News Highlights: Calls for protest in Belgium after refugee suicide, Documentary on corruption in South Sudan war, MEPS vote for humanitarian visas

In this week’s news highlights: Indefinite national service in Eritrea still in place; indigenous Afar group from Eritrea calls for rights to be restored; further opposition to Eritrea’s desire to join UN Human Rights Council; eyewitness report about torture in Eritrean prisons; UAE reportedly violating Somali arms embargo; neighbouring countries allegedly financing South Sudanese civil war, states new documentary; millions of Ethiopians require international assistance, states OCHA; NGOs call for protests after Eritrean commits suicide in Belgian detention centre; European Parliament demands European humanitarian visas, Italy’s PM Conte visiting Ethiopia and Eritrea; Climate Change will cause large migratory flows; and Italian minister Salvini claims growing support for closing ports for migrants.

Reactions to the European Commission’s proposal to upgrade Frontex

The European Commission’s plan to upgrade Frontex from a European agency with 1 500 employees into a complimentary European border and coast guard with 10 000 armed guards by 2020 has caused mixed reactions in the European Union. Under the proposal, €12.6 bn would be allocated to Frontex between 2019 and 2027, with the agency supporting national border patrols as well as coast guards and operating at the command of national authorities.