Over 300 migrants feared dead in new tragedy in Mediterranean – ECRE’s reaction

11th February 2015 | News

11 February 2015  “We are appalled by the news of over 300 people feared dead in the Mediterranean.Sadly, our call has to be the same we voiced in 2013 when more than 300 people died off Lampedusa: People fleeing war and persecution are undertaking these...

Death at Europe’s doorstep: one year on and still no justice for the migrants who died off Ceuta

6th February 2015 | News

06 February 2015 One year after at least 14 migrants drown off the coast of Ceuta, in Spain, NGOs have commemorated the victims and criticized the failure of the Spanish authorities to properly investigate the circumstances of the deaths. The Spanish government...

Amnesty International brings voices from the Syria’s refugee crisis into the spotlight

6th February 2015 | News

06 February 2015 On 4 February, Amnesty International published a new report featuring the testimonies of eight refugees from Syria, and their families, currently living in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Amongst them is Yara, 23 years old, struggling to provide for her...

Norway not to return families at risk in their home area to parts of Afghanistan with no support

6th February 2015 | News

06 February 2015 Norway will not return families with children who would face persecution in their home area to areas of Afghanistan where they do not have sufficient networks or resources. Norway will only refuse the asylum applications of families who are deemed to...

New study shows that alternatives to detention are underused

6th February 2015 | News

06 February 2015 Alternatives to detention are generally underused and applied to few people, according to a comparative study published by the Odysseus Network that examined national legislation and judicial practice in six EU member states: Austria, Belgium,...

Closure of Kokkinotrimithia camp reveals deterrents for refugees to apply for asylum in Cyprus

5th February 2015 | News

05 February 2015 The Cypriot authorities have this week closed the temporary camp Kokkinotrimithia, which had been home to over 300 Syrian and Palestinian migrants after they were rescued off the coast of Cyprus in September last year. The camp’s closure leaves 85...

ECRE is recruiting for an 11-month legal internship

5th February 2015 | News

05 February 2015 ECRE is offering an 11-month legal internship. The purpose of this position is to assist ECRE in undertaking effective advocacy work by supporting the Senior Legal Officer in gathering of information and the formulation of policy and legal research on...

New research takes stock of EU Regional Protection Programmes and assesses their potential

3rd February 2015 | News

3 February 2015 According to a new study published by ECRE, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and the Italian Council for Refugees (CIR), the concept of EU Regional Protection Programmes needs to be reviewed in order to increase impact, ownership by third countries and...

UNHCR reiterates that EU countries should not return asylum seekers to Greece

30th January 2015 | News

30 January 2015 In its observations on the situation of asylum in Greece published today, UNHCR recommends that other EU countries continue to refrain from returning asylum seekers to Greece. While welcoming some improvements in Greece’s asylum system -such as reforms...

PACE calls for a full respect of rights of persons displaced by the armed conflict in Ukraine

30th January 2015 | News

30 January 2015 The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a resolution in its plenary session calling on Ukraine to fully implement the newly adopted legislation on the rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and further requests the...