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Título
Búsqueda y salvamento en el mar: a caballo entre el deber de socorro y los intereses de los Estados ribereños
Otros títulos
Search and rescue at sea: straddling the duty to render assistance and the interests of the coastal States
Autor(es)
Director(es)
Materia
Tesis y disertaciones académicas
Universidad de Salamanca (España)
Tesis Doctoral
Academic dissertations
Salvamento marítimo
Inmigrantes
Unión Europea
Clasificación UNESCO
5603.02 Derecho del Mar
Fecha de publicación
2023
Resumen
[EN] As a result of an ancient maritime custom and its subsequent sanction in several international conventions, the rescue of persons in distress at sea has an established legal procedure. The migratory phenomenon and the smuggling of migrants distort this regulatory framework, which was not designed for such an avalanche. The situation is aggravated especially in the receiving States and by the fact that even within the European Union (EU) there is no homogeneous policy, demonstrating in many cases more an intention of territorial protection ─that is, a policy of barriers, with deterritorialisation of the problem through agreements and disembarkation and confinement centres in third countries, extended jurisdictions (creeping jurisdiction), and disembarkation difficulties─ than of compliance with the conventions on human rights and the principles of protection of fundamental rights that inspired the construction of Europe..
What is striking about the approach is that irregular migration that has gained access through irregular border crossings is in a minority. In both the EU and Spain, less than 10% of irregular migrants irregularly cross the maritime border. Most of the immigration that later becomes irregular enters through legal entry. These data do not seem to be of interest to the media or known to public opinion. In order to ascertain that public opinion, fieldwork was carried out in three regions of Spain (Galicia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands), territories that represent different profiles of economic development. The results confirm that the population studied is unaware of the relative magnitude of migratory flows, which leads to a negative bias towards immigrants arriving by sea, for fear that they will consume resources that could be used by national citizens. There seems to be a tendency for governments and their media to remain silent on the actual consumption of resources by those who are in an irregular situation but have entered legally. The deployment of border controls and the lack of enforcement of legal regulations and respect for human rights, focusing only on the small percentage of irregular migrants who enter by sea, is totally paradoxical.
Law and good governance of rescues of migrants in distress at sea require compliance with conventions and the protection of fundamental rights. These fundamental rights are an integral part of the founding principles of the EU. Barrier actions cannot be justified and the international agreements must be respected. A general education and outreach campaign is needed to bring politicians and citizens together, but within the legal framework and the fundamental principles of European integration. The EU is not just a set of economic interests orbiting around the euro. It is a project that, according to the Treaty on European Union, revolves around three fundamental principles: democratic equality, representative democracy and participatory democracy. Attempting to reduce the flow of irregular migrants by sea by delaying the disembarkation of ships that are legally obliged to carry out rescue operations is a reprehensible action, with a minimal effect on the total number of migrant arrivals and one that seriously harms shipowners, violates human rights conventions, and puts the lives of those rescued at risk.
In addition to the human drama, in the midst of this conflict are the merchant ships and their masters. They have a moral and legal obligation to rescue people in distress at sea, but they also have the right to proceed as quickly as possible, without undue delay. A rescue vessel is not a place of safety. The shipmaster uses the means at his/her disposal, but a rescue at sea is always expensive. In addition, rescued persons need accommodation, provisions and, in many cases, medical care. Monitoring them for weapons, drugs, or control of wandering in restricted areas such as engine rooms or the ship's operational centres, may not be an easy task. The rescuing merchant ship inevitably delays its voyage, with commercial repercussions. Even with insurance cover, salvage often has negative financial consequences for the shipowner.
[ES] Fruto de una antigua costumbre marítima y de su posterior sanción en varios convenios internacionales, el salvamento de personas en peligro en el mar tiene un procedimiento legal establecido. El fenómeno migratorio y el tráfico ilícito de migrantes distorsionan ese marco normativo que no fue concebido para semejante avalancha. La situación se agrava especialmente en los Estados receptores y por el hecho de que incluso en el seno de la Unión Europea (UE) no existe una política homogénea, demostrando en muchos casos más una intención de protección territorial ─es decir, una política de barreras, con desterritorialización del problema a través de acuerdos y centros de desembarco y confinamiento en terceros países, jurisdicciones ampliadas (creeping jurisdiction), y dificultades de desembarco─ que de cumplimiento de las convenciones sobre derechos humanos y los principios de protección de los derechos fundamentales que inspiraron la construcción de Europa.
Lo sorprendente del planteamiento es que la migración irregular que ha accedido a través de cruces fronterizos irregulares es minoritaria. Tanto en la UE como en España, menos del 10% de los inmigrantes irregulares cruzan irregularmente la frontera marítima. La mayor parte de la inmigración que luego se convierte en irregular entra por la vía legal. Estos datos no parecen interesar a los medios de comunicación ni ser conocidos por la opinión pública. Para conocer esa opinión pública se realizó un trabajo de campo en tres regiones de España (Galicia, Valencia y Baleares), territorios que representan diferentes perfiles de desarrollo económico. Los resultados confirman que la población estudiada desconoce la magnitud relativa de los flujos migratorios, lo que se traduce en un sesgo negativo hacia los inmigrantes que llegan por mar, por temor a que consuman recursos que podrían ser utilizados por los ciudadanos nacionales. Parece existir una tendencia de los gobiernos y sus medios de comunicación a guardar silencio sobre el consumo real de recursos por parte de quienes se encuentran en situación irregular pero han entrado legalmente. El despliegue de controles fronterizos y la falta de aplicación de la normativa legal y de respeto de los derechos humanos, centrándose únicamente en el pequeño porcentaje de inmigrantes irregulares que entran por mar, resulta totalmente paradójico.
URI
DOI
10.14201/gredos.157720
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