Irregular Migration by Sea: Contemporary Incidents in the Mare Nostrum – The Transition from State-Based Action to Humanitarian-Drive Regional Controls (Published)
Irregular sea migration has proven to be a popular means of escaping violence and armed conflict. Events after the Arab Spring in 2011 caused a lot of irregular sea migration over the Mediterranean to Europe. This created serious problems and concerns. The purpose of this research is to examine the rights of irregular sea migration in international law, constraints of states in accepting these irregular migrations and propose a solution to the problem. The paper identifies that the right to life is a fundamental legal provision that irregular sea migrants have. Therefore, it is imperative for all state and non-state actors to honor this. This can best be done by viewing the sea in a regional rather than national context. This way, states can unite and share the challenges of dealing with common issues within a regional context.
Keywords: Dublin III, Human Rights, International law, Irregular, Mare Nostrum, Mediterranean, Migration