Heavy protest in German cities against mass deportations to Afghanistan

Last Saturday, 11 February 2017, several thousand people took to the streets in 13 German cities to protest against mass deportations of Afghan asylum seekers. The demonstrations criticised the current accelerated return operations of Afghan refugees that are denied asylum status in Germany. What could not be foreseen by then was that their protests would be challenged the following Monday, 13 February 2017. On that day the European Council announced to sign another agreement on partnership and development with Afghanistan in Bavaria’s capital city Munich the upcoming Friday. The agreement seeks inter alia “joint management of migrations flows” and supports return and readmission operations.

News Highlights: Malta Summit Outcomes, humanitarian visas, Dadaab refugee camp stays

In this week’s news highlights, an update about the outcome of the Valletta Summit concerning the increased cooperation between EU and Libya, and developments in and around the Horn of Africa. Another highlight this week is the announcement of the European Court of Justice that released an advice that urges EU member states to issue visas on humanitarian grounds.