Ms Iverna McGowan:

The focus of Frontex is border control but our main concern is that border control cannot happen in a vacuum, in terms of international refugee law and human rights standards. I am aware that in January there was an announcement at EU level about border management with Libya. We are slightly concerned that the announcement did not have enough emphasis on human rights. This is linked, once again, to the point about internal and external coherence. There cannot be statements at EU level that refer to a full commitment to human rights in Syria but then, on the other hand, when it comes to dealing with people fleeing from that country, the EU clamps down the borders. There must be a human rights focal point there. As Colm rightly said, Frontex is concerned with border management but there must be a human rights concerns there too. We have noticed that other agencies at EU level dealing specifically with refugees and migrants within the EU are not being as well resourced as Frontex, which is a concern of ours. We are also concerned about the independence of the human rights advice given to Frontex. We understand that there is now a human rights advisory system in Frontex but we would question its independence. We would argue that human rights should not just be a consideration but should be central to any decisions or actions taken by Frontex with regard to migrants.

The point raised about lives at sea is connected with externalisation. We had an international human rights camp in Lampedusa in the south of Italy last summer, where we documented and raised awareness about the thousands of lives that are lost at sea.

We are speaking about the obligation of the EU and its member states to proactively respond to distress calls and ensure lives are not lost at sea.