News Highlights: DPM takes over in Ethiopia as escalation looms, Rights groups ask ICC to investigate Libya, Leaked EU document on arresting smugglers

In this week news highlights: First Humanitarian trucks arrive in Tigray since October; Ethiopia removes Irish diplomats and asks the US to stop spreading fake news; UAE airbridge to Ethiopia; Former NZ PM warns of potential genocide in Ethiopia; UN warns of new wave of displacement in Western Tigray; UN SG calls for immediate ceasefire; Ethiopian government bans reporting on war; Deputy Prime Minister takes over daily tasks in Ethiopia; Protests in Sudan Continue; Normalization between Sudan and Israel raises fear of deportation after coup; 780,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance in South Sudan; Severe drought forces thousands to relocate in Somalia; New law to facilitate refugee integration in Kenya; 75 individuals drowned in the Mediterranean Sea; Rights groups ask the ICC to investigate migrants abuses in Libya as potential crimes against humanity; Europe document detailing strategy for smuggler arrests revealed; More deaths in the English Channel; Four persons suspected of smuggling and torturing migrants in North Macadonia; Over 370 individuals rescued off Canary Islands; Migrants say they were tortured by Polish and Belarusian police; Stop Soros law criminalizing asylum seekers incompatible with EU law; NGOs accuse Greece of detaining migrants illegally; and Asylum seekers rights deteriorated due to COVID-19 lockdown measures.

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.