In 2011, at least 1500 migrants perished in the Mediterranean en route to Europe. In one notable case, 63 of 72 passengers on a refugee dinghy died in the course of a 2-week drift. Despite communicating distress, they were left to die by passing military vessels and maritime authorities. This article analyzes the inquiry into this case conducted within the Council of Europe as a revealing instance of international human rights supervision. Through a focus on the practice of human rights reporting in instances of multiple institutional and moral failures, it shows how the rapporteur arrived at a politically acceptable account of who was responsible for the boat's tragedy. Distinguishing between the concepts of responsibility as duty and responsibility as guilt, the article considers the implications of privileging the former over the latter. It argues for a human rights practice that embraces a robust notion of responsibility that combines both. © 2015, Copyright © 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

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