Asylum applications in industrialized countries from people fleeing war in Syria and Iraq increased in first half of 2014

3rd October 2014 | News

UNHCR has released this week a report on asylum claims submitted in 44 industrialised countries during the first six months of 2014. Syrians remain the main applicants for asylum in industrialised countries with 48,400 claims, up from 18,900 in the same period for...

Amnesty International: Lives Adrift – Refugees and migrants in peril in the Central Mediterranean

3rd October 2014 | News

A new report by Amnesty International denounces the “shameful inaction of European Union (EU) countries” in addressing the increasing deaths at sea of migrants and refugees. Amnesty calls for an EU response to strengthen search and rescue in the Mediterranean, the...

Joining your family – When a rickety boat is your only choice

3rd October 2014 | News

By Meron Estefanos, Co-founder of International Commission on Eritrean Refugees I am often amazed by how far removed the policy world is from the realities of refugees and asylum seekers who find themselves caught up in the plethora of legislation, policies and...

“Legal migration is the best way to fight illegal migration”, Commissioner-designate Avramopoulos

3rd October 2014 | News

Commissioner-designate for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitri Avramopoulos, the nominee from Greece for the position of EU Commissioner, was examined by the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties and Home Affairs (LIBE) at a hearing on Tuesday 30...

IOM: journey to Europe, most deadly route for irregular migrants

3rd October 2014 | News

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates that 22,394 persons died since 2000 trying to reach Europe by irregular routes, while around 40,000 migrants have died on route in total, globally. That makes Europe the most fatal destination for irregular...

New report on statelessness reveals shocking human rights abuses and calls for urgent reform across Europe

3rd October 2014 | News

The European Network on Statelessness (ENS) launched a new report today, 3 October, Still stateless, still suffering – Why Europe must act now to protect stateless persons, which contains testimonies by stateless migrants living in 11 European countries. The report...

Human Rights Commission of the Italian Senate: prolonging detention ineffective for ensuring returns

3rd October 2014 | News

The Report on the Centres for Identification and Expulsion of foreigners (CIE) in Italy compiled by the Human Rights Commission of the Italian Senate shows that prolonging the maximum detention period to 18 months in 2011 (the maximum time allowed under the Return...

Restricted movement and detention of asylum seekers prevails in Swiss asylum process, says JRS Europe

3rd October 2014 | News

New research by Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Europe highlights that throughout the Swiss asylum process freedom of movement for asylum applicants is considerably restricted. This is the case from the moment an application is lodged, either at an airport, crossing...

Give your opinion on the AIDA website

3rd October 2014 | News

In order to improve the Asylum Information Database (AIDA) and its website, ECRE is seeking the opinion of the database’s users through a short survey. Responding to the survey takes less than 5 minutes and responses are anonymous. AIDA is an ECRE project mapping...

140,000 refugees flee to Turkey in 3 days: Turkish NGOs call for borders to remain open and for more resettlement of refugees

26th September 2014 | News

Last week, ISIS fighters attacked the Kurdish town of Kobani, also known as Ayn al-Arab, in northern Syria, causing Kobani’s residents to flee towards the nearby Turkish border. Turkey’s initial response was to close the crossing points with Syria saying that...