News Highlights: Arrests of Tigrayans increasing in Ethiopia, Libya evacuations resume, Another pushback allegation for Greece

In this week news highlights: Foreign citizens of Tigrayan descent detained in Ethiopia; 70 UN aid drivers detained in Ethiopia; Mass arrests of Tigrayans continues; Amnesty International reports rapes by Tigrayan fighters; Ethiopian government open for negotiations with preconditions; UNSC discussed Sudan on Thursday; Sudanese lawyer sketches three possible directions after Sudan coup; Conflict in Tigray compounds crises in neighbouring countries; Sudan to open two more refugee camps; 170 refugees relocated to Niger from Libya; Migrants and refugees stranded in Tunisia; Almost 900 individuals crossed the Channel; Greek authorities accused of illegal pushbacks; Thousands of migrants and refugees landed in Italy this week; Spanish police arrest 15 individuals for human smuggling; Hundreds of migrants and refugees stranded at Polish-Belarusian border, EU considers blacklisting airlines; and Organizations appealing to world leaders to tackle climate change impacts on migration.

“A powerful tool of mass surveillance”: NGOs warn that proposed Eurodac reforms will fundamentally undermine the rights of migrants and refugees

33 NGOs, including EEPA, addressed an open letter to the Members of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) of the European Parliament, expressing concern regarding the amended proposal to revise the Eurodac Regulation. Eurodac is a database that records fingerprints of asylum seekers entering the European Union (EU). The amendment, formulated by the European Commission and published in September 2020, extends the database to include more biometric data, including of minors. The NGOs warn about the risk of erosion of the fundamental rights of migrants and asylum seekers that could result from this extension.

News Highlights: Record 23,000 refugees returned to Libya in 2021, NGOs warn of mass surveillance of refugees, Tigray facing famine

In this week’s highlights: The Elders address UNSC on Tigray; Refugees in Ethiopia approved for resettlement refused departure in Addis, say witnesses; UN urges opening of Tigray for aid; 29 Tigrayan bodies found in the river between Sudan and Ethiopia; 5,000 Ethiopian migrants blocked in Yemen; Ethiopia’s competing alliances; Over 23,000 refugees returned to Libya this year; More than 10,000 refugees attempted to cross from Tunisia to Italy; NGOs warn that extension of fingerprint database is a threat to refugee privacy; UK may push back refugees crossing the Channel; Migrants stuck at the EU-Belarus border facing dire conditions; Migrants and refugees arrested on unlawful reentry charges in Italy; Asylum seekers in Lesbos living in precarious temporary camp; and Education of refugee children “now under threat”.