UK-France Agreement Triggers Rise in Migrant Deaths
Moscow (ANTARA) - The 2023 UK-France migration agreement to restrict illegal crossings of the English Channel has instead triggered an increase in migrant deaths, according to the investigative organisation Border Forensics.
“A report shows that the UK government’s ‘Stop the Boats’ policy, along with more than £625 million (approximately Rp14 trillion) provided to France to prevent departures, has directly contributed to a sharp surge in deaths among people attempting to cross the English Channel in small boats,” the organisation stated in a report released on Wednesday (25/3).
“The investigation in the report identifies a drastic increase in fatal incidents since the summer of 2023. Importantly, this rise in deaths occurred even as the number of boats and people arriving in the UK declined,” the report further stated.
The analysis indicates that deaths mainly occurred closer to the French coast due to overloaded boats and hasty launches, which French authorities sought to prevent.
In 2022, the number of migrants crossing the English Channel reached a record high, but only seven people died or went missing. In 2023, after the agreement was signed, the situation changed dramatically. In the last four months of 2023 alone, 17 people died or went missing, according to the report.
“From the end of 2023 to the end of 2025, 112 people are confirmed to have died or gone missing in attempts to cross the English Channel, with nine others reported missing. In 2024 alone, there were 76 confirmed deaths, more than the total from previous years. This occurred despite 9,000 fewer people travelling in 415 fewer boats compared to 2022,” the report stated.
The organisation attributes the increase in deaths to increasingly aggressive actions by French police to justify additional funding, as well as dangerous practices by migrant smugglers, such as overloading passengers, picking up people from the sea instead of land, and departing from locations further inland.
Border Forensics is an organisation that mobilises innovative methods of spatial and visual analysis to investigate violent practices at borders.