Official investigations into credible allegations that the Hellenic Coast Guard’s actions and omissions contributed to the shipwreck and loss of life off Pylos, Greece six months ago have made little meaningful progress, a report by Amnesty International says.

A full accounting of what happened is paramount to securing truth and justice for survivors and families of the victims and to help avoid future deaths.
Authorities should ensure that the allegations against Hellenic Coast Guard officers and other Greek officials are thoroughly investigated and prosecute any officials for whom there is sufficient evidence of wrongdoing.
(Athens, December 14, 2023) – Official investigations into credible allegations that the Hellenic Coast Guard’s actions and omissions contributed to the catastrophic shipwreck and loss of life off Pylos, Greece six months ago have made little meaningful progress, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today.

The Adriana, a severely overcrowded fishing trawler, capsized in the early morning of June 14, 2023, leading to the death of more than 600 people. It had started its journey from Libya five days earlier with an estimated 750 migrants and asylum seekers, including children, mainly from Syria, Pakistan, and Egypt. Only 104 of those onboard survived, and 82 bodies were recovered.

“The Pylos shipwreck appears to be another tragic example of Greek authorities’ abdication of responsibility for saving lives at sea,” said Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “A full accounting of what happened is paramount to securing truth and justice for survivors and families of the victims and to help avoid future deaths.”

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch interviewed 21 survivors, 5 relatives of 5 people still missing, and representatives of the Hellenic Coast Guard, the Greek police, nongovernmental organizations, United Nations and international agencies and organizations.

They found that in the 15 hours between receiving the first alert that the Adriana was in their search-and-rescue region, and when it capsized, Greek authorities failed to mobilize appropriate resources for a rescue. The authorities were clearly aware of indicators of distress, such as overcrowding and insufficient food and water, on the Adriana, and, survivors said, knew about corpses on board and requests for rescue. Survivors’ testimonies also challenge the authorities’ claim that people on the Adriana did not want to be rescued, which in any event would not have relieved the Hellenic Coast Guard of its obligation to take all measures necessary to ensure safety at sea. Survivors consistently said that they pleaded repeatedly for rescue, including to the Coast Guard itself.

Survivors said that a Coast Guard patrol boat attached a rope to the Adriana and pulled, causing the boat to capsize. They also alleged that, after the boat capsized, the Coast Guard boat was slow to activate rescue operations, failed to maximize the number of people rescued, and engaged in dangerous maneuvers.

Among others, separate investigations by the independent group Solomon, the interdisciplinary investigative platform Forensis, the New York Times, Der Spiegel, El País, Lighthouse Reports, and the Washington Post documented similar allegations.

The nature of ongoing judicial investigations in Greece raises concerns about the prospects for accountability for the shipwreck, the organizations said. Nine survivors, currently under arrest, are facing serious charges before the Criminal Court of Kalamata in Greece, including for causing a shipwreck. In parallel, the Naval Court opened an investigation in June into the potential responsibility of the Coast Guard and in September, 40 survivors filed a complaint with the same court alleging that Greek authorities were responsible for the shipwreck. It is unclear how a finding by one court might affect the other.

Survivors’ testimony points to potential serious procedural shortcomings that might affect both investigations, including the confiscation of survivors’ mobile phones, some of which may contain key evidence of the events. The Naval Court prosecutor only in late September requested Hellenic Coast Guard officers’ phones, which could also contain evidence, and as of early December, only 13 survivors had been summoned to provide statements.

In November, the Greek Ombudsman opened an inquiry into the Coast Guard’s actions, citing its refusal to conduct an internal disciplinary investigation. The European Ombudsman opened an inquiry into the role of the EU border agency Frontex, whose aircraft initially sighted the vessel, while the agency’s Fundamental Rights Officer is pursuing his own investigation. In contributions to the European Ombudsman’s inquiry, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch contend that Frontex should have continued its monitoring of the Adriana and issued a mayday call. Frontex told the organizations that it is the responsibility of national authorities to coordinate search and rescue operations and that it did not issue a mayday alert because it did not assess an “imminent risk to human life.”

