News Highlights: NGO demands Libya war crime investigation, UN condemns Italy’s rescue fines, EU elections key for migration policy

In this week’s news highlights: UN and NGOs condemn Salvini’s rescue fines; France continues deporting Sudanese nationals; Activists protest EU cooperation with Eritrea; Federica Mogherini visits Horn of Africa; Frontex starts first operation outside EU territory; Testimony of a Ugandan woman on the Greek island of Samos; Amnesty states war crimes may have been committed in Libya; UN envoy warns international community to stop arms flow;  Khalifa Haftar refuses ceasefire; Christians in Eritrea arrested ahead of independence day; Concern for IDPs in Ethiopia; Eritrean President meets with Transitional Military Council in Sudan; Sudan protesters call for strike; South Sudanese Government is sued by civil society over unity delay.

Reactions to the European Commission’s proposal to upgrade Frontex

The European Commission’s plan to upgrade Frontex from a European agency with 1 500 employees into a complimentary European border and coast guard with 10 000 armed guards by 2020 has caused mixed reactions in the European Union. Under the proposal, €12.6 bn would be allocated to Frontex between 2019 and 2027, with the agency supporting national border patrols as well as coast guards and operating at the command of national authorities.

Vulnerabilities in Sudan: UN Sudan representative speaks in the European Parliament

Recently, Development Committee (DEVE) of the European Parliament (EP) hosted Matthew Hollingworth, acting UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan who discussed about the issues at stake in Sudan, and how funding for development goes hand in hand with politics.