22nd February, 2016
Two children have, on average, drowned every day since September – a total of more than 340 – as their families have tried to cross the eastern Mediterranean, according to UN agencies.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) released the figure – which they believe is conservative, given some bodies may have been lost at sea, and which they say is growing – as they joined in a call for greater efforts to ensure the safety of those fleeing conflicts.
Anthony Lake, UNICEF executive director, said the world cannot "turn our faces away from the tragedy of so many innocent young lives and future lost – or fail to address the dangers so many more children are facing".
He said that while the international community may not have the the ability to "end the desperation" that causes so many people to try and make the sea crossing, countries "can and must cooperate to make such dangerous journeys safer". "No-one puts a child in a boat if a safer option is available."
Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said more efforts are needed to combat people smuggling but added that organising ways for people to travel legally and safely, through resettlement and family unification programs, for example, "should be an absolute priority is we want to reduce the death toll".
Children now account for some 36 per cent of those attempting a crossing of the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey – among the world’s deadliest routes for migrants and refugees. As many as 410 people drowned attempting the crossing in the first six weeks of this year alone, an increase by as much as 35 times on figures from the previous year.
– DAVID ADAMS
