Letter: Appeal for an EU external policy framework based on European values

A letter was sent today, 18 June 2019, to Mr. Donald Tusk, President of the European Council. The letter urges the European Union to respond to concerns raised about the European Union’s funding and cooperation with external actors in the context of platforms such as the Khartoum Process. The letter was signed by Nobel-prize Nominee, Fr. Mussie Zerai, Prof. Dr. Mirjam van Reisen, journalist Reem Abbas and Director Koert Debeuf, on behalf of over 20 organisations.

News Highlights: France deports Eritrean woman, UNHCR warns of deadly summer on Mediterranean Sea, Arrests and internet shutdown Sudan

In this week’s news highlights: Refoulement of an Eritrean woman from France to Eritrea; Migration pushback could lead to instability; seven bodies recovered off the Greek coast; Sudanese opposition leaders arrested in Sudan; al-Bashir to be charged with corruption; NGOs write to UNSC on Sudan; Sudan’s Internet shutdown continues; African writers and activists urge Eritrean President for change; Eritrean diaspora protests through #Enough; Leaked Russian documents show plans for Africa; Report on an Ethiopian dam’s effect on livelihoods; UNHCR warns of deadly summer on the Mediterranean Sea; 160 persons apprehended by the army in Chad.

Refoulement: France returns an Eritrean woman to Eritrea

The prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales (South-West of France) deported an Eritrean national to her country of origin on 6 June 2019. According to RFI Africa, the French prefecture arrested the young woman on 8 May at the Spanish border with a “counterfeit” residence permit. The French newspaper Le Figaro explains that the young Eritrean woman filed an asylum application with the administrative court and appealed to the jurisdiction, unsuccessfully, after being placed in a detention centre in Toulouse by the French authorities. It is the first return from France to Eritrea and can be considered refoulement, due to the fact that the woman is likely to face persecution and human rights abuses in Eritrea.