4.5. Duty in relation to people smuggling and human trafficking

The SAR of lives at sea is often set against the backdrop of political discourse about people smuggling and human trafficking. International measures exist, such as the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), to underscore the need to confront such criminal activity. However, such measures need to be read and understood in relation to other obligations in international law, and do not supersede them.

With that in mind, the main focus of this section is to identify a number of relevant legal instruments which sets out obligations relating to the specific question of assisting people in distress at sea. It is set in the context of concerns that states have about people smuggling and human trafficking, as well as SAR organisations' fears that states are using such concerns as a means of preventing or criminalising their work. What this section ultimately highlights is that international legal obligations relating to sea rescue do not differentiate between categories of people who get into distress at sea.