Dutch minister Sigrid Kaag calls for closure of Libyan detention centres

After paying a visit to a detention centre in Libya, the Dutch minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Sigrid Kaag, has declared that the conditions are inhumane. She calls for the closure of the detention centres as soon as possible. She is reported to be the first EU policy maker to openly state this. She continues that alternatives such as open reception centres should be created.

News Highlights: Eritrean government-linked interpreters in Europe, UN identifies possible war criminals in South Sudan, French asylum law criticized

In this week’s news highlights: Eritrean government-linked individuals in Europe acting as interpreters for Eritrean asylum seekers; Eritrean meeting in London cancelled after diaspora protests; UN urges Sudan to end impunity for rape crimes; South Sudan on the brink of famine; South Sudanese military officially accused by UN for perpetrating war crimes; Number of unaccompanied children refugees in South Sudan worrying; French draft law on asylum criticized as unbalanced; Frontex would not mind becoming the new European law enforcement agency; UNDP discusses the shortcomings of the Sustainable Development Goals in the European Parliament.

Eritreans go on hunger strike as Israel starts its deportation plan

Israel has started its deportation plan, imprisoning seven Eritreans who refused to leave Israel. The seven men were moved from Holot, an open detention center, to Saharonim prison for indefinite incarceration. On 20 February, 750 asylum seekers in Holot began a hunger strike. The protestors demand the release of the seven prisoners and that no more be imprisoned.