borderline-europe - human rights without borders e. V. is a

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

which, through independent investigations and public relations work, advocates the protection of human rights, especially at the EU's external borders. It is based in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and has two branches, on the islands of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Anatolia, Asia Minor ...

. The organisation was founded in 2007 by Judith Gleitze, Harald Glöde, Stefan Schmidt and .Gerrit Wustmann
Die Toten, die niemand sehen will
(''tr. "The dead that nobody wants to see"''), 29 July 2007 ''Telepolis, www.heise.de'', accessed 25 May 2021 In 2012 borderline-europe was awarded the . Its founding was at least partly a response to the 2004 case of the German rescue ship ‘Cap Anamur’ in which, after the rescue of 37 men in distress at sea, the ship's captain, Stefan Schmidt, and the organisation's chairman, Elias Bierdel were arrested and held in Italy before being acquitted, 5 years later, of aiding and abetting irregular entry.

Tasks

The organisation mainly focuses on research at the

External border of the European Union The border of the European Union consists of the land and sea borders that member states of the EU share with foreign states adjacent to the union. Border status and cooperation In 2004 the European Union developed the European Neighbourhood Po ...

and on reporting on the situation on the ground. The main concern of the organisation is to strengthen a critical public for the consequences of the European policy of isolation. With their work they also oppose the widespread criminalisation of people who help refugees and migrants in need and who save lives. The organisation : * campaigns for legal escape routes * campaigns against a defense by military means by

Frontex The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, also known as Frontex (from French: ''Frontières extérieures'' for "external borders"), is an agency of the European Union headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, exercising in coordination with the borde ...

against migrants * creates research in the border regions, so-called "border monitoring" * writes documentation / publications on the topic * supports initiatives for humanitarian aid at the borders * arranges contact persons for the press and organisers * works on networking the European NGOs in the field of displacement and migration * organises national and transnational projects, series of events and conferences

Projects

Berlin office

The Berlin office supports various projects, including events against right-wing populism, participation in refugee campaigns, research projects, and cooperation with aid projects such as Alarm-Phone-Initiative,

Sea-Watch Sea-Watch is a German non-governmental organisation that operates in the Mediterranean Sea, notably by commissioning ships to rescue migrants. History On 6 November 2017, the crew of a Sea-Watch ship rescued 58 people in an operation hindered b ...

and Jugend Rettet.

Branch office in Sicily

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

the organisation monitors and observes conditions of refugees arriving into transit camps and when accessing the asylum procedure.

Branch office on Lesbos

A first point of contact for refugees was set up in cooperation with the local organisation "Lesvos Solidarity". Language courses, legal advice, educational offers for children and adults, psychosocial support and leisure events are to be organised here - for both refugees and the local population.

Awards

In 2012 the association received the Aachen Peace Prize.Preisträger 2012 Alejandro Cerezo Contreras und Borderline Europe e.V.
(''tr. "Award winner 2012 Alejandro Cerezo Contreras and Borderline Europe e.V."'') (archived copy from ''www.aachener-friedenspreis.de'') accessed 25 May 2021

References

{{Reflist European migrant crisis Immigrant rights activism Humanitarian aid organizations in Europe Refugee aid organizations in Europe