Two UN agencies are calling for greater action to dismantle smuggling and trafficking networks following the deaths of 27 migrants off the coast of Mauritania, northwest Africa.
According to the first ever Global Study on Smuggling of Migrants, released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Wednesday, at least 2.5 million migrants were smuggled during the course of 2016.
During 2016, more than 117,000 refugees arrived in war-stricken Yemen, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), despite the escalating conflict there.
The death toll among refugees and migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea has reached an all-time high, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has reported.
