Greece Archives - Page 23 of 30

26 Jun 2020

News highlights: IOM’s voluntary return initiative under fire, Eritreans raise alarm over food shortages amid COVID-19 restrictions, EU accused of cover-up amid Croatia migrant abuse

In this week’s news highlights: EU-IOM Joint Initiative fails to support migrants, Euronews reports; Eritrean refugees mistreated in voluntary return programme; Shipwreck off Libyan coast kills several people; Refugees released from detention in Libya; Bangladesh arrests 50 people following migrant murders in Libya; OHCHR to vote on extension mandate of Eritrea Special Rapporteur; Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki visits Sudan for 3-day meeting; African governments urged to reopen borders; Over a thousand migrants stranded in Djibouti due to COVID-19; BBC Tigrinya: People in Eritrea are starving; Violence and child malnutrition worsen in South-Sudan; Focus on sexual and gender-based violence against women; Refugee rights violated, says Human Rights Commissioner; EU officials accused of Croatian migrant abuse cover-up; Family reunification obstacles for Eritrean refugees in Germany; Data leak threatens hundreds of asylum seekers in the Netherlands; Greek journalist alienated due to migration investigation; UK questions human rights situation Eritrea; Austria backs Germany’s hardline migration policy; UNHCR statement in World Refugee Day; Resumption of resettlement flights; And Refugee groups call for more attention for COVID-19 in refugee camps.

19 Jun 2020

News highlights: COVID-19 confirmed in Ethiopian refugee camp, EU takes no more roads approach in Eritrea, Dramatic drop in granting of refugee status for Eritreans in Germany

by Shelly De Groote | posted in: COVID-19, Doctors without Borders, Eritrea, Eritrea Road Project, European Union, Greece, Libya, Locust, Refugee Camps | 0

In this week’s news highlights: COVID-19 infections confirmed in Ethiopia’s largest refugee camp; No further EU funding for roads in Eritrea; Eritrea requested aid from the EU for COVID-19; Eritrea starves Red Sea region under guise of COVID-19; Mixed Migration Centre updates; Locust plague keeps threatening Horn of Africa; Greek coastguard neglects 32 refugees in distress for hours; Pressure against Greece for illegal pushback operations; Immense decline of Eritreans granted refugee status in Germany; Allegations of torture of migrants and refugees by Croat officials; Migrant crossings into Europe on the rise again; Information campaign for MEPs on Mediterranean migration routes; Court case against the EU for forced labour in Eritrea kicks off; 12 people missing after boat capsized off Libyan coast; Libyan Emergency food project by UNHCR and WFP; MSF says COVID-19 exposes failed politics of aid in Libya; HRW urges investigation of war crimes in Libya; COVID-19 impact on migrant smuggling and human trafficking; And IDPs at all time high.

2 Jun 2020

EU’s unsustainable and deadly Libyan migration policy

Between May 24 and May 27 around 400 migrants and refugees have been picked up by the Libyan coastguard and returned to Libya. Two of them drowned during the operation. An additional 90 migrants and refugees have been stopped by a commercial ship and have been returned to Libya as well. The pushback operations are funded and supported by the European Union (EU) and individual member states like Malta and Italy. While Libya has been an unsafe place from the start of the EU’s so called externalized border policy, COVID-19 brings even more risks as detention camps in Libya are high-risk areas for the spread of the virus and rescue operations on the Mediterranean Sea have been minimized. An additional element of danger is the intense civil war in Libya, which has turned into a geopolitical conflict and a proxy war between Russia and The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the one hand and Turkey on the other. The war takes its toll on the civilian population; on June 1 another 5 civilians were killed and 11 wounded in a rocket attack near Tripoli.