News Highlights: First shipwreck of the year off Libya, Frontex Director under scrutiny, Desperate humanitarian needs in Tigray

In this week’s news highlights: Dire needs as population and refugees in Tigray region face hunger and starvation; Amidst relocation, refugees at Sudanese border require supplies; Witness report of killings in Axum; At least 43 sea casualties off Libyan shores; Frontex Director under pressure amidst allegations of illegal pushbacks and misleading MEPs; EU Court of Justice rules it prohibited to deport minors without ensuring adequate reception services; IOM advocates reform of European migration policy under current EU Presidency; Major COVID-19 outbreak among asylum seekers in Kent barracks; 150 migrants and refugees attempted to climb over the fence into the Spanish enclave Melilla; Long-term accommodation needed in Bosnia and Herzegovina for refugees and migrants; 1.3 millions of migrants left the UK in one year; In the fight against COVID-19, vaccination for refugees and migrants are critical; Migration expected in 2020 falls short due to COVID-19. 

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

Greater Horn of Africa 

Ethiopia: Refugee camps in Tigray in desperate need of supplies as hunger threatens 4.5 million in Tigray
Two months after the war started, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) restored access to two refugee camps (Mai Aini and Adi Harush) in Tigray and found Eritrean refugees in dire need of supplies and facilities, reports UNHCR. Major violations of international law have been observed in the other two refugee camps, Shimelba and Hitsats, stated the UN; refugees from those camps report there is nothing left after looting and destruction. The UNHCR conducted an assessment that concluded that help is urgently needed for the tens of thousands of Eritrean refugees in northern Ethiopia. They have no access to supplies, services, and clean water, leaving refugees no choice but to use water from a creek for cooking, washing and drinking, thus leading to illnesses. Earlier, leaked minutes of a meeting of the UN, humanitarian organisations and Tigray administrators warned that 4.5 million people in Tigray are in need of food aid. The European Union (EU) continues to negotiate with the Ethiopian government to create a corridor for humanitarian agencies to reach the people in need. The EU is sending the Finnish foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto, to negotiate the full access for humanitarian agencies not only in government-controlled areas but to provide entry to all areas where people require help. The UN reported that “requests to the Federal Government for critical staff deployment and surge requests have been pending clearances for several weeks.”

Sudan: Refugees in critical need of supplies amidst relocation
With the tensions rising at the disputed Ethiopia-Sudan border area, which threatens the safety of refugees, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and other aid organisations are preparing the relocation of thousands of refugees who fled Ethiopia and are residing in the Sudanese border area. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has pledged US$ 2.02 million to resolve critical needs, create essential services and sustainable solutions, and provide much-needed supplies for refugees and host communities already at risk in eastern Sudan. Additionally, the UNDP has deployed emergency response teams and services alongside the Government of Sudan, United Nations agencies and partners, promoting emergency jobs, civil work, physical access, human protection, access to energy and health. 

Ethiopia: Witness reports testimonial of killings in Aksum
According to a witness who was in Aksum (Tigray) during the war, running water and electricity stopped two days before the official beginning of the conflict in Tigray. Due to this lack of communications, people became aware of the hostilities only when people coming from Humera reported killing and destruction of their houses. A few days later the war arrived in Aksum and the witness confirmed the presence of Eritrean soldiers on the ground, entering the city with tanks and shooting people everywhere. The witness described the massacres as: “[…] [t]he entire city from the bus station to the park was covered in bodies.” Furthermore, the witness reported that the Eritrean soldiers said they had been told to kill every man over the age of four, preventing any kind of future revenge, including soldiers, priests, farmers. They burnt crops, destroyed infrastructures and stole medical supplies. The witness heard reports that old women and young girls were raped. The Ethiopian Federal Army (ENDF) was present but did nothing to stop the looting of Eritrean soldiers, stated the witness.

North Africa

Libya: At least 43 deaths at sea off Libyan coasts
IOM and UNHCR report that a shipwreck led to the deaths of at least 43 people off Libya’s coast. Ten people survived and were picked up by the Libyan coast guard. On Wednesday 20 January, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) released a joint statement reporting that the boat departed from Zawiya on Tuesday 19 January and sank a few hours later due to bad weather conditions. This is the first known deadly accident that occurred in the Mediterranean Sea in 2021. 

Europe

EU: Frontex Director accused of failing to recruit officers and misleading MEPs
According to The Guardian, the executive director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), Fabrice Leggeri, is under pressure to step down amid allegations of the agency’s failure to hire 40 officers needed to protect the rights of migrants crossing Europe. He is also accused of having presented misleading information about this to members of the European Parliament. Monique Pariat, the European Commission’s director-general for migration and home affairs, accuses Leggeri of “lack of recruitment of fundamental rights officers in a misleading manner”. The allegations come amid the EU’s internal investigation on forced pushbacks at the Greek-Turkish maritime borders by Frontex coast guard officers. The European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, stated she had no comments on the accusations as she is waiting for the ending of the inquiry. Leggeri has firmly rejected the allegations that came from the EU parliamentary scrutiny hearings. 

