Cities of Safe Harbors Alliance

The “Cities of Safe Harbors Alliance” interconnects municipalities, communities and districts across Germany that show solidarity with the “Seebrücke” initiative and civil sea rescue in the Mediterranean. It pools common interests in order to lend weight to their demands vis-à-vis the federal government.

Over 120 municipalities, communities and districts have joined the alliance. They see themselves as a humanitarian community of values that is committed to the reception and participation of refugees. The alliance:

• reaffirms the offer to take in additional refugees,
• shows solidarity with civil sea rescue in the Mediterranean,
• promotes the transfer of knowledge between municipalities.

The goals of the alliance are set out in the Potsdam Declaration.

Berlin has been part of the alliance since it was founded on June 14, 2019. The Federal Land coordination is carried out by the Department of Integration and Migration, whose representatives take part in the meetings of the coordinators of the Federal Länder and the overall alliance meetings and carry out the transfer of knowledge, including through webinars.

The first cities to sign the Potsdam Declaration include Berlin, Detmold, Flensburg, Freiburg, Greifswald, Hildesheim, Kiel, Krefeld, Marburg, Potsdam, Rostock and Rottenburg am Neckar. It now has over 120 members.

• You can find an overview of the member cities on the alliance’s website.
• An overview of all 320 “Safe Harbors” can be found here.

The alliance is open-ended and receives no financial support. It is based on the commitment of the member municipalities and the coordination office in Potsdam.