Table of Contents
Deserts and arid lands across the Middle East and Africa represent some of the most formidable obstacles facing refugees and migrants today. These vast, unforgiving landscapes have become critical corridors for human movement, yet they exact a devastating toll on those who traverse them. Understanding the complex relationship between desert environments and refugee journeys is essential for addressing one of the most pressing humanitarian crises of our time.
The Scale of Desert Migration in Africa and the Middle East
More people are estimated to cross the Sahara desert than the Mediterranean Sea, and deaths of refugees and migrants in the desert are presumed to be double those at sea. This staggering reality highlights how desert crossings have become a central feature of migration patterns in Africa and the Middle East, yet they receive far less attention than maritime routes.
A data visualization drawing on interviews with more than 31,000 refugees and migrants maps routes and the most common dangers refugees and migrants face on them. Many interviewees described crossing the Sahara Desert as one of the most dangerous parts of their journey, both due to the harsh environment, but also violence at the hands of criminal gangs, smugglers, traffickers and the military.
In total, 1,180 persons are known to have died while crossing the Sahara Desert for the period January 2020 to May 2024, but the number is believed to be much higher. Due to the remoteness of the routes, challenging or lack of access to official and unofficial detention facilities, infrequent or absence of reports from authorities or media coverage, gathering information on deaths is extremely difficult and numbers are likely to severely under-represent the situation.
Major Desert Migration Routes
Trans-Saharan Routes
The Sahara Desert, stretching across North Africa, hosts several critical migration corridors. The Niger to Libya route is the one most sub-Saharan African migrants take when trying to reach Europe via the Mediterranean sea. This route passes through some of the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, where temperatures can soar above 50 degrees Celsius during the day and plummet at night.
Crossing the Sahara Desert – including places such as Sabha in Libya, Agadez and Téra in Niger, Bamako and Douentza in Mali, Khartoum in Sudan, Humera in Ethiopia and Tamanrasset in Algeria – is recognised as one of the most perilous and risky segments of the migration process to the Mediterranean. These cities serve as critical waypoints where migrants gather, rest, and prepare for the next leg of their journey.
Each week, thousands of migrants are crammed into pick-up trucks for the days-long ride, often with only enough room for a few litres of water attempting to cross the Sahara desert, one of most inhospitable and deadliest places on earth. The journey typically takes several days to weeks, depending on the specific route and conditions encountered.
Routes Through the Horn of Africa
Conflict zones and border towns between Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan were also flagged as particularly risky. The Horn of Africa presents its own set of desert and arid land challenges, with refugees fleeing conflict and persecution often forced to traverse harsh terrain to reach relative safety or continue their journeys northward.
One in seven East African migrants interviewed en route to Libya, Egypt or Europe between May 2017 and January 2019 said that they had been kidnapped, primarily in the Sudan (44.2%), but also Egypt (22.6%) and Libya (18.9%). These statistics reveal how desert routes expose migrants to multiple layers of danger beyond environmental hazards.
Shifting Routes and Adaptation
Smuggling routes are shifting towards more remote areas to avoid active conflict zones or border controls by state and non-state actors, subjecting people on the move to even greater risks. This dynamic nature of migration routes means that refugees and migrants are increasingly pushed into even more dangerous desert terrain, far from any potential assistance or rescue.
Most trans-Saharan migration has been irregularized means that routes often pass far from inhabited areas, with little to no possibility of accessing health facilities or resupplying. This isolation compounds the already severe environmental challenges, leaving migrants completely vulnerable when emergencies arise.
Environmental and Physical Challenges of Desert Crossings
Extreme Heat and Dehydration
Desert environments present extreme temperature variations that pose immediate threats to human survival. People who are exposed to dry heat places like deserts are at a higher risk of having a heatstroke. Heatstroke is a clinical emergency characterized by hyperthermia associated with delirium, seizure, and coma. It is fatal, could result in permanent nerve damage, and is considered to be a leading cause of desert deaths.
Migrants, lost in the Sahara, died during their crossing as a result of the harsh environmental conditions, including exposure to extremely high temperatures, dehydration and hunger. The combination of intense heat, limited water supplies, and physical exertion creates a deadly scenario where the human body rapidly loses its ability to regulate temperature and maintain vital functions.
