Chapter 1 Migrant Deaths: An International Overview
at sea are relatively well monitored, migrants who die while crossing overland to reach the sea, or en route to northern or southern Africa are often not reported. In 2014, a small number of deaths were recorded in the Sudanese-Libyan desert during the journey northwards, but certainly more deaths take place that are not known of. South-East Asia and Australia According to the Australian Border Deaths Database, nearly 1,500 border-related deaths occurred between January 2000 and September 2014 (see Table 1.1). The number of deaths has dropped significantly this year, down from 214 in 2013 to less than a handful of cases (see Australian Border Deaths Database). In the Bay of Bengal, irregular maritime movements started gaining momentum in 2006, but increased dramatically in the aftermath of sectarian unrest in June 2012. UNHCR estimated that of the approximately 55,000 people who attempted to cross the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea in 2013, over 600 lost their lives (UNHCR, 2014a), and more than 200 are estimated to have died in the first half of 2014 (UNHCR, 2014b). Of all deaths occurring in South-East Asia in 2014 captured by IOM, those in the Bay of Bengal amount to roughly three quarters. Central and North America Along the border between the United States and Mexico, the harsh conditions of the arduous desert trek lead to hundreds of deaths each year and IOM estimates that between January and September of 2014 deaths along the border accounted for roughly 6 per cent of migrant deaths around the world (see Figure 1.2). The United States Border Patrol estimated that 445 died in the 2013 fiscal year,7 slightly lower than numbers from the year before. Since 1998, when the Border Patrol started publishing data on deaths, they have recorded 6,029 lives lost (US Customs and Border Protection, 2013), with an average of approximately 400 migrants dying every year since 2000 (see Table 1.1). Civil society organizations and researchers, however, suggest these numbers may underestimate the actual death toll at the border. While numbers from fiscal year 2014 had not been compiled at the time of publication, existing data for 2014 suggest a decline in deaths from the previous fiscal year; however, complete numbers take time to compile as remains may not be found for months or years (see Campoy, 2014). It remains to be seen if this is a trend that will continue. Declines may be in part due to increased patrolling and improved surveillance technology and assistance mechanisms (ibid.). However, determining the link between changes in border enforcement policies and the number of migrant deaths is not straightforward. A US Government Accountability Office report (GAO, 2006) found that a range of factors may affect 22
7
1 October 2012 through 30 September 2013.
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