UNICEF - Escape route Mediterranean: Eleven children die every week

UNICEF estimates that around 1,500 children have died or disappeared trying to cross the central Mediterranean since 2018. That number is one-fifth of the 8,274 people who died or went missing along this route, according to records from the IOM's (UN International Organization for Migration) Missing Migrant Project.

Many shipwrecks en route across the central Mediterranean leave no survivors or go unrecorded. The actual number of child sacrifices is therefore almost impossible to verify and is likely to be far higher. On this route, as on other routes across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic route from West Africa, children and babies have died consistently in recent months, including in the recent tragedies off the Greek coast and the Canary Islands.

"Too many children board boats on the shores of the Mediterranean in search of safety, family reunification and a brighter future, only to lose their lives or disappear along the way," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “This is a clear sign that efforts to save lives at sea need to be stepped up to ensure children safe and legal access to asylum. Ultimately, much more needs to be done to address the root causes that put children's lives at risk in the first place."

UNICEF estimates that 11,600 children from North Africa have arrived on the Italian coast so far this year - an average of 428 children per week. That is twice as many children as in the same period last year (2022). Most children are fleeing Libya and Tunisia and have already made dangerous journeys through countries in Africa and the Middle East.

In the first quarter of 2023, 3,300 children - 71 percent of all children who came to Europe via this route - were registered as unaccompanied or separated from their parents. This puts them at greater risk of violence, exploitation and abuse. Unaccompanied girls are particularly at risk of experiencing violence before, during and after their flight. The central Mediterranean has become one of the most dangerous escape routes for children. However, the risk of dying at sea is just one of many dangers these children face: exploitation and violence, lack of educational or future opportunities, raids and detention by immigration authorities, or separation from family. These risks are compounded by a lack of access to protection in transit countries and insufficient and slow search and rescue efforts.

In line with international legal obligations and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF calls on governments to better protect vulnerable children at sea and in countries of origin, transit and destination. Specifically, UNICEF calls for:

Protecting the rights and welfare of children in accordance with obligations under national and international law; providing safe and legal avenues for children to migrate and seek asylum; enhancing coordination of search and rescue efforts and ensuring rapid movement of children to places of safety; Strengthening national child protection systems to better protect children at risk of exploitation and violence, especially unaccompanied children; Improving prospects for children and young people in the countries of origin and transit by overcoming conflicts and climate risks; access to information for children to enable them to make informed choices about their options; Access to education, medical care and other essential services UNICEF also calls on the European Union to ensure that the above points are reflected in the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which is currently being negotiated.

UNICEF continues to work to support countries to strengthen national child protection, social protection, migration and asylum systems to reduce the risks children face during their flight and support all children regardless of their legal status or that of theirs to ensure parents.