Record Migrant Deaths in 2024: 10% Killed Violently, Says UN

GENEVA: According to the United Nations migration agency, last year marked the deadliest period for migrants on record, with nearly 9,000 individuals losing their lives on dangerous migration routes. Alarmingly, one out of every ten fatalities was due to violence, including incidents like shootings.

In 2024 alone, at least 8,938 people died while attempting to migrate, with the highest mortality rates occurring on routes in Asia, followed closely by the Mediterranean Sea and regions in Africa, including the Sahara Desert.

“The rise in fatalities across numerous regions underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive international response to prevent further tragic losses,” stated Ugochi Daniels, Deputy Director General for Operations at the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Furthermore, the IOM reported that at least 10% of these migrant deaths resulted from violent acts, which encompass shootings, stabbings, and beatings, along with state-sanctioned killings of migrants.

The countries with the highest number of violent migrant deaths include Iran, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Mexico, according to an IOM spokesperson, who did not specify the perpetrators in each instance.

Notably, incidents of drowning due to forced pushbacks by coastguards at sea are not included in the violent death statistics, the spokesperson indicated.

The IOM has been tracking this data since 2014, revealing an annual increase in recorded migrant deaths since 2021. Many thousands more fatalities likely go unrecorded each year due to insufficient official records, according to the agency.

Based in Geneva, the IOM is among several organizations assisting displaced individuals, all of whom are facing significant cutbacks in aid from the United States, prompting reductions or the termination of programs that the agency warns could severely hinder support for migrants.