The European Union started this week with a Foreign Affairs Council centered on the relations between the EU and Africa. More specifically, the 28 EU foreign affairs ministers discussed the relations with the African Union and the future of this partnership, as well as the core issues on which this cooperation will focus.
In this week’s news highlights, the European Court of Auditors report shows dangerous conditions in Greek and Italian refugee camps especially for the 23000 children, while Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) again denounces the appalling conditions in Libyan detention centres. In the Horn of Africa, the UN Monitoring Group will deliver the midterm report on the 30th of April; Eritrea figures again at the bottom of the list in the Freedom of Press Index; furthermore, Sudanese politics are a house of cards, according to the Institute for Security Studies.
In this week’s news highlights, the Dutch-Eritrean community and Dutch politicians are disturbed by an Eritrean conference with a high-level official in attendance, a report shows possible scenarios for Europe’s refugees and migrants, and IOM has disturbing reports on slave markets and extortion in Libya. In the Horn of Africa, Djibouti hosts many refugees and there are reports of child abduction in Ethiopia by a South Sudanese tribe. Furthermore, there are concerns about how EU aid is affecting Sudan’s “militia state”.