63,000 perish on migration routes in 10 years: IOM

KABUL (Pajhwok): The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says more than 63,000 people died during migration in last ten years.

The IOM in a report “A Decade of Documenting Migrant Deaths” said more such deaths recorded in 2023 than in any prior year.

As the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) Missing Migrants Project marks its ten-year milestone, a new report reveals alarming trends in migrant deaths and disappearances over the past decade.

More than one-third of deceased migrants whose country of origin could be identified come from countries in conflict or with large refugee populations, highlighting the dangers faced by those attempting to flee conflict zones without safe pathways.

However, the information on the identities of missing migrants is highly incomplete. Among the report’s key findings is the high number of unidentified deaths.

More than two-thirds of migrants whose deaths were documented remain unidentified, leaving families and communities grappling with the ambiguous loss of their loved ones.

This underscores the need for better coordinated data collection and identification processes to provide closure to affected families.

“Despite the many lives lost whose identities remain unknown, we know that almost 5,500 females have perished on migration routes during the last ten years and the number of identified children is nearly 3,500,” said Ugochi Daniels, IOM Deputy Director General for Operations.

“The toll on vulnerable populations and their families urges us to turn the attention on the data into concrete action.”

sa/ma