The Greek Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy replied to the organizations’ letters, saying that protecting human life at sea constitutes its “highest professional and moral obligation” and that the Coast Guard and the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Piraeus, abide by the legal and operational frameworks in place in search and rescue operations. However, citing ongoing judicial and nonjudicial investigations, the Coast Guard declined to answer the organizations’ questions or respond to their findings.

The historic failures in Greece’s investigations of shipwrecks involving people on the move and the widespread impunity for systemic human rights violations at its borders raise concerns about the adequacy of the ongoing judicial inquiries into the Pylos tragedy, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said. In 2022, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Greece for the shortcomings in its rescue efforts and in its subsequent investigations in the 2014 Farmakonisi shipwreck in which 11 people died.

“Almost 10 years since the deadly Farmakonisi shipwreck, the Greek authorities’ response to the Pylos tragedy is a crucial test of their willingness to investigate human rights violations against racialized people on the move at the country’s border,” said Adriana Tidona, migration researcher at Amnesty International. “Greece must ensure that survivors and families’ of the hundreds who lost their lives can safely and effectively participate in proceedings to the highest degree possible and ensure that investigations are carried out in a timely manner, guaranteeing the completeness and integrity of evidence admitted.”

The Malawian government is jeopardizing refugee rights at Dzaleka refugee camp by expelling an important refugee rights group, Human Rights Watch said in a report. INUA Advocacy had been providing independent scrutiny of the human rights situation at the camp, which is about 40 kilometers from Lilongwe, the capital.

The media reported that the Malawian Ministry of Homeland Security wrote to INUA Advocacy in November 2023 to terminate its partnership with the group, ordering it to vacate Dzaleka camp. The partnership had permitted INUA Advocacy to have offices within the camp.

“Malawi authorities should stop targeting those exposing abuses against refugees and advocating for refugee rights,” said Idriss Ali Nassah, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “INUA Advocacy and other organizations demanding respect for human rights and accountability in the treatment of refugees should be allowed to operate without fear of being deregistered or targeted by the authorities.”

The chief executive officer of INUA Advocacy, Innocent Magambi, told Human Rights Watch that the Homeland Security Ministry did not give a reason for ending the partnership. He believes the authorities acted because of the organization’s advocacy around human rights violations that refugees and asylum seekers have suffered during and after the forced relocations to Dzaleka camp in 2023.

In May, the police, aided by the military, began rounding up thousands of refugees and asylum seekers across Malawi, temporarily detaining them in prisons, then relocating them to Dzaleka camp. This followed a March 27 government directive to enforce its encampment policy, which restricts the freedom of movement of refugees and asylum seekers by requiring them to live in the camp.

Some of those arrested reported beatings and destruction or theft of their property. INUA Advocacy and other groups published a statement in August demanding a halt to the forced relocations and deportations of refugees and asylum seekers. The groups called for accountability, including the arrest and prosecution of those involved in stealing or other abuses.

INUA Advocacy has also spotlighted the dire living conditions inside Dzaleka camp, which is run by the government with support from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). In May, UNHCR had asked the authorities in Malawi to rescind the relocation decision, noting the insufficient health services, water, shelter, and sanitation facilities in the camp, as well as the overcrowded schools. UNHCR also noted that Dzaleka camp currently hosted more than 50,000 people, though it was originally designed for a capacity of 12,000.

In June, President Lazarus Chakwera committed to improving the living conditions and overall well-being of refugees in the country. The government also pledged to uphold human rights in its treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.

However, the hardships brought about by the encampment policy have resulted in some refugees opting to leave Malawi. In October, over 100 Burundians had left Malawi in what UNHCR said were voluntary repatriations. The community leader of the Burundian refugees told the media that some of those leaving had decided to do so due to limited resources at Dzaleka camp.

A 26-year-old Rwandan woman with two children, all recognized refugees, told Human Rights Watch that she and her husband, also a Rwandan refugee, had moved out of Dzaleka camp about eight years ago to set up a grocery shop and agriculture business in Lilongwe. When armed police raided their home in May during the enforcement of the encampment policy, the family lost their business and their home.

