Gender-based violence

News Highlights: Eritreans deported from Ethiopia, UK Court deems Rwanda deportations unlawful, New patrol boats to Libya

In this week’s News Highlights: Violence against civilians and refugees; Public facilities attacked and aid restricted in Sudan; Two-day Eid ceasefire broken; Women and civil society urge for cessation of violence in Sudan; RSF releases 125 SAF soldiers; Displacements due to conflict and food insecurities in Sudan; Troika condemns violence in Sudan; Kenyan President Ruto say there are ‘signs of genocide’ in Sudan; UNSC talks about Sudan; Eritreans face forced return from Ethiopia; Tigray church calls for resume of food aid to Tigray as hunger related death toll rises; Study finds children in primary school experience high levels of trauma; Facilities in Oromia looted and destroyed; Tigrayans disappeared during war still missing; Officials removed in Puntland, Somalia; EU delivers patrol boats to Libya coast guard despite its links with militia groups; NGO vessel rescues 86 people off Libyan coast; Dozens missing and 3 dead off Tunisian coast; Frontex contacts Libyan coast guard for SaR operations; Tunisian model should be extended in other countries, says EU chief; Hungary and Poland block conclusions on migration at EU Summit; ECtHR rules in favour of 67 ill-treated migrants and refugees; Walid case continues in the Netherlands; Rwanda deportation plan deemed unlawful; UK says cost of transferring to Rwanda is in the hundreds of thousands; Greece to continue “strict but fair” migration policy after elections; Greek police and Spanish NGO rescue more than 300 migrants and refugees; Save the Children’s proposal for the protection of unaccompanied minors in Italy; Spain and Morocco under investigation for delayed rescue; and Amnesty accuses Spain and Morocco of Melilla cover-up.

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News Highlights: Displacement from Sudan reaches 1.3 million, Elections in Puntland, NGOs condemn EU for deaths at sea

In this week’s News Highlights: Latest ceasefire in Sudan monitored, but breached; UN scrambles to deliver aid in Sudan, as 1.3 million people are displaced; Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees stuck in Sudan; Cities in Darfur experiencing fighting, looting and blackouts; Refugees from Sudan in trouble in Chad and Egypt; TPLF files complaint against NEBE; WFP announces aid measures in Tigray, but not resumption of aid; IDPs in Tigray protest occupation by Eritrean and Amhara forces; Fighting in Amhara and Oromia regions continues; EOTC pledges to restore relations; Somalia’s Puntland region to hold elections; High-level pledging event for Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia falls short of goal; Eritrea as country with the second-highest prevalence of slavery; Migrants and refugees report on Libyan detention centres; GNU attacks opposing militia with air raids; UK government announces new measure to curb migration; UK Home Secretary tries to skip final vote on the illegal migration bill; Italian NGOs condemn European countries for deaths at sea; Italy to build first hotspot in the North of the country; Germany publishes new draft citizenship law; German Interior Minister urges reform of the EU asylum system; Austria strengthens border controls as Hungary releases people smugglers; Greece to investigate over illegal deportations of migrants and refugees; 3 dead and 12 missing at sea in Greece; Increased crossings at Poland-Belarus border concerns Germany.

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UNODC and the European Commission identify three key challenges around trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation in conflict situations

On December 10, on International Human Rights Day, the European Commission and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) co-hosted an event addressing the issue of trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation in conflict situations. The event marked the end of the global campaign ‘16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’. Trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation in conflict zones is particularly important to address as key challenges remain that make it difficult for women to gain protection; prosecution rates are low, protection laws are poorly implemented and extremist groups use sexual exploitation as a weapon of war. Representative of the UNODC at the event, Yatta Dakowah, stated that 72% of victims are female, indicating the need to address this issue from a gendered perspective.

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