More than 5,600 migrants died on European migration routes between 2020 and 2021

The Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for Migration documented at least 5,684 deaths on migratory routes to Europe and within the old continent from the beginning of 2021 to the end of October this year, with an increasing number of deaths on routes through the Mediterranean and at land borders to and within Europe. the region.

The author of the report, Julia Black, highlighted that since 2014 there have been records of more than 29,000 deaths on trips to Europe and that “these continuous deaths are yet another grim reminder that more safe and legal pathways to migration are desperately needed“.

From 2021 to October 24, 2022, the study recorded at least 2,836 deaths and disappearances on the Central Mediterranean route, a figure that represents an increase compared to the 2,262 deaths recorded in the 2019-2020 period.

On the route from West Africa-Atlantic to the Canary Islands, in Spain, 1,532 deaths were documented, the highest number of deaths recorded since the Organization began documenting deaths in 2014.

However, it is specified that the data for the current year of these two long and dangerous sea routes are most likely incomplete due to the laborious process of verifying the too frequent “invisible shipwrecks”, cases where entire vessels are lost at sea without any search and rescue taking place.

Deaths due to possible forced removals are very difficult to document

Other routes that saw the number of deaths grow during 2021 compared to previous years were the land border between Turkey and Greece (126 documented deaths), the Western Balkans (69), the English Channel crossing (53 ), the borders between Belarus and the European Union (EU) (23). Added to this are the deaths of Ukrainians fleeing the recent conflict in their country (17).

Beyond a structural failure to provide safe migration pathways, Project records show that many of the deaths on migratory routes to countries of destination in Europe could have been prevented by prompt and effective assistance to migrants in distress.

Survivor reports transmitted to the International Organization for Migration indicate that at least 252 people died during alleged forced expulsions by European authorities.

Deaths related to this situation were documented in the Central Mediterranean (97 deaths since 2021), in the Eastern Mediterranean (70), on the land border between Turkey and Greece (58), in the Western Mediterranean (23), and on the border between Belarus and Poland (4).

The Organization indicates that these cases are almost impossible to fully verify due to lack of transparencylack of access, and the highly politicized nature of such events, so these figures are likely an underestimate of the true number of deaths.

Data from the Missing Migrants Project indicate that identification rates of people who die on migration routes to and within Europe are lower than in other regions of the world.

In the Central Mediterranean, for example, the nationality of only four of the 59 people who died off the coast of Europe in 2021 was established, meaning that the identity of the remaining 55 people is likely to be unknown. This figure is significantly lower than that of those who died off the coast of North Africa in the Central Mediterranean crossing, where 457 of 1,508 people with a known country of origin are recorded.

Thus, more than 17,000 people who lost their lives on routes to and within Europe between 2014 and 2021 are listed without any information on their country of origin, a key identifying detail, shedding light on the unresolved loss of countless families seeking to missing relatives lost on migratory journeys to Europe.

“The magnitude of this problem – and the impact on families and communities dealing with unresolved loss – means that there is no solution to this problem without the involvement of the authorities“, Black stated.

The IOM called on both European and non-European states to adopt urgent and concrete measures to save lives and reduce deaths during migration journeys.

“States must defend the right to life of all people, avoiding more deaths and disappearances. To do this, they must prioritize search and rescue on land and at sea, and end the criminalization of non-governmental agents who provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in danger, “says the Organization’s statement.