Eritrean asylum seekers rejected by Switzerland face life on the streets of Brussels

Swiss authorities have rejected hundreds of applications of Eritrean asylum seekers who are now legally obliged to return back to Eritrea. Rejected Eritreans are left out of the social assistance as Switzerland has tightened the admission criteria through the ruling of the Swiss Federal Administrative Court adopted on 10 July 2018. This recent practice leads to social disintegration and it brings a new wave of insecurity and fear among the Eritrean community living in Switzerland. Because of this situation, many Eritreans are currently residing on the streets of Brussels hoping to reach the UK. Young Eritreans speak about their experiences.

Refoulement: France returns an Eritrean woman to Eritrea

The prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales (South-West of France) deported an Eritrean national to her country of origin on 6 June 2019. According to RFI Africa, the French prefecture arrested the young woman on 8 May at the Spanish border with a “counterfeit” residence permit. The French newspaper Le Figaro explains that the young Eritrean woman filed an asylum application with the administrative court and appealed to the jurisdiction, unsuccessfully, after being placed in a detention centre in Toulouse by the French authorities. It is the first return from France to Eritrea and can be considered refoulement, due to the fact that the woman is likely to face persecution and human rights abuses in Eritrea.

News Highlights: AU suspends Sudan after deadly protest crackdown, ICC asked to investigate EU migration policy, Frontex funding increased

In this week’s news highlights: Deadly protest crackdown in Sudan; African Union suspends Sudan; EU calls for Sudan negotiations based on existing agreements; Ethiopia criticized for IDP policies; #Enough activists in Eritrea call for meetings; Egyptian rescue ship denied access in Tunisia; NGOs call on Europe to evacuate refugees from Libya; 2 dead and 25 missing in Libyan waters; Biometrics in migration control in Niger; International Criminal Court called to investigate EU responsibility in migration pushback policies; EC allocates €420.6 million for Frontex; EEPA publishes first issue of the newsletter Trends in Human Trafficking.