More than a decade ago, the death of 600 migrants and refugees in two Mediterranean shipwrecks near Italian shores shocked the world and prompted the UN migration agency to start recording the number of people who died or went missing as they fled conflict, persecution or poverty to other countries.
Governments around the world have repeatedly pledged to save migrants' lives and fight smugglers while tightening borders. Yet 10 years on, a report by the International Organization for Migration's Missing Migrants Project published Tuesday shows the world is no safer for people on the move.
On the contrary, .
Since tracking began in 2014, more than 63,000 have died or are missing and presumed dead, according to the Missing Migrants Project, with 2023 the deadliest year yet.
鈥淭he figures are quite alarming,鈥 Jorge Galindo, a spokesperson at IOM's Global Data Institute, told The Associated Press. "We see that 10 years on, people continue to lose their lives in search of a better one.鈥
The report says the deaths are "likely only a fraction of the actual number of lives lost worldwide鈥 because of the difficulty in obtaining and verifying information. For example, on the Atlantic route from Africa's west coast to Spain's Canary Islands, entire boats have reportedly vanished in what are known as 鈥渋nvisible shipwrecks.鈥 Similarly, countless deaths in the Sahara desert are believed to go unreported.
Even when deaths are recorded, more than two-thirds of the victims remain unidentified. That can be due to lack of information and resources, or simply because identifying dead migrants is not considered a priority.
Experts have called the growing number of unidentified migrants around the world a crisis comparable to mass casualties seen in wartime.
Behind each nameless death is a family facing 鈥渢he psychological, social, economic and legal impacts of unresolved disappearances,鈥 a painful phenomenon known as 鈥渁mbiguous loss,鈥 the report says.
鈥淕overnments need to work together with civil society to make sure that the families that are left behind, not knowing the whereabouts of their loved ones, can have better access to the remains of people who have died,鈥 Galindo said.
Of the victims whose nationalities were known to IOM, one in three died while fleeing countries in conflict.
Nearly 60% of the deaths recorded by the IOM in the last decade were related to drowning. The Mediterranean Sea is the world's largest migrant grave with more than 28,000 deaths recorded in the last decade. Thousands of drownings have also been recorded on the U.S.-Mexico border, in the Atlantic Ocean, in the Gulf of Aden and increasingly in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea where desperate Rohingya refugees are embarking on overcrowded boats.
鈥淪earch and rescue capacities to assist migrants at sea must be strengthened, in line with international law and the principle of humanity,鈥 the report says.
Currently on the Mediterranean "the large majority of search and rescue is done by nongovernmental organizations,鈥 Galindo said.
When the Missing Migrants Project began in 2014, European sentiment was more sympathetic to the plight of migrants, and the Italian government had launched 鈥淢are Nostrum,鈥 a major search-and-rescue mission that saved thousands of lives.
But the solidarity didn't last, and European search and rescue missions were progressively cut back after fears that they would encourage smugglers to launch even more people on cheaper and deadlier boats. That's when NGOs stepped in.
Their help has not always been welcomed. In Italy and Greece, they have faced increasing bureaucratic and legal obstacles.
Following the 2015-16 migration crisis, the European Union began outsourcing border control and sea rescues to North African countries to 鈥渟ave lives鈥 while also keeping migrants from reaching European shores.
The controversial partnerships have been criticized by human rights advocates, particularly the one with Libya. EU-trained and funded Libyan coast guards have been linked to human traffickers exploiting migrants who are intercepted and brought back to squalid detention centres. A UN-backed group of experts has found that the abuses committed against migrants on the Mediterranean and in Libya may amount to crimes against humanity.
Despite the rise of border walls and heightened surveillance worldwide, smugglers always seem to find lucrative alternatives, leading migrants and refugees on longer and more perilous routes.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an absence of safe migration options,鈥 Galindo said. "And this needs to change.鈥
___
Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain.
Amid new polling indicating most Canadians support boosting Old Age Security (OAS) benefits by 10 per cent for seniors aged 65 to 74, a former Liberal finance minister and former Bank of Canada governor are warning the government not to pursue the policy change.
