The migration court in Sweden ruled that family members of Eritreans residing in Sweden no longer have to obtain IDs or passports for family reunions. The ruling was issued after the court decided that the Eritrean authorities placed undue demands on the refugees, such as paying 2% tax and signing an ‘apology letter’.
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.
In this week’s news highlights: Israel re-examines Eritrean cases for asylum; Amnesty International condemns Israeli refugee policy; Abiy Ahmed elected head of EPRDF ruling coalition in Ethiopia;10.000 displaced Ethiopians in Kenya; South Sudan claims Sudan threatens their sovereignty; Number of incidents with car bombs in Somalia; Many Somali refugees return home to help rebuild it; Spanish NGO accused of trafficking after refusing to send rescued people to Libya; and the EU prioritizes migration in new partnership with Africa.