Sep 29 : Over 2,500 people died or have gone missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year, reportes.However, over the same time period, about 186,000 people arrived in European nations. According to reports, the UN Security Council heard from Ruven Menikdiwela, director of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in New York, that of the 186,000 migrants who crossed the Mediterranean, 83%—or around 130,000 people—landed in Italy. She added that some migrants also arrived in other nations, including as Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and Malta. The Security Council was informed that more persons this year than last year have perished or gone missing while travelling by water, according to Al Jazeera. The Security Council was informed that more people had perished or gone missing this year compared to previous year during the perilous maritime passage. Menikdiwela stated that as of September 24 alone, “over 2,500 people were accounted as dead or missing.” Over the same period in 2022, 1,680 people died or went missing, so this amount represented a significant increase.Menikdiwela added that the UN Refugee Agency believed there was “no end in sight” to the number of people dying while travelling by land and sea to reach Europe, both of which are extremely risky. According to Al Jazeera, she told the council that the land route from sub-Saharan African nations to the sea crossing places off the beaches of Tunisia and Libya “remains one of the world’s most dangerous.” “Lives are also lost on land, away from public attention,” Menikdiwela continued. The UNHCR representative claimed that the migrants and refugees “risk death and gross human rights violations at every step.” Over 102,000 migrants reportedly attempted to cross the Mediterranean from Tunisia this year, which represents a 260% increase from last year, while more than 45,000 reportedly attempted to cross from Libya, she said. Additionally, according to Al Jazeera, the data provided by UNHCR were comparable to those displayed by Par Liljert, director of the International Office for Migration (IOM). Liljert stated to the Security Council that “recent IOM data demonstrates that from January to September 2023, more than 187,000 individuals crossed the Mediterranean in pursuit of a better future and the promise of safety.” Tragically, IOM recorded 2,778 deaths during that time period, 2,093 of which occurred along the perilous central Mediterranean route, the author continued. While the number of arrivals in Spain has stayed steady, primarily through the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands as compared to the numbers recorded at the same time last year, he said, “Yet, despite its clear dangers, in 2023, there has been an increase in arrivals to Greece along this route of over 300%.”According to Al Jazeera, IOM observed a considerable increase in entries to Italy, with more than 130,000 arriving in 2023 as opposed to 70,000 in 2022.
