UN agencies shocked by discovery of 27 dead bodies of Ethiopians in Lusaka

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are shocked by 27 Ethiopians dumped bodies.

IOM and the UNHCR in Southern Africa have said they are deeply shocked and alarmed by the bodies of Ethiopian national found by Zambian Authorities dumped in the capital, Lusaka.

In a joint statement, the UN agencies said the tragedy comes less than two months after the bodies of 30 Ethiopian migrants were discovered in a mass grave in neighbouring Malawi.

The statement two years after 64 Ethiopian men were found dead, asphyxiated, in a sealed shipping container in Mozambique.

“These tragedies are compounded with the disappearance of 22 families of migrants and 41 deaths in Zimbabwe between 2020 and 2021 as well as the disappearance of 78 migrants in 2021 and 2022 in the Indian Ocean,” the statement said.

They stated that irregular migration along the “Southern Route” was often facilitated by an intricate network of smugglers and traffickers engaging in aggravated smuggling or trafficking.

The statement added aggressive attempts to avoid detection by authorities that put migrants’ lives in danger.

The statement said aggravated smuggling or trafficking increases migrants and asylum seekers’ risks on a route that already includes natural hazards, utilization of unsafe means of transportation,exploitation,and other abuses.

“Migrants and asylum seekers on this route are often subject to detention, violence, human trafficking and even death,” they stated.

The statement said the latest tragedy on the outskirts of the Zambian capital Lusaka, highlights the urgent need to address the challenges of irregular migration including through a transnational response to smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons along the ‘Southern route.’

This runs from the Horn of Africa to Southern Africa and the pursuit by countries in the region of sustainable solutions for migrants and asylum seekers, in line with the objectives of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and the Global Compact on Refugees.