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

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-Eritrea border to reopen, CSOs call for UN mission in Sudan, Sea-Watch 3 finally docks

In this week’s news highlights: Civil society organisations call for international fact finding mission in Sudan; arrests continue in Sudan despite order to release prisoners; border between Eritrea and Sudan will reopen after a year; UPR review for Eritrea takes place; roadmap for cooperation Eritrea-Ethiopia is ready, says Ethiopia; 350 migrants evacuated from Yemen; ship with 47 migrants finally allowed to dock; Nigerian girls trafficked for prostitution in Italy; EU is building walls by supporting dictatorial regime, states article; France evacuates Paris migrant camp; UNHCR evacuates first people from Libya in 2019; and a teenager in the UK tells his harrowing Libya story.

News Highlights: Protests in Sudan, EU reportedly negotiating with Egypt on migration, asylum-seeker to sue UK government

In this week’s news highlights: Protests in Sudan intensify; Canadian Supreme Court to hear case on human rights abuses in Eritrea; Eritrea and Kenya sign agreement; refugees at high risk of being kidnapped for ransom in the Horn of Africa, new report shows; protest during Ethiopian-Eritrean border opening; new president of Somali Puntland region; fewer migrant arrivals via sea in 2018, but deaths remain high; EU negotiating migration agreement with Egypt: report; Italian mayors defy certain new immigration rules; deal enables migrants to disembark in Malta; asylum-seeker to sue UK government for funding Libyan detention centres; “unimaginable horrors” in Libya: UN report; and EU’s EUBAM Libya mission mandate extended to strengthen borders “in cooperation with Libyan authorities”.