Empowerment

News Highlights: Case on Ethiopian rights abuses lodged at AU body, France pushes for ‘mandatory solidarity’, Side event at AU-EU Summit

This weeks news highlights: Case on Ethiopia lodged at African Union human rights mechanism; 300,000 displaced in Ethiopia’s Afar region says Afar government, aid to Tigray blocked; US lawmakers advanced a bill that could mandate action on Ethiopia; African Union Summit ends with unclear way forward for Ethiopia; Anti-coup protesters hit with tear gas by Sudan security; Three BBC journalists briefly arrested amid protests in Sudan; South Sudanese refugees who return lack access to aid; Drought in the Horn causes millions to face hunger; Pair get sentenced to 20 years, accused of torturing migrants and refugees in Libya; 163 migrants and refugees intercepted off the east coast of Tunisia; Second Prime Minister’s appointment in Libya under high tension, after United Nations warnings; A potential “mandatory solidarity” on migration for EU member states; Brussels plans to give more oversight to Frontex surveillance; The Turkish Foreign Minister blames Athens for human rights violations; Iranian refugees threatened with deportation after attending a protest in Turkey; LGBTQIA+ refugees facing difficulties in family reunification in Ireland; Protesters arrested after setting fire to equipment at a planned migrant camp in Greece; Migrants and refugees struggling to integrate in Greece; Migrants and refugees transported in “horror box” to Austria; “Serbia will not be a parking lot for migrants” Interior Minister says.

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News Highlights: Situation in Ethiopia remains tense amidst ‘peace effort’, Thousands held in illegal detention in Libya, EU humanitarian bill adopted

This week news highlights: UNOCHA report indicates new clashes and dire humanitarian needs in Tigray; UN Secretary-General is hopeful progress towards peace is being made in Ethiopia; Debretsion states Eritrea needs to be addressed before peace negotiations can start in Ernest; ICRC prevented from aiding those in need due to lack of medical supplies in Tigray; Church reports the dire humanitarian situation in Tigray; Farmers in the Horn affected by drought need support, states FAO; UN human rights office urges Sudan authorities to stop the use of force against protestors; 12,000 migrants and refugees estimated by UN to be held in Libya, some in secret prisons; Unaccompanied minor refugees forced to share rooms with adults in the UK; Risk of discrimination and violation of human rights by UK border bill, say UN experts; Campaigners warn Greek biometric policing plan violates privacy rights, and Migrant boats to be stopped by UK military from crossing; EU adopts an annual humanitarian bill of € 1.5 billion

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Voices from Tigray: Testimonies of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence against Women in Tigray

On 25 May 2021, the webinar “Conflict-Related Sexual Violence against Women in Tigray” took place in the framework of webinar series “Voices from Tigray”. The aim of this online meeting was to give a platform to testimonies of witnesses, describing the atrocities that occurred in the conflict in the Tigray region. The meeting was chaired by Hon. Julia Duncan-Cassell, former Minister of Gender in Liberia. International experts discussed the consequences of rape and gender-based violence on Tigray women and girls and the implication of soldiers, particularly Eritreans, in these crimes In conclusion, experts called for peace in the Horn of Africa and an end to the violence and discrimination of the civil population. The meeting’s main outcomes included calls for all foreign troops, particularly Eritreans, to withdraw from Ethiopia; referral of Eritrea to the International Criminal Court; and immediate cessation by all parties of rape as a weapon of war. 

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