The United Nations reported on Friday that 289 children died during the first half of 2023 while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
UNICEF has called for expanded safe, legal and accessible pathways for children to seek protection in Europe.
The number of children who died while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in the first half of 2023 doubled the figure recorded in the first six months of 2022.
UNICEF’s global lead on migration and displacement, Verena Knaus, said the figures were likely higher as many shipwrecks in the central Mediterranean leave no survivors or go unrecorded.
“The number of children who have lost their lives while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe has doubled in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.
“In the first six months of this year, we estimate 11,600 children made the crossing — again, nearly twice as many as in the same period in 2022,” she said.
UNICEF said that in the first three months of 2023, around 3,300 children – 71 per cent of all children arriving in Europe on the central
Mediterranean route – were recorded as unaccompanied or separated.
The figure is three times higher than in the same period last year.
“These children need to know they are not alone. World leaders must urgently act to demonstrate the undeniable worth of children’s lives, moving beyond condolences to the resolute pursuit of effective solutions,” said Knaus.
