UNITED just published the 2026 List of Refugee Deaths documenting 72,813 migrant deaths

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As we release the 2026 edition of the UNITED List of Refugee Deaths, we once again reflect on the scale of this ongoing, man-made tragedy. Since 1993, at least 72,813 people have died trying to reach or stay in Europe — lives cut short by violent borders, racist policies, and inhumane migration systems.

These numbers can never capture the full truth. Many deaths remain undocumented. But we continue to compile every case we can: honouring each life, investigating the circumstances, and exposing the role of state actors where relevant. This year’s publication comes at a critical moment. The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum is now being implemented, rescue ships continue to be obstructed, and routes to Europe are being pushed further into deserts, detention camps, and other places where death becomes less visible — but no less political. In recent years, Europe’s externalisation of border control — paying North African regimes to block migration routes — has meant that many refugees no longer even reach the Mediterranean. They die in the desert after brutal pushbacks, or inside violent detention camps in Libya, far from European shores and public attention, but as a direct result of EU policies.

As every year, the updated list is published for World Refugee Day, June 20. It will be used across Europe in public readings, demonstrations, exhibitions, and art interventions, including #BeimNamenNennen in Switzerland and Germany.

A special highlight this year is the exhibition Border at the Cité des sciences et de l’industrie in Paris, one of Europe’s major science museums, visited by around 1.8 million people in 2024. The UNITED List of Refugee Deaths has a prominent place there: the List scrolls in large format, alongside an interactive map of all documented cases, developed in collaboration with cartographer Philippe Rekacewicz. The exhibition runs until 2 January 2028 and is well worth a visit. (View photos of the UNITED List installation at the Border exhibition in Paris.

If you would like to use the list in your action, you can download the 2026 PDF edition from our website: UnitedAgainstRefugeeDeaths.eu. Please also check the conditions of use. We can send the file in XLS format if you need to print the list in another format. For research purposes, we can also share the full searchable data export. Please contact us by email.

The UNITED List of Refugee Deaths is not produced by a government or institution. It is the result of decades of committed work by the independent NGO UNITED for Intercultural Action, documenting refugee deaths since 1993, when almost no one else would.

This year, we lost our only stable grant covering the rent of our campaign secretariat. This leaves us with a gap of €10,000 for 2026 and 2027 — money we urgently need to keep the office open and continue this work.

To keep this vital campaign going — year after year, name by name — we need your support.

Even a small monthly donation helps us continue to research, publish, and make these deaths visible. It also gives strength and motivation to our small team.

PayPal: bit.ly/Donate-List

Larger donations can also be sent by bank transfer to:

Stichting UNITED
ING Bank NL
IBAN: NL28INGB0002343715
BIC/SWIFT-code: INGBNL2A

You can also support the campaign by:

UNITED for Intercultural Action
European network against nationalism, racism, fascism and in support of migrants and refugees
Campaign secretariat Fatal Policies of Fortress Europe
Postbus 413
NL-1000 AK Amsterdam
Netherlands

listofdeaths@unitedagainstracism.org
UnitedAgainstRefugeeDeaths.eu
unitedfia.org
instagram.com/unitedlistofdeath