Illegal migrant crossings at European borders fell 30% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year. This has resulted in a decline in rights groups, partly due to EU policies that emphasize deterrence while appearing to be turning a blind eye to the risks of rights abuse.
EU border agency FrontX said in a statement that all major migration routes to Europe had seen decline, saying that nearly 33,600 people had arrived in the first three months of the year.
The biggest 64% decline was along routes across Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia, but the number of migrants detected while trying to cross to the UK fell by 4%.
The transition pattern is influenced by a mix of factors from weather to conflict, but data appears to suggest a continuation of the downward trend seen in 2024, when irregular border intersections to Europe fell 38% compared to the previous year.
The organization is one of many people who argue that the EU is focusing on deterrence and sealing borders.
“It’s not just statistics. Remember that this is at the expense of people driving in the Mediterranean, those who are beaten at the border of Poland and pushed back to Belarus. “Behind these numbers there is a massive human costs.”
Separately, the European Commission announced on Wednesday that it should be considered Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia.
Although EU countries already have their own safe country lists, the plan aims to ensure a common approach across the EU, as they aim to increase the rate of return for those who have no right to stay in the bloc.
French Green Mep Melissa Kamala accused the committee of giving up compliance with fundamental rights.
The decline in the number of arrivals has been documented as BLOCs are increasingly collaborating with countries outside of Europe, and practices such as be-striking, sexual violence and incarceration in Libya and Tunisia.
“The bottom row means that as long as the decline in arrivals is due to the EU’s deterrence measures, these measures therefore are very clearly accompanied by human rights abuses that the EU is conspired with,” Sunderland said.
This sentiment echoed at the Constitution and Human Rights Centre (ECCHR), which filed two complaints with the International Criminal Court relating to the treatment of migrants and refugees in the Central Mediterranean region.
“The decline in the formula doesn’t mean that we’re seeing fewer people on the move,” said Allison West, senior legal counsel at ECCHR. “That means that with EU cooperation and approval, more people are seeing people trapped in the horrifying situations in Libya and Tunisia.
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The EU and its member states have continued to work with Libya to stop the arrival of immigrants in Libya and Europe despite evidence of arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence and enslavement, West said in a statement. “These abuses are not unintentional side effects of European immigration policies. They are foreseeable consequences of strategies that prioritize containment over protection.”
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said its data suggests an increase in intercepts of boats seeking to depart from several North African countries, such as Libya and Tunisia.
“In spite of the downward trend, the IOM remains concerned about immigrant deaths, which is still very high, according to our data,” an IOM spokesman said in a statement.
In the first three months of the year, at least 555 people lost their lives while trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean or Atlantic, along with more than 3,500 lives lost along these routes last year, IOM data showed. “We continue to advocate for policies that allow for safer and regular migration channels that serve as a safer alternative to irregular migration,” the spokesperson added.
About 3,500 children have been killed or missing in the Central Mediterranean during their arrival in Italy over the past decade, according to a UNICEF statement released Tuesday.
