A/HRC/7/12 page 14 37. Despite these norms, the Special Rapporteur expresses concern about the numerous reports received over the last few years concerning migrants who have been intercepted, detained or who have lost their lives at sea, in particular in the Mediterranean and Gulf regions. The current Special Rapporteur and his predecessor, Ms. Gabriela Rodríguez Pizarro, have entered into constructive dialogue with a number of countries, with regard to specific cases involving hundreds of individuals rescued at sea; the concerns of the Special Rapporteur and the responses of Governments were published in their periodic reports.28 38. Among the problems identified is the lack of individual assessment of migrants intercepted at sea, often resulting in detention and expulsion of groups without due process, and accompanying ill-treatment. This may include a lack of sensitivity to the rights of asylum-seekers, for instance mandatory detention and their return to countries where they may risk persecution or torture.29 There have also been challenges in distinguishing migrants from those responsible for smuggling and trafficking. 39. In certain incidents, States have called upon countries of origin to identify possible collaborators in smuggling or trafficking networks among those rescued, and then charging certain irregular migrants with a criminal offence without due process, even though they may have been victims of trafficking or objects of smuggling practices, rather than perpetrators. This potentially exposes individuals fleeing persecution in their countries of origin to the risk of involuntary return under the pretext that they are involved in trafficking or smuggling. In addition, the Special Rapporteur has received reports of criminal charges being brought against those involved in the rescuing or inadvertent transport of irregular migrants, such as fishermen. 40. All these violations concerning migrants who travel by sea contribute to the phenomenon of the increasing criminalization of irregular migration, putting both the migrants and the rescuers at risk of potential abuses. It is important that States take measures so that those intercepted and rescued at sea are processed on an individual basis and afforded due process, and that persons claiming international protection are allowed to enter the national asylum procedure.30 28 See E/CN.4/2002/94 of 15 February 2002; E/CN.4/2003/85/Add.1 and Add.1/Corr.1 of 30 January 2003, the report of the Special Rapporteur, Gabriela Rodríguez Pizarro, on communications with Governments; E/CN.4/2006/73/Add.1, the communications report submitted in 2006; A/HRC/4/24, the report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants and A/61/324, the interim report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants to the General Assembly. 29 Note the principle of non-refoulement, enshrined in article 33 (1) of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention), and a rule of customary international law. A similar principle is found in article 3 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). 30 UNHCR, “Background note: The treatment of persons rescued at sea: conclusions and recommendations from recent meetings and expert round tables convened by UNHCR”, 28 November 2007.