IOM: 50,000 migrants have died in search of ‘better life’ since 2014

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says at least 50,000 migrants died while journeying in search of a “better life” across the world since 2014.

IOM confirmed the figure in a report on the Missing Migrants Project published on Wednesday.

The nationality of over 30,000 victims in the report is unknown, which means that more than 60 percent of those who died on migratory routes remain unidentified.

However, Africa led the chart among victims whose nationalities could be identified, with more than 9,000 deaths, followed by Asia with over 6,500 and America with at least 3,000 lives lost.

The report identified Mediterranean routes as the deadliest, claiming at least 25,104 lives with death en route to or within Europe the highest.

Africa is the second-deadliest region for people on the move, with more than 9,000 migration-related deaths documented during the period under review.

The report said nearly 7,000 deaths were documented in America with 4,694 victims heading to the United States.

The US-Mexico land border crossing alone has seen more than 4,000 deaths since 2014, while another 6,200 deaths were recorded across Asia.

Eleven percent of victims in Asia were children, with Rohingya refugees making up a significant portion of those figures.

According to Julia Black, co-author of the report, despite the magnitude of migration deaths, little action has been taken by governments — of the country of origin, transit or arrival — to arrest the situation.

“While thousands of deaths have been documented across migration routes each year, very little has been done to address the consequences of these tragedies, let alone prevent them,” she said.

“Regardless of the reasons that compel or drive people to move, no one deserves to die in search of a better life.”

IOM maintained that the figures released are undercounted because the majority of migrant deaths remain unreported.