Fatal Journeys: Tracking Lives Lost during Migration
“border-related death” is not a recognized statistical category, nor an easily definable one. Some civil society organizations question whether governments who pursue restrictive migration policies should be tasked with collecting such data. The appropriateness of counting as a State-led process has been questioned given States’ close proximity to both issues of responsibility and accountability for deaths. This is particularly an issue in countries with weak governments and those dealing with high levels of corruption, in which deaths more frequently involve collusion with authorities. An option would be to encourage both official, State-led counts as well as ones led by civil society and researchers – similar to what is being done along the southern border of the United States. In this way both sources could be held in check and cross referenced. For this to be feasible, common methodologies and definitions would need to be developed. Another possibility could be to develop partnerships between international organizations and local humanitarian organizations working directly with migrants. For instance, in Yemen daily coast monitoring patrols are organized by NGOs in partnership with UNHCR. By working with smaller groups on the ground, international organizations could potentially compile rich information collected by these groups that might otherwise go unpublished, and disseminate it from a centralized platform. International organizations are well placed to gather global counts of deaths due to the presence of field offices in the majority of countries around the world, allowing for close observation of the local situation in diverse border-areas, some of which may otherwise go largely unnoticed. Another source of data could be death records and coroners’ reports, information that could perhaps be compiled by a network of universities. This method comes with a new set of challenges – not least of which is how to account for deaths of those whose bodies are never found. However, the use of death records and information generated during investigation and registration could provide details for at least a number of those who die and may be particularly appropriate in certain contexts and regions. This option is explored in Chapter 3. More coordination is needed between actors and organizations collecting data on deaths. Currently, varying methodologies and definitions hinder comparability between regions and even within national contexts. An initial step in this direction could be to draft a data collection guide to be circulated among actors and organizations working in this area. The process of constructing this guide should be a collaborative one, involving academic researchers and civil society organizations, as well as relevant representatives from governments. 37
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