GENEVA: More than 72,000 deaths and disappearances have been documented along migration routes around the world in the past decade, most of them in crisis-affected countries, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Last year saw the highest migrant death toll on record, with at least 8,938 people dying on migration routes, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
“These numbers are a tragic reminder that people risk their lives when insecurity, lack of opportunity, and other pressures leave them with no safe or viable options at home,” IOM chief Amy Pope said in a statement.
The report by her UN agency found that nearly three-quarters of all migrant deaths and disappearances recorded globally since 2014 occurred as people fled insecurity, conflict, disaster and other humanitarian crises.
One in four were “from countries affected by humanitarian crises, with the deaths of thousands of Afghans, Rohingya, and Syrians documented on migration routes worldwide,” said the IOM’s Missing Migrants Report.
The report said that more than 52,000 people died while trying to escape from one of the 40 countries in the world where the UN has a crisis response plan or humanitarian response plan in place.
Pope urged international investment “to create stability and opportunity within communities, so that migration is a choice, not a necessity.”
“And when staying is no longer possible, we must work together to enable safe, legal, and orderly pathways that protect lives.”
The Central Mediterranean remains the deadliest migration route in the world, with nearly 25,000 people lost at sea in the past decade, IOM said.
More than 12,000 of those had been lost at sea after departing from war-torn Libya, with countless others disappearing while transiting the Sahara Desert, the report said.
More than 5,000 people died while trying to leave crisis-ravaged Afghanistan in the past decade, many of them since the Taliban retook power in 2021.
And more than 3,100 members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority had died during the period, many in shipwrecks or while crossing into Bangladesh.
“Too often, migrants fall through the cracks,” warned Julia Black, coordinator of IOM’s Missing Migrants Project and author of the report.
“And due to data gaps — especially in war zones and disaster areas — the true death toll is likely far higher than what we’ve recorded,” she said in the statement.
![]()
Over 72,000 migrants dead, disappeared globally since 2014: UN
Short Url
https://arab.news/y678f
Over 72,000 migrants dead, disappeared globally since 2014: UN
- One in four were “from countries affected by humanitarian crises ,” said the IOM’s Missing Migrants Report
- More than 52,000 people died while trying to escape from one of the 40 countries in the world where the UN has a crisis response plan
UK Labour party threatened by hard-right, leftists in heartland
- Polls opened Thursday in a crunch vote for Britain’s ruling Labour party that is expected to highlight growing support for the hard-right and leftists particularly in England
MANCHESTER: Polls opened Thursday in a crunch vote for Britain’s ruling Labour party that is expected to highlight growing support for the hard-right and leftists particularly in England, where the traditional two-party system is fracturing.
Defeat for the government in the parliamentary by-election would add to the woes facing unpopular Prime Minister Keir Starmer who endures frequent mutterings about how long he can stay in office.
Labour has dominated the Manchester suburb of Gorton and Denton for decades and won almost 51 percent of the vote there at the July 2024 general election that swept Starmer to power.
Less than two years later, it is locked in a three-way fight for the seat with anti-immigration Reform UK led by Nigel Farage, and the Greens led by leftwinger Zack Polanski.
The battle suggests British people appear increasingly willing to look toward insurgent parties to tackle long-standing, hot-button issues like the high cost of living and irregular immigration at the next general election, expected in 2029.
“It illustrates how the two main parties are losing so much support at the minute,” University of Manchester politics lecturer Louise Thompson told AFP, referring to Labour and the main opposition Conservatives.
“It could be a real sign that they are in a lot of danger.”
Starmer, whose five predecessors as prime minister were all Conservatives stretching back to 2010, has pitched the by-election as “a battle of values.”
He told parliament on Wednesday that Reform offered only “grievance and division” and accused its candidate of saying that “anyone who isn’t white cannot be English.”
Starmer also attacked the Greens’ support for legalizing drugs, calling it “reprehensible.”
Epstein row
Polanski responded to similar comments from Starmer earlier in the week by calling Labour “vile.”
The vote was triggered by the resignation of former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne on health grounds.
Matt Goodwin, a 44-year-old political scientist, is bidding to become Reform’s ninth MP in the UK’s 650-seat parliament.
Standing for the Greens is Hannah Spencer, a 34-year-old plumber and trainee plasterer, who is hoping her party’s pro-Palestinian stance will appeal to the constituency’s 28 percent Muslim population.
Local councillor Angeliki Stogia was chosen as Labour’s candidate after the party’s ruling body blocked the candidacy of Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, popular among left-wing activists.
Burnham’s bid to try to become an MP was widely seen as a precursor for a potential leadership challenge against Starmer, from the party’s center-right.
Starmer faced down calls to resign earlier this month amid a row over his appointment of an associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.
The envoy, Peter Mandelson, was arrested Monday on suspicion of committing misconduct in public office over allegations he leaked sensitive financial information to Epstein as a minister over a decade ago.
Starmer has also taken flak for countless policy reversals and polls suggest he is the most unpopular British prime minister since surveys began.
A win would help quieten the noise around his future before he faces a bigger moment of peril in May with elections in Scotland, Wales and London that pollsters predict will be painful for Labour.
Defeat for the government in the parliamentary by-election would add to the woes facing unpopular Prime Minister Keir Starmer who endures frequent mutterings about how long he can stay in office.
Labour has dominated the Manchester suburb of Gorton and Denton for decades and won almost 51 percent of the vote there at the July 2024 general election that swept Starmer to power.
Less than two years later, it is locked in a three-way fight for the seat with anti-immigration Reform UK led by Nigel Farage, and the Greens led by leftwinger Zack Polanski.
The battle suggests British people appear increasingly willing to look toward insurgent parties to tackle long-standing, hot-button issues like the high cost of living and irregular immigration at the next general election, expected in 2029.
“It illustrates how the two main parties are losing so much support at the minute,” University of Manchester politics lecturer Louise Thompson told AFP, referring to Labour and the main opposition Conservatives.
“It could be a real sign that they are in a lot of danger.”
Starmer, whose five predecessors as prime minister were all Conservatives stretching back to 2010, has pitched the by-election as “a battle of values.”
He told parliament on Wednesday that Reform offered only “grievance and division” and accused its candidate of saying that “anyone who isn’t white cannot be English.”
Starmer also attacked the Greens’ support for legalizing drugs, calling it “reprehensible.”
Epstein row
Polanski responded to similar comments from Starmer earlier in the week by calling Labour “vile.”
The vote was triggered by the resignation of former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne on health grounds.
Matt Goodwin, a 44-year-old political scientist, is bidding to become Reform’s ninth MP in the UK’s 650-seat parliament.
Standing for the Greens is Hannah Spencer, a 34-year-old plumber and trainee plasterer, who is hoping her party’s pro-Palestinian stance will appeal to the constituency’s 28 percent Muslim population.
Local councillor Angeliki Stogia was chosen as Labour’s candidate after the party’s ruling body blocked the candidacy of Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, popular among left-wing activists.
Burnham’s bid to try to become an MP was widely seen as a precursor for a potential leadership challenge against Starmer, from the party’s center-right.
Starmer faced down calls to resign earlier this month amid a row over his appointment of an associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.
The envoy, Peter Mandelson, was arrested Monday on suspicion of committing misconduct in public office over allegations he leaked sensitive financial information to Epstein as a minister over a decade ago.
Starmer has also taken flak for countless policy reversals and polls suggest he is the most unpopular British prime minister since surveys began.
A win would help quieten the noise around his future before he faces a bigger moment of peril in May with elections in Scotland, Wales and London that pollsters predict will be painful for Labour.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.