Executive Summary
have the highest figures for reported deaths. Since the year 2000, over 22,000 migrants have lost their lives trying to reach Europe. Between 1996 and 2013, at least 1,790 migrants died while attempting to cross the Sahara. Since 1998, more than 6,000 migrants have died trying to cross the United States–Mexico border, according to the United States Border Patrol. In Australia, the Border Crossing Observatory of Monash University suggests that nearly 1,500 migrants died on their journey to Australia between 2000 and 2014. Over the last year, the increase in deaths has largely been driven by a surge in the number of fatalities in the Mediterranean region. Why this is occurring is not entirely clear, but likely reflects a dramatic increase in the number of migrants trying to reach Europe. Over 112,000 irregular migrants were detected by Italian authorities in the first eight months of 2014, almost three times as many as in all of 2013. Many are fleeing conflict, persecution and poverty, with Eritreans and Syrians constituting the largest share of arrivals in Italy this year. The deteriorating security situation in Libya, where many migrants reside prior to their departure for Europe, has also increased migration pressures. In response to the high flows across the Mediterranean, policy has prioritized search and rescue, with tens of thousands of lives saved this year. In contrast to the Mediterranean, some parts of the world have actually seen a decrease in the number of deaths over the last year. For instance, along the United States–Mexico border, it appears that deaths have declined between 2013 and 2014. Determining the link between changes in border enforcement policies and the number of migrant deaths is not straightforward. A 2006 US Government Accountability Office report found that a range of factors may affect the number of deaths, including changes in the volume of border crossings, variations in the locations where migrants attempt to cross the border, and fluctuations in weather patterns. How can we address the challenge of migrant border-related deaths? Many different policy options have been discussed over the years, from tougher sanctions against smugglers and traffickers, to the creation of more safe and orderly channels for migration, including increasing refugee resettlement quotas. Better data on migrant deaths is a crucial element to both inform and monitor the impacts of any policy response. When death occurs on such a massive scale, there is a responsibility to fully investigate the causes of such tragedies. There have been many calls in recent years for better data to help identify and account for the thousands of “missing migrants,” but relatively little action has been taken to address this problem.
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This report concludes with a series of key recommendations on ways in which data can be improved in the future. This is not only a primary step in efforts to reduce the number of migrant deaths, but is essential to allow families to know the fate of their missing relatives.
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