News highlights: Peace talks in Libya, Rejected asylum seekers imprisoned in Denmark, Religious arrests in Eritrea

In this week’s news highlights: Eritrean government keeps arresting religious citizens; Eritrean football players that fled the country still fear the Eritrea government; EU funding of road project in Eritrea meets more criticism; Human smugglers arrested in Gibraltar; UK denies child refugees right for family reunification; Rejected asylum seekers in facility in Denmark are imprisoned in bad conditions; Peace talks in Libya; UNHCR urges 2020 to be year of refugee protection; European Commission shares information contributing to deportation to Libya; More than 1,000 migrants and refugees sent back to Libya in 2020; Eritrean refugees shot and killed in Tripoli; Norway and Tunisia willing to take in people detained in Libya; and Lack of hope caused crackdown in refugee camp Agadez.

News highlights: More EU money to road project Eritrea despite forced labour, EU funding benefits Libyan militia, Refugee sit-in protest escalates in Niger

In this week’s news highlights: Additional €60 in EU funding for road project in Eritrea despite criticism for use of forced labour; Spanish authorities allegedly sent back asylum seekers illegally; Eight important developments in the last decade that impacted migration; Fine withdrawn for captain of rescue vessel; Migrant deal EU-Sudan possibly contributes to abuse migrants and refugees; Red Sea-bordering countries establish a regional council; Ambassador to Eritrea becomes new Ethiopian minister of foreign affairs; Funding to Libya in hands of militia; Shelling close to refugee facility in Tripoli; Libyans increasingly try to cross the Mediterranean Sea; Drawings of circumstances in libyan detention center; UNHCR officials accuse asylum seekers of setting fire in a refugee camp in Niger; And 300 people intercepted at the Algerian coast.

The year of 2019: border control, evacuations from Libya and the search for solidarity

In this last article of the year, it is time to look back at some of the events of the past year in the context of forced movement along the Central Mediterranean Route. In 2019, approximately 1,246 people died in the Mediterranean Sea, and even more on land, during their journey to safety. It was a year in which the European Union secured and externalised its borders, making it harder for asylum seekers to enter Europe. It was also another year in which migrants and refugees in Libya were facing inhumane conditions that continue to be unaddressed. Responsibility sharing was a main topic of discussion among EU member states. In addition, a new relocation system was put in place, Salvini made his exit as Italian deputy Prime Minister, and the criminalization of rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea did not stop NGOs from saving lives.