Month: May 2021

News Highlights: UNSC pressured to take action on sexual violence, Refugees expelled from Algeria, Greece plans far-reaching security measures

News Highlights: UNSC pressured to take action on sexual violence in Tigray, refugees expelled from Algeria, Greece plans far-reaching security measures

In this week’s news highlights: Former Liberian minister and MEP call for international pressure and sanctions in EEPA webinar: Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Tigray; UK government asked to table a UNSC resolution over Tigray sexual violence; Sir Lowcock reports to UNSC that humanitarian aid is prevented from reaching people in Tigray; Alex de Waal discusses sexual violence as war weapon in Tigray conflict; IDPs displaced in overcrowded areas in Tigray, IOM reports; Migrants face additional hardships due to COVID-19 restrictions in the Horn of Africa; Africa ExPress: Algerian Government expels migrants and refugees and leaves them in the desert; Photos of drowned children on Zuwara beach from unknown shipwreck; EU FRA agency report shows discrimination among public authorities towards migrants; Refugees subjected to extreme security measures in Greek camps; Hundreds of Moroccan children live in squalid conditions in Ceuta; IOM hosts international dialogue discussing the impact of environmental disasters on migration.

For frequent updates about the situation in the Horn, please see the EEPA Horn situation reports.

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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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