On the U.S.-Mexico border, the report said an increasing number of migrant deaths took place every year since 2014 and now total 1,907 over the five-year period of the report. / A.M. Costa Rica wire services photo
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One migrant child reported dead or missing every day, says United Nations
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
According to the United Nations, the report “Fatal Journeys 4” from the International Organization for Migration’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre, in collaboration with the U.N. Children’s Fund, UNICEF, highlights the need for better data on migrant deaths and disappearances, particularly for children, one of the most vulnerable groups of migrants.
“The lack of data on the ages, characteristics, and vulnerabilities of missing migrant children creates serious protection gaps,” said Frank Laczko, director of the center. “It makes it very difficult to create programs and policies designed to protect them.”
Over the period covered by the report, 2014 to 2018, the International Organization for Migration reported that of the total of 32,000 migrant deaths, over half – some 17,900 – died or went missing in the Mediterranean Sea. The remains of almost two-thirds of these victims have not been recovered.
In one case, Rohingya people fleeing conflict and persecution in Myanmar made up the vast majority of deaths recorded during migration flows in Southeast Asia over the reporting period, 1,723 of the 2,200 migration-related deaths in the region.
On the U.S.-Mexico border, the report said an increasing number of migrant deaths took place every year since 2014 and now total 1,907 over the five-year period of the report.
The report was published just days after the publication of a shocking picture of a drowned Central American migrant and his infant daughter on the banks of the Rio Grande River dividing Mexico and the United States. The photo was seen around the world. The head of the U.N. Children’s Fund described the photograph as “a searing image that should shake each of us to our core” and issued an appeal for countries to do more to protect vulnerable migrants.
More regional breakdowns are available on the Missing Migrant Project site here*.
The immigration organization's focus on children is part of a wide-ranging call for better data and protection for migrant children, involving the Children's Fund and other agencies, including the U.N. refugee agency and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
-------------------------------------- Should the United Nations implement sanctions in countries that do not provide the minimum necessary conditions in health, work, and security, so that families are not forced to immigrate to the United States? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com
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