Dehydration occurs rapidly in desert conditions. Hot climates like deserts will lead to dehydration, which will decrease sweat and predispose to heatstroke, and the expectation of death will result if a person loses more than 20% of total body water. For migrants traveling with minimal water supplies, this threshold can be reached within hours under extreme conditions.
Vehicle Breakdowns and Abandonment
Most journeys across the Sahara Desert occur in convoys of trucks, and breakdowns can be deadly. When vehicles fail in the middle of the desert, migrants face an impossible choice: wait for help that may never come or attempt to walk to safety across terrain that offers no shelter, water, or landmarks for navigation.
A group of 50 people was on their way to Libya when their truck broke down between the cities of Agadez and Dirkou in the desert in northern Niger, exposing them to extreme heat and lack of drinking water. Such incidents are tragically common, with survivors often the only witnesses to mass casualties that go unreported and unrecorded.
The migrants left a year and a half ago in a truck and are believed to have been lost in the desert and died of thirst. This case illustrates how desert deaths can remain undiscovered for extended periods, with families left without answers about the fate of their loved ones.
Causes of Death in Desert Environments
On land, 42% occurred in vehicle accidents, 24% because of harsh environmental conditions, including exposure, dehydration, and starvation, and 12% due to violence. These statistics reveal the multifaceted nature of desert-related deaths, where environmental factors interact with human-caused dangers to create a perfect storm of risk.
Due to lack of preparedness for food, such as low nutrient foods and water, which can lead to thirst, starvation, and exhaustion. Many migrants embark on desert crossings without adequate provisions, either because they cannot afford them, because smugglers provide false assurances, or because they underestimate the journey’s duration and difficulty.
Human-Caused Dangers in Desert Migration
Violence and Exploitation by Criminal Groups
Among the litany of risks and abuses reported by refugees and migrants are torture, physical violence, arbitrary detention, death, kidnapping for ransom, sexual violence and exploitation, enslavement, human trafficking, forced labour, organ removal, robbery, arbitrary detention, collective expulsions and refoulement. Desert routes have become hunting grounds for criminal organizations that prey on vulnerable migrants.
Criminal gangs and armed groups are the main perpetrators of these abuses, in addition to security forces, police, military, immigration officers and border guards. This reality means that migrants face threats not only from criminal elements but also from those who are ostensibly responsible for maintaining law and order.
Some migrants in the Sahara Desert are kept in airless containers and trucks in extreme heat for a long period by smugglers. These conditions amount to torture and have resulted in numerous deaths, with survivors reporting horrific experiences of being trapped in metal containers under the scorching desert sun.
Kidnapping for Ransom
Once kidnapped, migrants are typically either held for ransom or trafficked. The remoteness of desert areas makes them ideal locations for criminal groups to hold victims without fear of intervention from authorities.
Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers are particularly vulnerable to kidnappers, as they are perceived as more likely to carry cash and to have wealthier connections abroad, with families in the diaspora asked to pay large sums in order to avoid or stop violence against the person held and to secure his or her release. This targeting of specific nationalities creates additional layers of vulnerability for certain refugee populations.
Tales of rape, torture to extract ransom from the families and long periods of arbitrary detention in shocking conditions are recurrent. The psychological trauma inflicted by these experiences compounds the physical hardships of desert migration, leaving survivors with deep emotional scars.
Smuggler Exploitation and Abandonment
Smugglers usually run away with their money, leaving them in the middle of nowhere, in a country they don’t know, trying to gain enough money to either continue the route or go back home. This abandonment often occurs in the most dangerous parts of the desert, where migrants have no resources, no knowledge of the terrain, and no means of communication.
The expedition involves substantial financial costs (individuals earning less than 1 Euro per day may spend thousands of Euros on the journey) and poses significant dangers. Migrants often exhaust their life savings and go into debt to pay smugglers, only to be abandoned or subjected to additional extortion along the way.
The Impact of Conflict and Instability on Desert Routes
The Sahel Region Crisis
The Sahel region of Africa, which stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east, has long been an area of significant migration flows. The region faces ongoing crises including climate and environmental degradation, desertification, political and institutional instability, a lack of basic services, intercommunity conflicts between nomadic herders and farmers and the rapid rise of violent extremism.
