The exact number of migrants who have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea is still unknown ever since they have been flocking on rubber or wooden boats to European shores to escape misery, violence, and persecution in their homelands.
International agencies, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) estimate the number to be more than 60,000 migrants.
However, concerned European governments say they do not have accurate figures and usually refer to reports of rescue missions, which reduce this number to 40,000. Non-governmental organizations believe the number to be around 100,000 or even more.
The lack of accurate information on the numbers of migrants who drown as they try to cross the Mediterranean or embark on a difficult migration journey to Europe reflects the decline of human empathy among European societies, according to a report issued by European Commission's Center for Social Research.
The center will use the report for the discussion and development of Europe’s migration policy for the next five years.
The way things appear do not reflect the real situation of the migration crisis that may implode at any moment, warned the report.
One of the striking conclusions of the report is that recent election results in Europe showed that most EU citizens became more concerned with basic rights and showed a greater interest in humanitarian policy approach to the migration crisis.
The report strongly criticizes the EU's refugee agreement with Turkey in 2016 and considers its provisions “a clear violation of human rights.”
It also criticizes the bilateral cooperation agreements between some European countries, especially Italy with Libya, to prevent the flow of migrants across their coasts and send them to detention centers that frequently violate basic human rights.
The report noted that criminalizing the work of non-governmental organizations and rescue missions at sea violates the principles and values on which the European Union was founded.
The report concluded with a number of recommendations such as calling on the EU to lead efforts to develop an international policy to address the migration crisis, unite or coordinate national migration policies, and support local initiatives such as programs to integrate immigrants into European societies.
It also called for restoring political influence in African countries, where the EU finances development projects, in order to impose standards of respect for human rights, and exert greater efforts to address the Libyan crisis.
