“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.

News Highlights: Record 23,000 refugees returned to Libya in 2021, NGOs warn of mass surveillance of refugees, Tigray facing famine
10 Sep 2021

News Highlights: Record 23,000 refugees returned to Libya in 2021, NGOs warn of mass surveillance of refugees, Tigray facing famine

by | posted in: Africa, Asylum Seekers, Belgium, Coast guards, COVID-19, Deportation, Detention, Education, Eritrea, Ethiopia, European Commission, European Parliament, European Politics, European Union, Frontex, Greece, Horn of Africa region, Human Rights abuses, Human Trafficking, IOM, Italy, Libya, Malnutrition, Mediterranean Sea, Migration, Refugee Camps, Refugees in the EU, Relocation system, Search and Rescue Operations, Starvation, Sudan, Torture, Trafficking, Trauma, Trends in Human Trafficking highlights, Tunisia, Turkey, Unaccompanied Minors, UNHCR, United Nations, Weekly news highlights | 0

In this week’s highlights: The Elders address UNSC on Tigray; Refugees in Ethiopia approved for resettlement refused departure in Addis, say witnesses; UN urges opening of Tigray for aid; 29 Tigrayan bodies found in the river between Sudan and Ethiopia; 5,000 Ethiopian migrants blocked in Yemen; Ethiopia’s competing alliances; Over 23,000 refugees returned to Libya this year; More than 10,000 refugees attempted to cross from Tunisia to Italy; NGOs warn that extension of fingerprint database is a threat to refugee privacy; UK may push back refugees crossing the Channel; Migrants stuck at the EU-Belarus border facing dire conditions; Migrants and refugees arrested on unlawful reentry charges in Italy; Asylum seekers in Lesbos living in precarious temporary camp; and Education of refugee children “now under threat”.

News Highlights: EU adopts global human rights sanctions regime, UN’s new deal on access to Tigray, Agreement return unaccompanied minors to Morocco
11 Dec 2020

News Highlights: EU adopts global human rights sanctions regime, UN’s new deal on access to Tigray, Agreement return unaccompanied minors to Morocco

by | posted in: Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, European Union, France, Germany, Greece, Horn of Africa region, Human Trafficking, Migration, Protest, Refugee Camps, Refugees in the EU, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey, UNHCR, United Nations, UNSC | 0

In this week’s news highlights: After UN security team was detained and fired at in Tigray, UN reaches new aid deal with Ethiopia; Soldiers in Eritrean uniforms seen in Tigray while Eritrean refugees flee from camps; Protests for peace in Tigray on Human Rights Day; US Army plans to dismantle troops in Somalia, after Ethiopia withdraws 3000 troops; Amnesty appeals for extension of current UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur; NGOs disappointed on human rights after France-Egypt meeting; EU adopts human rights sanctions regime; Agreement signed between France and Morocco on return of unaccompanied minors; 19 suspects detained in Italy in alleged human smuggling ring; Germany delays refugee resettlement until 2021; People in new Greek refugee camp at risk of lead poisoning; NGOs accused of smuggling for providing visas to Turkey; UNHCR data shows 80 million displaced people by mid-2020.