How Frontex Frames Non-Rescue as Humanitarian
Civil society actors have long [criticized the EU](https://ecre.org/editorial-sar-draft-roadmap-state-responsibility-absent/) for the lack of search and rescue (SAR) operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that between 2014-2024, a minimum of [28,000 refugees and migrants](https://missingmigrants.iom.int/region/mediterranean) have lost their lives or gone missing in the Mediterranean, with the Central Mediterranean being the [deadliest migration route](https://missingmigrants.iom.int/) in the world. The European Border and Coast Guard agency (Frontex), however, believes that SAR constitutes a so-called ‘pull-factor’ which entices more people to attempt the dangerous crossing and die at sea, portraying *non-rescue* as in their best interest.
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