About Us

The Channel Monitoring Project monitors the activities of government entities operating on the Channel to ensure that human rights are respected. We collects independent data and information to counter narratives that criminalise those who attempt to cross the Channel.

The key purpose of The Channel Monitoring Project is to act as an independent observer of search and rescue (SAR) and interdiction incidents, through the collection, analysis and dissemination of reliable data regarding human rights violations in the English Channel.

Our role is to record any such instances of pushbacks, pullbacks, or other human rights violations happening. We hold the authorities accountable for their actions, using our information and recordings to lobby for a change to the hostile environment policies.

What We Do

We act as eyes and ears on the channel to ensure that operations carried out by these authorities comply with international law.

Through our presence on the English Channel, Channel Monitoring Project aims to reinforce and to work within the following legal frameworks:

• UK Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• 1951 Refugee Convention
• 1967 Refugee Protocol

How We Do It

Channel Monitoring Project undertakes the following activities:

• Remote monitoring
• Coastal monitoring
• Advocacy and reporting

Remote Monitoring

Developing a range of tools which are available via our website
Monitor the weather 
Monitor vessels such as Search and Rescue, authorities and commercial ships
Monitor aircraft including drones and other aerial assets
Monitor onshore surveillance infrastructure

Coastal Monitoring

Focused on the coastal areas of Kent County, in the South and Southeast of England, we monitor for small boats and informal craft in distress.
Channel Monitoring Project volunteers use binoculars, telescopes and radios to monitor from land, on public byways and access points, and/or from the sea using Channel Monitoring Project or affiliated vessels.
All volunteers are trained to undertake monitoring activities in line with safety procedures and quality standards that were developed based on similar work in other countries such as Greece and Italy.

Advocacy and Reporting

Based on our independent monitoring activities, The Channel Monitoring Project undertakes advocacy work to raise awareness about the situation on the Channel and to highlight the consequences of the increasingly hostile environment in the UK.

We also report those activities that are carried out by government entities and that we determine are unlawful, such as the practice of “pushbacks”.