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Identifying Migrant Bodies in the Mediterranean

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Identifying Migrant Bodies in the Mediterranean FRONT COVER Nº 05/02 Identifying Migrant Bodies in the Mediterranean Identifying Migrant 5 Bodies in the Nº 02 > POLICY REPORT< Migration, Social Inclusion Mediterranean and Peaceful Societies > Ottavia Ampuero Villagran 1 Nº 05/02 Nº 05/02 Identifying Migrant Bodies in the Mediterranean Identifying Migrant Bodies in the Mediterranean Identifying Migrant Contents Bodies in the Mediterranean Summary | p. 3 Ottavia Ampuero Villagran Introduction | p. 4 A United Nations University Institute Difficulty of Identification p.| 5 on Globalization, Culture and Mobility report from the series Migration, Social Current Practices | p. 6 Inclusion and Peaceful Societies. The Italian Case Study | p. 9 Rights After Death | p. 10 Rights to Mourn | p. 15 State Commitments to Human Rights | p. 16 Conclusions | p. 17 Policy Recommendations | p. 18 References | p. 22 Acknowledgements Ottavia Ampuero Villagran wishes to ISSN 2617-6807 thank Dr. Parvati Nair and the entire UNU-GCM team for their support and United Nations University feedback during the research and publication process. She would also Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility like to express sincere gratitude to the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site community of like-minded researchers Sant Manuel Pavilion in various organisations collecting C/ Sant Antoni Maria Claret, 167 data on migrant deaths, from which 08025 Barcelona, Spain this publication has substantially benefitted. Finally, she would like to thank her family, particularly her Visit UNU-GCM online: gcm.unu.edu father, Jorge Ampuero Villagran, for epitomising refugees' quiet struggles, Copyright © 2018 United Nations University hard work, and uncompromising Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility hopes for a better future. All Rights Reserved 2 1 Nº 05/02 Nº 05/02 Identifying migrant bodies in the Mediterranean Identifying Migrant Bodies in the Mediterranean Summary he reality of undocumented migrant Tdeaths and migrant bodies has been conspicuously absent from border migration narratives and from the rhetoric of many influential actors involved in policy, academia, and the media. Given that the Mediterranean route is the deadliest one in the world (IOM, 2018a), this policy brief seeks to examine undocumented migrant body identification from a human rights perspective that acknowledges the implications on the individuals, the families, and the states involved. The aim is to address “The 'Missing Migrants Project' the shortcomings of current management and identification efforts in European countries, estimates there have been 17,124 and to provide practical solutions that can be implemented at the local, national, and migrant deaths and disappearances international levels. across the three main routes of entry ✤ Some of the migrants who died trying to reach Greece are into the Mediterranean since 2014” brought to a cemetery in the village of Sidiro. There, they are laid to rest, mostly in unmarked graves. © Gregory Beals. Sidiro, Greece. May 2018. 2 3 Nº 05/02 Nº 05/02 Identifying Migrant Bodies in the Mediterranean Identifying Migrant Bodies in the Mediterranean individuals taking clandestine routes to * circumvent intensified and militarized Introduction border controls in low-quality rubber dinghies, even during adverse weather he International Organization conditions in winter months (Spijkerboer, Tfor Migration’s 'Missing Migrants 2013, p. 10). In these conditions many project' is widely regarded as the first are dying at sea, likely to never be found comprehensive attempt at collating or accounted for in official data. data on “migrants who have died or gone missing at the external borders of states, or in the process of migration towards an international destination” * (IOM, 2018b). The data includes, when available, information of the migrants’ Difficulty of age, gender, origin, location, and cause of death. It is primarily sourced from indentification IOM, UNHCR and government reporting as well as NGO and media accounts, and hose that are found will just as likely it is systematically compiled in a global Tnever be identified. This is partly database from which experts can analyze because of the inherent difficulties of migration flows and changing trends. identification in this context. Firstly, In regards to the main three routes of there is no readily available information the Mediterranean region, the 'Missing on the migrant’s nationality, route, or Migrants Project' estimates that there family relations. Many migrants do not have been 17,124 migrant deaths and carry identity documents or passports, disappearances since 2014. This figure and even if they do these may get lost represents 59,7% of the