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An Ontario child has died after coming in contact with a rabid bat, a health official confirmed on Wednesday.
A Manitoba man convicted of murder 50 years ago has been acquitted. Clarence Woodhouse was found guilty in 1974 of fatally beating and stabbing a restaurant worker in downtown Winnipeg.
A woman who says she worked as a hair-and-makeup stylist for Garth Brooks alleged in a lawsuit filed Thursday that he raped her in a Los Angeles hotel in 2019.
Three former Memphis police officers were convicted Thursday in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, but were acquitted of the harshest charges they faced for a death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.
Melania Trump revealed her support for abortion rights Thursday ahead of the release of her upcoming memoir, exposing a stark contrast with her husband, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, on the crucial election issue.
Defence Minister Bill Blair says Israel has the right to defend itself in 'a calibrated and proportional way' following Iran鈥檚 ballistic missile attack against Israel on Tuesday.
When an Ontario doctor refused to sign off on a mammogram for 38-year-old Sidra Lone, the mother of four says she was left with no choice but to lie.
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Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard has requested bail as he appeals his sexual assault convictions in Toronto and the prison sentence he received last month.
A man charged with first-degree murder in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., doesn't have to sit in the prisoner's box when his trial begins next month, a judge with the Superior Court of Justice has ruled.
The River East Transcona School Division has filed a lawsuit against the City of Winnipeg regarding a fire at one of its schools in March 2022.
A Manitoba man convicted of murder 50 years ago has been acquitted. Clarence Woodhouse was found guilty in 1974 of fatally beating and stabbing a restaurant worker in downtown Winnipeg.
When an Ontario doctor refused to sign off on a mammogram for 38-year-old Sidra Lone, the mother of four says she was left with no choice but to lie.
More than 180 people were evacuated Thursday from a Ryanair Boeing passenger jet after it caught fire while taxiing to take off at Brindisi Airport in southern Italy.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles are reviewing new evidence in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez to determine whether they should be serving life sentences for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago, the city's district attorney said Thursday.
A TikTok content creator was arrested in Dallas this week and is facing a second-degree murder charge in the death of a Baton Rouge counsellor and life coach whose body was found on the side of a Louisiana highway over the weekend, law enforcement officials said Thursday.
Three former Memphis police officers were convicted Thursday in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, but were acquitted of the harshest charges they faced for a death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.
The Israeli military on Thursday warned people to evacuate a city and other communities in southern Lebanon that are north of a UN-declared buffer zone, signalling that it may widen a ground operation launched earlier this week against the Hezbollah militant group.
Lebanon鈥檚 Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told CNN鈥檚 Christiane Amanpour that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a 21-day ceasefire just days before he was assassinated by Israel.
Defence Minister Bill Blair says Israel has the right to defend itself in 'a calibrated and proportional way' following Iran鈥檚 ballistic missile attack against Israel on Tuesday.
Federal fisheries officers in Nova Scotia say they're refusing some enforcement duties because of threats to their safety, as they await Ottawa's response to their complaints.
Government business has been put on indefinite pause in the House of Commons and the Conservatives say it will stay that way until the Liberals hand over documents related to misspent government dollars.
Hundreds of Saskatchewan nurses and their supporters rallied outside the legislative building on Thursday calling for action to ongoing staffing shortages and hospital overcrowding around the province.
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A hacking group tied to Russian intelligence tried to worm its way into the systems of dozens of western think tanks, journalists and former military and intelligence officials, Microsoft and U.S. authorities said Thursday.
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Amazon Web Services鈥 director of global artificial intelligence is encouraging Canada not to go it alone when it comes to regulating the technology.
A woman who says she worked as a hair-and-makeup stylist for Garth Brooks alleged in a lawsuit filed Thursday that he raped her in a Los Angeles hotel in 2019.
Rapper Eminem announced that his daughter Hailie Jade, 28, is expecting her first child via a new music video on Thursday for his song 'Temporary,' featuring Skylar Grey.
Defence lawyers for Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard suggested a woman accusing him of sexual assault concocted an 'extravagant false story' about the nature of the encounter to gain sympathy and hide her infidelity.
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The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.
Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north
What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.
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