MSF statement on Channel crossing deaths:"responsibility ​ lies with the French and British governments”

Statement by Xavier Crombé, Head of Mission France for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), in response to the shipwreck off Boulogne-sur-Mer on 3 September, 2024:

"We are shocked and angry at this latest tragedy in the Channel, in which at least 12 people have died, and several are missing, according to French authorities. With at least 37 deaths, 2024 is the deadliest year in the Channel for 30 years. These deaths are not inevitable, but the tragic consequence of inhumane and absurd migration policies.

The responsibility for these deaths lies, first and foremost, with the French and British governments, whose policies prioritise border control over human lives. In addition to being costly and ineffective, the security policy contributes to making journeys ever more precarious and dangerous.

These tragic events are the result of actions by the French authorities, financed and supported by the United Kingdom, to prevent people from leaving. These actions are pointless, because the number of people crossing the Channel has not decreased; they are deadly, because the departures are taking place in haste and onboard ever more crowded boats.

In a previous shipwreck in mid-July, at least nine people died as they embarked, suffocated or were trampled onboard overloaded boats, or drowned in rivers or canals before they had even reached the sea.

The rhetoric to ‘smash the criminal gangs’ is not the response to these tragedies. There is an urgent need to open safe and legal routes between the UK and France, as well as at Europe's other external borders, to counter human trafficking and enable men, women and children to find refuge in the UK or in Europe or to join their families without risking their lives.”