The objective of this thematic report is to provide an overview of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)'s Data and Research Unit (DRU) data collected through its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) methodology and Site Assessment (SA) and Village Assessment Survey (VAS) tools deployed at the location level in Ethiopia between July 2019 and January 2023. Through the SA, sites hosting at least 20 IDP households are assessed and, through the VAS, villages hosting at least 20 returning IDP households are assessed.

This overview gathers and analyzes specific data records on displacement and returns related to drought and other climate-induced factors such as floods, landslides and fires.  

The Cross-Border Monitoring Report: Protection Risks and Concerns Among Travellers Crossing for Work data on labour-related protection risks among travellers passing through border crossing points monitored by IOM.

The main types of employment for incoming travellers were services, hospitality, and sales (29%); along with factory work (24%); Trained manual worker (15%) and unskilled manual labour (13%). For outgoing travellers, the main types of work were trained manual labour (36%); factory work (18%); Services, hospitality and sales workers (13%) and unskilled manual labour (6%).

The top protection concerns faced by these travellers were the provision of false information by employers regarding the nature of the work and working without receiving the expected payment.

The Cross-Border Monitoring Report presents data collected at border crossing points with neighbouring countries – the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian Arab Republic and Türkiye – to better understand migration movements in the Middle East. The report and dashboard provide an overview of travellers’ movements, their main socio-demographic characteristics, employment status, countries of origin, countries of destination and main reasons for travel.

Between December 2023 and February 2024, Ibrahim al Khalil saw the most traffic with a total of 60,809 travellers and 12,998 vehicles passing through the border crossing point, whilst Fishkhabour saw the least traffic with 19,925 travellers and 1,099 vehicles passing through the border.

This Climate Emergency Tracking Report measures climate-induced displacement across central and southern Iraq. Families included in these Emergency Tracking reports are those forced to move locations due to drought, water scarcity, environmental degradation and other climatic factors.

As of 15 March 2024, 23,364 families (140,184 individuals) remain displaced because of climatic factors across 12 governorates. The displaced families are dispersed across 497 locations. Of these, just under half of families displaced within their district of origin (47%). Slightly more than half of families displaced to urban locations.

In January 2024, the Iraqi Council of Ministers announced the closure of the remaining 23 IDPs camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq by the end of July 2024. The International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) in Iraq launched an Emergency Tracking Tool on Camp departures in April 2024 to track the number of families leaving the camps and their main characteristics.

Between 1 April and 9 May 2024, DTM recorded the departure of 1,241 families from camps following the recent closure of some camps. As of 9 May 2024, DTM recorded the arrival of 993 families out of the total 1,241 departed from camps (80%). Most families arrived to Salah al-Din Governorate (68%) and Ninewa Governorate (30%).

UNHCR and IOM Joint Annual Overview 2023

In 2023, an estimated 212,100 attempts were reported by migrants and refugees to cross the Central Mediterranean Sea from Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia to Europe. This was a 33% increase compared to known departures in 2022.

Of those who attempted to depart in 2023, 71% (151,500) were disembarked in Europe, while 29% (60,600) were rescued or intercepted and disembarked in North Africa (21% in Tunisia, 8% in Libya).

In 2022, more than 2,4005 migrants and refugees are known to have lost their lives or gone missing at sea while attempting to cross to Europe along the three Mediterranean routes (Eastern, Central and Western Mediterranean), an increase of 17% compared to some 2,050 deaths recorded in 2021. Most of those deaths in 2022 (59%) took place on the Central Mediterranean Route.

In 2023, more than 3,105 migrants and refugees are known to have lost their lives or gone missing at sea while attempting to cross to Europe along the three Mediterranean routes (eastern, central and western Mediterranean), an increase compared to more than 2,500 deaths recorded in 2022. 61% of the deaths in 2023 took place on the central Mediterranean Sea. According to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, more than 700 deaths occurred off the coast of Tunisia, more than 680 off Libya and more than 460 off Italian shores. The increasing number and proportion of deaths off the coast of Tunisia is unprecedented in the last 10 years. Notably, more than 1,9008 deaths in the central Mediterranean Sea in 2023 were linked to mass shipwrecks involving the loss of more than 20 lives at sea. However, the real number of dead and missing along these routes is believed to be higher as many incidents go unreported or undetected.