Across parts of the continent, refugees and migrants are increasingly traversing areas where insurgent groups, militias and other criminal actors operate and where human trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, forced labour and sexual exploitation are rife. The breakdown of state authority in many Sahel countries has created power vacuums that armed groups have exploited, making desert routes even more dangerous.
Sudan and Regional Conflicts
In the Sudan, intense fighting between the country’s military and its main paramilitary force erupted in April 2023, killing hundreds of people and forcing thousands to flee for safety, the majority within the country but others across borders, including to neighbouring countries such as South Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia and Chad. This conflict has disrupted traditional migration routes and created new flows of displaced people through desert regions.
The growing number of people attempting to make the crossings is in part the result of deteriorating situations in countries of origin and host countries – including the eruption of new conflicts in the Sahel and Sudan, the devastating impact of climate change and disasters on new and protracted emergencies in the East and Horn of Africa, as well as the manifestation of racism and xenophobia affecting refugees and migrants.
Climate Change and Desertification as Migration Drivers
Climate change is fundamentally altering the landscape of migration in Africa and the Middle East, both by expanding desert areas and by creating conditions that force more people to flee their homes. Desertification, salinization and sea level rise are other slow-onset hazards that will continue to affect the region, and climate change could aggravate their impacts.
In Libya, local militias have weaponized water scarcity, including using water infrastructure for leverage against the central government and other rivals. This manipulation of already scarce resources in arid regions adds another dimension to the challenges facing migrants and refugees.
By end of 2022, wildfires induced 9,500 displacements in parts of northern Morocco, and in the same year, 2,000 displacements – also due to wildfires – were recorded in north-eastern Algeria. These climate-related disasters create new populations of displaced people who may eventually join migration routes through desert regions.
The expansion of desert areas due to climate change is creating a vicious cycle: environmental degradation forces more people to migrate, while the routes they must take become increasingly inhospitable. This dynamic is particularly evident in the Sahel, where desertification is advancing southward, destroying agricultural land and forcing communities to relocate.
Humanitarian Response Challenges in Desert Environments
Access and Logistics Difficulties
Inadequate funding and restrictions on humanitarian access (including in key locations such as informal detention centres and holding facilities) are also hampering support. The vast distances, harsh conditions, and security concerns in desert regions make it extremely difficult for humanitarian organizations to reach those in need.
There is a need for stronger coordination and comprehensive support to enable search and rescue operations and provide humanitarian assistance and protection in extremely remote areas. The infrastructure required for effective search and rescue in desert environments is expensive and complex, requiring specialized vehicles, communication systems, and trained personnel.
In deserts, the deceased might be out of reach and missed, which will add to the problem. The inability to recover bodies not only prevents families from achieving closure but also makes it impossible to accurately document the true scale of desert migration deaths.
Protection Gaps and Service Provision
Huge gaps in protection and assistance prevail across the Central Mediterranean route, pushing refugees and migrants to move onward on dangerous journeys. Specific support as well as access to justice for survivors of various forms of abuse is rarely available anywhere on the routes.
Additional resources are required in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad to help prevent and respond to risks associated with such deadly journeys. These countries serve as critical transit points for desert migration, yet they often lack the resources and capacity to provide adequate protection and assistance to migrants passing through their territories.
UNHCR, IOM, partners and several governments have stepped up life-saving protection services and assistance, identification and referral mechanisms along the routes – but humanitarian action is not enough. While humanitarian organizations work tirelessly to provide assistance, the scale of the crisis and the structural factors driving it require more comprehensive solutions.
Funding and Resource Constraints
The UN refugee agency is currently in need of $75.5 million to meet the increased humanitarian and protection needs of people in Libya – including those internally displaced, host communities, as well as refugees and asylum seekers. This funding gap illustrates the chronic underfunding of humanitarian responses in desert migration contexts.
The remoteness of desert areas means that every aspect of humanitarian operations costs more: transportation, security, communication, and staff deployment all require significant resources. Yet desert migration routes receive far less funding and attention than maritime routes, despite being equally or more deadly.
Specific Vulnerable Populations in Desert Migration
Women and Children
Women and children face particular vulnerabilities during desert crossings. Sexual assault during trans-Saharan migration is frequent. The isolation of desert routes and the power dynamics between smugglers and migrants create conditions where sexual violence is widespread and largely unreported.
