Credit: Wikipedia / Irish Defence Forces  – A refugee rescue operation by the Irish Navy ship  LE Eithne  28 June 2015 Mediterranean sea.

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

Thousands of refugees and migrants from east and west Africa trying to reach the Mediterranean are facing horrific rights abuses, including sexual assault torture and death. A report released this week by the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency details how many migrants taking these routes suffer or witness unspeakable brutality and inhumanity at the hands of smugglers, traffickers, militias and in some cases even State officials.

“For too long, the harrowing abuses experienced by refugees and migrants along these overland routes have remained largely invisible. This report documents killings and widespread violence of the most brutal nature, perpetrated against desperate people fleeing war, violence and persecution. Strong leadership and concerted action are needed by States in the region, with support from the international community, to end these cruelties, protect the victims and prosecute the criminals responsible.”

– Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

1,750  People Die On Journeys in 2018 and 2019

Credit: Wikipedia / U.S. Navy photo/ Oct. 17, 2013.   Distressed persons  transferred from the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) to Armed Forces of Malta offshore patrol vessel P52 in Mediterranean sea.

According to the report the report’s findings, a minimum of 1,750 people died on these journeys in 2018 and 2019. This represents a rate of least 72 deaths per month, making it one of the most deadly routes for refugees and migrants in the world. These deaths are in addition to the thousands who have died or gone missing in recent years attempting desperate journeys across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe after reaching north African shores.  At least 70 refugees and migrants are known to have died in 2020 already, including at least 30 people were killed at the hands of traffickers in Mizdah in late May.

UNHCR Warns Nearly Half of The Violence is Perpetrated by Those Supposed to Enforce the Law

All the more horrific is that nearly half of the violence against African migrants is being perpetrated by security forces, immigration officials, or border guards, according to UNHCR.  “In the past it was mainly smugglers and traffickers. But now the primary perpetrators are those who are supposed to protect,” said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean.  Many would-be migrants are often sent back to war-torn Libya and placed in detention centers in appalling conditions and become victims of sexual abuse and violence, according  to the  UN.

Women and girls, but also men and boys, are at high risk of rape and sexual and gender-based violence, particularly at checkpoints and border areas, and during desert crossings – UN

UN Calls For International Cooperation To Hold Criminal Perpetrators of Violence Accountable 

The UN report said greater efforts are needed to strengthen the protection of people travelling these routes and to provide credible, legal alternatives to these dangerous and desperate journeys.   “Greater cooperation is needed between States to identify and hold accountable the criminal perpetrators of these horrific abuses at different points along the routes, share key information with relevant law enforcement agencies, dismantle smuggling and trafficking networks and freeze their financial assets. National authorities should also take greater steps to investigate reports of abuses by State officials.”