Over 2,500 dead or missing in Mediterranean crossings in 2023: UNHCR

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"More than 2,500 people have died or gone missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year," states the UN refugee agency, as approximately 186,000 people have arrived in European countries during the same period.

Ruven Menikdiwela, director of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in New York, conveyed to the UN Security Council on Thursday that of the 186,000 who had crossed the Mediterranean, "83 per cent - some 130,000 people - landed in Italy." Other countries where Mediterranean crossers arrived included Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and Malta.

The number of casualties during the perilous sea crossings has risen this year compared to last year, as reported to the Security Council. "By September 24, over 2,500 people were accounted as dead or missing in 2023 alone," Menikdiwela stated. This marked a substantial increase from the 1,680 casualties reported during the same period in 2022.

Menikdiwela emphasized that the UN refugee agency saw "no end in sight" to the loss of lives at sea and on land routes to Europe, which are similarly treacherous. The land journey from sub-Saharan African countries to departure points on the Tunisian and Libyan coasts remains "one of the world's most dangerous."

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"Lives are also lost on land, away from public attention," Menikdiwela lamented, stressing that migrants and refugees "risk death and gross human rights violations at every step."

The figures presented by Par Liljert, director of the International Office for Migration (IOM), echoed those of UNHCR. "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," Liljert told the Security Council.

"Tragically, during this same period, IOM recorded 2,778 deaths, with 2,093 of them occurring along the treacherous central Mediterranean route," he said, referring to the most dangerous sea crossing. Despite its clear dangers, there has been a significant increase in arrivals to Greece along this route in 2023, with a rise of over 300 per cent compared to the previous year.

IOM also noted a substantial increase in arrivals to Italy, with 130,000 individuals having arrived so far this year compared to some 70,000 in 2022. (With inputs from agencies)