Author: A. Casareggio

“A powerful tool of mass surveillance”: NGOs warn that proposed Eurodac reforms will fundamentally undermine the rights of migrants and refugees

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.

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News Highlights: US announces Ethiopia sanctions, Joint Tigray probe completed but incomplete, Children at risk in Greek camps

In this week’s news highlights: Joint UN-EHRC investigation completed but incomplete; HRW publishes report on atrocities against Eritrean refugees; 31 Eritrean refugees sentenced to be returned to Eritrea; Humanitarian updates from Tigray look bleak against food shortage and locust reports; Tigray businesses see suspension of licenses; Tigray Atlas updated; UN calls for GERD dam tensions resolution; South Sudan food assistance suspended for many amidst shortages; Drought in Kenya; 20-year anniversary of mass arrests in Eritrea; Two human traffickers arrested in Libya; Hundreds of Moroccan refugees illegally detained in Libya; 125 refugees rescued by Italian coast guards; Five alleged members of Libyan trafficking ring arrested in Italy; Children’s health at risk in Lesbos refugees camps; Refugees face 4 year prison sentence in the UK; Refugees treated like “prisoners” in UK quarantine hotels; MPI released report on resettlement and complementary pathways.

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