Europe's Migrant Crisis: Explained In 90 Seconds

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A photograph of a Syrian toddler's lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach after a migrant boat sank has sparked an international outcry over the migrant crisis. A look at what the crisis is about.

The world is facing what has been called the worst refuge crisis since World War II and the European Union has been at the centre of this crisis.

Wars in Iraq and Syria and unrest in the African continent and Afghanistan have caused people to undertake perilous journeys to Europe to flee persecution and poverty. In 2014, approximately 219,000 people crossed the Mediterranean and 3,500 lives were lost according to UNHCR – the United Nations Refugee Agency.

It is estimated that since January 2015, more than 350,000 people have desperately packed onto overcrowded vessels in an attempt to find a safer, better life. Often, their journey ends in capsized vessels and shipwrecks that plunge the migrants into the open sea. According to International Organization for Migration, over 2,600 migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean this year.

The migrants are often met with hostile authorities, fences and tear gas. Europe’s leaders have faced a lot of criticism for their inadequate response. Human right organizations are demanding more robust action and a unified European response to the crisis.