News highlights: the first weeks of January 2017
This post is the first of what we intend as a regular roundup about recent developments concerning refugees, human trafficking and the Horn of Africa. Our aim is to send this update on a weekly basis.
Ambassadors of EU member states question COI report on Eritrea: Is the critique legitimate?
On Friday, the 6 January 2017, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.) released an article titled “Not everything is that bad in Eritrea, is it?” (orig.: Alles gar nicht so schlimm in Eritrea?) in which European diplomats raise doubts about the credibility of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) report 2016 concerning the human rights situation in Eritrea.
Dutch government to stop long arm Eritrean regime following report
This week, a Dutch report with the title that translates to ‘nothing is what it seems’ came out. The report presents detailed research into the Eritrean community and organisations in the Netherlands and the influence of the long arm of the Eritrean regime on it. Additionally, it covers the subject of problems of integration and participation. Following the report, the Dutch government responded with a letter, which details measures to weaken the influence of the regime and to stop the involuntary payment of 2% diaspora tax.