Switzerland may return Eritreans, MEPs call on Member States to focus on migration, EU Council conclusions on South Sudan

In this week’s news highlights: Switzerland assessing 3,200 Eritreans for possible deportation; European Parliament talks about migration policy reform; Macron proposes new EU fund for migration; EU Council conclusions on South Sudan; Accusations of NGO aiding human trafficking in Italy continues; Somalia retains another UAE plane; In-depth articles on youth in the Horn of Africa; Refugees International publishes report on Libya; Captive Eritreans in Israel released; And abuses of African refugees in Yemen.

Secret mission Eritrea: joint cooperation to curb migration

Switzerland, Germany, Norway and Sweden tighten their bond with the Eritrean regime to curb migration from Eritrea. The Swiss newspaper St. Galler Tagblatt reported earlier this month that a joint delegation visited Asmara in January to hold talks on migration with Yemane Gebreab, Eritrea’s head of political affairs and adviser to the president Isaias Afewerki. The delegation consisted of Anne Lugon-Moulin, head of the department Sub Sahara Africa of the Swiss Department for Foreign Affairs (EDA), the German ambassador to Asmara Andreas Zimmer and two delegates responsible for migration from Norway and Sweden. The mission was later confirmed by the Swiss Department for Foreign Affairs (EDA). The talks are expected to lead to new repatriation agreements with Eritrea.

Daniel Mekonnen: deconstructing the myth of a “promising” political change in Eritrea

On 24 November 2016, Eritrean lawyer Daniel Mekonnen gave a speech at a panel discussion on Eritrea, organized by Amnesty International, in Basel, Switzerland. The speech was aimed at two recent pronouncements by the Swiss government that suggest that positive political change is taking place in Eritrea. According to Mekonnen, this completely ignores the reality in the country.