The United Nations‘ lead migration agency said yesterday that the 414 documented deaths of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea in the first quarter are the most since 2017.
The numbers are expected to soar with the spike in people trying to escape war and famine.
The Missing Migrants Project of the UN’s International Organisation for Migration said intentional delays by country-led rescue responses have contributed to the spike. The organization said efforts to hinder search-and-rescue efforts by nongovernmental organizations have also contributed to the rise.
The International Organisation for Migration provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees and migrant workers.
“The persisting humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean is intolerable,” IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino said in a statement. “With more than 20,000 deaths recorded on this route since 2014, I fear that these deaths have been normalised. States must respond. Delays and gaps in state-led SAR [search and rescue] are costing human lives.”
Deaths related to crossing the Mediterranean had dropped from at 12-month total of 4,574 in 2016 to 1,000 in 2020 before rising again in 2021 (1,553) and 2022 (1,417).
This past week alone, the Italian Coast Guard worked to rescue two boats with about 1,200 migrants trying to reach Europe. One barge with about 400 migrants was confirmed to have left Libya over the weekend before running into trouble that left it adrift and leaving some of its passengers in distress.
While there were reports of people jumping overboard from the barge, it was unclear so far how many migrants have lost their lives in the current Italian rescue efforts. The German NGO Sea-Watch International complained about countries delaying rescue efforts in those situations.
“Recently, NGO-led SAR efforts have been markedly diminished,” the IOM said in a statement. “On 25 March, the Libyan Coast Guard fired shots in the air as NGO rescue ship Ocean Viking was responding to a report of a rubber boat in distress.
“Separately, on Sunday, 26 March, another vessel, the Louise Michel, was detained in Italy after rescuing 180 people at sea, echoing an earlier case in which the Geo Barents was detained in February and subsequently released.”
The report said 31,192 migrants have reached Italy this weekend, including some 3,000 over the Easter weekend.
“IOM also calls for further concerted action to dismantle criminal smuggling networks and to prosecute those responsible for profiting from the desperation of migrants and refugees by facilitating dangerous journeys.”