News Highlights: Mass arrests of refugees in Libya, Ethiopian Airlines smuggled weapons into Eritrea, Warnings of new offensive in Tigray
8 Oct 2021

News Highlights: Mass arrests of refugees in Libya, Ethiopian Airlines smuggled weapons into Eritrea, Warnings of new offensive in Tigray

by | posted in: Africa, Asylum Seekers, Coast guards, Detention, Ethiopia, EU funding, European Commission, European Parliament, European Union, Frontex, Greece, Horn of Africa region, Human Rights abuses, Human Trafficking, IOM, Italy, Libya, Médecins Sans Frontières, Mediterranean Sea, Migration, NGOs, Refugee Camps, Sanctions, South Sudan, Sudan, Trafficking, Trauma, United Nations, UNOCHA | 0

In this week news highlights: Ethiopian Airlines smuggled weapons to Eritrea – CNN report; CNN report could lead to further US sanctions; New offensive in Tigray imminent as Abiy starts new term; European Parliament warns of sanctions in resolution; Further warnings of famine in Tigray; Whistleblower says Facebook fans the flames of ethnic violence in Ethiopia; Thousands of migrants and refugees arrested and imprisoned by Libyan authorities; Thousands intercepted and returned by Libyan coast guards; EU member state pushbacks under EU funded projects; 57 migrants and refugees drowned crossing the Canarian route; One death in fire in Italian migrant camp; Swiss parliament approved possibility to search asylum seekers’ personal devices ; 140 alleged smugglers arrested by Frontex; 18 people smugglers arrested in Romania; IOM report on missing migrants calls for governments’ support.

“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”.