Vulnerabilities in Sudan: UN Sudan representative speaks in the European Parliament

Recently, Development Committee (DEVE) of the European Parliament (EP) hosted Matthew Hollingworth, acting UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan who discussed about the issues at stake in Sudan, and how funding for development goes hand in hand with politics.

News Highlights: Eritrea-Ethiopia relations 20 years after border war, UNSC renews sanctions South Sudan, new IOM data

In this week’s news highlights: Time to renew Ethiopian-Eritrean relations; UN Security Council extends sanctions to South Sudan; US reviews assistance programs in South Sudan; Ethiopians face hardships on the way to Saudi Arabia; New IOM reports migrants arrivals to Europe for 2018; A Nigerian man’s story: trying to reach Europe; internal news: how will the new EU data regulations affect the news highlights list?

Country report on Eritrea claims Eritrean refugees are treated better on return

In an episode of Dutch investigative radio programme Argos, the matter of controversial country reports, which are used in asylum decisions, was raised. Anonymous sources, such as those used in reports on Afghanistan and Eritrea, have a large impact on the content of the important reports, determining (possible) return of asylum seekers. In 2017, The Netherlands made a country report on Eritrea, which received criticism for its tone, which was more positive than the 2016 report. Prof. Mirjam van Reisen explains this criticism on the Dutch radio programme Argos on NPO radio 1.