Together for Justice 

6 months since the Pylos shipwreck 

“All we care about is that the world knows what happened.” – Walid*, a young Egyptian shipwreck survivor.

*pseudonym

We would like to invite you and colleagues to ‘Together for Justice – 6 months since the Pylos shipwreck’, an event organised by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, on 14 December 2023. 

The event marks six months since a boat with approximately 750 refugees and migrants on board sank off the coast of Pylos, Greece. With only 104 survivors, the shipwreck has become one of the deadliest tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea in recent history.  
  
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch will present the findings of joint research into the actions and omissions that contributed to the tragedy and highlight concerns regarding the current judicial investigations into the shipwreck. Legal organizations supporting survivors of the shipwreck will discuss the lack of accountability for the Greek authorities’ role in rights violations at borders and their growing tendency to assign heavy responsibilities to migrants and refugees as part of wider deterrence policies. Forensis will present their investigation into the dynamics of the shipwreck.  

‘Together for Justice – 6 months since the Pylos shipwreck’ also aims to be a platform for migrants and refugees impacted by the tragedy to reclaim the narrative to share in their own words the impact that the Pylos shipwreck has had on their lives and what changes need to happen so that the rights of those who died and are unaccounted for are respected. 

The event will be taking place at Romantso (Anaxagora 3, Athina 105 52, Greece) from 16:00 – 21:00. Please note that given to space limitation, participants will have to register to attend the event. If you are interested in attending, please register here: Together for Justice – 6 months since the Pylos shipwreck registration form 

A full agenda will be sent in the following days. Please see the FAQs below for more details about the event, and feel free to reach out if you have any further questions.  

UPDATE: SEE FULL PROGRAM HERE!

We look forward to seeing you there.  

FAQs

Where and when will the event be held?  

The event will be held at Romantso (Anaxagora 3, Athina 105 52, Greece) on Thursday 14 December 2023 from 16:00 – 21:00.  

What does the agenda of the event look like?  

16:00 – 19:30: The event will begin at with a presentation of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch joint investigation and findings. The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session with guests from various legal organisations supporting refugees and migrants in Greece, investigative journalists, government representatives (TBC) and people directly impacted by the shipwreck.  The panel discussion will cover topics including the Pylos shipwreck dynamics and parallels to other tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea, accountability, the need for an independent border monitoring mechanism and the criminalization of migrants as deterrence policy. We will send a finalized panel discussion programme closer to the date of the event.  

19:30 – 21:00: The space will be open until 21:00 for attendees to engage with the important work done by other organisations and solidarity campaign materials, as well as participate in a candle-lit vigil to commemorate those who lost their lives or who are still unaccounted for. There will be light food and refreshments during the event.  

Will there be interpretation of the panel discussion?  

The event will be taking place in English, but we will aim to have the option of Greek and Arabic interpretation. Please make a note of your language preferences in the registration form and whether you will need interpretation.  

Are there any accessibility barriers that I should be aware of?  

There are a small number of stairs to enter the venue. Please reach out to us if you have any specific accessibility needs and we will do our best to accommodate to ensure your participation.