘Territorial and Digital Borders and Migrant Vulnerability under a Pandemic Crisis’ in Anna Triandafyllidou (ed.), Migration and Pandemics (IMISCOE Research Series, 2021), p. 48. 910 Ibid.; Sunderland J, ‘EU’s Migration Pact is a Disaster for Migrants and Asylum Seekers’ (HRW, 21 December 2023) . 911 Nielsen N, ‘Crotone shipwreck triggers police vs coastguard blame game’ ( EU Observer , 2 March 2023) .

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