Chapter 1 Migrant Deaths: An International Overview
is tasked with monitoring deaths globally. Data on the number of migrant deaths is scattered, and in some areas almost non-existent. The vast majority of governments do not publish numbers of deaths, and counting the lives lost is largely left to civil society and the media. Drawing on a wide range of sources from different regions of the world, this report investigates how border-related deaths are documented, who is documenting them and what can be done to improve the evidence-base to encourage informed policy and practice. Not only can better record keeping draw greater attention to this issue, but obtaining reliable data on border-related deaths is an essential starting point for any discussion on how to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.
1.2 International policy context and geography of deaths The issue of border-related deaths is currently at the centre of heated political and humanitarian debates. Many argue that there is a high “human cost” associated with the border control policies of many States. It is asserted that deaths have increased as migrants seek to move clandestinely and along more treacherous routes in response to tighter immigration controls.3 In turn, migrants are compelled to use the services of smugglers to help facilitate these more treacherous journeys and bypass strict entry requirements, a trend which creates a new set of risks and often leaves migrants vulnerable to abuse, extortion, and even death (UNODC, 2011).4 The irregularity of this migration means processes are largely hidden from the auspices of, and thus protection afforded by, the State, creating a space for the involvement of other criminal actors seeking to profit from an increasingly commercialized migratory process. Another perspective, however, contends that strict immigration policies actually reduce deaths by discouraging migrants from risking their lives on dangerous journeys in the first place. Making potential migrants aware of the risks of the journey and realities once reaching their destination is seen as a way to curb irregular flows that can result in death. However, the issue of migrant deaths extends deeper, raising questions concerning the responsibility of States to accommodate those fleeing poverty and persecution in their homelands. Perspectives also differ with respect to what measures should be taken to reduce the risk of loss of life. Some believe that the situation should be seen from a humanitarian perspective, with the top concern to respect the right to life of 3
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See, for instance: T. Spijkerboer, “The human costs of border control, European Journal of Migration and Law (2007); Rubio-Goldsmith et al., The “Funnel Effect” and Recovered Bodies of Unauthorized Migrants Processed by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, 1990–2005 (2006); M. Jimenez, Humanitarian Crisis: Migrant Deaths at the U.S.-Mexico Border (2009); among many others. For instance, for a discussion on the United States–Mexico border, see P. Andreas, “The transformation of migrant smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico Border, in: Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives, Second Edition (D. Kyle and R. Koslowski, eds.) (2011).
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