4,600 Death Toll in Mediterranean Sea Highlights Ireland’s Failure to Tackle Crisis say Immigrant Council of Ireland
Over 4,600 men, women and children have lost their lives in 2016 crossing the Mediterranean Sea to seek refuge in Europe. The death toll highlights the Government’s failure to provide protection and shelter to the 4,000 refugees it had committed to last year.
That’s according to the Immigrant Council of Ireland, who are today (01.12.2016) releasing their latest round-up of statistics on the crisis. The 4,600 death toll – which includes over 600 children – has increased by 28.5% (1,041) since October of this year.
The statistics released by the Immigrant Council of Ireland include:
- 4,690 people have been reported dead / missing.
- At least 600 children have died trying to reach Europe this year.
- There have been 372,128 arrivals to Europe so far in 2016.
- The participation of the Irish Naval forces in rescuing migrants from the Mediterranean Sea has resulted in the recovery of over 14,800 migrants from unseaworthy crafts.
Commenting on the statistics, Brian Killoran, Chief Executive of the Immigrant Council, said: “The death toll in the Mediterranean has now reached over 4,600. This is a stark reminder of Ireland’s failure to take in the 4,000 migrants the Government promised it would. Ireland needs to step up and move forward on our commitment to take in migrants. We need to remember that behind these numbers are real lives - real men, women and children, fleeing persecution and war.
“The cold weather is making the crossings more difficult, putting more lives at risk, and is not conducive to meeting human rights needs at the camps and temporary accommodation where the migrants are located on arrival. While we welcome the announcement that Ireland is to accept a further 260 migrants in 2017, it’s still a long way from what Ireland had pledged, and in the meantime people are continuing to lose their lives. In the build up to Christmas, we are calling on the Government to not forget their commitment to take in the 4,000 migrants it vowed to – the situation cannot continue to be ignored.”
ENDS