The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Commission) is following with great attention the situation of migrants on the continent and the extreme risks they face through the overland migration routes they take from Africa to the shores of the Mediterranean.
The Commission is deeply saddened by the discovery in the Algerian desert, not far from the border with Libya, of the bodies of 12 Syrian migrants, including children. Some people are also missing.
Other bodies of sub-Saharan migrants, including a woman, were found near the border with Mali and in the Ain Salah region (Algerian border), in the middle of the desert.
According to information received by the Commission, the migrants, lost in the Sahara, died during their crossing as a result of the harsh environmental conditions, including exposure to extremely high temperatures, dehydration and hunger.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights extends its sincere condolences to the families of the bereaved victims.
Recalling its Resolution ACHPR/RES. 486 (EXT.OS/XXXI1I) 2021 on missing migrants and refugees in Africa and the consequences for their families, and following this umpteenth tragedy, the Commission once again expresses its deep concern at the continuing disappearances of migrants in various circumstances, due in particular to the upsurge in irregular migratory flows and the use of the most precarious and perilous migratory routes.
According to a joint report published recently by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Joint Migration Centre (JMC 1), during the period 2021-2024, 1,031 refugees and migrants will have died crossing the desert.
The routes across the Sahara northwards from West and East Africa are estimated to be twice as deadly as the maritime route across the central Mediterranean. The Report also states that crossing the Sahara Desert - including places 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 - is recognised as one of the most perilous and risky segments of the migration process to the Mediterranean.
Finally, the Commission reminds States Parties of their obligations to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and protection of all migrants, irrespective of their origin and migration status, and at all stages of their migration journey, arising from 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).
Hon. Commissioner Selma SASSI-SAFER
Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrants in Africa
Hon. Commissioner Rémy Ngoy Lumbu
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
1 On This Journey, No One Cares if You Live or Die: Abuse, Protection and Justice along Routes between East and West Africa and Africa’s Mediterranean Coast – Volume 2, https://publications.iom.int/books/journey-no-one-cares-if-you-live-or-die.