Europe: EU Court of Justice rules minors cannot be deported without assurance of reception
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that European Union (EU) member states attempting to deport minors must check that there are appropriate reception facilities in the destination country, reports Statewatch. EU member states are also unable to bypass the condition by issuing an order to relocate minors.  Moreover, if, at the stage of relocation, sufficient reception facilities are no longer assured, the member states cannot implement the return decision. However, the EU member states can implement the decision when the minors become adults and those safeguards no longer protect them.

EU: IOM advocates for reform of European migration policy under new EU presidency
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) urges the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) to move ahead with “an ambitious, forward-looking reform” of the European migration program, which can lead to a pandemic recovery and long-term resilience. The IOM provided the Presidency with recommendations to outline four targeted policy proposals that “highlight well-managed human mobility and community-centred actions as key contributors to achieving a global, digital, safe and resilient Europe.” As presented by António Vitorino, IOM Director General, “it is crucial – for migrants and societies alike – that the Presidency advances negotiations to realise the key principles of the Pact on Migration and Asylum put forward by the European Commission last September.”

UK: Refugees locked down in accommodation centre in Kent due to COVID-19
Napier, a former army barracks in Kent, which hosts refugees, has been locked down with 400 inhabitants after many of them have tested positive for COVID-19. The structure and its residents have been placed in isolation, preventing any escape from it. The site is not equipped to host 400 asylum seekers as it is considered an “initial accommodation” centre. NGOs warned the government about the overcrowding of rooms, the “significant” risk of contracting COVID-19 and the poor hygienic conditions. As reported by The Guardian, a letter sent to residents from Clearsprings, the company managing the barracks, said that any person who tests positive would be isolated from those who test negative. But the founder of the charity Care4Calais, Clare Moseley, commented about the current situation that: “[m]any questions have been raised over the suitability of this type of accommodation, particularly under Covid, and the severity of this outbreak appears to validate those concerns.”

Spain: 150 migrants and refugees climbed a fence at Melilla
According to Reuters, on Tuesday 19 January, around 150 migrants and refugees have entered Melilla climbing over the six-meter high and razor-wired fence that separates the Spanish enclave from Morocco. The persons originated from Sub-Saharan Africa. Nine persons sustained injuries and were transferred to the local hospital. Most of the migrants and refugees intercepted by Spanish authorities were sent to a reception centre for identification and then sent back to Morocco.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Refugees and migrants in need of care and long-term housing
According to Human Rights Watch the Bosnian authorities should urgently provide appropriate, weatherproof accommodation for the refugees and migrants trapped in freezing temperatures in the northwestern part of the country. Currently, hundreds of people are crammed in tents that do not meet primary humane housing conditions after a fire destroyed the temporary emergency camp in northwestern Bosnia on December 23, 2020. Lydia Gall, a senior Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated that “local, federal, and national authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina should immediately take concerted urgent action to ensure that the migrants have access to winterized housing and the medical and other assistance they need.”

UK: COVID-19 and Brexit contribute to the increase of expatriations from the UK
According to Aljazeera, around 1.3 million migrants born abroad have left the United Kingdom in a little over a year. This has triggered what is expected to be the most significant population decrease since World War II. The UK’s Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) shows an “unprecedented exodus” between July 2019 and September 2020 due to the economic crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic closure. This is especially evident in London, where at least 700,000 people left the city during that period. The number of people leaving the UK is also due to the Brexit economic implications of Brexit. Todd Foreman, a US-UK national, stated during an interview for this study: “I regard Brexit as an enormous and tragic mistake fuelled largely by xenophobia, misplaced British exceptionalism and shortcomings in UK democratic structures, […] COVID played no part whatsoever in my decision to emigrate… [although] it did make leaving more difficult.”

World

World: Vaccines for refugees and migrants are vital in the fight against COVID-19
According to AP News, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs – Population Division, released a new report estimating that the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the number of international migrants by 2 million by the middle of 2020. The decrease is due to the closure of borders and the stop of travel. This reduction corresponds to a total of -27% of international migrations. Therefore, the projected migration growth by 7 to 8 million between 2019 and 2020 did not occur. John Wilmoth, UN Population Division Director, stressed that “there had been more than 80,000 travel restrictions imposed by 219 countries or territories across the world.” In addition, the economic crisis following the pandemic emergency is expected to reduce remittances from $548 billion in 2019 to $470 billion in 2021, worsening the current global financial situation.

World: UN report shows a decrease in migration flow
According to AP News, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs – Population Division, released a new report estimating that the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the number of international migrants by 2 million by the middle of 2020. The decrease is due to the closure of borders and the stop of travel. This reduction corresponds to a total of -27% of international migrations. Therefore, the projected migration growth by 7 to 8 million between 2019 and 2020 did not occur. John Wilmoth, UN Population Division Director, stressed that “there had been more than 80,000 travel restrictions imposed by 219 countries or territories across the world.” In addition, the economic crisis following the pandemic emergency is expected to reduce remittances from $548 billion in 2019 to $470 billion in 2021, worsening the current global financial situation.