Children traveling through deserts face unique risks related to dehydration, heat exposure, and malnutrition. Their smaller body mass means they dehydrate more quickly than adults, and they are less able to communicate their distress or advocate for their needs. Unaccompanied minors are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking, and abuse.
Pregnant women undertaking desert crossings face extreme risks to both their own health and that of their unborn children. The physical stress of the journey, combined with dehydration, malnutrition, and lack of medical care, can lead to miscarriages, premature births, and maternal mortality.
Refugees Fleeing Persecution
For refugees fleeing persecution, conflict, or violence, desert routes often represent the only available escape path. Unlike economic migrants who may have some choice in their timing and route, refugees are often forced to take whatever path is available, regardless of the dangers involved.
The urgency of their flight means refugees may be less prepared for desert crossings, with inadequate supplies, information, or resources. They are also more likely to be targeted by criminal groups who recognize their desperation and vulnerability.
Documentation and Data Challenges
IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has documented the deaths and disappearances of more than 5,600 people transiting through the Sahara Desert since 2014, with 149 deaths recorded so far in 2022. However, these figures represent only a fraction of the true toll.
More than 5,600 people have died or gone missing trying to cross the Sahara Desert in the last eight years. The actual numbers, however, are thought to be higher as many deaths go unrecorded. The vast expanses of desert terrain, the remoteness of routes, and the irregular nature of migration mean that many deaths are never discovered or reported.
Probably more migrants die in the Sahara desert than in the Mediterranean, but due to the inhospitable nature of the region, it was virtually impossible to know the exact number. This data gap has significant implications for policy responses, resource allocation, and public awareness of the crisis.
The challenges of documenting desert migration deaths include the rapid decomposition of bodies in extreme heat, the movement of remains by animals and sandstorms, and the fact that many routes pass through areas with no permanent settlements or regular patrols. Bodies may lie undiscovered for months or years, if they are found at all.
Regional Variations in Desert Migration Experiences
North Africa and the Sahara
The Sahara Desert dominates North African migration patterns, creating a massive barrier that migrants must cross to reach Mediterranean coastal countries. The routes through Niger, Mali, and Algeria to Libya and Morocco have become well-established, though constantly shifting in response to enforcement efforts and security conditions.
Many African migrants do not successfully progress beyond the coastal regions of North Africa, often concluding their journeys within Mediterranean coastal countries (particularly Libya and the Maghreb, which collectively house nearly 2 million irregular migrants). These migrants often become trapped in desert countries, unable to move forward or return home.
The Middle East and Arabian Peninsula
While less documented than Saharan routes, desert crossings in the Middle East present similar challenges. Refugees fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen often must traverse arid regions to reach safety. The deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, while smaller than the Sahara, are equally inhospitable and pose severe risks to those attempting to cross them.
From Syria and Iraq to Jordan and Lebanon, disasters have worsened the conditions of IDPs and refugees living in camps and informal urban areas. Many of these camps are located in or near desert regions, where extreme temperatures, water scarcity, and dust storms create ongoing challenges for displaced populations.
The Role of Technology and Communication
Mobile phones and GPS technology have become essential tools for desert migrants, providing navigation assistance and communication capabilities. However, the remoteness of many desert routes means that cellular coverage is often absent, leaving migrants without the ability to call for help in emergencies.
Continuous efforts to provide reliable information to those planning to move, debunk “fake news” posted by smugglers, counter the role of social media in idealizing irregular movements or life in destination countries; and investigate and prosecute those responsible for crimes against refugees and migrants, including human traffickers are essential components of addressing the crisis.
Social media plays a complex role in desert migration. While it can provide valuable information and help migrants stay connected with family, it can also spread misinformation about routes, conditions, and opportunities. Smugglers use social media to advertise their services and recruit clients, often making false promises about safety and success rates.
Health Consequences of Desert Migration
Immediate Physical Health Impacts
Beyond the immediate risks of dehydration and heatstroke, desert migration creates numerous health challenges. Exposure to extreme temperatures can cause skin damage, including severe sunburn and heat rash. The lack of adequate nutrition during extended desert crossings leads to malnutrition and weakened immune systems.
