News Highlights: ICC investigation migration crimes, London-Somalia Conference, Eritrea protests

In this week’s news highlights, new possible negotiations on the UK-France border controls in Calais and the Eritrean community protested against the Eritrean government meetings in Frankfurt. The International Criminal Court announced the start of investigations on crimes against migrants in Libya. In the Horn of Africa, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights demands more access to Ethiopia to investigate on the deaths during protests; furthermore, these are the issues the London-Somalia Conference 2017 should address according to the Institute for Security Studies.

 

 

Europe

UK and France: renegotiating borders control?
Due to the conditions of the unaccompanied minors in Calais newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron is determined to renegotiate the agreement allowing UK border policing in the French town. Theresa May is ready to obtain a mandate during the general elections on this issue The Independent reports.

Germany: PFDJ Seminars in Germany
Eritrean Ruling Party organised conferences in several German cities this month. The Eritrean community organised protests against it.

Europe: 245 feared dead in the Mediterranean on Tuesday
The New York Times reports UN officials’ fears of more possible shipwrecks in the Central Mediterranean.

European Agenda on Migration: impact on the Mediterranean routes
Warwick University published a report assessing the European Union policies adopted during the last two years of emergency due to the “refugee crisis”. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews, the report assesses the European Agenda on Migration as well as providing recommendations to it.

 

North Africa

Libya: ICC starts investigations on crimes against migrants in Libya
Middle East Eye
reports that Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), expressed to UN Security Council the willingness of her office to start to investigate on the alleged crimes against migrants happening in Libya.

Horn of Africa and the Middle East

Horn of Africa:  DefendDefenders call for accountability on human rights
During the 60th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, NGO DefendDefenders invited the Africa Union to set up accountability mechanisms for ending the impunity of human rights violations in crisis-hit countries, especially South Sudan and Eritrea, Somali Update reports.

Somalia: International community and way out of crisis
Today UK hosts the London-Somalia Conference 2017. The Institute for Security Studies describes the issues that should be addressed and discusses some possible future evolutions.

Sudan: The fight against migration: a weapon is the government’s hands
Africa Monitors reports on the meetings and collaborations the Sudanese government has been organising around the fight to illegal migration. The articles offers some reflections on the side effects in terms of augmented powers for the government that result from these.

South Sudan: one million children fled because of the worsening of the conflict
UNHCR and UNICEF announced that one out of five children have been forced to flee the country due to the escalation of conflict and violence.

Ethiopia: UN wants to investigate the hundreds of deaths during the protests
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights explained in this interview to Deutsche Welle his intentions of pursuing these investigations despite the Ethiopian government denying permission.

·      ‘Ethiopia needs to open up civic space’: UN rights chief

 

Sincerely,

The EEPA-Team