The United Nations reported on Friday that the number of migrants who perished or went missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean this summer was three times higher than the figure recorded in the same period the previous year.
Between June and August, a minimum of 990 individuals lost their lives or disappeared while attempting the perilous journey along the central Mediterranean route connecting northern Africa and Europe. In comparison, there were 334 reported deaths during the same months in 2022, according to UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’s agency.
While UNICEF did not provide a separate figure for child fatalities during these crossings, it did highlight that 11,600 unaccompanied minors were part of the migrant population trying to reach Italy on makeshift vessels between January and September. This figure represents a 60 percent increase compared to the first nine months of 2022.
“The Mediterranean has become a cemetery for children and their future,” UNICEF coordinator Regina De Dominicis said.
“The tragic toll of children dying in search of asylum and security in Europe is the result of political choices and a defective migration system,” she said.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 2,500 migrants died or went missing in the Mediterranean between January 1 and September 24, 50 percent more than in the same period last year.
[AFP]
