EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia and Caritas Italiana together to save lives at sea
Today, in Sacrofano close to Rome (Italy), Caritas Italiana has announced the beginning of a close cooperation with EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia 
represented by the Force Commander of the European Task Force at sea since last June 26 to counter human smugglers and traffickers’ activities in Central Mediterranean Sea.
Nonetheless, upon request by the competent Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), in accordance with the International Law of the Sea, and fully respecting Refugee Conventions, EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia assets have been involved in 76 rescue operations saving more than 12600 lives.
In those rescue operations, often complex in view of weather conditions, it is very important to be ready to provide dry clothes to migrants especially when cases of Hypothermia are identified. 1000 of “migrants kits” will be therefore delivered in the coming days, with additional similar supports to be provided in the following months. An initiative that demonstrates, once again, Caritas Italiana commitment in supporting those arriving in our communities escaping from wars, hunger, environmental disasters, political and religious persecutions.
Caritas Italiana was founded in 1971 answering to the will of Paul VI in order to promote the charity commitment with a mainly pedagogical function. It is the pastoral organization of the Bishops Conference of Italy which connects 220 diocesan Caritas, committed in daily activities to support the most vulnerable people. Caritas Italiana is engaged and promotes the witness of charity in many areas: peace and “world view”, justice and human rights, old and new kind of poverty, volunteering, civil voluntary service, migration, mental health, homelessness, etc. with an ongoing commitment to training.
EUNAVFOR MED operation, launched on the 22nd of June 2015, is part of a wider EU’s comprehensive approach to migration, tackling both current symptoms and root causes such as conflict, poverty, climate change and persecution.
The mission is aimed at contributing to disrupt the business model of human smuggling and trafficking networks in the Mediterranean and to prevent the further loss of life at sea.