The IOM said on Sunday that there are at least "8 migrants dead and 12 are missing at sea" after being forced off a boat by smugglers off the coast of Djibouti. The migrants were traveling from Yemen, the UN organization added.
In the past two years, more migrants have traveled by boat to Yemen from the Horn of Africa than crossed the Mediterranean. Thousands of them are now trapped and facing multiple risks from the ongoing civil war, the threat of COVID-19, and abuse by human traffickers.
The Arab region comprising 18 countries hosts 15% of all migrants and refugees worldwide; it is currently seeing "unprecedented levels of migration." Despite these high levels, the majority of migrants and refugees stay within the region. To date, Europe has received only 14% of all refugees originating from Arab countries.
The UN Security Council did not issue a statement condemning the bombing in Libya after the US reportedly did not endorse it. Washington earlier criticized the attack as 'abhorrent', but did not call for a ceasefire.
Authorities in three countries on the so Balkan Route have arrested the alleged members of a migrant trafficking network operating in the region. Among those arrested were two Turkish nationals.
The lack of data on migrant flows perpetuates the invisibility of migrant women's deaths, the International Organisation for Migration said recently.
The UNICEF, UNHCR, IOM, Eurostat and OECD have issued a call for more reliable data on migrant, refugee and internally displaced children. The current gaps in data "are endangering the lives and wellbeing of millions of children on the move."
Mamadou wanted to migrate to France from his native Guinea. But halfway through the journey, he made the decision to go back home. Now, he's working on a farm, set up by the International Organization for Migration.
Milan puts an initiative to help migrants work into action. A lawyer talks about the ins and outs of German law that allow the state to separate parents and children, and Italy is seeing more migrant-run businesses.
More than 33,000 people have died attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean since 2000, according to a UN study. With routes between Turkey and Europe blocked, pressure has increased on the route to Italy.
Welcomaps is a participatory platform that maps out positive initatives for migrants in Italy and gives visibility to "virtuous examples of integration." The project is an interactive map showing migrant reception programs in the country, with the goal of sharing best practices in integration.
Migrant arrivals in Italy are down for the first time in 2017, according to Italian Interior Ministry figures.