Death in the Desert

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Each year, hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants risk their lives on a route that extends from the East and Horn of Africa and West Africa, towards North Africa and across the Central Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Many refugees and migrants from Asia and the Middle East are also arriving in North Africa from countries such as Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan and Syria.

The paths these people travel are not always the same. Some conclude their journeys in Africa while others continue towards Europe. Many refugees are escaping conflicts and persecution in their country of origin. Other migrants and refugees are compelled to move because of crises along the route, the devastating effects of climate change, in search of work and study opportunities or simply a better life.

Much attention is focused on the dangers they face attempting the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing. But before refugees and migrants even reach the North African shore, many endure extreme and repeated forms of violence and abuse, including rape, torture, kidnapping for ransom, trafficking, arbitrary detention and expulsions.

Multiplying and worsening crises are leading to more people risking these dangerous journeys. Since last year, a  new conflict has erupted in Sudan , displacing some 10 million people, while  worsening insecurity in the central  Sahel region has brought the displaced population there to almost 5 million. In the East and Horn of Africa, the climate crisis is contributing to new and protracted emergencies.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the  Mixed Migration Centre  (MMC) to map these routes and gain a better understanding of where the risks are most acute and who the perpetrators of abuses are. This involved drawing on MMC's interviews with over 31,000 refugees and migrants between 2020 and 2023, as well as data from IOM’s Missing Migrants Project and UNHCR protection monitoring, and other sources.

Crossing the Sahara Desert is recognized by those interviewed as a particularly dangerous segment of the journey, both due to the extreme environment and to violence at the hands of criminal gangs, smugglers, traffickers, armed groups and the military. Between January 2020 and May 2024, documented deaths of people trying to cross the Sahara totalled 1,206, but the actual number is believed to be far higher. Among those recorded, 24 per cent were from exposure, dehydration and starvation relating to the harsh environmental conditions, 38 per cent because of vehicle accidents, 6 per cent because of sickness and lack of access to health care, 3 per cent because of accidental death, 13 per cent due to violence and 16 per cent due to mixed reasons or unknown.

Abraham crossed the Sahara Desert in the back of a pickup truck crammed with 30 people, of which eight were women. There was no water to drink other than at occasional wells that were often contaminated by dead bodies. “What can you do?” Abraham said. There was nothing else to drink. They passed a truck full of 20 to 30 people who had been killed in an accident but there was no stopping. “You just keep going. You never look back,” he said. He saw hills of sand, rocks and more dead bodies. He heard ghosts, voices crying out. He watched helplessly as a young Nigerian man named John fell out of the truck and died. The desert crossing took three days.

Extract from Abraham’s story, as told to “ Migrants of the Mediterranean ” in June 2021

Gloria lost her business in Nigeria and was being harassed by her creditors. A friend told her about a possibility to go to Europe to earn money, and they left with a smuggler. The journey through the desert was harsh, they were suffering from the heat and were hungry and thirsty. When they arrived in a country along the route, they realised the smuggler had cheated them. They were taken to a slave market and sold. Gloria never saw her friend again.

Extract from Gloria’s story, from “ Telling the Real Story ”

The data collected includes information on who refugees and migrants consider likely to be the perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses. Below are those groups identified as likely perpetrators in each country.

It is notable that in West Africa, smugglers are not among the most likely perpetrators of abuses, unlike in East and North Africa. This could be related to the relatively free movement of citizens of ECOWAS countries.

According to testimonies gathered by  Telling the Real Story , the route to Egypt that used to last two to three days can now take up to three weeks, exposing people on the move to increased risks including of death and trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal.

In this context, some Eritreans are moving south to Uganda – either directly by air or passing through Ethiopia and Kenya – or travelling via White Nile State in Sudan and Juba in South Sudan. Due to the security situation in Sudan, Chad could potentially become a more prominent transit country on the way to Libya.

Interviews with refugees and migrants identify Khartoum and its surroundings as the most dangerous location in the East and Horn of Africa region. Also flagged as risky are border towns between Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan. Across all countries, data indicate that border areas and crossings in this region are perceived to be particularly dangerous.

We travelled with the smugglers, and we were a big group; we were 48 young Somalis. We realized the problem of tahriib [making the journey to Europe] when we arrived in Libya. That is when the beating and torture and all that started. The smuggler’s detention room – no one can endure the appalling conditions there. Starvation, neglect and torture. You will be chained and electrocuted. You get rashes all over your body and you cannot take care of yourself, you do not get much food just plain pasta once a day. If you are thirsty, they may give you water mixed with gasoline. They will not let you sleep at night or during the day. The situation was tough; I did not think I would survive.

Extract from Saeed’s story, from “ Telling the Real Story ”

Smugglers are often perceived perpetrators of abuses and human rights violations along the East and Horn of Africa routes, particularly in border areas. When on the move, all people of all ages are at risk of violence, exploitation and abuse, including trafficking in persons.

The Central Mediterranean route continues from North Africa by sea to Europe, mainly to Italy (see below). After departure from North African coasts, many refugees and migrants are rescued/intercepted by national authorities such as coast guards or navies and returned to Libya or Tunisia. Those who successfully cross the Mediterranean Sea autonomously tend to arrive in small boats on the Italian island of Lampedusa, while others rescued by bigger private vessels are disembarked in Sicily or, following instructions of Italian authorities, in places that are distant from the rescue zone.

