The International Organization for Migration (IOM) called on States on Tuesday to urgently resolve the problem of the growing number of deaths in the Central Mediterranean, after a shipwreck caused the death of 61 migrants.
“What happened over the weekend off the coast of Libya is heartbreaking; no human being should go through what they suffered,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said in a statement.
The boat was carrying 86 migrants when strong waves capsized on Saturday off the town of Zuwara on Libya’s western coast, and 61 migrants drowned, according to the IOM.
“This tragedy, which occurred just two days before International Migrants Day, is further proof of the risks people take to improve their lives and of our collective obligation to find better and safer paths to people on the move,” Pope added.
This sinking was the latest tragedy in the most dangerous and deadly sea voyage in the world, where 2,571 people have died so far this year.
The UN agency that supports migration and migrant integration argued that delays in state-led rescues and diminished NGO efforts on the central Mediterranean route have been important factors leading to the loss. of more lives.
The IOM reiterated that States must give new priorities and strengthen cooperation in coordinated search and rescue operations, recalling that all maritime vessels have a legal obligation to provide assistance to ships in distress.
The organization called for measures to dismantle criminal smuggling networks and prosecute those responsible for facilitating these dangerous sea journeys in poorly equipped vessels, such as rubber dinghies.
IOM also called for measures to harness the potential of migration and migrants.
“Saving lives and facilitating safe and regular migration routes is a prerequisite” for solving current global problems, including development and climate change, he argued.
According to the IOM Missing Migrants Project, around 28,320 men, women and children have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea since 2014.
In recent years, Libya has become the main transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East and trying to reach European shores through the central Mediterranean, where they seek a better life. .
Major incidents this year included a fishing boat carrying migrants trying to reach Europe that capsized and sank off the coast of Greece in June, leaving at least 86 dead and 510 missing in one of the worst disasters recorded this year.
Source: TSF
