Protection begins at Sea
A Malta Refugee Council conference on refugees crossing the Mediterranean
World Refugee Day Conference | #DontLetThemDrown
20 June, 12.00 - 17.30The Catholic Institute, FlorianaThe Malta Refugee Council is proud to launch our
2025 World Refugee Day Conference:
Protection begins at sea:
A Malta Refugee Council conference on
refugees crossing the Mediterranean.
In April 2025, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) confirmed that the Central Mediterranean migration route is the world’s most deadly. The Organisation’s published data shows that almost 25,000 people have died along the route since 2014.
At least 499 people have died or disappeared in the Mediterranean in 2025 alone.
At the same time, sea arrivals in Malta are at an all-time low. 238 people reached Malta by sea in 2023. Figures from earlier years confirm the downward trend: 380 in 2023, 444 in 2022, 832 in 2021 and 2,281 in 2020.
Why do people get onto boats to cross the Mediterranean? What happens out at sea after people in distress launch an SOS? Who is responsible to ensure lives are not lost? Where are people disembarked after having been rescued? Why are figures so low for Malta, when we know people are still fleeing their homes?
Why are people dying on our doorstep?
For World Refugee 2025, the Malta Refugee Council underlines that protecting refugees begins at sea. As they embark on perlious journeys seeking the protection they were lacked at home, refugees risk all. It is Malta’s legal and moral duty to ensure that no lives are lost in its area of responsiblity.
The Malta Refugee Council urges you to join the discussion and to explore what more can be done to ensure that Malta’s migration policies are not built on deaths at sea.
The Conference will present 2 panels:
Panel 1: The status quo: what is happening today?
Panel 2: Call to Action: how do we protect refugees at sea?
Panel 1: The status quo: what is happening today?
Panel 2: Call to Action: how do we protect refugees at sea?
When: 20 June 2054, 12.00 - 17.30
Where: The Catholic Institute, Floriana
Registration: On a first come first served basis
Info: Contact us
Where: The Catholic Institute, Floriana
Registration: On a first come first served basis
Info: Contact us
REGISTER HERE!
The Conference is organised within the framework of the #DontLetThemDrown initiative, with the generous support of Dance Beyond Borders.