In this week’s news highlights, EU puts pressure on Greece to reduce the number of asylum seekers identified as “vulnerable”, while Germany and Greece agreed to slow family reunification. The concern for the number of Christians arrested in Eritrea is rising; Ethiopia arrested a former opposition spokesperson; 13 South Sudan soldiers are on trial for the rape and murder of foreign aid workers.
In this week’s news highlights, new possible negotiations on the UK-France border controls in Calais and the Eritrean community protested against the Eritrean government meetings in Frankfurt. The International Criminal Court announced the start of investigations on crimes against migrants in Libya. In the Horn of Africa, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights demands more access to Ethiopia to investigate on the deaths during protests; furthermore, these are the issues the London-Somalia Conference 2017 should address according to the Institute for Security Studies.
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.