Mirka Schäfer | Head of Advocacy & Mobilisation
SOS Humanity
Mirka Schäfer is head of the Advocacy & Mobilisation department and political spokesperson for the non-governmental Search and Rescue organisation SOS Humanity. She holds a master’s degree in Social Sciences from Humboldt University in Berlin with a focus on Migration Studies.
Mirka Schäfer first joined the NGO in 2019 and is responsible for the Advocacy department since 2021. In August/September 2022 and July/August 2024, Mirka Schäfer was on board the rescue ship Humanity 1 as Human Rights Observer.
Through her work she supports the operations of SOS Humanity by protecting and promoting the rights of refugees in the Central Mediterranean through humanitarian analysis, research, media, and Advocacy work.
About SOS Humanity
SOS Humanity is a humanitarian non-governmental organisation dedicated to rescuing people fleeing across the central Mediterranean who are in distress at sea. The organisation stands for humanity at sea and on land, committed to ensuring no person drowns while fleeing at sea and that everyone is treated with dignity.
Founded in Berlin in 2015 as SOS Mediterranee Germany, the organisation operated the rescue ships Aquarius and Ocean Viking from 2016 to 2021 as part of the European SOS Mediterranee network. Since 2022, SOS Humanity has operated independently under its new name, deploying the rescue ship Humanity 1. Since the beginning of its operations, SOS Humanity has rescued more than 38,500 people from distress at sea.
In addition to saving lives at sea and providing emergency medical and psychological care to those rescued, SOS Humanity documents human rights violations in the Mediterranean and advocates for the protection of refugee rights.