Indicator 10.7.3 Number of people who died or disappeared in the process of migration towards an international destination

Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries

Target 10.7: Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies

Indicator 10.7.3: Number of people who died or disappeared in the process of migration towards an international destination

2023

Indicator 10.7.2 is complementary to several related SDGs indicators. These include, but are not limited to:

• Indicator 8.8.1 “Frequency rates of fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries, by sex and migrant status”;

Indicator 10.7.2 is also complementary to other national migration monitoring frameworks, including IOM’s Migration Governance Indicators (MGI). The MGI operates as a policy benchmarking framework and offers insights into policy levers that countries could use to further develop their migration governance. It contains nearly 90 questions with regards to countries’ national migration policies, which fall under the same six domains as indicator 10.7.2.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics

Director of Population and Social Statistics

Directorate of Population and Social Statistics

Production and dissemination of Population and Social Statistics

254-202-911-000

30266-00100, Nairobi- Kenya

dpss@knbs.or.ke

Definitions:

10.7.3 data are currently based on the International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s Missing Migrants Project (MMP), which since 2014 has documented incidents in which migrants (regardless of legal status) Last updated: 2022-08-12

have died or are presumed to have died in the process of migration towards an international destination. This selection of data is based on the currently available sources and can provide some insight into the risks of migration routes.

Concepts:

(based on the IOM Glossary on Migration, 2019)

Migrant - An umbrella term, not defined under international law, reflecting the common lay understanding of a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons. The term includes a number of well-defined legal categories of people, such as migrant workers; persons whose particular types of movements are legally-defined, such as smuggled migrants; as well as those whose status or means of movement are not specifically defined under international law, such as international students.

Number

Not applicable

International Organisation of Migrants (https://missingmigrants.iom.int/downloads)

Administrative data

2020 - 2021

2022

International Organisation of Migrants

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics

According to the Statistics Act of 2006, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics is mandated to collect, compile, analyze, publish and disseminate official statistics for public use.

IOM began documenting deaths during migration in 2014 under the Missing Migrants Project. SDG indicator 10.7.3 was adopted in March 2020 as one measure of ‘safe’ migration called for in Target 10.7.

Missing Migrants Project (MMP) data bears witness to the ongoing global crisis of deaths during migration and is the only global database on this topic. It is hoped that by counting and accounting for these deaths, almost all of which are linked to irregular migration, policymakers, academics, and the general public will be better informed about the risks linked to unsafe migration. While data by itself might not bring about change, it can provide the necessary evidence to prompt action. However, it is likely that the data currently available is a vast undercount of the true number of lives lost during migration.

Data on deaths during migration are fragmented, incomplete and scattered among many different sources. The MMP database provides a global overview of data on migrant fatalities, but it is primarily dependent on secondary sources of information. Information is gathered from diverse sources such as official records – including from coast guards and medical examiners – and other sources such as media reports, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and surveys and interviews of migrants. The reliability and completeness of data vary greatly from region to region, from country to country and over time. In addition to undercounting the absolute number of deaths which occur during migration, MMP data also lack identifying information in many cases (incl. age, gender, country of origin) which are vital to providing closure to families searching for loved ones lost during migration.

MMP is an incident-based database, meaning that each entry in the database represents a single occurrence in which an individual or group of individuals die during migration or at international borders in one particular place and time.1 This approach is used instead of a body/human remains-based database due to the fact that many migrant bodies are never recovered, particularly in overseas routes such as the Mediterranean Sea, or remote terrains such as the Sahara Desert. MMP and therefore indicator 10.7.3 does not produce statistical estimates of the true number of lives lost given the extreme variance in completeness (coverage and quality) of data.

In some cases, official statistics are not disaggregated by incident, in which case the entry will be marked as a “cumulative total” in the disaggregated dataset on the MMP website.

In order for an incident involving a migrant death to be recorded in the dataset, there must be reasonable grounds to believe that it occurred. In practice, this means that whenever possible each incident is based on multiple independent sources of information. Whenever possible, and especially for incidents reported in the media, MMP verifies each incident through consultation with local IOM staff and other relevant stakeholders. In mass casualty events where large numbers of people die and no remains are recovered (i.e. in shipwrecks) MMP data reflect the lowest estimated number of dead and missing persons. Several variables in the disaggregated dataset available from the MMP website (Information source, Source Quality) reflect the level to which each incident could be validated.

IOM guidance for countries published in 2022

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics is ISO certified based on 9001:2015 Standard requirements. The processes of compilation, production, publication and dissemination of data, including quality control, are carried out following the methodological framework and standards established by the KNBS, in compliance with the Internationally acceptable standards

The KNBS adheres to Kenya Statistical Quality Assurance Framework (KesQAF) that underlines principles to be assured in managing the statistical production processes and output.

Data consistency and quality checks are conducted through Technical Working Groups (TWGs) before publication and dissemination.

The processes of compilation, production, publication and dissemination of data, including quality control are subjected to a set criteria and standards to ensure conformity

Data is available on the KNBS website

None

URL: missingmigrants.iom.int

References:

• Garcia Borja, A. and J. Black (2021) Measuring migrant deaths and disappearances. In Forced Migration Review 66:58-60.

• Singleton, A., F. Laczko and J. Black (2017) Measuring unsafe migration: the challenge of collecting accurate data on migrant fatalities. In Migration Policy Practice VII:4-9.

• See full list of Missing Migrants Project publications at mmp.iom.int/publications.

• IOM guidance for countriespublished in 2022