Press release
Geneva – July 21, 2024
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has voiced its concerns regarding the dire situation of migrants on the continent and the extreme risks they face on overland migration routes from Africa to the Mediterranean.
This statement comes in response to the discovery of 12 Syrian migrants, including children, found dead in the Algerian desert near the Libyan border. Several individuals remain missing. Additionally, bodies of other sub-Saharan migrants, including a woman, were found near the Mali border and in the Ain Salah region, deep in the desert.
According to information received by the Commission, these migrants perished during their crossing due to harsh environmental conditions in the Sahara, including exposure to extreme temperatures, dehydration, and starvation.
The Commission has reiterated its deep concern over the ongoing disappearances of migrants in various circumstances, primarily due to the increase in irregular migration and the use of the most dangerous and precarious routes.
A recent joint report by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the Joint Migration Centre (JMC) revealed that between 2021 and 2024, 1,031 refugees and migrants have died while crossing the desert. The report estimates that routes through the Sahara from West and East Africa are twice as deadly as the central Mediterranean maritime route. Locations such as Sabha in Libya, Agadez and Téra in Niger, Bamako and Douentza in Mali, Khartoum in Sudan, Humera in Ethiopia, and Tamanrasset in Algeria are identified as some of the most perilous segments of the migration journey.
The Commission reminds States Parties of their obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other relevant international and regional instruments, including the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and the “African Guiding Principles on the Human Rights of All Migrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers” (2023). The Commission calls for all necessary measures to ensure the safety and protection of all migrants, regardless of their origin or migration status, at all stages of their journey.