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- INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
UNHCR: Third group of refugees evacuated to Rwanda from Libya with UNHCR support – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency reports that more than 100 vulnerable refugees have arrived in Rwanda on a humanitarian evacuation flight from Libya. The group of 117 have been taken to a transit facility in Gashora, where UNHCR is providing them with life-saving assistance. The individuals have been given asylum-seeker status while their cases are assessed and further solutions are pursued, including resettlement, voluntary return to countries of previous asylum, voluntary return to countries of origin and local integration in Rwanda, UNHCR states.
AGENDA: Politico: Germany sets out plan for automatic relocation of asylum seekers – Politico reports that Germany has proposed a reform of the Common European Asylum System that includes an automatic relocation scheme for asylum seekers in which their applications would be examined at the EU's external borders. The plan of the German Minsitry for the Interior was distributed to member states last week in an effort to make progress on asylum reform ahead of the German presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2020 and is expected to be presented in a meeting of EU interior ministers next week.
See also: Pro Asyl: Haftlager: BMI plant, Griechenland handelt [Detention camps: German Ministry of the Interior plans, Greece acts].
SEARCH & RESCUE: IOM: Deaths Rise on Central Mediterranean with Latest Lampedusa Tragedy – The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) confirmed that 21 people lost their lives in a shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy, on November 23. The boat, carrying 170 Europe-bound people, capsized 1.6km from the island as it was being escorted by the Italian coast guard. Five bodies have so far been recovered, and at least 16 others remain missing. Recovery efforts have now resumed after being hampered by poor weather and the process of victim identification has begun, IOM announced.
SEARCH & RESCUE: Alarm Phone: Four days of Struggle against Mass Push-Backs to Libya and Death at Sea – Between 19-22 November, NGO Alarm Phone, which runs a hotline for people in distress at the Mediterranean, was alerted to 13 boats escaping from Libya, carrying about 730 people. Of those people, around 420 people were rescued to Europe, 287 by NGO vessels and 133 by the Maltese coastguards, and about 190 people were intercepted by the so-called Libyan coastguards and forced back to Libya. One boat with 94 people on board remains unaccounted for. Several other boats were intercepted by Libyan forces with hundreds of people on board, the NGO reports.
SEARCH & RESCUE: ANSA: Nave Mari con 78 migranti a Pozzallo – The rescue vessel Aita Mari, operated by the NGO Salvamento Maritimo Humanitario has arrived in the port of Pozzallo to disembark 78 people it rescued last week from distress at the Mediterranean. Those rescued undergo medical checks and will be transferred to the Pozzallo hot spot.
EU BORDERS: Statewatch: 'Roadmap' for implementing new Frontex Regulation: full steam ahead – Statewatch has published a 'roadmap' for implementing the new Frontex Regulation, which was drafted by the European Commission and Frontex and adopted in July, after the European Parliament had approved the Regulation but prior to its adoption by the Council in early November. It sets out the actions needed for "rapid and full operationalisation of the European Border and Coast Guard (EBCG) 2.0 Regulation," described as a "top priority for the EU”.
EU BORDERS: El Faro Ceuta: Así son las detenciones masivas de subsaharianos en Marruecos – The NGO Derechos Humanos de Nador (AMDH) reports that approximately 100 men and 59 women in camps were arrested and subjected to violent beatings and torture by Moroccan agents around the coastal city of Nador. Some were sent back to the interior of the country and others were sent to detention centers. Children were separated from their parents and injured people were immediately put on a bus to the Algerian border, AMDH reports.
See also: Statewatch: EU aid and development funding has provided €215 million for border security in Morocco since 2001.
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: Relief Web: Revised Emergency Appeal Bosnia and Herzegovina: Population Movement – To respond to the needs of an increasing number of people to be assisted and worsening conditions on the ground the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) seek funding to continue supporting the Red Cross Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RCSBiH). The organisation responds to the needs of some 35,000 migrants and 1,500 households from the host communities focusing i.a. on shelter, livelihoods and basic needs.
FRANCE/ITALY: Kesha Niya: Weekly border report from the 20.- 26. October 2019 – The NGO Kesha Niya reports that in the last week they recorded with 578 instances the largest number of push-backs at the French-Italian border since the start of their monitoring project one year ago. Many asylum seekers reported violence and intimidation tactics at the hands of the French police as well as recording wrong information about the place, time and circumstances of arrests and long periods of detention.
GREECE: Legal Center Lesvos: PRESS RELEASE: Deportation of Legal Centre Lesvos client halted by intervention of the European Court of Human Rights – The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) granted an interim application preventing the Greek authorities from deporting an Afghan man to Turkey from Lesvos. Amongst the various arguments raised in the application to the ECtHR, was the concern that the man would be subjected to various serious violations of his human rights, including inhumane or degrading treatment in Turkey. Since the last elections, the Greek government has been accelerating the rejection of asylum applications and deportations to Turkey.
See also: HRW: Greece: Put Rights at Heart of New Border Plan.
GREECE: Ekathimerini: Greece gives NGOs 10 days to register or face ban – Non-governmental organizations that work with refugees and migrants in Greece were given 10 days on Tuesday to register with the Citizen Protection Ministry, or risk being banned from operating in the country. The registry was initiated by the previous SYRIZA government in October 2018. Greek authorities want to investigate possible illegal financial transactions that would point to money laundering.
Statewatch: Analysis: Aid, border security and EU-Morocco cooperation on migration control – Statewatch published a historical analysis of EU-Moroccan cooperation on migration starting in 2000. While some early efforts focused on reform of the country’s migration policy, in 2018 funding for border security increased to €140 million. Human rights abuses against migrants and refugees committed by Moroccan authorities call into question whether financial support from the EU to Moroccan border security should continue, particularly given that development funding is supposed to aim at eradicating poverty, Statewatch states.
Stateless: Voices of Notara. Part 3: “a place of love and revolution” – Stateless published a series of interviews with people involved in the Notara 26 squat in Exarcheia, Athens. The idea of Notara came when lots of people were arriving to Greece in 2015. As winter was coming, a movement decided to find a building and occupy it as a squat for refugees.
Stateless Journeys: Country position papers Iran & Iraq - The European Network on Statelessness published two new Country Position Papers on Iraq and Iran, which provide information on the profiles of stateless individuals and those at risk of statelessness in those countries due to nationality or civil documentation problems. The papers include relevant population data, information about nationality laws, access to civil documentation, the treatment of stateless people, and the most common profiles of people affected by statelessness or risk of statelessness living in Iran and Iraq.
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With kind regards,
Hannah Berwian
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Hannah Berwian
Communications Assistant
p: +32 2 234 38 22
a: Rue Royale 146, Brussels
e: hberwian@ecre.org
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the information of the press review is taken from publicly available information provided by media companies, organisations and blogs. All the sources are clearly ascribed and ECRE is not claiming any authorship over the content. The Press Review does not necessarily reflect the views of ECRE. This document is just a relay to the original articles and makes it easier to find stories concerning asylum issues. If you are the publisher of some of the information and would like it removed from this document, or if you would like to see a particular story published in the Press Review, please email: hberwian@ecre.org
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