More than 1.2 million people have now reached Europe through irregular means since 2015 in what constitutes the continent’s biggest wave of mass migration since the aftermath of the second world war. Conflict, instability and human rights abuses in countries such as Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Eritrea have forced people to undertake the treacherous journey by sea or land into Europe. Since 2015, more than 6,656 people have tragically died or gone missing attempting this journey by sea.
