Human Rights Watch (HRW) called Monday on the EU’s border agency, Frontex, to use aerial surveillance not only to detect and monitor migrant vessels in distress but also to facilitate timely rescues in the Central Mediterranean. The appeal follows a meeting between HRW representatives and Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens earlier in April, during which HRW delivered a petition signed by nearly 18,000 people across the EU.
The petition, part of HRW’s ongoing #WithHumanity campaign, calls on Frontex to take clear, actionable steps to prioritize life-saving measures at sea. Specifically, HRW is asking the agency to share information from aerial surveillance with nongovernmental rescue ships, issue emergency alerts more frequently, and continuously monitor boats in danger.
Over 31,700 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean over the past decade, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than 75 percent of those incidents occurred in the Central Mediterranean, between North Africa and southern Europe, making it the most dangerous migration route in the region. Since the end of the Italian-led Mare Nostrum operation in 2014, the EU and its member states have shifted focus from state-led rescues to border enforcement, increasingly relying on third countries to intercept migrant boats.
Frontex’s surveillance aircraft have become a key part of this system. The agency routinely monitors the Central Mediterranean by air and relays information to EU member states, the Libyan Coast Guard, and other North African authorities. This practice, HRW and other human rights organizations argue, exposes migrants to the risk of being returned to places where they are subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, and exploitation, violating the international legal principle of non-refoulement.
A previous investigation in 2022 by HRW and Border Forensics concluded that Frontex’s aerial surveillance practices have facilitated such returns and indirectly contributed to serious human rights violations. The report documented incidents where Frontex aircraft spotted migrant boats but failed to coordinate or assist with rescues, instead alerting authorities in Libya or Tunisia, resulting in interdictions and forced returns.
Frontex has maintained that it does not have a direct search-and-rescue mandate and operates within the legal framework established by EU law and its member states. However, under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the 2019 Frontex Regulation, the agency is bound to respect and protect fundamental rights in all its operations, including the right to life.
The call comes as the European Commission prepares for a 2026 review of Frontex’s mandate, with proposals on the table to expand the agency’s role in deportations and border enforcement. Frontex’s resources have grown exponentially: its annual budget rose from €142 million in 2015 to €922 million in 2024, and its standing corps is set to triple from 10,000 to 30,000 personnel by 2027. HRW warned that this expansion must not come at the expense of accountability and human rights safeguards.
