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,” the International Organization for Migration said on March 26.
However, the information on the identities of missing migrants is highly incomplete, IOM said in a new report.
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,” IOM said.
The report, A Decade of Documenting Migrant Deaths, looks back at the last ten years, with more than 63,000 deaths and disappearances documented during migration over that period – and more deaths recorded in 2023 than in any prior year.
The Immigration and Refugee News Digest 