Three-years on from the shocking images of lifeless Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi on a Turkish beach, a new report by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency shows that crossing the Mediterranean Sea has become even more deadly.
UNHCR’s new Desperate Journeys report shows that more than 1,600 people have died or gone missing while attempting to reach Europe so far this year.
The report shows that while the total number of people arriving in Europe has fallen, the rate of deaths has risen sharply, particularly for those crossing via the Mediterranean Sea. In the Central Mediterranean, one person died or went missing for every 18 people who crossed to Europe between January and July 2018, compared to one death for every 42 people who crossed in the same period in 2017.
“This report once again confirms the Mediterranean as one of the world’s deadliest sea crossings,” said UNHCR’s Director of the Bureau for Europe, Pascale Moreau. “With the number of people arriving on European shores falling, this is no longer a test of whether Europe can manage the numbers, but whether Europe can muster the humanity to save lives.”
In recent months, UNHCR, together with the UN Migration Agency, IOM, has called for a predictable, regional approach for the rescue and disembarkation of people in distress in the Mediterranean Sea.
UNHCR is also calling on Europe to increase access to safe and legal pathways for refugees, including by increasing resettlement places and removing obstacles to family reunification – helping to provide alternatives to potentially deadly journeys.
The report also outlines the dangers refugees face while traveling along land routes to or within Europe. Noting the steps that some have taken to prevent refugees and migrants from accessing their territory, the report urges States to grant those seeking international protection readily-available access to asylum procedures. It also appeals to States to strengthen mechanisms to protect children traveling alone and seeking asylum.
Best-selling author UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Khaled Hosseini, himself a former refugee from Afghanistan, has published a new illustrated book, coinciding with the three-year anniversary of Kurdi’s death. ‘Sea Prayer’ is dedicated to the thousands of refugees who have perished around the world while fleeing war, violence and persecution.
“When I saw those devastating images of the body of Alan Kurdi, my heart shattered,” said Hosseini. “Yet, just three years on and despite thousands more people losing their lives at sea, our collective memory and urgency to do better seems to have faded.”
In June and July 2018, Hosseini visited Lebanon and Italy and saw the devastating impact on families who have lost relatives while attempting to reach Europe.
“In Sicily I visited a lonely, unkempt cemetery full of unmarked graves of people – including many children – who have drowned on journeys just like Alan’s in the past years,” said Hosseini. “Each one of those people is now reduced to just a number, a code on a grave, but they were all men, women and children who dared to dream of a brighter future. Three years on from Alan’s death, it’s time we came together to do more to prevent future tragedies and let our friends, families, communities and governments know that we stand with refugees.”
The report also says that in the Western Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina witnessed a significant increase in refugees and migrants arriving and transiting through the country with over 10,100 arrivals recorded by the end of July this year (compared to under 250 in the first seven months of 2017). Similar trends have been noted in other countries in the region implying that people may be moving from one country to another in search of alternative routes. Those entering the country have travelled irregularly from Greece through Albania and Montenegro or are moving onwards from Serbia, including people who were previously trying to enter Hungary via ‘transit zones’ where access has been further reduced.
In Serbia, 6,103 refugees and migrants arrived in the period 01 January – 31 July 2018, which is an increase compared to the same period last year when 2,654 refugees and migrants arrived.
The full report can be accessed at: http://www.unhcr.org/desperatejourneys
Key stats
For more information on journeys to Europe, contact:
In Geneva, Charlie Yaxley, [email protected], +41 795 808 702
In Bosnia/Western Balkans, Neven Crvenkovic, [email protected], +387 61 611 082
In Serbia, Mirjana Milenkovski, [email protected], +381 63 275 154
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