global estimate or destroyed during irregular travel. on migrant deaths and disappearances Secondly, the involvement of criminal in the same four-year period, which at actors such as smugglers or traffickers the time of writing stands at a staggering means that some migrant deaths may 28,675. be actively covered up as a result of abuse or torture, and certainly never ther projects¹ have attempted to reported (IOM, 2014). Finally, the cause Oquantify migrant deaths in this of death for most of these migrants is region with varying definitions, scopes, drowning (as opposed to dehydration, and methodologies, but all the figures starvation, hypothermia, sickness or lack produced can only be considered to of access to medical care), which means be “minimum estimates” and “gross undercounts of the true number of lives lost” (IOM, 2017, p. 2). Spijkerboer ✤ Refugees and migrants reach the Greek Island of credits this “dark numbers problem” Lesbos after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey. to the nature of irregular migration The journey is treacherous, with people crossing in overcrowded and poor quality dinghies, sometimes in the Mediterranean, which features tackling rough seas and adverse weather. untraceable and undocumented © Ververidis Vasilis. Lesbos, Greece. October 2015 4 5 Nº 05/02 Nº 05/02 Identifying Migrant Bodies in the Mediterranean Identifying Migrant Bodies in the Mediterranean that most of the bodies will be found merchant ships responding to distress signals, and ships as they resurface from the sea floor belonging to non-governmental organizations conducting during decomposition. Even though search and rescue missions in the area (Arsenijevic, 2017). decomposition in salt water progresses Due to limited resources and personnel, rescuing the living at a relatively slow rate compared to is often prioritized over the retrieval of the dead and their fresh water or land, at this particular belongings. Upon arrival - most frequently in the island of stage the body will have begun to lose Sicily due to proximity - police officers or forensic experts physical attributes and appendages from photograph the bodies of migrants with a code that includes the friction and/or from contact with their gender and the date of their retrieval. Coroners reporting various sea animals, making it harder to to the District Attorney’s office will then examine the bodies identify (Ellingham, 2017). and collect information on the corpses’ primary characteristics (i.e. height, weight, distinguishing marks, tissue samples). Autopsies will only be carried out upon the direct request of the District Attorney, and the requests are usually related to * concerns about the actual cause of death. Finally, the bodies are transported from the hospital to be buried in anonymous Current Practices local graves, which are often covered with earth and marked by stones. dentification is also hindered by Ithe practices currently in place in n Greece, the migrant body management process is similar. European countries such as Italy and IThe national coastguard is responsible for collecting the Greece. The lack of national legal bodies floating in the Aegean Sea, but also for conducting provisions for dealing specifically the investigation for identification and for coding the bodies with migrant deaths has resulted in with the date of retrieval and number of the victim. Coroners ad hoc practices marked by funding prepare the relevant documentation for burial of unidentified issues, overlapping mandates, and an bodies and examine the bodies. The examinations involve the unsystematic collection and storage of collection of tissue samples from which DNA data is extracted. information that would be useful for Unlike in Italy where the DNA is dispersed in various institutions future identification efforts (Kovras & involved in the investigation, Greek law stipulates that DNA Robins, 2016). The management of dead from all victims be sent to the Forensic Science Division migrant bodies is often categorized (FSD) headquarters in Athens. Unfortunately, even this rare into five stages that include retrieval, example of centralized management of identification data is transportation, autopsy, storage and “implemented poorly enough to make the possibility of future burial/repatriation. Identification is a process that transverses them all, since information should be gathered, ✤ 1. A table filled with items found on the bodies of those exchanged and evaluated at each stage who have perished attempting to cross from Turkey into (Mediterranean Missing, 2016). Greece. © Gregory Beals. Alexandroupolis, Greece. May 2018. ff the coast of Italy, the retrieval Oof migrant bodies is performed ✤ 2. Refugees are given help after being brought by multiple actors including the Italian ashore by a volunteer lifeguard. Another refugee boat approaches having travelled
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