Illustrated story from Eastleigh, Kenya: populations at risk of COVID-19 struggle to protect themselves
8 Apr 2020

Illustrated story from Eastleigh, Kenya: populations at risk of COVID-19 struggle to protect themselves

by | posted in: COVID-19, Kenya, Migration, Refugee Camps | 0

The global situation concerning COVID-19 is dire but it could get decidedly worse if the coronavirus starts infecting more of the world’s most vulnerable populations and communities who have limited access to prevention and health care, the Executive Director of UNICEF, Henrietta Fore, states. Even without a pandemic, those living as refugees, migrants, internally displaced people (IDP) or people living in slums face immense barriers to accessing health, water and sanitation systems. A 19-year-old girl, Asilia*, who lives in a slum area in Eastleigh, Nairobi, Kenya, provides an insight into what life looks like in one of such situations.

News highlights: 85% of arrivals from Libya report subjection to torture, Concerns about refugee camp closure amid COVID-19, Commercial ships used in Libya returns
27 Mar 2020

News highlights: 85% of arrivals from Libya report subjection to torture, Concerns about refugee camp closure amid COVID-19, Commercial ships used in Libya returns

by | posted in: COVID-19, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Frontex, Horn of Africa region, Refugee Camps | 0

In this week’s news highlights: Human rights group urge Ethiopia not to close Hitsats refugee camp; COVID-19 reaches Eritrea; Ethiopia takes measures against COVID-19; 64 Ethiopian migrants found dead in a container in Mozambique; African flower sector looses jobs; African nations prepare for their battle against COVID-19; African experts team up to research the novel Coronavirus; 85% of refugees crossing the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy report they were tortured in Libya; Commercial ships increasingly used in Libya returns; HRW reports Egyptian security forces torture children; UNHCR temporarily closes two facilities in Libya; UN High Commissioner for Refugees urges countries keep asylum procedures open; UN Special Rapporteur wants Greece to stop rights violations; Unaccompanied minors often disappear from Dutch asylum seeker centers; and Ireland calls upon medically trained refugees and migrants.

UN: ‘Member States should fulfill their obligations to save lives and stop criminalizing humanitarian aid actors’
8 Oct 2018

UN: ‘Member States should fulfill their obligations to save lives and stop criminalizing humanitarian aid actors’

by | posted in: Asylum Seekers, EEPA news and activities, Médecins Sans Frontières, Mediterranean Sea, Migration, Refugees in the EU, United Nations | 0

The United Nations published a report by Agnes Callamard, the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The report, entitled “Saving lives is not a crime”, describes that the States’ actions to fight terrorism and deter migration, and the subsequent criminalization of humanitarian services, constitute a violation of their obligations. The report urges States to cease the criminalisation of those trying to assist and/or save migrants and refugees.