News Highlights: European Parliament approves border funding, France equips Libyan coast guard, Testimony on organ trafficking in Egypt
21 Feb 2019

News Highlights: European Parliament approves border funding, France equips Libyan coast guard, Testimony on organ trafficking in Egypt

by | posted in: Asylum Seekers, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Frontex, Human Trafficking, Libya, Mediterranean Sea, South Sudan, Sudan, Torture, UNHCR, Weekly news highlights | 0

In this week’s News Highlights:  Sudan student rallies ramp up as more arrests take place; UN Security Council discusses Eritrea – Djibouti relations; UNHCR reports on plans for refugees in Ethiopia; the UN reports high levels of violence in South Sudan;  More refugees flown from Libya to Niger; France provides equipment to Libyan Coast Guard; the consequences of economic crisis in Libya; testimony on organ trafficking in Egypt; LIBE Committee votes to increase border management funding; EU’s migration policy aids human trafficking, states article; Sea Watch 3 vessel still blocked in Sicily; documentary on Mediterranean Sea boats is nominated for Oscar; and the Council of Europe reports on refugees camps conditions in Greece.

NGO search and rescue missions face increasing challenges on the Mediterranean Sea – Sea Watch 3 vessel still blocked
21 Feb 2019

NGO search and rescue missions face increasing challenges on the Mediterranean Sea – Sea Watch 3 vessel still blocked

by | posted in: European Union, Frontex, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean Sea, Migration, Refugees in the EU | 0

Twenty days after entering the port of Catania in Italy, the Sea Watch 3 rescue ship remains in one of the Sicily’s ports, as the inspection of the Dutch authorities requested further maintenance of the ship in order to ensure “the ship’s conformity to regulations in force”. The ship has been kept in the port by the Italian Coast Guard since the first inspection on 31 January 2019. Kim Heaton-Heather, who is responsible for the search-and-rescue operations of the Sea Watch 3, says that by blocking the vessel, the Dutch authorities fuel the anti-migrant sentiment that has been spreading among EU’s political powers, which intensifies the anxiety of refugees aiming to reach a safe country.

News Highlights: Sudan and Ethiopia discuss border force, EU to support road project Eritrea, AU requests peace conference on Libya
14 Feb 2019

News Highlights: Sudan and Ethiopia discuss border force, EU to support road project Eritrea, AU requests peace conference on Libya

by | posted in: Abiy Ahmed, African Union, Detention, Eritrea, Ethiopia, European Parliament, Frontex, Horn of Africa region, Libya, South Sudan, Sudan, United Nations, Weekly news highlights | 0

In this week’s News Highlights: €20 million EU funds for road project between Ethiopia and Eritrea; Ethiopa and Sudan discuss joint border force; opposition in Sudan releases statement continuing pressure on government; BBC shines light on Sudanese detention; High-level United Nations delegation visits Sudan as UNAMID ends; villagers in South Sudan’s Yei State abused and killed by soldiers; two new commissions look at Ethiopia’s internal border and identity conflicts; ; an Islamic State ‘empire’ grows in Africa region, warns article; African Union requests a peace conference on Libya; Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) published a report on the deflagging of the Aquarius rescue boat; LIBE Committee has approved new measures to reinforce Frontex; 100 migrants intercepted by Libyan Coast Guard; and EASO published reports on EU asylum figures of 2018.