The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) denounced this Friday that at least 289 children died or disappeared this year while trying to cross the “dangerous Central Mediterranean migration route” from North Africa to Europe.
According to Unicef data, to which the Lusa agency has had access, around 11,600 children have made the journey since the beginning of the year, most of them alone or separated from their parents.
The UN agency reports that 11 children die or go missing every week as they search for safety, peace and better opportunities.
Since 2018, Unicef estimates that around 1,500 children have died or disappeared trying to cross the Central Mediterranean Sea, a figure that represents one in five of the 8,274 people who have died or disappeared en route, according to Missing Migrants records. . International Organization for Migration (IOM) Project.
“Many shipwrecks that cross the central Mediterranean leave no survivors or are not recorded, making the true number of child victims virtually impossible to verify and probably much higher,” says Unicef.
In recent months, children and babies have been among those who have lost their lives on this route, on others in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic route from West Africa, including recent tragedies off the coast of Greece and the Spanish Canary Islands, added to the document.
“In an attempt to find safety, reunite with their families and seek more hopeful futures, many children are boarding boats on the Mediterranean coast, losing their lives or disappearing along the way,” said Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director. .
“This is a clear sign that more needs to be done to create safe and legal pathways for children to access asylum, while strengthening efforts to save lives at sea. Ultimately, much more needs to be done.” to address the root causes. depths than take children to risk their lives,” he added.
Unicef estimates that 11,600 children – an average of 428 children a week – have reached Italy’s shores from North Africa since January 2023, double the number in the same period in 2022, despite serious risks. which means crossing
Most leave from Libya and Tunisia, having made perilous journeys from countries in Africa and the Middle East.
In the first three months of 2023, 3,300 children (71% of all children arriving in Europe via this route) were registered as unaccompanied or separated from their parents or legal guardians, putting them at increased risk of violence, exploitation and abuse.
“Girls who travel alone are especially susceptible to violence before, during and after their trips,” UNICEF warns in the statement.
“The central Mediterranean has become one of the most dangerous routes children take. However, the risk of death at sea is just one of the many tragedies these children face, from threats or experiences of violence, lack of educational opportunities or in the future, searches and detentions of immigrants or family separation”, continues UNICEF.
In this regard, UNICEF, in accordance with its obligations under international law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, has called on governments to better protect vulnerable children at sea and in countries of origin, transit and destination. .
The UN agency also calls for protecting the rights and best interests of children, providing safe and legal pathways for children to migrate and seek asylum, including expanding family reunification and resettlement quotas for refugees, and strengthening the coordination of search and rescue operations, while ensuring “immediate disembarkation in safe places”.
UNICEF also calls for strengthening national child protection systems to better include and protect children at risk of exploitation and violence, especially unaccompanied children, improving the prospects of children and adolescents in countries of origin and transit, addressing the climate and conflict risks and expanding social protection. coverage and learning and income opportunities.
The organization also called on the European Union (EU) to integrate UNICEF’s proposals into the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, currently under negotiation.
Source: TSF
