News Highlights: Arrests of Tigrayans increasing in Ethiopia, Libya evacuations resume, Another pushback allegation for Greece

by A. Casareggio
Posted on November 12, 2021November 12, 2021
Africa

In this week news highlights: Foreign citizens of Tigrayan descent detained in Ethiopia; 70 UN aid drivers detained in Ethiopia; Mass arrests of Tigrayans continues; Amnesty International reports rapes by Tigrayan fighters; Ethiopian government open for negotiations with preconditions; UNSC discussed Sudan on Thursday; Sudanese lawyer sketches three possible directions after Sudan coup; Conflict in Tigray compounds crises in neighbouring countries; Sudan to open two more refugee camps; 170 refugees relocated to Niger from Libya; Migrants and refugees stranded in Tunisia; Almost 900 individuals crossed the Channel; Greek authorities accused of illegal pushbacks; Thousands of migrants and refugees landed in Italy this week; Spanish police arrest 15 individuals for human smuggling; Hundreds of migrants and refugees stranded at Polish-Belarusian border, EU considers blacklisting airlines; and Organizations appealing to world leaders to tackle climate change impacts on migration.

Desertification top takes place amid fears that land degradation may increase forced displacement

From September 2 until September 13, the 14th Conference of the Parties (COP14) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) took place in India. “Restore land, sustain future” is the slogan of the conference. The UNCCD connects environmental and development issues to sustainable land management. The aim of COP14 is to discuss the problem of desertification and to develop actions to reduce the effects of drought in order to improve the lives of people that are affected by land degradation. However, as climate change is compounding the effects of land degradation, caused by events such as prolonged drought and excessive rainfall, it is feared that forced displacement may increase from areas that are hit particularly hard, such as the Horn of Africa.