New data: Refugees and migrants in Africa face violence and death

Data from a new report by the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) underscore the often underreported dangers faced by vulnerable people fleeing dangerous land routes.

Abuse along the route

“Regardless of their status, migrants and refugees face serious human rights violations and ill-treatment along their route… We must not lose our outrage at this level of violence,” said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Western and Central Mediterranean.

It is estimated that more people cross the Sahara than the Mediterranean, and the number of refugees and migrants who die in the desert is thought to be twice as many as those who die at sea. The report, “On this journey, no one cares if you live or die,” covers a three-year data collection period and warns of an increase in the number of people attempting these dangerous land crossings.

Laurence Hart, director of the IOM’s Mediterranean Coordination Office, stressed that the Central Mediterranean migration route remains one of the deadliest in the world. “A very high number of people” continue to risk embarking on “very dangerous journeys. Of course, there are many people who do not set out voluntarily, but they are forced to do so because of … political conflict and instability.”

Push factors

The so-called push factors on the migration route include the deteriorating situation in countries of origin and host countries – such as new conflicts in the Sahel and Sudan – the devastating impact of climate change and disasters on new and protracted emergencies in the East and Horn of Africa, and racism and xenophobia towards refugees and migrants.

There are huge gaps in protection and assistance along the Central Mediterranean route, forcing refugees and migrants to continue the dangerous journey, the report says.

“Just last week we learned that 5,000 people died on the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands in the first five months of this year – that’s a 700 percent increase compared to the same period last year,” said Bram Frouws, director of the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC). “We also know, although we don’t have completely accurate figures and these are actually underestimated, that countless more die on the land routes to the Mediterranean coast, possibly even more than at sea.”

Insufficient efforts

Despite pledges from the international community to save lives and address vulnerabilities, the report’s authors warned that current efforts to hold everyone accountable for the abuses and dangers faced by migrants and refugees are inadequate. Criminal groups and traffickers are often responsible for horrific abuses, Mr Frouws said, but “state officials – such as police, military and border guards – also play a role. But whoever they are, whatever category they fall into, they should be held accountable. But right now, much of this is happening in a situation of almost total impunity.”

The report found that smuggling routes are increasingly shifting to more remote areas to avoid active conflict zones or border controls by state and non-state actors, exposing people on the move to even greater risks.

Reported types of abuse include torture, physical violence, arbitrary detention, death, kidnapping for ransom, sexual violence and exploitation, enslavement, trafficking, forced labour, organ removal, robbery, arbitrary detention, collective expulsion and refoulement.

Life-saving protection

Support and access to justice for survivors of various forms of abuse are scarce along the routes, says the report, which points to inadequate funding and restrictions on humanitarian access. This is particularly the case in key locations such as informal detention centres and prisons.

Despite these challenges, UNHCR, IOM and partners such as NGS and several governments have stepped up life-saving protection services and assistance, as well as identification and referral mechanisms along the routes, but insist that humanitarian action is not enough.

“It is important to look at how to regularise or regularise migrants in transit countries when that is needed, but also further afield … in European countries that are responding to the need for talent and labour,” said the IOM’s Hart. “While opening up regular channels is not a panacea, it is certainly an enabler. Another element, another pillar on which migration management rests.”