More than 2,500 people have died or been reported missing after trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe since the beginning of the year, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stated this Thursday in the Security Council.
“As of September 24, more than 2,500 people in 2023 alone were reported dead or missing. This figure represents an increase of two-thirds, compared to 1,680 people in the same period in 2022,” said Ruven Menikdiwela, director of the Office of UNHCR in New York, at a Security Council meeting convened by Russia.
Menikdiwela reiterated UNHCR’s calls for the creation of a regional mechanism for the disembarkation and redistribution of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe by sea, “in a spirit of sharing responsibilities and solidarity with frontline States.”
UNHCR estimates that between January and August this year, more than 102,000 refugees and migrants attempted to cross the Central Mediterranean Sea into Europe from Tunisia – a 260% increase compared to last year – and more than 45,000 from Libya.
In addition, 31,000 people were rescued at sea or intercepted and disembarked in Tunisia, and 10,600 in Libya.
“Departures from Algeria remain limited, with almost 4,700 arrivals in Spain in August 2023, an increase of 18% compared to 2022. In addition, a total of 3,700 people were rescued or intercepted by Algerian authorities during the same period, a increase of 68%,” noted UNHCR.
In total, from January to September 24, around 186 thousand people arrived by sea in southern Europe – Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Malta -, and the majority – more than 130 thousand people – arrived in Italy, with a increase of 83.% compared to the same period in 2022.
Ruven Menikdiwela also warned that lives are also lost on land, far from public attention.
“The journey from West or East Africa and the Horn of Africa to Libya and then to departure points on the coast remains one of the most dangerous in the world,” he stressed.
Refugees and migrants traveling by land routes from sub-Saharan Africa run “risk of death and serious human rights violations at every step,” the UNHCR official added.
Menikdiwela highlighted that the high exit rates from Tunisia are due to perceived insecurity among refugee communities, following racially motivated incidents and attacks and hate speech, as well as collective expulsions from Libya and Algeria.
“While UNHCR recognizes the sovereign and legal right of States to collaborate with other States and take measures to improve their border management, this is compatible with respect for human rights,” he argued.
The particular situation on the Italian island of Lampedusa was also addressed at the UN Security Council meeting, where UNHCR argued that Italy “cannot be alone in responding to the needs” of those arriving in the region.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) also participated in this meeting, indicating that these figures are accompanied by phenomena such as “discrimination, xenophobia, attacks and negative narratives against migrants and refugees, which are growing and worrying.”
Russia, for its part, took advantage of the meeting to denounce the migration policy of the European Union countries, which it accused of “triggering an undeclared war against immigrants who die because they cannot find safe alternative routes” to disembark.
The Council session, the last of the month, was expressly convened by Russia not to discuss migration in general, but specifically migration in the Mediterranean and the treatment that the European Union gives it.
Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said that the European Union adequately addresses the issue of migration “when it comes to Ukraine, but a similar level of solidarity and humane treatment by European citizens is something that the people of North Africa apparently do not can enjoy”.
France indirectly responded to the Russian ambassador by recalling Moscow’s responsibility in two of the largest scenarios of human exodus: the war in Syria – in which Russia participates alongside the Damascus regime – and the instability in the Sahel, where the Russian mercenary force Wagner intervenes more and more. more openly.
Source: TSF
