UNHCR: Urgent European action needed to stop rising refugee and migrant deaths at sea
More than 800 people have died this year alone in the Mediterranean, many of them seeking safety from conflict and civil war
More than 260 people have died or been reported missing as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Europe over the past ten days.
Survivors reported disturbing incidents of mass drownings, suffocations and a suspected multiple stabbing. The grim tally brings to some 800 the total number of deaths at sea this year, compared to a total 600 deaths in 2013, and 500 in 2012.
The tragedies mark an intensifying crisis on Europe's shores, as many fleeing Eritrea, Syria and other countries torn by violence seek safety in Europe by risking their lives at sea in the hand of smugglers. A rapid rise in incidents over recent weeks has prompted calls for urgent measures by European countries to develop a comprehensive plan to prevent such tragedies.
More than 75,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Italy, Greece, Spain and Malta by sea in the first half of 2014 - 25 per cent more than the 60,000 who made the same journey in the whole of 2013, and over three times the 22,500 who arrived in all of 2012.
Italy received the greatest number of arrivals (63,884), followed by Greece (10,080), Spain (1,000) and Malta (227). A further 21,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Italy since 1 July. The largest numbers came from Eritrea, Syria and Mali. Most left from North Africa, and principally Libya.
This included 10,563 children, 3,676 from Syria, who arrived in Italy in the first six months of 2014. 6,500 of the children, mostly Eritreans, were unaccompanied or separated from their families.
Over the weekend of 19-20 July alone, Italian and Maltese authorities, together with several commercial vessels, rescued 8,000 people.
António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, praised both countries for their efforts, but said European states needed to step up their assistance.
"The death of 260 people in less than ten days, in the most horrifying of circumstances, is evidence that the Mediterranean crisis is intensifying," Mr Guterres said. "Europeans need to take urgent action to stop this catastrophe getting worse in the second half of 2014."
Mr Guterres called on governments to strengthen rescue operations, provide swift access to asylum procedures for those in need of protection, and legal alternatives to dangerous sea crossings.
Rescued refugees and migrants have reported handing over their life savings to smugglers, in order to travel in unseaworthy and overcrowded dinghies, packed into a few metres of space without food, water or life jackets.
The journey can take between one to four days, depending on the weather, sea and boat conditions. In several incidents, people were stranded for more than two weeks before being rescued.
On 14 July, Italian authorities rescued 12 people 40 miles off the coast of Libya. Survivors said their rubber dinghy had been carrying 121 people. Passengers panicked when it started to deflate on one side, and it capsized. A total of 109 people are missing; with one man saying he lost his pregnant wife during the incident.
On 15 July, 29 people were found dead from apparent asphyxiation in the hold of a fishing boat, and details are emerging of a horrifying incident in which as many as 60 people were stabbed and thrown overboard as they sought to escape from the hold. A total of 131 people are missing and presumed dead from the incident, including a newborn baby. Italian police are reported to have arrested five men on Tuesday in connection with the incident.
UNHCR welcomes all efforts by European authorities, particularly in Italy, to rescue boats in distress in the Mediterranean, and calls on all states to continue to fulfil their obligations under international refugee law and the law of the sea. UNHCR recognizes the great support of shipmasters in the Mediterranean in carrying out rescue operations and asks them to remain vigilant and to continue to discharge their duty of rescuing vessels in distress
It also urges European countries to provide additional and better facilities to receive those rescued, and to identify longer-term solutions for refugees, including resettlement, admission based on humanitarian needs, admission schemes based on private sponsorship, facilitated access to family reunification and the use of programmes such as student or employment visas.
1 JANUARY - 30 JUNE 2014 TOTAL = 75,191
COUNTRY BREAKDOWN:
ITALY = 63,884 people.
GREECE = 10,080 people were apprehended (not necessarily rescued) on the Greek Turkish sea borders.
SPAIN = some 1,000 people, this includes sea arrivals to the mainland, Balearic Islands, as well as to Ceuta and Melilla.
MALTA = 227 people.
Media materials http://www.unhcr.org/seamedia/
Media Contacts:
- In Geneva, Melissa Fleming on mobile +41 79 557 9122
- In Geneva, Dan McNorton on mobile +41 79 217 3011
- In Lampedusa, Carlotta Sami on mobile +39 335 679 4746
Your search for « deaths mediterranean 2013 » matched 151 results. Displaying page 1 of 17 pages.
-
UNHCR shock at latest deaths on Mediterranean, rescue capacity needed more urgently than ever
15 Apr 2015 ... rescue effort on the Mediterranean established by Italy following the Lampedusa disasters of October 2013 in which hundreds of ... If the 400 deaths are confirmed from the latest incident the death ...... -
Latest deaths on Mediterranean highlight urgent need for increased rescue capacity
15 Apr 2015 ... effort on the Mediterranean. This was established by Italy following the Lampedusa disasters of October 2013 in which hundreds of ... If the 400 deaths are confirmed from the latest incident the death ...... -
Latest tragedy off Libya adds to death toll in Mediterranean
8 Jul 2014 ... alone this year - more than in all of 2013. The Libyan coast guard informed UNHCR on ... Italy, Turkey and Greece, bringing the death toll in the Mediterranean so far this year to over 500 people. ...... -
UNHCR Central Mediterranean Sea Initiative (CMSI), EU solidarity for rescue-at-sea and protection of Asylum Seekers and Migrants
16 Mar 2015 ... SPAIN 43,500 GREECE 568 MALTA 339 CYPRUS 1,500 2011 500 470 2012 2015 600 2013 3,500 2014 Deaths/missing at sea* TOTAL ARRIVALS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA IN 2014 Steps within the European Union (EU) ...... -
So Close yet so Far from Safety (2)
1 Dec 2014 ... The ever increasing death toll in the Mediterranean Sea and the increasing number of refugees and migrants ... 9.700 2010 70.000 2011 22.500 2012 60.000 2013 200.000 2014 Total arrivals in the ...... -
Mediterranean crossings to Italy and Malta exceed 8000 in first six months of 2013
5 Jul 2013 ... UNHCR has recorded some 40 deaths in the first six months of 2013 by people attempting to cross the Mediterranean between North Africa and Italy. This number is based on interviews conducted with ...... -
UNHCR: Urgent European action needed to stop rising refugee and migrant deaths at sea
24 Jul 2014 ... as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Europe over the past ten days. ... at sea this year, compared to a total 600 deaths in 2013, and 500 in 2012. The tragedies mark an ...... -
So Close yet so Far from Safety (1)
1 Oct 2014 ... The tragedies in October near Lampedusa and the ever increasing death toll in the Mediterranean Sea are a wake ... 60.000 165.000 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Arrivals by Sea M E D I T E R ...... -
UNHCR appeals to EU for beefed up Mediterranean search and rescue capacity as at least 29 deaths are reported off Lampedusa
10 Feb 2015 ... major loss of life in the Mediterranean in 2015, is known to have ... about the manner of the deaths - all but seven of which ... Lampedusa disaster of October 2013 for there to be much more ......