COVID 19

News Highlights: UN: Up to 20.000 missing from Tigray refugee camps, Many refugees returned to Libya, Kent barracks housing scrutinised in UK

In this week’s news highlights: UN states 20.000 refugees in Tigray are missing and needs are high, after UN visit to Tigray refugee camp; People face starvation and epidemics in Tigray; South Sudanese refugees start returning, but conditions not yet safe; Libyan coast guards return more than 493 migrants and refugees to detention centres; Libyan Interim Prime Minister to be chosen; UK Home Affairs accused of giving in to public pressure in case of inadequate housing in Kent; Frontex stops activities in Hungary; MEPs blocked at Croatian borders with Bosnia; UNHCR considers the EU borders as dangerous for migrants and refugees; IOM estimates the need of USD 3$ billions for refugees support in 2021.

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

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News Highlights: South Sudan at risk of famine, Refugees under threat in Tigray camps, Call to make COVID-19 vaccines available for all

In this week’s news highlights: International concern about human rights in Tigray; Continuation of GERD Dam talks remains difficult amid regional tensions; Increased risk of famine in South Sudan; Report Eritrean troops in Tigray occupy refugee camp area; Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia still largely cut off from aid; 265 migrants and refugees rescued at Mediterranean Sea and land in Italy; At least 20 deaths and more missing after Christmas boat sinking off the coast of Tunisia; Destroyed camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina leaves thousand of migrants and refugees unsheltered; EU-funded refugee camp near Athens provides insufficient conditions; EU plans to fund refugee aid in Turkey; Between 400 and 800 migrants and refugees forced to leave from makeshift camps in Calais, France; Italy pays tribute to the life of an Ethiopian refugee; World leaders are urged to make COVID-vaccine globally available; COVID-19 pandemic worsened the global refugee crises.

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Experts state that COVID-19 and mobile money services have changed the modus operandi of criminal networks trafficking and smuggling people

A panel of experts on migration, human trafficking and smuggling, and the rise of mobile money services came together to discuss the changes they have seen emerging with the rise of COVID-19 and the growth of money mobile services within the criminal networks. However, the experts also agree that the pandemic presents a chance to reflect on the role of technology and the fight against human trafficking. The experts argue that protection should be key and that prosecution, in new and innovative ways, should focus on the quality of arrests, not quantity. Just as criminal groups take advantage of increased interconnectivity, so can the efforts taken to stop their exploitation.

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