2023-09-30 05:01:00
At least 990 people, including 289 children, died between June and September of this year in their attempt to cross the central Mediterranean to reach Europe, which is three times more than the same period last year, the response coordinator detailed. in Italy from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Nicola Dell’Arciprete. Unicef spokespersons in Italy illustrated at the foreign press headquarters the organization’s new report, which highlights that 11,600 minors unaccompanied by their parents or other adults have emigrated to Italy through the Central Mediterranean route in what year-to-date, a year-on-year increase of 60 percent. In that same period, since the beginning of 2023, more than 2,000 migrants have died trying to cross the Central Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which estimates that the real number is much higher.
Children who survive the journey are housed in centers known as hotspots, before being transferred to other reception facilities. More than 21,700 unaccompanied minors across Italy are currently in these facilities, up from 17,700 a year ago.
In a statement, UNICEF asked the governments of the countries passing through this exodus for “safer and legal routes for requesting asylum”, in addition to guaranteeing that children are not confined in closed areas and strengthening protection systems for these minors. , coordinating search and rescue operations.
On the other hand, regarding the new measures approved by the Italian Government that will allow the expulsion of migrants who lie about their age, posing as minors, Dell’Arciprete stated that “verification of the age of unaccompanied minor foreigners is already provided for by law and provides for a mechanism on a multidisciplinary basis by health departments”.
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