News Highlights: Race against time in Libya, Ethiopia’s Sidama people vote for autonomy, Libya returns are refoulement, says EU Commissioner

In this week’s news highlights: The situation in Libya is “a race against time”; Children in Libya are vulnerable and lack protection; IOM wants a different approach in Libya; Overturned boat causes deaths in the Mediterranean Sea; Commissioner for Human Rights addresses human rights violations in the Mediterranean Sea; MSF urges the EU to act on conditions in refugee camps; Greece meets criticism after plans of closing camps; UNDP argues for more evidence-based migration policies; Sidama people in Ethiopia vote in favour of self-governing rights; Prime Minister of Sudan visits Eritrea; US retrieves Ambassador in South Sudan in light of the country failing to form government; and Video allegedly shows military arresting people in Eritrea.

News Highlights: Refugees protest mass-rejection of evacuation in Libya, Ethiopian Prime Minister wins Nobel Peace Prize, EU migration deals continue

In this week’s news highlights: Ethiopian Prime Minister wins the Nobel Peace Prize; Sudan transitional government and Sudan rebel groups are discussing peace; BBC journalist witnesses state control in Eritrea; Eritreans and Ethiopians stuck at US-Mexico border; EU member states defer export of weapons to Turkey, as President Erdogan’s actions are condemned; European countries unlikely to resettle promised number of refugees before deadline; New report urges Switzerland to improve protection of trafficking victims; Hungary likely to appear before the Court of Justice for non-compliance on EU migration law; Refugees protest mass-UNHCR rejection; journalist reports EU pays UN to keep refugees in Libya; Morocco and EU working on migration deal; and Rescue-boats save close to 300 people

LIBE committee discusses the obligations of the European Union in Search and Rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea

In the light of last week’s agreement on a new, temporary relocation system, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) in the European Parliament organised a hearing on October 3rd on the topic of ‘Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean Sea’. The debate touched upon core issues of the EU’s obligation, both legally and morally, to rescue people at sea. The debate precedes a renewed member state discussion about refugee relocation on 8 October.