In 2023, more than 8,500 people died during migration globally. (representative))
Berlin:
The United Nations migration agency said on Tuesday that drowning was the biggest cause of recorded migrant deaths over the past decade, with more than 36,000 victims.
According to a report by the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 60% of the 64,000 migrant deaths recorded over the past 10 years were related to drowning.
Of these sea deaths, more than 27,000 occurred in the Mediterranean Sea – where many migrants have tried to reach southern Europe from North Africa over the years.
The International Organization for Migration said the figures in the report were likely “a small fraction of the actual numbers” and that much of the data was incomplete.
Andrea Garcia Borja, a data analyst at the International Organization for Migration, told reporters in Berlin that the Mediterranean is an “extremely dangerous area and the journey is extremely dangerous.”
But the region’s relatively larger totals partly reflect more rigorous monitoring efforts, Garcia said.
She said data from the Mediterranean region was likely “closer to reality” and harder to monitor than other regions, such as the Sahara, where reliable data is hard to come by.
According to the International Organization for Migration, two-thirds of recorded deaths and disappearances remain unidentified.
In more than half of the cases, the IOM was not even able to determine the migrant’s gender or age.
Of those cases where the origin of the migrants could be determined, more than one-third came from “conflict countries or countries with large refugee populations.”
The figure highlights “the dangers faced by those trying to flee conflict areas without safe passage,” the report said.
More than 8,500 people died on migration routes globally in 2023, the deadliest year since the International Organization for Migration began collecting data a decade ago.
The figures so far in 2024 are “equally alarming”, the organization said.
For Mediterranean routes, arrivals are down relative to 2023, but “the number of fatalities is almost as high as last year”.
The International Organization for Migration said there was an “urgent need to strengthen search and rescue capabilities” and “safe and regular migration routes” to prevent further deaths.
At sea, more assistance is needed for migrants in distress “in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles,” the International Organization for Migration said.
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