A/HRC/29/36 on readmission. The EU holds these Mobility Partnerships with 8 countries. The EU has signed Mobility Partnerships with Morocco, Tunisia, Azerbaijan and Jordan since the Special Rapporteur’s report in 2013. Furthermore, a Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility has been signed with Nigeria. Discussions are ongoing with Belarus on developing a Mobility Partnership. 14. Since 2012, the EU has also signed readmission agreements with four new countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Cape Verde, which all entered into force in 2014. 14 2. Institutional Search and rescue 15. The further reinforcement of the SAR services provided to migrants in the Mediterranean Sea are an important institutional development since 2013. The Italian rescue operation, Mare Nostrum, was launched in response to the hundreds of migrants who died in shipwrecks near the island of Lampedusa in October 2013. Mare Nostrum is reported to have saved the lives of as many as 160,000 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea in 2014. Despite pressure from civil society organisations, the Italian government ended Mare Nostrum in December 2014 because of high costs, the lack of support from other European countries for the operation and the initiation of Operation Triton. 15 16. Mare Nostrum was a specific mission run by the Italian Navy. It was initiated despite pre-existing regional discussions about a Frontex operation and was described by Italian Coast Guard Admiral Pettorino as “a very important message of humanity and civil responsibility sent out by the Italian Government”. It wasn’t a totally new operation but was a significantly scaled up version of the Italian naval operation “Constant Vigilance”. 17. Reported operating budgets for Mare Nostrum differ. Media reports suggested that it cost EUR 9 Million per month to run, whereas funding granted by the European Commission Borders Fund (EBF) suggested that EUR 1.8 Million would cover a month’s worth of running costs. More than 900 personnel are estimated to be involved in the implementation of Mare Nostrum, which stretched far beyond the territorial waters of Italy’s territorial waters and continuous zone. The operation deployed a large number of navel ships, as well as helicopters, airplanes and drones. 16 18. Debates have been witnessed within Europe about whether Mare Nostrum was a pull factor for irregular migrants. Pettorini asserted that the operation was not a migration pull factor and that those on boats were motivated by the humanitarian situations they were fleeing. However other reports have discussed how smugglers abused the presence of Mare Nostrum by making shorter journeys to where they knew migrant would be rescued allowing them to facilitate more sea-based trips.17 19. Operation Triton, a Frontex initiative, was launched as a response to the continued loss of life at sea in the Mediterranean in 2014. The Triton joint operation, coordinated by 14 15 16 17 28 European Commission, 2015, “Reply by DG Migration and Home Affairs to the questions by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants”. Amnesty International, 2014, “Italy: Ending Mare Nostrum search and rescue operation would ‘put lives at risk”. Carrera, S & den Hertog, L, CEPS, 2015, “Whose Mare? Rule of law challenges in the field of European border surveillance in the Mediterranean”. IOM, 2014, “Interview with Admiral Pettorino, Italian Coast Guard: “Saving Lives is Our Only Concern” & Carrera, S & den Hertog, L, CEPs, 2015, “Whose Mare? Rule of law challenges in the field of European border surveillance in the Mediterranean”.