Irregular migration is a complex, dynamic and fragmented phenomenon, and remains difficult to fully picture. Strengthening the understanding of migration routes, trends as well as migrant profiles is critical to protect migrants and support evidence-based policies. The International Organization for Migration's Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) and Missing Migrants Project (MMP) collect data on the departures, arrivals, deaths and disappearances of migrants along migratory routes.

This document presents the resumption of migration from the coasts of West Africa to the Canary Islands (Spain). This route, already active in 2006, saw an increasing number of movements in 2023, and in the first months of 2024 there were considerable increases compared to the previous year. The risks, deaths and disappearances following shipwrecks are also on the rise along the Atlantic coasts. Between January and March 2024, 13,115 migrants reached the Canary Islands irregularly after crossing by boat from the coasts of West Africa, an increase of 502 per cent compared to 2023 (2,178 migrants).
 

The IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix collected data through Surveys with refugees in the Ukraine Response region from January to March 2024. In the Republic of Moldova, a total of 1,507 surveys were collected. This report focuses on the characteristics, socio-demographic composition, challenges, and needs of the displaced population in the Republic of Moldova, with a particular emphasis on healthcare and the medical needs of the respondents.

Key findings:

• 39% of respondents have or live with people with specific needs or serious medical conditions, while 2% reported living with a pregnant or lactating women.
• Main health issues for women include chronic disease or serious medical conditions (25%), difficulty walking (5%), visual impairment (3%), and hearing impairment (3%).
• Main health issues for men include chronic disease or serious medical conditions (48%), difficulty walking (5%), visual impairment (5%) and hearing impairment (2%).
• Health related needs reported by the respondents include medication (43%), health services (36%), and mental and psychosocial support (2%).
• The most reported barriers to accessing health care were costs (59%), long queues (35%), language barrier (19%), unavailable services (18%), and lack of documents (17%).

IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) collects data on Ukrainian nationals and Third-Country Nationals (TCNs) that were crossing back to Ukraine from or through the Republic of Moldova, either for temporary stay or prospective return. The survey focuses on the return intentions, duration of displacement, destinations, assistance, and experiences of unequal treatment of the respondents. A total of 1,800 surveys were collected between January and March 2024.

Key findings:

• 87% of Ukrainian respondents planned to go for a short visit, 7% intended to stay in Ukraine (prospective returnees), while 6% were not sure about their intentions.
• The majority (69%) been residing in the Republic of Moldova, 9% in Romania, 5% in Germany. The remaining 17% stayed in other countries.
• 83% were going back to their Oblast of origin, while 17% were going back to a different Oblast.
• 43% had been displaced between January and June 2022.
• 67% crossed back to Ukraine twice or more since 2022. 10% crossed more than 10 times.
• 79% of prospective returnees and 91% of short-term visitors reported having received assistance since their displacement.
• Main priority needs that were cited by respondents include financial support (43%), medicine and health services (27%) and personal safety and security (22%). 

The IOM Afghanistan’s DTM Flow Monitoring activity is designed to provide insights into the mobility patterns at Afghanistan’s border points with the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan. The activity involves two interlinked exercises: the Flow Monitoring Counting (FMC), a headcount of individuals crossing the border, and the Flow Monitoring Surveys (FMS), which collect data on the profiles and intentions of randomly selected Afghan nationals. DTM FM is operational at four main crossing points (connected to Afghanistan’s National Highway) as well as three other crossing points with Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan. This weekly snapshot combines information from the FM activity and various IOM sources related to cross-border movement. For a detailed explanation of the methodology used in gathering this data, the report directs readers to the section titled “IOM INFLOW DATA” on the last page.