News Highlights: Dutch prosecutors go after trafficker Kidane, Airstrikes in Tigray, Refugee ‘boat captains’ unlawfully criminalised

In this week news highlights: Humanitarian situation in Tigray deteriorating severely; Severe Acute Malnutrition among children; Ethiopian government conducts airstrikes on Tigray; EU preparing sanctions; UN evacuates 100 staff from Tigray; OPS group warns planes not to fly over Northern Ethiopia; Djibouti starts Covid-19 vaccination for migrants; Migrants and refugees in dire condition in Libyan detention centres after crackdown; Dutch prosecutors are looking for human trafficker Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam; Captain of Italian commercial ship Asso 28 sentenced for returns to Libya; Report shows unlawful criminalization of asylum seekers accused of driving boats; 14 people dead and many missing in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Route; Migrants and refugees unable to access food in Greek camp; Poland passes legislation allowing pushbacks at the borders; Over 200 migrants and refugees rescued in the English Channel; and UNHCR says refugees are the most affected by food insecurity.

Country report on Eritrea claims Eritrean refugees are treated better on return

In an episode of Dutch investigative radio programme Argos, the matter of controversial country reports, which are used in asylum decisions, was raised. Anonymous sources, such as those used in reports on Afghanistan and Eritrea, have a large impact on the content of the important reports, determining (possible) return of asylum seekers. In 2017, The Netherlands made a country report on Eritrea, which received criticism for its tone, which was more positive than the 2016 report. Prof. Mirjam van Reisen explains this criticism on the Dutch radio programme Argos on NPO radio 1.

Dutch minister Sigrid Kaag calls for closure of Libyan detention centres

After paying a visit to a detention centre in Libya, the Dutch minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Sigrid Kaag, has declared that the conditions are inhumane. She calls for the closure of the detention centres as soon as possible. She is reported to be the first EU policy maker to openly state this. She continues that alternatives such as open reception centres should be created.