Interview: Window dressing –on the parliamentary vote in favor of a temporary halt to forced returns of a group of unaccompanied minors.

15th December 2017 | News

With Mona Reigstad Dabour, Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers (NOAS)   In a statement published earlier this month, NOAS comments a newly adopted bill suspending the forced return of specific groups of unaccompanied minors.  What is the bill about? At the...

EASO strengthens efforts to harmonize country of origin reports

15th December 2017 | News

The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) has extended its portfolio of Country of Origin Information (COI) with the release of two reports on Afghanistan and one on the Gambia as part of the announced intention to develop reports on “important countries of origin”...

ECtHR ruling reflects harsh detention conditions for asylum seekers in Bulgaria

15th December 2017 | News

On 7 December 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that the detention of an Iraqi couple and their three children at the border police’s detention facility in Vidin, Bulgaria qualified as inhumane and degrading treatment violating Article 3 ECHR. In...

In cold print: Europe guilty of complicity in human rights violation in Libya

15th December 2017 | News

Adding to the body of evidence about human rights violations of migrants and refugees in Libya, the recently released report by Amnesty International describes in detail  the system of ‘migration management’ in Libya and the complicity of the European Union and Member...

The reality of legal employment to refugees in Turkey: lack of access and discrimination

15th December 2017 | News

The NGO Refugees International has published a report entitled “I Am Only Looking for My Rights: Legal Employment Still Inaccessible to Refugees in Turkey”. Through a field research, refugees’ testimonies and an analysis of the applicable legal and policy provisions,...

Transfer of asylum seekers from hotspots to mainland continues in Greece amid tensions between local and national authorities culminating this week

15th December 2017 | News

Transfers of asylum seekers from the Eastern Aegean island hotspots to the Greek mainland have continued amid public protest from citizens and local authorities over overcrowded facilities culminating this week, when a ship carrying container homes for refugees and...

Report: Sexual violence against Syrian men and boys remains unaddressed

15th December 2017 | News

While sexual violence against women and girls in the context of conflict and displacement is well documented the abuse of men and boys is less exposed. UNHCR has released a study entitled “we keep it in our heart” reveling wide-spread sexual violence against Syrian...

Weekly Editorial: What can the Global Compact for Refugees do for Europe & what can Europe do for the GCR?

8th December 2017 | News

The Global Compact for Refugees (GCR) enters its next stage with the High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Protection Challenges next week and a zero draft of the Compact due early next year. Even given the limitations of the GCR, it is important that civil society engages,...

OPed: Let children be children – a moral obligation and an investment in our future

8th December 2017 | News

By Ana Fontal, Global Refugee Coordinator at SOS Children’s Villages International. A new  report by SOS Children’s Villages and Eurochild presents 16 case studies bringing lessons from the field on the protection and integration of refugee and migrant children in...

Interview: Asylum procedure based on nationality rather than on merit – the situation of Pakistani asylum applicants under the EU Turkey Deal

8th December 2017 | News

Interview with Saima Hassan, photo journalist, aid worker and part of the research project ‘Migratiedeals’, Evidence-based assessment of migration deals: the case of Turkey, initiated by Ilse Van Liempt, assistant professor at the University of Utrecht and funded by...