News Highlights: Crimes in Darfur continue, Brussels Demonstration demands protection in Libya, IOM’s return scheme puts refugees at risk

In this week’s news highlights: Hundreds of refugees demonstrate against entrapment and abuse in Libya; Mare Jonio and Sea Watch 3 boats to resume work at the end of May; Conference on democracy in Eritrea hits a nerve; Appointments for asylum in Greece set in 2023 – system is overloaded; Refugees in Europe live longer but are more traumatised, states report; EU planning a conference on Horn of Africa economic development; Religious freedom in Eritrea and Sudan; RSF still perpetrates crimes and violence in Darfur; Corruption in South Sudan; Refugees at risk over ‘voluntary’ return from Libya; Sudanese people refouled to Libya die in Meditteranean sea; One in three died along the central Mediterranean route in 2019.

The rival leaders of Libya, a departure point for thousands of refugees to Europe, agree to election plan

In a summit in France on Tuesday the 30th of May, the rival factions of Libya, a country with an estimate of 43,113 refugees according to the UN from which 90 percent cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, agreed to hold parliamentary and presidential elections. The summit was hosted by the French president Emmanuel macron, who called the summit ‘historic’. However, others raised critical questions about the breakthrough of the conference.

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.