On this Journey no one care if you live or die: Abuse, Protection and Justice along Routes between East and West Africa and Africa’s Mediterranean Coast

The UNHCR, IOM, and MMC's report highlights the extreme violence and human rights violations faced by people on the move on land routes across the African continent, particularly towards the Mediterranean coast. The report reveals that more people cross the Sahara Desert than the Mediterranean Sea, with deaths in the desert estimated to be twice those at sea. Over three years of data collection, the report emphasizes the rising number of individuals attempting these hazardous land crossings, driven by deteriorating conditions in their home and host countries, such as new conflicts in the Sahel and Sudan, climate change, and widespread racism and xenophobia.

The report details the severe risks and abuses people endure, including torture, physical violence, arbitrary detention, death, kidnapping for ransom, sexual violence, enslavement, human trafficking, and forced labor. These abuses are primarily perpetrated by criminal gangs, armed groups, and even security forces and border guards. Despite international commitments to protect and assist these individuals, significant gaps in protection and assistance persist along the Central Mediterranean route, exacerbated by inadequate funding and restrictions on humanitarian access. This situation forces people on the move to undertake even more perilous journeys.

The report calls for comprehensive, route-based protection strategies to save lives and alleviate suffering, addressing the root causes of displacement and irregular movements through measures like peacebuilding, human rights protection, improved governance, and climate change mitigation. The organizations urge for the creation of safe pathways for migrants across all stages of their journeys, hoping the findings will spur increased action to fill the existing gaps in the international response to this crisis. read more

Language(s): Englisch / English
Region(s): Nordafrika, Afrika