IOM’s “Missing Migrants” project recorded 441 migrant deaths during the first quarter of 2023. While this is the highest number ever recorded since the first quarter of 2017 (742 deaths), the UN agency estimates that this figure between January and March 2023 is below reality. “This is probably an underestimate of the actual number of lives lost in the central Mediterranean.”
“The continuing humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean is intolerable. With more than 20,000 deaths recorded on this road since 2014, I fear there is a normalization of these deaths,” IOM Director General António Vitorino said in a statement.
Delays and gaps in rescue operations
The “Missing Migrants” project is also investigating several cases of missing boats, where there is no trace of survivors, debris and where no search and rescue operations have been carried out. Some 300 people on board these boats are still missing, added the UN agency.
The IOM thus points the finger at “delays and shortcomings in search and rescue operations carried out by States which cost human lives”. As the rising loss of life on the world’s most dangerous sea crossing comes amid reports of delays in state-led rescue responses and hampering of NGO rescue vessel operations in the Mediterranean central.
Delays in search and rescue (SAR) operations have been a driving factor in at least six incidents so far this year, killing at least 127 people out of 441 recorded, IOM said. .
“The complete lack of response during a seventh rescue operation claimed the lives of at least 73 migrants” still included in this same tally, IOM said in a statement, adding that search and rescue efforts rescues from non-governmental organizations have declined markedly in recent months.
3,000 migrants reached Italian shores over Easter weekend
In addition, Libyan coastguards fired shots in the air on March 25 as the rescue vessel of the NGO Ocean Viking responded to a report of a rubber boat in distress. Separately, on Sunday March 26, another vessel, the Louise Michel, was arrested in Italy after rescuing 180 people at sea, echoing a previous case in which the Geo Barents was arrested in February and then released.
Despite these perilous crossings, hundreds of migrants and refugees continue to try to reach Europe via the Mediterranean. “During the Easter weekend, 3,000 migrants reached Italy, bringing the total number of arrivals since the beginning of the year to 31,192 people,” the IOM said.
A ship carrying around 800 people on board was rescued more than 200 kilometers southeast of Sicily on Tuesday (April 11) by the Italian coast guard with the help of a commercial vessel. Another ship carrying around 400 migrants is believed to have drifted between Italy and Malta for two days before being joined by the Italian coast guard.
States invited to work together
According to the IOM, not all of the migrants on these ships have yet been brought to safety and disembarked in Italy. “Saving lives at sea is a legal obligation for states,” said IOM Chief Antonio Vitorino.
“We need proactive coordination from States in search and rescue efforts. Guided by the spirit of responsibility sharing and solidarity, we call on States to work together and strive to reduce the loss of life along the migration routes,” he added.
For IOM, the situation in the central Mediterranean also reinforces the need for assistance and disembarkation. State efforts to save lives must include support for the efforts of NGO actors to provide lifesaving assistance, and end the criminalization, obstruction and deterrence of the efforts of those providing such assistance. .
All maritime vessels, including commercial vessels, have a legal obligation to rescue vessels in distress. IOM is also calling for further concerted action to dismantle criminal smuggling networks and prosecute those who profit from the desperation of migrants and refugees by facilitating these dangerous journeys.