The first three months of 2023 were the deadliest first quarter since 2017 for migrants crossing the central Mediterranean Sea in boats, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Wednesday. The UN agency’s Missing Migrants Project documented 441 migrant deaths on the central Mediterranean route in this period; overall 26,358 dead or missing women, men, or children were recorded since 2014 in the Mediterranean on all routes.
The increasing loss of life on the world’s most dangerous maritime crossing comes amidst reports of delays in State-led rescue responses and hindrance to the search and rescue (SAR) operations carried out by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the central Mediterranean.
According to the IOM, delays in State-led rescues on the Central Mediterranean route were a factor in at least six incidents this year, leading to the deaths of at least 127 people. The complete absence of response to a seventh case claimed the lives of at least 73 migrants.
“The persisting humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean is intolerable,” said IOM Director General, António Vitorino. “With more than 20,000 deaths recorded on this route since 2014, I fear that these deaths have been normalized. States must respond. Delays and gaps in State-led SAR are costing human lives.”
Recently, NGO-led SAR efforts have been markedly diminished. On 25 March, the Libyan Coast Guard fired shots in the air as NGO rescue ship Ocean Viking was responding to a report of a rubber boat in distress. Separately, on Sunday, 26 March, another vessel, the Louise Michel, was detained in Italy after rescuing 180 people at sea, echoing an earlier case in which the Geo Barents was detained in February and subsequently released.
The IOM reports that over the Easter weekend, 3,000 migrants reached Italy, bringing the total number of arrivals so far this year to 31,192 people. A vessel carrying roughly 800 people on board was rescued on Tuesday, 11 April, more than 200 kilometers southeast of Sicily by the Italian Coast Guard with the assistance of a commercial vessel.
Another ship with around 400 migrants was reportedly adrift between Italy and Malta for two days before being reached by the Italian Coast. Not all migrants from these ships have reached safety and disembarked in Italy yet.
"Saving lives at sea is a legal obligation for States," said Vitorino. "We need to see proactive State-led coordination in search and rescue efforts. Guided by the spirit of responsibility-sharing and solidarity, we call on States to work together and work to reduce loss of life along migration routes."
The 441 deaths documented in the first three months of the year are likely an undercount of the true number of lives lost in the central Mediterranean. The IOM Missing Migrants Project is also investigating several reports of invisible shipwrecks cases in which boats are reported missing, where there are no records of survivors remains or SAR operations. The fates of more than 300 people aboard those vessels remain unclear.
The UN agency stresses that state efforts to save lives must include supporting the efforts of NGO actors to provide lifesaving assistance, and ending the criminalization, obstruction and deterrence of the efforts of those who provide such assistance. All maritime vessels, including commercial ships, have a legal obligation to provide rescue to boats in distress.
Established in 1951, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the leading intergovernmental organization in the field of migration that brings together governments from 174 member states. The U.N. agency works closely with intergovernmental and non-governmental partners to support migrants across the world, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The organization is also active in emergency situations. IOM is based in Geneva.
Missing Migrants Project is an initiative of the Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC) within IOM’s Global Data Institute in Berlin. The aim of the project is to document deaths and disappearances of people in the process of migration towards an international destination, regardless of their legal status.
Further information
Full Text: Deadliest Quarter for Migrants in the Central Mediterranean Since 2017, International Organization for Migration, press release, April 12, 2023
https://www.iom.int/news/deadliest-quarter-migrants-central-mediterranean-2017
Website: International Organization for Migration: Missing Migrants Project
https://missingmigrants.iom.int/