ReliefWeb

OVERVIEW

In its second year, the COVID-19 pandemic has been exacerbating both the socioeconomic vulnerabilities of many people and the existing restrictions on regular pathways to migration, from work permits and family reunification to asylum. This has compelled many people to undertake perilous irregular journeys within and from the Middle East and Northern Africa, where deaths have soared in 2021 compared to the previous year. The deaths of 185 people were recorded on land routes within Northern Africa in 2021, and 35 deaths were recorded within the Middle East. However, many limitations on data collection and the nature of clandestine crossings suggest that the real number of lives lost may be much higher. Deaths on maritime routes via Northern Africa to Europe have also increased in 2021 with 2,084 deaths were recorded in the Mediterranean Sea in 2021 – an increase from 2020 (1,448) and 2019 (1,885). On the Western Africa Atlantic route to the Spanish Canary Islands (WAAR) another 1,109 deaths were also recorded during 2021 (915 of which occurred after confirmed departure from North Africa), an increase from 2020 (878) and 2019 (210). The phenomenon of “invisible shipwrecks”1 has also tragically persisted along maritime routes with limited surveillance and reporting such as the Western Mediterranean Route (WMR) and the Western Africa-Atlantic Route (WAAR). During 2021, four invisible shipwrecks were recorded on WAAR, seven were recorded on WMR and four were recorded on the Central Mediterranean Route (CMR) – social media and civil society reports indicate that many more likely occurred but could not be verified.