Atlantic Route: Pier of Shame Dismantled after Ombudsman Denounces Human Rights Violations
The camp at Arguineguín pier was finally dismantled after the Spanish Ombudsman had warned about fundamental rights violations and asked the immediate closure of the reception structure. On the evening of 29 November, the camp at Arguineguín pier in Gran Canaria was...
Malta: Court Condemned Arbitrary Detention, Concern over Revisions of Policy on Humanitarian Protection, Minister of Foreign Affairs Praises Cooperation with Libya
A Maltese court has ordered the immediate release of four men held in arbitrary detention for 166 days calling their detention ‘abusive and farcical’. Revisions to the criteria to qualify for a 2018 regularisation scheme has meet severe critique from NGOs concerned...
UK: A New Deal to Curb Channel Crossings and a Deportation to Jamaica Despite Protests
The UK and France have reached a new agreement aimed at curbing migration across the Channel, including an increase in police patrols at French shores and investments in surveillance technologies. A deportation flight to Jamaica took off on 2 December despite links to...
Ethiopia: UN Given Access to Deliver Aid as Conflict Continues, Eritrean Refugees Abducted in Tigray
On 2 December, Ethiopia agreed to give the UN ‘unimpeded’ access to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid to Tigray after a month of war has ravaged the northern region. This comes as reports are emerging that Eritrean refugees have been abducted by Eritrean...
ECRE Working Paper: Contribution de la Société Civile à la Coopération UE-Afrique en Matière de Retour, de Réadmission et de Réintégration: Le Cas du Maroc
This working paper (In French) by Mohamed Khachani analyses the cooperation between the European Union and Morocco on return, readmission and reintegration. It is part of a series of papers that aim to collect analysis from civil society on the impact of previous and...
Op-ed: Detention in Malta Might be the Norm but it is no Solution
By Dr. Neil Falzon, director for aditus foundation ECRE member in Malta Hundreds of asylum-seekers are currently illegally detained in Malta’s squalid detention centres. Having reached the island by boat, often after days or weeks out at sea desperately waiting for...
Atlantic Route: Containment, Return, Deterrence – Spain’s Response to Increased Sea Arrivals
The Spanish government does not agree to transferring migrants who arrive in the Canary Islands to the Spanish mainland, despite reception offers from several regions. Instead, it seeks to cooperate with African states on returns and deterrence. The Spanish government...
Greece: Frontex Denies Involvement in Pushbacks, Expert Council Critique of NGO Registration Rules
According to Der Spiegel, Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), Fabrice Leggeri, denied involvement of the agency in pushback operations from Greece during an extraordinary board meeting called by the European Commission. In an addendum...