“A powerful tool of mass surveillance”: NGOs warn that proposed Eurodac reforms will fundamentally undermine the rights of migrants and refugees
22 Sep 2021

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

by | posted in: Asylum Seekers, Belgium, Eurodac, European Commission, European Parliament, European Union, Human Rights abuses, Migration, NGOs | 0

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
10 Sep 2021

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

by | posted in: Africa, Asylum Seekers, Belgium, Coast guards, COVID-19, Deportation, Detention, Education, Eritrea, Ethiopia, European Commission, European Parliament, European Politics, European Union, Frontex, Greece, Horn of Africa region, Human Rights abuses, Human Trafficking, IOM, Italy, Libya, Malnutrition, Mediterranean Sea, Migration, Refugee Camps, Refugees in the EU, Relocation system, Search and Rescue Operations, Starvation, Sudan, Torture, Trafficking, Trauma, Trends in Human Trafficking highlights, Tunisia, Turkey, Unaccompanied Minors, UNHCR, United Nations, Weekly news highlights | 0

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”.

News Highlights: Aid in Tigray critically low, Deaths of more aid workers discovered, EU to further outsource refugee hosting
3 Sep 2021

News Highlights: Aid in Tigray critically low, Deaths of more aid workers discovered, EU to further outsource refugee hosting

by | posted in: Afghanistan, Africa, Belgium, COVID-19, Eritrea, Eritrean Women, Ethiopia, EU funding, European Commission, European Parliament, European Politics, European Union, Horn of Africa region, Human Rights abuses, Human Trafficking, IOM, Libya, Mediterranean Sea, Migration, Refugees in the EU, Relocation system, Sea-Watch, Search and Rescue Operations, South Sudan, Starvation, Sudan, Torture, Trafficking, Trauma, Trends in Human Trafficking highlights | 0

In this week’s highlights: No humanitarian aid entered Tigray since 20 August; Deaths of 11 more aid workers discovered in Tigray; United Nations Security Council closed session on situation in Tigray; Joint UN/EHRC investigation has finalised, report to be published soon; USAID accuses TPLF and all warring parties of looting aid warehouses; Economic sanctions not enough to stop human rights abuses, says WP; Oromo Liberation Army accused by EHRC of killing 150 people; Over 380,000 people displaced in South Sudan due to heavy flooding; Sudan government launches plan to stop human trafficking; EU relying on third parties to host Afghan refugees; Poland in state of emergency due to refugee crossings; Survivors in boat rescue from Libya appear to have been tortured; Refugee assaults continue in Germany; Teen refugee electrocuted near Italy/France border; IOM develops tools for child returnees.