Over 2,500 migrants lost to Mediterranean in 2023: UN

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) revealed in New York on Thursday that over 2,500 individuals have tragically perished or gone missing in the Mediterranean during their perilous attempts to reach Europe in 2023.

This represents a harrowing increase from the 1,680 migrants reported as deceased or missing during the same period in the previous year.

Ruven Menikdiwela, the director of the UNHCR New York office, emphasized that migrants and refugees face the constant threat of death and severe human rights violations at every stage of their journey. He conveyed this solemn message to the Security Council.

Simultaneously, European Union interior ministers convened in Brussels on the very same day to deliberate on strategies for managing the influx of individuals seeking to migrate to Europe via sea routes. This concern has been steadily mounting, particularly among member states such as Italy and Germany.

While member states and the European Parliament have engaged in prolonged negotiations aimed at implementing extensive reforms to the European Union's common asylum system, tangible results have remained elusive.

What does the UN report reveal?

According to the UNHCR, a staggering 186,000 people have already reached Europe via the Mediterranean Sea between January and September 24 of this year.

Of this figure, 130,000 have arrived in Italy, marking an alarming 83% surge when compared to the previous year. Additional arrivals have been recorded in Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and Malta.

Regarding the origin of these migrants, approximately 102,000 individuals made the perilous journey across the Mediterranean from Tunisia, while another 45,000 embarked from Libya.

It is worth noting that around 31,000 individuals were rescued at sea or intercepted and disembarked in Tunisia, with an additional 10,600 in Libya, as reported by Menikdiwela.

In his address to the Security Council, Menikdiwela underscored the immense peril associated with the land journey from sub-Saharan African nations, which serve as the point of origin for many migrants, to the departure points on the coast of Libya and Tunisia. He described this route as "one of the world's most dangerous."

He further emphasized that tragic losses of life also occur on land, away from the scrutiny of the public eye, serving as a somber reminder of the grave challenges faced by migrants and refugees on their arduous journeys.