FMR 75
Dangerous journeys: Saving lives and responding to missing migrants and refugees
October2025
FMR 75
Dangerous journeys: Saving lives and responding to missing migrants and refugees
October2025
Contents
From the Editors
Foreword
The practice and politics of mountain rescue on the French-Italian border
Restrictive migration policies have made Europe’s mountainous alpine borders even more perilous for the migrants crossing them. A distinctive citizen-led approach to mountain rescue in the Hautes-Alpes is helping to reduce the risks.
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The 2023 Pylos shipwreck: applying the Disaster Victim Identification Protocol
Most migrants who die before reaching their destination are never identified. The Greek authorities’ response to a shipwreck in 2023, however, provides an excellent case study of successful identification.
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Search and rescue in the desert: taking a proactive approach in Niger
A supportive environment for search and rescue in Niger has made possible an effective humanitarian response to migrants in distress in the desert, offering lessons for other contexts.
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Migration packages: commodification and risk along the Americas corridors
Commodified migration packages in the Americas’ corridors heighten already unequal risks, forcing resource-poor migrants onto more perilous routes. Effective policies are urgently needed to mitigate and prevent exploitation along these corridors.
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Networks of possibility: journeys from the Middle East to the US–Mexico border
People from the Middle East attempting to reach the US navigate varied terrains as well as bureaucracy, corruption and changing visa regimes. Migration brokers develop dynamic networks, both regular and irregular, to help people move.
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From commitments to action on missing migrants: the role of humanitarian diplomacy
Multi-stakeholder humanitarian diplomacy at global and regional levels, including transregional dialogues, are key for mobilising State efforts to address missing migrant cases.
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Providing emergency medical care at the Belarus–Poland border
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) takes a flexible approach in its provision of medical care at the Belarus–Poland border. Its model emphasises collaboration with civil society, challenges systemic barriers, and is adaptable and replicable.
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Coordinating a route-based approach for Rohingya movements
Adopting a civil society-supported ‘route-based approach’ can enhance existing coordination structures and more effectively assist and protect Rohingya refugees undertaking dangerous maritime and overland journeys.
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Missing migrants in Southern Africa: building State investigation capacity
Many State authorities dealing with the missing and the dead have systems in place for managing such cases. With minimal adjustments, these systems can be adapted to address the specific challenges relating to missing and deceased migrants.
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The psychological impact of missing family on forcibly displaced people
For family members who have missing relatives who may have died on dangerous journeys, not knowing the fate of loved ones can have profound psychological and social consequences, especially if they are displaced themselves.
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Strengthening State collaboration to prevent and resolve cases of missing migrants
Migratory routes linking Africa with Europe are among the world’s deadliest. Recognition of the central importance of States in addressing this issue is at the heart of a new Network of National Focal Points for Missing Migrants.
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Cameroonian women navigating the dangerous journey through the Americas
Cameroonian migrant women journeying through Latin America to the US encounter multiple challenges. Despite mutual support and local community assistance, they face particular forms of violence as women and must develop strategies to keep safe.
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Stowaway journeys and Protection & Indemnity Clubs in Brazil
Protection & Indemnity Clubs could play a more effective role in managing stowaways on ships if they cooperated more with civil society to improve humanitarian outcomes.
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Engaging commercial shipping in maritime rescue and data collection
Maritime migrants navigate the world’s busiest shipping lanes alongside thousands of commercial vessels. Commercial shipping is an important but overlooked partner in mass rescue and migration policy, from issues of data collection to rescue operations.
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Fear as a weapon of deterrence for asylum seekers: a case study from a Greek island
Heightened border security and the fear it instils are increasingly prompting asylum seekers to hide from authorities on arrival in Greece, with sometimes tragic consequences. Fostering trust is enabling an NGO to help.
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Navigating choppy seas: challenges to civil search and rescue
From criminalisation to bureaucratisation: State obstruction at sea
Deadly crossings at the Afghanistan–Iran border
The end game: risking everything on the Western Balkans route
Cartagena+40: a missed opportunity for regional cooperation on dangerous journeys
Rescue amid shifting politics in the Central Mediterranean
On board the Ocean Viking: safety, dignity and protection
Separation of children: causes, impacts and mitigation strategies
Shaping policy responses to missing migrants through the Council of Europe
Managing forced migration: an alternative to dangerous journeys?