UN announces: 510 irregular migrants have lost their lives this year

The United Nations (UN) International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported that 510 irregular migrants have died in the Central Mediterranean since the beginning of the year.

In a post shared on the IOM's X account, it was emphasized that they were horrified by the shipwreck that occurred on April 23 off the coast of the city of Sfax in northern Tunisia.

Stating that "the bodies of 19 irregular migrants attempting to reach the Italian island of Lampedusa have been recovered," the post noted that the deaths of 510 irregular migrants have been recorded on the Central Mediterranean route since January 1, 2024.

THE ISSUE OF IRREGULAR MIGRATION

In the flow of irregular migration toward Europe, the Central Mediterranean route, located between Italy, Malta, Libya, and Tunisia, has stood out as one of the routes where intense activity has been observed in recent years.

Irregular migrants who set sail from the North African coast and subsequently issue distress calls are often rescued on this route by European-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rather than European state officials. Due to the failure of EU member states to provide a "safe harbor," these NGOs sometimes face difficulties in evacuating the irregular migrants they have rescued.

Since last year, NGOs have also been facing certain difficulties in carrying out their operations due to recent legal regulations in Italy.

The first place where migrants who manage to cross the Mediterranean on their own or are rescued set foot in Europe is mostly the island of Lampedusa, Italy's landmass closest to North Africa, or sometimes Malta.

On the other hand, every year, a large number of irregular migrants lose their lives while trying to cross the Mediterranean due to boats capsizing or because of dehydration and lack of air caused by overcrowding on the boats.