At least 289 children have died or disappeared in the central Mediterranean this year, says Unicef

Eleven children die or go missing on average each week while trying to cross the central Mediterranean Sea in attempts to reach Europe, according to a new estimates by the UN children’s agency, Unicef.

So far this year, at least 289 children are estimated to have died or disappeared along what has been called the world’s deadliest migration route by the UN.

Unicef called for governments to better protect vulnerable children, including by providing safe and legal pathways for them to migrate, seek asylum and be reunited with family members.

The call comes a day after MEPs passed a resolution calling for the establishment of an EU-led search-and-rescue mission to be put in place to help those in distress on the Mediterranean Sea. It also called for the European Commission to share comprehensive information and data on the level of support the EU is providing to border and coastguards in third countries, and to end co-operation with the Libyan coastguard in the event of serious fundamental rights violations.

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The EU has been strongly criticised over its policies in the Central Mediterranean, and specifically its support for the Libyan coastguard. More than 121,000 men, women and children have been caught at sea and forced back to Libya since 2017.

[ Three jailed for people trafficking in first ruling of its kind in Libya ]

Thursday’s non-binding resolution has put elected representatives at odds with the EU executive, with EU home affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson this week declining to support the idea of EU search-and-rescue missions. She told the European Parliament that search-and-rescue operations fell within the remit of national governments.

Unicef said an estimated 11,600 children – an average of 428 a week – crossed the Central Mediterranean to Italy so far this year, the majority of whom were either alone or separated from their parents. They mostly departed from either Tunisia or Libya, which are launch destinations for people from other countries who have already made long journeys to escape a range of different situations including wars, dictatorships, persecution or crushing poverty.

Since 2018, Unicef estimates, about 1,500 children have died or gone missing on this journey – just over 20 per cent of the total deaths.

“In attempts to find safety, reunite with family and seek more hopeful futures, too many children are boarding boats on the shores of the Mediterranean, only to lose their lives or go missing on the way,” said Unicef executive director Catherine Russell. “This is a clear sign that more must be done to create safe and legal pathways for children to access asylum, while strengthening efforts to rescue lives at sea. Ultimately, much more must be done to address the root causes that make children risk their lives in the first place.”

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“The central Mediterranean Sea has become one of the most dangerous routes travelled by children,” Unicef said in a statement on Friday. “However, the risk of death at sea is just one of many tragedies these children face – from threats or experiences of violence, lack of educational or future opportunities, raids and immigration detention or separation from family. These risks are compounded by limited pathways for children to move safely, lack of access to protection in countries along the way, and insufficient and slow search and rescue operations.”