A/HRC/44/42 fines. For example, in 2019 Italy passed a decree establishing the maximum fine for search and rescue ships that enter its territorial waters without permission at €1 million. 46 78. Restricting access to public funding is yet another measure used to silence civil society organizations that work with migrants. In 2016, the Ministry of the Interior of Poland annulled the call for civil society organization proposals to the European Union Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, preventing such organizations from accessing funds that had been earmarked for migration assistance. 47 In Hungary, civil society organizations that apply to that Fund must agree to allow the Ministry of the Interior to directly withdraw money from the organization’s bank account at any point during and after the project implementation period. That requirement seriously dissuades civil society organizations from applying for those funds. 48 There are reports that civil society organizations that have accepted government funding for their migrant-related work elect not to report violations against migrants for fear of losing both the funding and access necessary to carry out their work. 49 In Australia, government funding for legal assistance, including interpretation services, for asylum seekers was removed in a drastic manner in 2014.50 4. Effect of criminalization and restrictions on both civil society organizations that work with migrants and on migrants themselves 79. The recent trend towards the securitization of migration, as detailed above, has forced civil society organizations to adapt some of their practices in order to ensure their security and operational effectiveness. Some adaptations to the new environment have been positive; there appears to be renewed interest in building alliances, information-sharing and building protective capacities. For instance, in 2017, organizations performing search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean drafted an informal code of conduct to help prevent future attacks by ensuring best practices among such organizations. 51 Organizations may be better educating their staff on how to respond if their own rights are threatened. 80. Many civil society organizations have been forced to create office security guidelines, set up emergency hotlines, engage in strategic litigation and change fundraising targets and methods, which has sometimes had an adverse effect on their work. Such organizations have been more reluctant to rely on volunteers when they cannot ensure the volunteers’ safety, resulting in a reduction in volunteer support. These adaptations take time, mental energy and resources and may increase the psychological toll on staff members and volunteers. Additionally, the funds and energy spent on adapting to the riskier environment diverts civil society organization services and advocacy assistance away from migrants. 81. This increase in attacks and restrictions on civil society organizations that work with migrants has not emerged in a vacuum, but rather in the context of shrinking civic space generally. Laws and practices preventing civil society organizations from fulfilling their human rights and humanitarian missions and the policing of such organizations erode 46 47 48 49 50 51 Emma Wallis, “Larger fines for migrant rescue ships in Italy”, Info Migrants, 6 August 2019. Available at www.infomigrants.net/en/post/18652/larger-fines-for-migrant-rescue-ships-in-italy. Lina Vosyliūtė and Carmine Conte, “Crackdown on NGOs assisting refugees and other migrants: policy option brief”, Research Social Platform on Migration and Asylum, March 2019, p. 12. Available at www.resoma.eu/sites/resoma/resoma/files/policy_brief/pdf/POB%20Crackdown%20on%20NGOs_0. pdf. Rachel Westerby, “Follow the money: assessing the use of EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) funding at the national level”, UNHCR and European Council on Refugees and Exiles, January 2018, p. 41. Available at www.ecre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/follow-themoney_AMIF_UNHCR_ECRE_23-11-2018.pdf. Vosyliūtė and Conte, “Crackdown on NGOs and volunteers helping refugees and other migrants: policy option brief”, p. 11. Submission from the Refugee Advice and Casework Service, pp. 1–2. See www.humanrightsatsea.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/20170302-NGO-Code-of-ConductFINAL-SECURED.pdf. 15