A new website documenting global migration through news, investigations and analysis was launched yesterday, ahead of World Refugee Day.

MigrantReport.org is published by US-Canadian author and documentary filmmaker Robert Young Pelton and edited by Maltese journalist Mark Micallef.

The investigative venture to understand better the impact of migration on Europe and other regions is sponsored by the Organisation for Better Security, a non-profit based in Malta.

“I believe that dealing with the impact of social pressure and change caused by war, poverty and economic opportunity will shape the world dramatically over the next decade.

A little girl sits outdoors with a kitten on the grounds of the Misurata Detention Centre, a facility that can house up to 600 migrants.

“In its latest global trends report, the UN refugee agency estimated that just under 60 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes.

“The solutions needed to deal with this impact require solid research and impactful honest reporting,” said Mr Young Pelton, a pioneer of ground networks in conflict areas like Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mr Micallef, a former news editor of Times of Malta, said the goal of Migrant Report was to go beyond the traditional narrative and structure of reporting on the movement, borders, smuggling, reaction and side effects of global migration. “The launch of the website today, ahead of World Refugee Day, is an invitation to migrants, journalists, NGOs and academics interested in this phenomenon to partner with us.

“We are looking for voluntary contributors, research grants and primary source providers as we expand our ground network into Libya and then East Africa, West Africa and the Sahel,” Mr Micallef, who has covered migration in the Mediterranean for more than 10 years, added.

Migrant Report is supported by researchers from Middlesex University and is linked to the search-and-rescue charity Migrant Offshore Aid Station.

http://migrantreport.org/