Respiratory problems are common due to dust inhalation and the dry air of desert environments. Migrants often develop persistent coughs, bronchitis, and other respiratory infections that can become serious without proper medical treatment. Eye problems, including conjunctivitis and damage from sun exposure and dust, are also prevalent.
Foot injuries and infections are widespread among those who must walk long distances across rocky or sandy terrain, often with inadequate footwear. These injuries can become life-threatening if they become infected and are left untreated in the harsh desert environment.
Long-Term Health Consequences
Survivors of desert crossings often carry long-term health consequences from their journeys. Kidney damage from severe dehydration can be permanent, requiring ongoing medical care. Neurological damage from heatstroke may result in lasting cognitive impairments or physical disabilities.
The psychological trauma of desert migration can be profound and enduring. Survivors may experience post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety related to their experiences. Witnessing deaths, experiencing violence, and enduring extreme physical hardship all contribute to mental health challenges that may persist for years.
Economic Dimensions of Desert Migration
The economics of desert migration create complex dynamics that perpetuate the crisis. Smuggling networks generate substantial profits from facilitating desert crossings, creating powerful economic incentives to continue these operations despite the human cost.
For migrants themselves, the financial burden of desert crossings can be devastating. Many sell all their possessions, borrow money from family and friends, or go into debt to pay smugglers. When journeys fail or migrants are robbed or extorted along the way, they may find themselves stranded without resources to continue or return home.
The economic impact extends to transit countries as well. Communities along migration routes may benefit from the informal economy that develops around migration, but they also bear costs related to security, healthcare, and social services for migrants passing through or becoming stranded in their territories.
Legal and Protection Frameworks
International refugee law and human rights frameworks provide important protections for refugees and migrants, but enforcement in remote desert regions is extremely challenging. The principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning refugees to places where they face persecution, is often violated in desert border areas where formal asylum procedures are absent.
Despite commitments undertaken by the international community to save lives and address vulnerabilities, current efforts to hold all those accountable for the abuse and dangers that migrants and refugees suffer are inadequate. The remoteness of desert areas and the involvement of both state and non-state actors in abuses create significant challenges for accountability.
State officials, like police, military and border guards also played a role in abuses against migrants. This involvement of official actors complicates efforts to provide protection and seek justice for victims.
Community and Cultural Impacts
Desert migration affects not only those who undertake these journeys but also the communities they leave behind and those they pass through. Families are separated, sometimes permanently, when members embark on desert crossings. The uncertainty about the fate of loved ones who disappear in the desert creates ongoing trauma for families and communities.
Transit communities in desert regions face their own challenges. The constant flow of migrants can strain local resources and infrastructure, while also creating tensions between local populations and migrants. At the same time, many desert communities have traditions of hospitality and assistance to travelers that lead them to provide help to migrants despite their own limited resources.
The cultural knowledge of desert-dwelling communities could be valuable for improving migrant safety, but this knowledge is often not incorporated into humanitarian responses or migration management strategies. Indigenous and traditional knowledge about desert survival, water sources, and navigation could help reduce deaths if it were more widely shared and integrated into support systems.
Policy Responses and Interventions
Current Approaches
Policy responses to desert migration have largely focused on border control and migration prevention rather than protection and assistance. Many countries have increased patrols and enforcement in desert border areas, which often has the effect of pushing migrants onto even more dangerous routes rather than deterring migration.
Some humanitarian organizations operate transit centers in key desert cities where migrants can receive medical care, food, water, and information about the risks ahead. These centers also facilitate voluntary return for those who wish to go home, though many migrants feel they cannot return after investing so much in their journey.
Needed Reforms and Solutions
The organizations are calling for concrete, routes-based protection responses to save lives and reduce suffering, as well as a push to address the root causes of displacement and drivers of irregular movements– through positive action on peacebuilding, respect for human rights, governance, inequality, climate change and other structural factors.
Credible alternatives to these dangerous crossings for people in need of international protection, including accessible and safe ways to reach Europe – such as family reunification, resettlement and private sponsorship are essential for reducing reliance on dangerous desert routes.
Without access to reliable information and safe migration pathways, migrants will continue to take risky roads through the deep and perilous desert, with tragic consequences. Creating legal pathways for migration and asylum would reduce the need for dangerous irregular routes through deserts.
