Migrants rescued off Libya in October 2021. VALERIA MONGELLI / AP
More than 3,000 migrants trying to reach Europe died at sea last year, double the number in 2020, the UN said on Friday April 29, which is seeking “alternatives” to those desperate and dangerous.
“Of these, 1,924 people were reported dead or missing on the central and western Mediterranean routes, while a further 1,153 died or were missing on the sea route from north-west Africa to the Canary Islands,” a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Shabia Mantoo said in Geneva. In 2020, 1,544 fatalities were reported for the two routes. “Frighteningly, 478 more people have died or disappeared at sea since the beginning of the year,” Ms Mantoo said.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting border closures are having an impact on migration flows, with many refugees and migrants turning to smugglers to get to Europe despite everything.
In a report published on Friday, UNHCR notes in particular that last year 53,323 people arrived in Italy by sea, 83% more than in 2020, and 23,042 arrived in the Canary Islands, almost as many as in 2020 .
Compared to 2020, last year also saw a 61% increase in sea departures from Tunisia and 150% from Libya. Departures from Algeria, on the other hand, increased only very slightly (+3%).
The Central Mediterranean, the deadliest route
Most sea crossings are operated on board inflatable boats, which are overcrowded and in poor condition, UNHCR stresses. Many of these boats deflate or capsize, resulting in the deaths of those on board. “The sea voyage from West African coastal countries such as Senegal and Mauritania and the Canary Islands is long and dangerous and can take up to 10 days,” the UNHCR spokeswoman said during a regular press conference of UN agencies in Geneva. Many boats have gone off course or disappeared without a trace in these waters. »
The central Mediterranean is the deadliest migratory route in the world, with over 17,000 dead and missing recorded by the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Missing Migrants Project since 2014.
UNHCR ensures that the land routes can also prove very dangerous for migrants, and estimates that even more people may have died during their journey than at sea, particularly crossing the Sahara or being held captive by traffickers or smugglers.
Death is not the only danger threatening refugees and migrants, Ms Mantoo noted. They are also victims of numerous human rights violations: extrajudicial executions, unlawful and arbitrary detentions, sexual violence, forced labour, slavery, forced marriages…
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To mark the release of its statistics, UNHCR launched a $163.5 million appeal to help and protect thousands of refugees and others trying to reach Europe via the dangerous sea routes from the central and western Mediterranean to the Atlantic . The organization is calling on governments to develop “alternatives” so that refugees and migrants do not have to undertake journeys that put them at the mercy of traffickers or put their lives in danger.
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