One child per day dies drowned in the Mediterranean. This is the figure calculated by UNICEF, according to a report published Tuesday. About 3,500 children have died or missing over the past ten years, one per day, trying to cross the central Mediterranean between North Africa and Italy
UNICEF is based on the proportion of children among people who have arrived on European soil migration – one in six – reported to the 20,800 people who died or missing in the past ten years. But this figure could be underestimated because many shipwrecks go unnoticed, for lack of survivors to testify. In addition, seven out of ten children travel alone, without their parents, according to the UN agency, which takes care of children.
Children’s rights “do not stop at borders”
“Many children trying to cross the central Mediterranean flee war, conflicts, violence and poverty,” said the report. He also specifies that “more than half of the children and young people questioned declare that they have suffered physical violence and a third party claim to have been detained against their will”.
“Governments must protect the rights and best interests of children (…). The rights consecrated by the Convention on the Rights of the Child does not stop at the borders or the shores, they accompany children when they cross them, “said Regina de Dominicis, senior UNICEF, quoted in the report.
Strengthen rescue at sea
The UN agency recalls that if the adoption of the European pact on migration and asylum having to enter into force in mid-2026 “can make it possible to better organize the management of migration, the latter must be implemented in perfect conformity with the legal obligations of defense of the best interest of the child”.
UNICEF also calls to strengthen research and rescue operations at sea, taking into account the specific needs of children. “Upon arrival, each child must immediately benefit from a legal representation and solid protective measures. Travel restriction measures should never allow a child’s detention in a detention center, whether in control, border passage procedures, asylum or dismissal, “concludes UNICEF.
