The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) denounced this Friday that at least 289 children have died or disappeared this year trying to cross the “dangerous migratory route of the Central Mediterranean”, from North Africa to Europe.
According to UNICEF data, accessed by the Lusa agency, about 11,600 children have made the crossing since the beginning of the year, most of them alone or separated from their parents.
The UN agency reports that every week 11 children die or disappear in search of safety, peace and better opportunities.
As of 2018, UNICEF estimates that about 1,500 children have died or went missing trying to cross the central Mediterranean. Project International Organization for Migration (IOM).
“Many shipwrecks crossing the Central Mediterranean leave no survivors or are not recorded, making the true number of child victims virtually impossible to verify and likely much higher,” says UNICEF.
In recent months, children and infants have died on this route, on others in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic route from West Africa, including the recent tragedies off the coast of Greece and Spain’s Canary Islands. document.
“In an effort to find safety, reunite with their families and search for a more hopeful future, many children board boats on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, losing their lives or disappearing along the way,” denounced Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director. .
“This is a clear signal that more needs to be done to create safe and legal pathways for children to access asylum, while also strengthening efforts to save lives at sea. Ultimately, much more needs to be done to addressing the root causes, driving children to risk their lives,” he added.
UNICEF estimates that since January 2023, 11,600 children, an average of 428 children per week, have arrived from North Africa to the coast of Italy, a doubling compared to the same period in 2022, despite the serious risks involved in the crossing.
Most depart from Libya and Tunisia, having already 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 parents or legal guardians, putting them at greater risk of violence, exploitation and abuse.
“Unaccompanied girls are particularly vulnerable to violence before, during and after their travels,” UNICEF warns in the statement.
“The Central Mediterranean has become one of the most dangerous routes for children. However, the risk of death at sea is just one of the many tragedies these children face, through threats or experiences of violence, lack of educational or future opportunities, raids and arrests of immigrants or separation of families,” UNICEF continues.
In this regard, UNICEF, in line 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 avenues for children to migrate and seek asylum, including expanding family reunification and resettlement quotas for refugees, and strengthening of coordinating search and rescue operations, while ensuring “immediate disembarkation in safe places”.
UNICEF also calls for the strengthening of national child protection systems to better receive and protect children at risk of exploitation and violence, especially unaccompanied children, improve the prospects of children and adolescents in countries of origin and transit , address conflict and climate risks and expand social protection coverage and learning and earning opportunities.
In addition, the organization called on the European Union (EU) to ensure that UNICEF’s proposals are integrated into the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, which is currently under negotiation.
Source: DN
