More than 3,000 migrants, out of the 4,000 believed to have died globally this year, perished while crossing the Mediterranean, a report found.
The report, by the International Organisation for Migration, found that, since 2000, at least 40,000 migrants died while crossing borders around the world, including 22,000 while trying to reach Europe.
“Over the last year, the increase in deaths has largely been driven by a surge in the number of fatalities in the Mediterranean region,” according to the report titled Fatal journeys: tracking lives lost during migration.
“Why this is occurring is not entirely clear but it likely reflects a dramatic increase in the number of migrants trying to reach Europe.”
The research was triggered following the October 2013 tragedy when more than 400 migrants died in two shipwrecks near the Italian island of Lampedusa. Less than a year later, 500 migrants were feared dead after their ship was rammed by another near Malta. News of this tragedy emerged as another ship carrying 200 people sank off the coast of Libya.
“With this month’s Malta shipwreck tragedy, IOM offices worldwide received calls and e-mails from family members across Europe and the Middle East seeking news about their missing relatives, many of whom are now feared dead,” the organisation said. It called on governments to address what it described as “an epidemic of crime and victimisation”.
An epidemic of crime and victimisation
The report revealed that Europe’s death toll reached over 22,000 since 2000. Nearly 6,000 more migrant deaths occurred along the US-Mexico border and another 3,000 deaths in such diverse migration routes as Africa’s Sahara Desert and the waters of the Indian Ocean.
The true number of fatalities is likely to be considerably higher but the lack of data makes it difficult to calculate.
The report recommends that governments should take more responsibility to collect data. It also suggests the setting up of an independent monitoring body with representatives of governments, civil society and international organisations to collect data.
“This is not only a primary step in efforts to reduce the number of migrant deaths but is essential to allow families to know the fate of their missing relatives,” the report said.