News Highlights: EU continues closing its borders, Italy refuses DNA evidence in Medhanie-case, Brussels conference report

In this week’s News Highlights: European Council president promises help to ‘close Central Mediterranean Route’; Italian prosecutor rejects vital DNA evidence in human trafficking case, Brussels Conference ‘Eritrea and the Ongoing Refugee Crisis’ report; French police likely used excessive force in Calais; Save the Children warn of detrimental effect of EU policies on mentral health of migrant and refugee children; US Ambassador visits Horn of Africa countries; Terrorism continues in Somalia.

SAR operations by NGOs: new report inverts the relation of causality and clarifies role of NGOs

During the last months the NGOs that conduct the Search and Rescue (SAR) operations in the Mediterranean have been at the centre of a political and media storm.The report by Forensic Oceanography assesses that a toxic rhetoric has been created where the only victims are the NGOs, and most importantly no concrete evidence has been found in this “criminalization campaign”.The report goes beyond, and addresses not only the accusation of collusion in smuggling per se, but rather it challenges the assumptions reinforcing this accusation.

Two reports call for protection of refugees and migrants along Central Mediterranean Route

In the past week, two reports have highlighted the dangers faced by refugees and migrants on their route to Europe. A report by UNICEF highlights the dangers faced by women and children on the route from North Africa to Italy. A report by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) highlights the desperate situation of many Eritrean refugees, criticising the EU for creating policies to keep them out, along with other migrants and refugees.