GINEBRA.- More than 8,500 people migrants died on highly dangerous routes around the world in 2023, the deadliest year ever recorded by the UN, although the real toll is much higher.
“The 2023 death toll represents a tragic 20% increase compared to 2022, highlighting the urgent need to take action to prevent further loss of life,” said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in a statement.
According to IOM figures, at least 8,565 people died on migration routes around the world in 2023.
It is the deadliest year since the organization began its Missing Migrants Project, a public database created in 2014 that compiles the numbers of dead and missing migrants.
The numbers of deceased migrants increase
Last year’s total death toll surpasses the previous record, set in 2016, when 8,084 migrants died.
“As we commemorate 10 years of the Missing Migrants Project, we first want to remember all these lives lost,” said IOM Deputy Director General Ugochi Daniels, quoted in the statement.
“Each one of them is a terrible human tragedy that affects families and communities for years,” he stressed.
The Mediterranean and Darién, the most dangerous routes for migrants
The IOM emphasizes that safe and legal migration routes remain scarce, which is why thousands of people try to achieve a better life by crossing the Mediterranean Sea in small boats, undertaking a dangerous journey through the Darién jungle, on the border between Colombia and Panama. or crossing the Sahara desert.
The Mediterranean crossing is the deadliest route for migrants, with at least 3,129 deaths and disappearances reported last year. This is the highest death toll recorded at that crossing point since 2017.
Regionally, a record number of migrant deaths were reported in Africa, where 1,866 deaths were recorded, and in Asia, where there were at least 2,138.
“In Africa, the majority of these deaths occurred in the Sahara Desert and on the sea route leading to the Canary Islands,” the IOM noted.
In Asia, “last year hundreds of deaths of Afghan and Rohingya refugees fleeing their countries of origin were reported,” the organization explained.
Just over half of the deaths reported last year were caused by drowning; 9%, due to traffic accidents and 7%, due to violent acts.
Since the database was created, more than 63,000 cases have been documented worldwide, but the true number is estimated to be much higher due to how difficult it is to collect information, especially in remote locations.
“These horrifying figures, compiled by the Missing Migrants Project, also remind us that we must reaffirm our commitment to do more to ensure safe migration for all, so that in 10 years people will not have to risk their lives in search of a future. better,” Daniels said.
Together with other organizations, and as coordinator of the United Nations Network on Migration, IOM urges governments and the international community to “continue working together to prevent further loss of human life and defend the dignity and rights of all individuals”.
Source: With information from AFP
