Humans at Sea: Migrants, Refugees and Transnational Responses

Abstract

Thousands of migrants undertake perilous journeys to reach a safe haven, often risking their lives in the crossing of a sea. Nevertheless, despite increasing media attention in the last years, maritime migration is not a new phenomenon. With growing transnational movements of people by sea in the last decades crossing the Atlantic, the South Pacific or the Mediterranean, receiving states have focused on the prevention of irregular maritime movements, through a securitarian approach, often focusing on the dimension of maritime security. Maritime migration management has to be framed within the multiplicity and overlapping regimes regulating the state's support to humans at sea, namely regarding safety of life, search and rescue and refugee laws. The aim of this chapter is to make a decisive contribution to the field proposing a comprehensive conceptualisation of maritime migration, moving beyond regional approaches, highlighting the dimension of human security to enlighten future perspectives and policy-making regarding maritime migration management.