The number of deaths in the Mediterranean has increased to more than 20 thousand since 2014. Unfortunately, a third of the deaths recorded are people who went missing at sea without leaving a trace.

Although the annual number of deaths has decreased since 2016, when more than five thousand people lost their lives across the Mediterranean, the death rate has increased compared to the attempts to cross both the central and western Mediterranean in 2019 compared to previous years, according to the International Organization for Migration.

The Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights recommends the necessity of emphasizing coastal surveillance and combating illegal smugglers. As well as working to provide safe ways for migrants and refugees to reduce these illegal means that they resort to and expose them to danger. It also recommends setting up an international legal framework to regulate dealing with this problem.

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