See below for a definition of some of the most frequently used terms on The Civil Fleet
EUNAVFOR Med
A European Union naval operation launched in 2015 aimed at halting the human trafficking of refugees and migrants from Libya. It is thought to have saved well over 40,000 lives.
The mission was later renamed Operation Sophia. It was frequently accused by right-wing politicians of encouraging migrants/refugees to attempt to cross the Mediterranean.
In March 2020 the operation was packaged as Operation Irini and given a new purpose: enforcing the UN’s arms embargo on Libya.
A leaked 2019 EU document about the new mission says: “Naval assets can be deployed in the areas most relevant to the implementation of the arms embargo, in the eastern part of the area of operation or at least 100km off the Libyan coast, where chances to conduct rescue operations are lower.”
Frontex
The European Border and Coastguard Agency.
See website: frontex.europa.eu
Pullback
The practice of helping agents from another country locate and return refugees or asylum seekers to a place in which they are liable to be subjected to persecution —i.e. when the European Border and Coastguard Agency, Frontex, helps the Libyan Coastguard to locate and return people fleeing across the Mediterranean back to Libya.
Pushback
The practice of forcing refugees or asylum seekers to return to a country in which they are liable to be subjected to persecution — i.e. when the European Border and Coastguard Agency, Frontex, helps the Libyan Coastguard to locate and return people fleeing across the Mediterranean back to Libya.
Refoulement
The legal term used for the practice of forcing refugees or asylum seekers to return to a country in which they are liable to be subjected to persecution
Non-refoulement is a cornerstone of many international human rights laws and conventions. See this UN document for more details.
Rescue coordination centre (RCC)
A facility in which a country organises maritime rescues with its waters of SAR zone.
Rigid-hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB)
Small boats with inflatable sides but a strong, sturdy bottom that are deployed from larger ships when beginning a rescue operation.
See below:
Search-and-rescue (SAR) zone
The central Mediterranean Sea is divided up into four zones which the Italian, Maltese, Libyan and Tunisian authorities are responsible for organising rescues in.
See below:
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The Civil Fleet 