Book publication: human trafficking in the digital era, trauma & the involvement of the Eritrean regime
After over five years of field work Professor at Tilburg University and Leiden University Mirjam van Reisen and Professor Munyaradzi Mawere from Great Zimbabwe University launched their new book entitled Human Trafficking and Trauma in the Digital Era: The Ongoing Tragedy of Trade in Refugees from Eritrea last Friday, 10 March 2017. The book sheds new light on the thriving business of human trafficking for ransom with severe torture practices, also named Sinai trafficking, and traces back its origins. It presents the findings that show how money is made with the smuggling of Eritrean refugees and how the booming business runs with inhuman practices such as violence, hostage situations and torture.
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS: humanitarian visas, human trafficking business, testimonies of Eritrean refugees
In this week’s news highlights we would like to inform you about the upcoming side-event on the UN Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea (COI) follow-up at the UN Human Rights Council, the European Court of Justice decision on humanitarian visas and Hungary’s new measures against refugees. News highlights at the Horn of Africa are: new testimonies from Eritrean refugees, peace efforts in Sudan and war crimes South Sudan.
European Court of Justice decision: no humanitarian visas – a loss for refugees, a win for traffickers
Yesterday, 07 March 2017, the European Court of Justice ruled its decision on humanitarian visas in the European Union and came to the conclusion that member states cannot be obliged to admit asylum seekers on humanitarian grounds, even if they are at risk of torture or inhuman treatment. The court ruled on a on the case of a Syrian family of five from Aleppo. The family initially applied for a visa to Belgium at the Belgian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon but the Belgian Immigration Office refused the visa because it was clear that the family intended to overstay it.