News Highlights: Rapid changes one year after the war started, Renewed evacuation push from Libya, Lives at risk at European borders
5 Nov 2021

News Highlights: Rapid changes one year after the war started, Renewed evacuation push from Libya, Lives at risk at European borders

by | posted in: Africa, African Union, Asylum Seekers, Belarus, Climate change, Coast guards, COVID-19, Detention, Doctors without Borders, Environment, Eritrea, Ethiopia, European Commission, European Parliament, European Union, France, Greece, Horn of Africa region, Human Rights abuses, Human Trafficking, IOM, Italy, Libya, Malnutrition, Médecins Sans Frontières, Mediterranean Sea, Migration, NGOs, Niger, Poland, Refugee Camps, Refugees in the EU, Rwanda, Search and Rescue Operations, Torture, Trafficking, Trauma, Tunisia, Turkey, Unaccompanied Minors, UNHCR, United Nations, US | 0

In this week news highlights: Reuters report details abuses against Eritrean refugees; Joint Investigation Report released; First anniversary of the start of the war in Tigray; Protests against coup continue in Sudan; Mass arrests of Tigrayans in Addis Ababa; Sudan facing humanitarian crisis; Almost 400 migrants and refugees rescued in the Mediterranean Sea; Rwanda renewed commitment in receiving refugees from Libya; 91 individuals voluntarily returned to Niger from Libya; 125 migrants and refugees prevented from reaching Europe by Tunisian coast guards; French Secretary of State accused Belarusian President Lukashenko of human trafficking; Migrants and refugees’ lives at risk at Poland-Belaurs border; Greece rescued 400 off its coasts; Bulgaria sends troops at border to stop migrants from entering; and Organizations call for better COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

News Highlights: Mass arrests of refugees in Libya, Ethiopian Airlines smuggled weapons into Eritrea, Warnings of new offensive in Tigray
8 Oct 2021

News Highlights: Mass arrests of refugees in Libya, Ethiopian Airlines smuggled weapons into Eritrea, Warnings of new offensive in Tigray

by | posted in: Africa, Asylum Seekers, Coast guards, Detention, Ethiopia, EU funding, European Commission, European Parliament, European Union, Frontex, Greece, Horn of Africa region, Human Rights abuses, Human Trafficking, IOM, Italy, Libya, Médecins Sans Frontières, Mediterranean Sea, Migration, NGOs, Refugee Camps, Sanctions, South Sudan, Sudan, Trafficking, Trauma, United Nations, UNOCHA | 0

In this week news highlights: Ethiopian Airlines smuggled weapons to Eritrea – CNN report; CNN report could lead to further US sanctions; New offensive in Tigray imminent as Abiy starts new term; European Parliament warns of sanctions in resolution; Further warnings of famine in Tigray; Whistleblower says Facebook fans the flames of ethnic violence in Ethiopia; Thousands of migrants and refugees arrested and imprisoned by Libyan authorities; Thousands intercepted and returned by Libyan coast guards; EU member state pushbacks under EU funded projects; 57 migrants and refugees drowned crossing the Canarian route; One death in fire in Italian migrant camp; Swiss parliament approved possibility to search asylum seekers’ personal devices ; 140 alleged smugglers arrested by Frontex; 18 people smugglers arrested in Romania; IOM report on missing migrants calls for governments’ support.

“A powerful tool of mass surveillance”: NGOs warn that proposed Eurodac reforms will fundamentally undermine the rights of migrants and refugees
22 Sep 2021

“A powerful tool of mass surveillance”: NGOs warn that proposed Eurodac reforms will fundamentally undermine the rights of migrants and refugees

by | posted in: Asylum Seekers, Belgium, Eurodac, European Commission, European Parliament, European Union, Human Rights abuses, Migration, NGOs | 0

33 NGOs, including EEPA, addressed an open letter to the Members of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) of the European Parliament, expressing concern regarding the amended proposal to revise the Eurodac Regulation. Eurodac is a database that records fingerprints of asylum seekers entering the European Union (EU). The amendment, formulated by the European Commission and published in September 2020, extends the database to include more biometric data, including of minors. The NGOs warn about the risk of erosion of the fundamental rights of migrants and asylum seekers that could result from this extension.