Enhanced search and rescue capabilities in desert regions could save lives, but this requires significant investment in infrastructure, technology, and trained personnel. Coordination between countries along migration routes is essential for effective search and rescue operations, but political tensions and competing priorities often hinder such cooperation.
The Way Forward: Comprehensive Approaches to Desert Migration
Addressing the impact of deserts and arid lands on refugee journeys requires comprehensive, multi-faceted approaches that go beyond border control and enforcement. Protection must be at the center of any response, with a focus on saving lives and upholding human rights rather than simply preventing movement.
Investment in addressing root causes of displacement—including conflict, persecution, poverty, and climate change—is essential for reducing the number of people forced to undertake dangerous desert crossings. This requires long-term commitment and resources from the international community, as well as political will to address complex structural issues.
Improved data collection and documentation of desert migration deaths is necessary for understanding the full scale of the crisis and developing effective responses. This includes better coordination between countries, humanitarian organizations, and research institutions to track migration flows and document incidents.
Strengthening legal pathways for migration and asylum would reduce reliance on smugglers and dangerous routes. This includes expanding resettlement programs, facilitating family reunification, creating humanitarian visas, and establishing regional protection frameworks that allow people to seek safety without undertaking life-threatening journeys.
Greater accountability for those who exploit, abuse, or harm migrants is essential. This includes prosecuting smugglers and traffickers, but also holding state actors accountable when they violate migrants’ rights or fail to provide protection to those in need.
Key Challenges Facing Desert Migrants
- Extreme temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius during the day
- Severe water scarcity with limited access to safe drinking water
- Vehicle breakdowns in remote areas with no rescue services
- Violence and exploitation by criminal gangs and armed groups
- Kidnapping for ransom, particularly targeting certain nationalities
- Sexual violence and abuse, especially affecting women and children
- Abandonment by smugglers in the middle of the desert
- Lack of medical care for injuries and illnesses
- Exposure to harsh environmental conditions including sandstorms
- Arbitrary detention by security forces and border guards
- Human trafficking and forced labor
- Inadequate food supplies leading to malnutrition and starvation
- Absence of communication networks in remote desert areas
- Difficulty navigating vast, featureless terrain
- Limited humanitarian access and protection services
Conclusion
The impact of deserts and arid lands on refugee journeys in the Middle East and Africa represents one of the most severe humanitarian crises of our time. The routes across the Sahara northwards from West and East Africa are estimated to be twice as deadly as the maritime route across the central Mediterranean, yet they receive far less attention and resources.
The combination of extreme environmental conditions, human-caused dangers, and inadequate protection creates a perfect storm of risk for refugees and migrants traversing desert regions. Climate change is exacerbating these challenges by expanding desert areas and creating new displacement pressures, while conflicts and instability continue to force people to flee through these dangerous routes.
Addressing this crisis requires moving beyond enforcement-focused approaches to embrace comprehensive solutions that prioritize protection, address root causes, and create safe alternatives to dangerous desert crossings. The international community must recognize that desert migration deaths are not inevitable but rather the result of policy choices and resource allocation decisions that can be changed.
Every person who dies in the desert represents not just a statistic but a human being with hopes, dreams, and loved ones left behind. The true toll of desert migration extends far beyond the documented deaths to include the countless missing, the survivors bearing physical and psychological scars, and the families and communities forever changed by loss.
As climate change continues to alter landscapes and create new displacement pressures, the challenges of desert migration are likely to intensify. Urgent action is needed now to prevent further loss of life and to create systems that protect rather than endanger those forced to flee. This includes investing in search and rescue capabilities, strengthening legal pathways for migration, addressing root causes of displacement, and ensuring accountability for those who exploit and harm migrants.
The deserts of Africa and the Middle East will continue to be part of migration routes for the foreseeable future. The question is whether the international community will take the necessary steps to make these journeys safer and to reduce the need for people to risk their lives crossing some of the most inhospitable terrain on Earth. The answer to that question will determine the fate of countless individuals and families in the years to come.
For more information on migration and refugee issues, visit the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration. To learn more about climate change impacts on displacement, see resources from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. For data on migration routes and risks, consult the Missing Migrants Project.