How Frontex Frames Non-Rescue as Humanitarian

Civil society actors have long criticized the EU for the lack of search and rescue (SAR) operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that between 2014-2024, a minimum of 28,000 refugees and migrants have lost their lives or gone missing in the Mediterranean, with the Central Mediterranean being the deadliest migration route in the world. The European Border and Coast Guard agency (Frontex), however, believes that SAR constitutes a so-called ‘pull-factor’ which entices more people to attempt the dangerous crossing and die at sea, portraying non-rescue as in their best interest.