Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The International Organization for Migration announced the deaths of 441 migrants in the central Mediterranean during the first quarter of 2023 - the deadliest in comparison to the same period since 2017.
This came in the United Nations news bulletin, a copy of which we received via e-mail
The organization stated that this number may be much less than the true number of lives lost in the central Mediterranean.
The mounting loss of life comes amid reports of delays in state-led rescue efforts and hindrance to the operations of NGO search and rescue vessels in the central Mediterranean, one of the world's most dangerous sea routes.
“The ongoing humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean is unacceptable,” said IOM Director-General Antonio Vitorino. “With more than 20,000 deaths recorded on this route since 2014, I fear deaths are becoming normal. Countries must respond. Lead Delays and gaps in state-led search and rescue result in loss of human life.
Delays in state-led rescue operations on the Central Mediterranean route have caused at least 6 accidents this year, killing at least 127 people. While the lack of response to the seventh incident caused the death of at least 73 immigrants.
Search and rescue efforts led by NGOs have diminished significantly in recent times.
On March 25, the Libyan coast guard fired shots into the air as a rescue ship belonging to the NGO Ocean Viking was responding to a report of an inflatable boat in trouble at sea.
On Sunday 26 March, the Louise Michel was detained in Italy after 180 people were rescued at sea, adding to a previous case in which the Geo Barents was detained in February before being released.
Over the Easter holidays, 3,000 migrants arrived in Italy, bringing the total number of arrivals so far this year to 31,192, according to the International Organization for Migration.
On Tuesday, April 11, a ship carrying nearly 800 people was rescued more than 200 kilometers southeast of Sicily by the Italian Coast Guard with the help of a merchant vessel.
Reports indicated that another ship carrying about 400 migrants was stranded between Italy and Malta for two days before the Italian coast guard arrived. Not all migrants from these ships have reached safety in Italy yet.

legal obligation
“Saving lives at sea is a legal obligation of states. We need to see proactive, state-led coordination in search and rescue efforts. We call on states to work together and work to minimize loss of life along migration routes, guided by a spirit of shared responsibility and solidarity,” said Antonio Vitorino. .
The Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for Migration is also investigating numerous reports of boats carrying migrants missing at sea without being found, and the fate of more than 300 people on board remains unclear.
The alarming situation in the central Mediterranean underscores the need for ad hoc and predictable state-led searches and landings, with the aim of putting an end to the ad hoc response that has characterized such searches since 2014.
The International Organization for Migration stressed the need for countries' efforts to save lives to include supporting the efforts of non-governmental organization actors to provide life-saving assistance, and ending the criminalization, obstruction and deterring of the efforts of those providing such assistance.
All seagoing vessels, including merchant ships, have a legal obligation to rescue boats in distress.
The organization also called for more concerted action to dismantle criminal smuggling networks and prosecute those who benefit from the desperation of migrants and refugees by facilitating dangerous journeys.