The International Organization for Migration (IOM) indicated, this Wednesday, November 2, that at least 50,000 deaths have been recorded on the various migratory routes of the world since 2014, specifying that more than half of these deaths (29,000) are occurred on the routes to and in Europe, including 25,000 for the Mediterranean Sea alone, reports a press release published on the UN website.
These figures are « emblematic of the persistent crisis of unsecured migration in the world, these deaths represent only a fraction of the true total », specifies the organization which maintains that no State currently publishes figures on the deaths of migrants or exiles in search of safety.
“Of the 51,194 people registered in the Missing Migrants Project database since 2014, more than 30,000 people are listed with an unknown, unspecified or presumed nationality”, i.e. more than 60% of people who die on the migratory routes without being identified, deplores the report of the UN agency based in Geneva.
The IOM says that among those whose country of origin has been identified, more than 9,000 were from African countries, 6,500 from Asian countries and more than 3,000 from American countries. On data compiled on November 15, 2022, the top ten known countries of origin are: Afghanistan (1,795), Myanmar (1,467), Syria (1,118), Ethiopia (867), Mexico (755), Morocco (702), Algeria (653), Venezuela (494), Guatemala (463) and Haiti (451).
More than 8,700 people have died or gone missing on unidentified migration routes since 2014. And more than half of deaths documented during migration since 2014 have occurred in Europe or en route to Europe, with 29,126 deaths or disappearances recorded in Europe and at its external borders on the maritime routes of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
Among the dead and missing for which IOM has information, at least 1,000 children, more than 2,500 women and more than 3,700 men have died trying to reach Europe.
European routes have the highest number and proportion of people whose bodies have not been recovered, with at least 16,000 people missing and presumed dead at sea on routes to and within Europe. This means, the organization points out, that at least one in two people lost on European migration routes have not been found and have not been identified.
More than 25,000 deaths have been documented during crossings of the Mediterranean, knowing that these routes remain the deadliest known, all years combined. The increase in numbers in recent years is largely due to the many deaths on the West Africa-Atlantic route. According to the IOM, this sea crossing is used mainly by West and North Africans trying to reach the Canary Islands in Spain.
Nearly 1,600 deaths have been documented since 2021 on this road, more than half of the total of 2,900 deaths recorded. But the IOM remains convinced that the number of deaths on these roads is almost certainly underestimated.
More than 9,000 deaths have been recorded in Africa, making it the second deadliest known region for people on the move, reports the UN body. Migrations across Africa are highly disparate, as are the sources of information on deaths during migration, meaning the death toll is most likely underestimated.
The deadliest known route in Africa is through the Sahara Desert, with more than 5,600 known lives since 2014. For example, several studies indicate that people transiting through the Sahara Desert often fall from the back of overloaded trucks – or are even discarded for fear of spreading disease – and are abandoned in extremely remote areas, the report laments.
By OMA Newsletter N° 948 of 23/11/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
