The number of migrants who died at sea trying to reach Europe has more than doubled this year. This was announced by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which called on states to take urgent measures. According to statistics published in a new report, at least 1,146 people died at sea trying to reach Europe in the first half of 2021. In 2020, 513 had died in the same period and 674 in 2019. Most of the deaths were recorded in the Mediterranean (896), about 250 in an attempt to reach the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. IOM also announced in a report that over 15,300 migrants were repatriated to Libya in the first six months of 2021, almost three times more than in the same period in 2020 (5,476). The organization called this situation “worrying, given that migrants who are repatriated to Libya are subject to arbitrary detention, extortion, disappearances and acts of torture”. The report shows an increase for the second consecutive year of maritime operations by North African states along the Central Mediterranean route.President of the European Parliament David Sassoli speaking at the High Level Conference on the Global State of Human Rights organized by the European Parliament and the Global Campus on Human Rights in Venice stated: “Our values are under attack, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms has been undermined in recent decades. Authoritarianism and xenophobia have found many supporters who have not hesitated to use the pandemic as a pretext to undermine the foundations of our democratic systems “. After the decisions of the Italian Parliament to follow up on international missions abroad, including Libya, TFnews.it interviewed Matteo De Bellis, researcher and coordinator at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International.