With more than 8,500 migrants dead, 2023 is the deadliest year ever recorded
More than 8,500 migrants died in 2023, the deadliest year ever recorded by the United Nations (UN).
The Mediterranean remains one of the most dangerous areas for people seeking a better life in Europe.
And if the International Organization for Migration (IOM) lists 63,000 deaths over the last ten years, the real toll is undoubtedly “
much higher
”.
Migrants are rescued by a Spanish boat before being able to disembark on the island of El Hierro, in the Canaries, October 21, 2023. AFP - STRINGER
By: RFI Follow
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“
The number of deaths in 2023 represents a tragic increase of 20% compared to that of 2022, which highlights the urgent need for action to avoid further loss of human life
,” indicates the IOM in its press release published on 6 March 2024. The total number of deaths on migration routes in 2023, which amounts to at least 8,565 people, exceeds the sad record set in 2016, the year when 8,084 migrants lost their lives.
The Mediterranean crossing
remains the deadliest route for migrants, with at least 3,129 deaths and disappearances recorded last year.
Jorge Galindo, spokesperson for the IOM, underlines to
Julien Chavanne
for RFI that migrants, faced with too few secure routes, are forced to take more and more risks, risking their lives:
“
Without safe and legal migration routes for migrants, people continue to die.
We note that certain alarming trends are getting even worse, such as in the Mediterranean, which remains the deadliest transit zone in the world.
We have also seen the emergence of what are called "invisible ships".
That is to say that many victims or bodies found on the coasts are not linked to boat accidents and are therefore not counted as migrants.
»
“
It is important to know that even if our database is the most important today to record the disappearances of migrants, and that it is already a huge toll of 63,000 deaths over the last ten years, unfortunately, this toll must actually be much higher
,” adds Jorge Galindo.
Read alsoTunisia: the nightmare continues for thousands of sub-Saharan migrants
(
and with AFP
)
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