‘We are asking for a public inquiry’ into migrant deaths at sea: European Ombudsman

More than 600 people were killed in the Adriana tragedy – a humanitarian disaster that dozens of officials and coast guard crews watched unfold over 15 hours, but failed to prevent. The EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, described the incident as “one of the worst shipwrecks in this century worldwide”.

More than 27,000 people have lost their lives since 2014 trying to make the treacherous Mediterranean crossing to Europe in shoddy boats, mostly from Northern African ports, according to the International Office of Migration. Fatalities are reported on a near-daily basis, as migrants continue to entrust their lives to ruthless smugglers in a bid to reach Europe, braving a gauntlet of ever-tighter European policies aimed at deterring them.

O’Reilly’s inquiry took aim at what it described as conflicting impulses at the heart of the mission of Europe’s border security agency, Frontex. “There is obvious tension between Frontex’s fundamental rights obligations and its duty to support Member States in border management control,” the report said. “Cooperating with national authorities when there are concerns about them fulfilling their search and rescue obligations risks making the EU complicit in actions that violate fundamental rights and cost lives.”

‘Saving lives is not optional’

O’Reilly told FRANCE 24 that the Adriana tragedy had sparked a broader reflection on the EU’s commitment to preventing maritime disasters. She recalled the words of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during a September 2020 address to the European Parliament, that “saving lives at sea is not optional”. “On a wider level,” O’Reilly said, “we are asking for a public inquiry not into the Adriana as such, but into all of the deaths, the thousands of deaths, that have happened in the Mediterranean over the last number of years.”

O’Reilly also had questions about a recent deal in which the European Union paid Tunisia over €100 million to prevent migrants from reaching Europe. Tunisia has become one of the most popular launching points for smugglers trafficking people to Italy. The country’s president, Kais Saed, has denied allegations of human rights abuses against sub-Saharan migrants. O’Reilly said she had sought to determine whether EU officials had done a human rights assessment prior to signing the deal with Tunisia. “If not, why not? And now, what do they do to remedy that?”

Mind the right-wing drift

With far-right and right-wing parties poised to make gains in June’s European elections, O’Reilly also voiced concern about a trend that has seen mainstream politicians adopting hardline policies to win votes. “Politicians have to be mindful that they don’t drift in a way that might ultimately be damaging to citizens in the short, medium and long term simply because they are afraid that they might be outclassed or outvoted at election time by far-right and other groupings.” She suggested such strategies are likely to backfire. “As somebody said, ‘Why go for the fake, when you can have the real thing?’’”

For all the challenges of her job, in a difficult political climate, O’Reilly insisted the European Union can – and should – lead by ethical example. “People sort of dismiss soft power as not being as powerful as executive power,” she said. “But Europe can be a huge force for good globally. Part of my job, even if we’re a little office, is to try and keep the good guys good.”

Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Sophie Samaille and Perrine Desplats