Babies are among 53 dead or missing after a migrant boat sinks off Libya, UN says

At least 53 people, including two babies, have died or gone missing after an inflatable migrant boat sank off Libya’s coast, the U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Monday. The tragedy marks the latest in a series of fatal incidents along the perilous Central Mediterranean migration route.

According to the IOM, the vessel carrying 55 African migrants departed from the western Libyan town of Zawaiya shortly before midnight on Thursday. Approximately six hours into the journey, the boat began taking on water and capsized Friday morning north of Zuwara.

Only two Nigerian women survived the shipwreck. Libyan authorities rescued the women, one of whom reported losing her husband while the other said she lost her two babies in the disaster.

“Trafficking and smuggling networks continue to exploit migrants along the central Mediterranean route,” the IOM stated. These criminal enterprises profit by transporting desperate people on “unseaworthy boats” from Libya’s shores toward Europe.

Libya has emerged as the primary transit point for migrants fleeing conflict and economic hardship in Africa and the Middle East. This development follows the country’s descent into chaos after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, creating a power vacuum and lawless environment that human traffickers have exploited.

The latest incident pushes the death toll on the Central Mediterranean route to 484 for 2023, according to the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project. Last year, more than 1,300 migrants were reported dead or missing along the same route, highlighting the persistent dangers facing those attempting the crossing.

Human traffickers have capitalized on Libya’s instability and its porous borders with six neighboring countries to smuggle migrants into and through the North African nation. Migrants are typically forced to travel on overcrowded, poorly equipped vessels, including flimsy rubber boats not designed for open-sea journeys.

Those intercepted at sea and returned to Libya face additional perils. Many end up in government-run detention centers characterized by systematic human rights abuses including forced labor, physical violence, sexual assault, and torture. U.N.-commissioned investigators have determined these practices amount to crimes against humanity.

Detainees are frequently subject to extortion, with traffickers demanding payment from families before allowing migrants to continue their journey toward Europe. This creates a cycle of exploitation that begins well before migrants even board vessels bound for European shores.

The European Union has faced criticism from human rights organizations for its migration policies, particularly agreements with Libya to intercept migrant boats. Critics argue these policies enable the return of vulnerable people to dangerous conditions in Libya without addressing the underlying humanitarian crisis.

Mediterranean migration routes have long been among the world’s deadliest. While overall migration numbers fluctuate seasonally and annually, the death rate remains alarmingly high. Experts attribute this to several factors, including increasingly dangerous tactics by smugglers to avoid detection, vessels that are fundamentally unsafe for sea travel, and limited search and rescue operations in international waters.

The IOM continues to call for enhanced search and rescue capabilities in the Mediterranean and safe, legal pathways for migration to reduce reliance on dangerous irregular routes. Without such measures, experts warn that tragedies like this recent shipwreck will continue to claim lives as desperate people seek safety and opportunity across treacherous waters.

“These repeated incidents underscore the persistent and deadly risks faced by migrants and refugees attempting the dangerous crossing,” the IOM statement concluded, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive solutions to the ongoing crisis.