At Dzaleka camp, where the family arrived empty handed, she was separated from her husband and housed in a tent with her children and several other women. Her children, ages 5 and 7, are out of school because the classrooms in the camp are full.

Despite their destitute living situation, the woman said she had no option but to stay in Malawi, where she had lived virtually her entire life. She said she was only 3 years old when her mother fled Rwanda and brought her to Malawi.

“I don’t know anything about the country where I was born,” she said. “My mother died in this camp, leaving just my brother and me. So, tell me, where will I go? The authorities are saying we could return to our countries if we wish, but even if I returned to Rwanda, who would show me where to go? I don’t know anyone there and wouldn’t even know where to start from.”

Malawi is party to both the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention. Malawi expressed reservations when it ratified the 1951 Convention, stating it considered certain provisions “as recommendations only and not legally binding,” including refugees’ rights to freedom of movement, employment, property, and public education.

Malawi is also party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, both of which uphold the right of refugee children to an education as well as other rights.

In 2018, Malawi endorsed the UN Global Compact on Refugees, which builds on the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework. These instruments recognize the importance of integrating refugees into the population and the respect for their socioeconomic rights, also highlighting that access to education and labor markets promotes refugee self-reliance and contributes to local economies.

Malawi’s 1989 Refugee Act provides for procedures to determine refugee status but does not address the rights of refugees. INUA Advocacy has lobbied for amending the law requiring refugees to live in the camp indefinitely and to enshrine refugees’ rights to freedom of movement, work, and education.

“The Malawian government should fulfill its expressed commitment to respect refugee rights and improve their living conditions, and not obstruct the important work of civil society groups defending these rights,” Nassah said. “The government should collaborate with local and international rights organizations, ensure their access to Dzaleka refugee camp, and end its encampment policy.”

World Football governing body, FIFA and Qatar have failed in the past year to remedy abuses of migrant workers who made the 2022 Qatar World Cup possible, including families of thousands of migrant workers who died of unexplained causes, Human Rights Watch said today. The 2022 World Cup tournament may be over for much of the world, including FIFA, but the legacy of the tournament lingers on for victims in Qatar and across migrant origin countries.

“FIFA’s answer to addressing the terrible human rights legacy it left behind in Qatar should have been to provide remedy for migrant deaths and stolen wages,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “By failing to do so, FIFA is showing disdain for the very workers who made the World Cup possible.”

Before the 2022 tournament, Qatari authorities and FIFA made grossly inaccurate and misleading claims that Qatar’s labor protection systems and compensation mechanisms were adequate to remedy these widespread abuses.

Human Rights Watch research has shown that Qatar’s labor reforms, made under intense global scrutiny, were extremely limited due to their late introduction, narrow scope, or poor enforcement, and that scores of migrant workers fell through the cracks. After the global spotlight on Qatar’s abuses dimmed, abused migrant workers and families of the deceased faced old and new forms of exploitation that Human Rights Watch documented in the post-2022 World Cup slowdown and that continue today.

FIFA’s irresponsible abandonment of migrant workers in Qatar and Qatar’s poor enforcement of reforms meant that many of the workers remain in Qatar in the post-tournament slowdown without work or pay and with outstanding wages and benefits contractually owed to them. Human Rights Watch documented that they are unable to return to their home countries as they fear that they would not be able to access the stolen wages and justice they are due from overseas.

A Qatar-based migrant worker said his company, dealing with a business slowdown, now is sending workers home for long, unpaid leaves. “The workers are given QAR 1000 [US$275] and airfare and told they will be contacted when there is work,” he said.

This leaves workers in a quandary, unable to quit as they are owed end-of-service benefits for over 10-15 years. These benefits add up to a significant amount that would go a long way back in their home countries. One worker said the extended leave policies leave workers without pay for months while the hope of future opportunities is dangled before them. The worker said that many migrant workers believe it is a way for companies to avoid paying end-of-service benefits.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s labor court has continued to be very slow in adjudicating outstanding cases brought by migrant workers who were cheated out of their wages or end-of-service benefits pre- and post-World Cup. Human Rights Watch has also spoken to workers who have been hesitant to file cases. “Even when the court rules in favor of workers … companies don’t obey court orders and pay workers what they are owed,” a worker said. “In this context, I don’t have the motivation to fight a legal battle.”

