Ideas worth spreading

A new approach to defending the human rights of migrants

1,541,542 views |

Itamar Mann |

TED Fellows: Shape Your Future

• May 2021

In this gripping talk, litigator and TED Fellow Itamar Mann details the perilous boat migrations of asylum seekers crossing the Mediterranean Sea. With a surplus of evidence gathered by researchers and activists, he explains how lawyers are making progress in prosecuting human rights abuses happening on militarized coasts. On a basic human level, Mann speaks to the obligation we have to defend each other's right to a dignified life -- because the future of how we inhabit the planet together depends on it.

In this gripping talk, litigator and TED Fellow Itamar Mann details the perilous boat migrations of asylum seekers crossing the Mediterranean Sea. With a surplus of evidence gathered by researchers and activists, he explains how lawyers are making progress in prosecuting human rights abuses happening on militarized coasts. On a basic human level, Mann speaks to the obligation we have to defend each other's right to a dignified life -- because the future of how we inhabit the planet together depends on it.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Contribute to strategic litigation supporting asylum seekers globally by donating to the Global Legal Action Network.

Keep updated on revelations from some of the world's most violent border zones.

About the speaker

Itamar Mann

Human rights lawyer

See speaker profile

Author and litigator Itamar Mann defends the rights of refugees who flee their countries and cross violent borders.

Itamar Mann | Cambridge University Press, 2016 | Book

Humanity at Sea: Maritime Migration and the Foundations of International Law

Mann sets out his theory of "the human rights encounter," illustrated through the stories of refugees who have sought asylum by maritime routes, since the mid-20th century.

Lorenzo Pezzani and Charles Heller | Postcolonial Studies, 2013 | Article

"A Disobedient Gaze: Strategic Interventions in the Knowledge(s) of Maritime Borders"

A methodological introduction to investigating violations of asylum seekers’ rights at sea, using surveillance technologies originally implemented to enforce borders.

Tendayi Achiume | Stanford Law Review, 2019 | Article

"Migration as Decolonization"

A powerful account of the role of migration in struggles for global historical justice in the context of radical racial and economic inequalities.

Violeta Moreno-Lax | Journal of Common Market Studies, 2018 | Article

"The EU Humanitarian Border and the Securitization of Human Rights: The ‘Rescue-Through-Interdiction / Rescue-Without-Protection Paradigm"

Maritime rescue has often been employed to deny asylum seekers the right to demand refugee status. This article explains how that has worked at the external borders of the European Union.

Charles Heller et al. | New York Times, 2018 | Article

"'It’s an Act of Murder': How Europe Outsources Suffering as Migrants Drown"

Detailed account of the November 6, 2017 event that Mann’s TED Talk focuses on, with video reconstruction based on collaboration with Forensic Oceanography and Forensic Architecture.

Nikolas Feith Tan and Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen | German Law Journal, 2020 | Article

"A Topographical Approach to Accountability for Human Rights Violations in Migration Control"

The struggle for legal accountability for asylum seekers rights has been pursued in many forums with varying results. This article conceptualizes how to think of the relationship between different avenues to seek accountability.

Cathryn Costello and Itamar Mann | German Law Journal, 2020 | Article

"Border Justice: Migration and Accountability for Human Rights Violations"

An introduction to "border justice" and its place in wider agenda for global justice, set in the context of European border policies.

Learn more

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Contribute to strategic litigation supporting asylum seekers globally by donating to the Global Legal Action Network.

Keep updated on revelations from some of the world's most violent border zones.