- 2023 deadliest year for migrants
- Majority perished at sea
- Rights erosion, dangerous journeys increase
According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), at least 8,565 refugees and migrants perished along migration routes worldwide in 2023, making it the deadliest year in refugee and migrant history.
This represents an increase of 20 percent compared to the prior year.
The preceding tally was 8,064 fatalities in 2016. During that period, the Mediterranean witnessed an increase in refugee fatalities due to the large number of individuals attempting to flee from conflict zones such as Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Numerous refugees seeking sanctuary in European nations have tried to escape from violent regions.
Where and how did migrants and refugees perish?
More than half of the 8,565 refugees and migrants who perished last year did so while traveling by sea through the Mediterranean. Seven percent were the result of violence, and nine percent were vehicle accidents. 2022 witnessed the second-highest count of migrant fatalities after 2016 at 7,141, whereas 2020 documented the lowest count of migrant fatalities at 4,032.
A shipwreck off the coast of Libya claimed the lives of 61 refugees and asylum seekers in December, while an incident off the coast of Tunisia in April resulted in the drowning of at least 25 individuals.
Since 2017, the Mediterranean has been the site of a minimum of 3,129 recorded fatalities and disappearances, rendering it the most challenging route for refugees. The majority of the 1,866 deaths in Africa transpired along the sea route to the Canary Islands and the Sahara Desert. The majority of the 2,138 reported fatalities in Asia were Rohingya and Afghan refugees attempting to escape violence and conflict in their home countries.
What changes have occurred over the past year?
The escalation in fatalities among migrants and refugees coincides with a growing erosion of their rights in the countries they seek asylum in and the countries they intend to settle in.
Some countries are expelling refugees. In the Netherlands, for instance, thousands of third-country nationals who fled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been ordered to leave the country, the majority of whom are students and young workers from Asia and Africa.
Due to the fact that many nations restrict refugees’ access via legal channels, they are compelled to undertake even more dangerous journeys in an attempt to reach safety.
For refugees to enter the United Kingdom, for instance, no visa requirement exists. Restrictions on legal routes to safety have caused refugee resettlements in the United Kingdom to plummet to a ten-year low of 766 for 2023, according to the Refugee Council this week.
Additionally, European nations are cooperating with “departure countries” to impose restrictions on refugees and migrants. The European Union signed a 10-million-euro ($11 million) agreement with Tunisia, from which a significant number of undocumented individuals attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe to clamp down on these individuals.
In the meantime, conditions for asylum seekers and refugees are deteriorating intolerably in many locations, compelling individuals to leave once more. This week, Human Rights Watch documented the confinement of thousands of refugees and migrants in Malaysia, where they are subjected to torture and deprivation of necessities in a network of “violent, squalid” detention centers.
Who are the migrants and refugees?
Since 2014, IOM has monitored disappearances and fatalities via the Missing Migrants Project.
It has been determined that approximately 13 percent of refugees and migrants are minors under the age of 18, while 48 percent are women and girls over time.
Victims of human trafficking abound. The Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) estimated that 156,330 instances of human trafficking were reported between 2002 and 2021.
A considerable number of refugees fall prey to natural catastrophes. Natural disasters, such as earthquakes and inundation, compelled over 30 million individuals to seek refuge in alternative regions of their home country in 2022, according to data compiled by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
As of 2023, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that persecution, human rights violations, violence, armed conflict, and severe public disorder have compelled 114 million individuals to abandon their countries of origin.
Shabia Mantoo, a spokesperson for the UNHCR, stated that “the majority of people who are forced to flee never cross an international border; they remain displaced within their own countries.” Mantoo further noted that these “internally displaced persons” comprise 57% of the total number of forcibly displaced individuals. “The majority of refugees [those who seek safety by crossing international borders] remain in nations that are adjacent to or in close proximity to their countries of origin.”
Indeed, “low and middle-income countries” host three-quarters of the world’s refugees and others in need of protection, according to Mantoo. “Many major host nations have provided shelter and protection for refugees for years, if not decades,” frequently with little assistance from the international community.
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