Most importantly, many die or go missing at sea. According to the Missing Migrants Project, 7,115 refugees and migrants were reported to have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea between January 2020 and May 2024

Many of the specific locations frequently reported as dangerous – such as Sabha, Quatrun, Kufra and Al Jawf in Libya, and Tamanrasset in Algeria – are in the Sahara Desert, while a further 1,277 people reported that the Sahara in general is dangerous, highlighting that the desert is where many of the human rights violations and abuses are likely to take place. The Sahara therefore emerges as a very difficult part of the journey.

A staggering 90 per cent of women and girls moving along this route are raped, according to estimates from UN Women. In addition to being raped or sexually assaulted, migrant and refugee women are forced to pay bribes by way of so-called sexual favours, including for entire groups of migrants. Often women are forced into sex work to cover the cost of their journey, and there are accounts of women forced to marry and have children with their kidnappers. Many of those interviewed reported witnessing or experiencing rape or sexual assault, as well as being forced into exploitative relationships in exchange for access to basic necessities including housing, protection and money. According to the respondents, perpetrators were members of criminal gangs, armed groups and militia, smugglers and, in some instances, military and government officials.

The film “Metamorphosis” highlights the experiences and vulnerabilities suffered by women and girls who are forced to flee. This refugee-led female production focuses on the experience of an Eritrean female refugee forced to cut her hair to pass as a man so that she is not physically and sexually abused by smugglers. It is a true story. The film was produced through UNHCR’s Telling the Real Story visual storytelling workshop in which refugees in Khartoum, Sudan, were trained in filmmaking.

Expulsions – whereby a country forcibly removes a group of migrants or refugees from its territory without due process – have been reported from Algeria and other North African countries. Refugees and migrants expelled may face persecution, torture, ill treatment, or other harm in violation of the principle of non-refoulement under international human rights law.

After being arrested during waves of round-ups in different Algerian cities (Human Rights Watch, 2020), those to be expelled, which include children and other people in vulnerable situations, are gathered in Tamanrasset in the Algerian Sahara. They are then transported in convoys and abandoned at “point zero” around 15 kilometres from the border with Niger (InfoMigrants, 2021). From there, they must walk through the desert to reach the village of Assamaka, in Niger, with some reportedly dying on the way.

Responding more effectively and reliably to the dangerous journeys undertaken by refugees and migrants travelling the same routes towards and across the Central Mediterranean requires a joint response: a broader, innovative approach based on targeted and coordinated action by States, UNHCR, IOM, other UN organizations, partners and stakeholders, in countries of origin, asylum, transit and destination.

Whether people on the move are refugees fleeing persecution, conflict or violence, or migrants escaping poverty, seeking work to survive, or being driven by climate change or other reasons, they use the same routes and face the same risks and dangers. A focus on these routes – used by refugees and migrants alike – aims to reduce dangerous journeys and related human suffering; it involves creating rights-based alternatives to expulsions and the forcible transfer of asylum-seekers to other countries; and it helps States manage the challenges around unauthorized arrivals, including return, in line with their international obligations. This “route-based approach” requires meaningful protection and assistance measures.

Six pillars have been identified to help guide these interventions, together with six enabling areas.

An effective joint response requires a shift towards a people-centric approach, greater political commitment, and a willingness – including through funding where appropriate – to explore innovative ways of managing refugees and migrants who move together along common routes.

Life-saving measures must be taken, such as rescue at land and sea, humane and protection-sensitive admission procedures at borders, safe disembarkation, and humanitarian assistance for refugees and migrants to address immediate needs. These actions must be taken in collaboration with local authorities and civil society organizations. Collaboration must also extend to gathering and providing information about individuals and referring them to appropriate support services, including those in the most vulnerable situations such as children or victims of trafficking.

Viable alternatives to dangerous journeys must be created along the identified routes, with international protection and access to services and economic opportunities provided as early as possible, and with safe, orderly and authorized pathways created for refugees and migrants to complement resettlement. Refugees and migrants must be provided with documentation to access these services.

The latest  UNHCR research  shows that essential humanitarian assistance and protection services – such as shelter, and prevention and responses to trafficking and gender-based violence (GBV) – are almost non-existent along these routes, and their absence undermines effective asylum and migration management.

The map below shows risky locations identified by refugees and migrants as grey circles, with bigger circles representing the locations most frequently flagged as high risk for human rights violations and abuses. The map also shows the location and absence of protection services for people moving along these routes. Blue squares represent those few locations where the full spectrum of services is available. Red squares show that certain protection services are missing: the bigger the red square, the more services are missing. The services being tracked are: identification and outreach, access to asylum, shelter, health care, child protection, GBV support, victims of trafficking support, and legal assistance.

Managing the movements of refugees and migrants effectively and fairly requires cooperation to strengthen the tools and processes that will build asylum capacity. These include enhancing data collection and analysis to facilitate evidence-based decision-making, meet critical needs along the key routes and inform outreach and engagement with refugees and migrants, as well as their home and host communities.

Only through these means can States achieve the aim of safe, regular and authorized movements of people, with the support of partners including IOM, MMC and UNHCR.

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