Some migrant workers have attempted to sue companies in jurisdictions outside Qatar. Forty Filipino migrant workers recently filed a lawsuit in the US state of Colorado against Jacobs Solutions Inc., a US firm that oversaw construction projects for four World Cup stadiums, for multiple alleged abuses, including unpaid wages, cramped living conditions, passport confiscation, and working in extreme heat. Fourteen of the Filipino workers worked for Al Jaber, a company in which, according to the lawsuit, Jacobs Solutions Inc. played a role “to monitor, direct, and control the labor supply chain.”

In an October statement to Quartz, Jacobs Solutions responded that they had not received or reviewed the lawsuit in detail, but emphasized their commitment to “respecting human rights and dignity.”

In 2022, Human Rights Watch reported that Al Jaber had hired workers under short-term project visas that forced them to return home before the end of their two-year contracts. The workers had paid exorbitant recruitment fees up to $1,570, but Al Jaber denied claims that workers paid recruitment fees in their response to Human Rights Watch.

In October 2023, two former Al Jaber workers told Human Rights Watch that the loans obtained to pay recruitment fees are still outstanding. One worker who was sent back after 10 months in Qatar said, “I do odd jobs now. My ten months in Qatar was a waste because I paid more than what I had earned.”

FIFA and Qatari authorities had an opportunity to address some of these bitter legacies by providing a remedy, including financial compensation, Human Rights Watch said. They could have built upon and expanded the limited successes of Qatar’s Workers’ Support Fund by reimbursing some migrant workers.

As one of the beneficiaries of the fund told Human Rights Watch, “When I got a call unexpectedly [from Qatar authorities] to come pick up my check [for unpaid wages] after months of following up, I could not believe it.” He immediately transferred the money to his family, who had taken loans for his children’s education and parents’ health bills.

Other limited positive examples in Qatar that addressed migrant worker abuses include the Universal Reimbursement Scheme by the Supreme Committee, the body responsible for planning and delivering World Cup infrastructure, under which workers were reimbursed for recruitment fees. Some companies adopted life insurance programs that compensated families of deceased migrant workers regardless of the cause or location of the worker’s death.

Unfortunately, only a handful of companies adopted such programs. For example, only 23 Supreme Committee companies adopted life insurance for their migrant workers.

FIFA and Qatar decided not to transform these small positive initiatives into a wider legacy of the 2022 World Cup for migrant workers. The call for remedy in the leadup to the tournament received strong global backing from football associations, sponsors, and politicians. In the months before the 2022 World Cup opened, FIFA indicated in a series of statements and briefings that it planned to compensate workers, such as at the Council of Europe hearing on labor rights in Qatar and to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Working Group on Workers’ Rights in Qatar.

But on the eve of the 2022 tournament, FIFA President Gianni Infantino responded to remedy calls for workers by claiming that the Qatar Labor Ministry’s Workers Support and Insurance Fund would take care of compensation, which it has failed to do. Migrants’ realities of fighting for wages since the World Cup closed show that FIFA’s pledges were blatant falsehoods, and much of the abuses were predictable and preventable.

A son of a deceased Qatar-based construction worker told Human Rights Watch: “My father used to support the family financially, and now it is only me. My mother is getting older, and I have a newborn … expenses are rising. It is very difficult to take care of my family alone.”

FIFA appears to be repeating the serious errors it made during the 12-year preparation for the 2022 World Cup, Human Rights Watch said. FIFA has effectively awarded the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, a country that relies extensively on over 13.4 million migrant workers, many of whom come from the same countries as Qatar’s workers.

“Many families are left in the dark about what killed their loved ones or how to afford the next day’s meal,” Page said. “FIFA and Qatari authorities continue to deflect scrutiny from their abject failure of protecting workers rather than spending a modicum of effort to compensate the very workers who generated huge revenues for them.”