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. 

Itamar Mann: A new approach to defending the human rights of migrants

A new approach to defending the human rights of migrants

In 2012, a landmark decision prevented Italy from turning back asylum seekers without hearing, a victory yet a precursor to darker tactics.

Since 2014, over 34,000 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean, a tragic outcome of Europe's reliance on Libyan militias to police borders.

Human rights lawyering evolves, using tech and international law to challenge Europe's outsourcing of migrant interception to Libyan forces.