Ukrainian parliament backs legislation restricting fundamental freedoms of speech and assembly and inhibiting the operation of NGOs

17th January 2014 | News

17 January 2014 EU High Representative Catherine Ashton has condemned the approval by the Ukrainian Parliament yesterday of “several pieces of legislation restricting the Ukrainian citizens’ fundamental rights (…) hurriedly passed in an apparent disrespect of...

Newcastle Law School: PhD Scholarships available for the 2014/2015 academic year

17th January 2014 | News

17 January 2014 Applications are invited from applicants with an interest in pursuing a PhD in any area of Law in which the School is able to offer supervision. Applicants must have at a minimum either a very good upper-second-class or first-class undergraduate degree...

ECRE joins UNHCR in calling on EU Member States to stop sending asylum seekers to Bulgaria under the Dublin Regulation

10th January 2014 | News

10 January 2014 This week, ECRE has joined UNHCR in urging EU countries not to send asylum seekers to Bulgaria under the Dublin Regulation. In its Observations on the Current Situation of Asylum in Bulgaria, UNHCR considers that asylum seekers in Bulgaria face a real...

Fundamental Rights Agency: Victims and witnesses’ lack of trust in police obstructs reporting of racist violence

10th January 2014 | News

10 January 2014 The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has published a new report which examines the effectiveness of EU Member States’ responses to counter racism, discrimination, intolerance and extremism, and identifies the barriers which may be...

UNHCR: Forcible returns to Southern Mali may take place, but must remain suspended to Northern Mali

10th January 2014 | News

10 January 2014 In an Update to its position on returns to Mali, UNHCR considers that the situation in southern Mali has normalised sufficiently for UNHCR to withdraw their call for suspension of forcible returns to this part of the country for  persons who had their...

ECtHR rules that Sudanese non-high-profile political opponent would risk inhuman or degrading treatment if returned from Switzerland

10th January 2014 | News

10 January 2014 The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the deportation from Switzerland of a political opponent of the Sudanese government to Sudan would expose him to a risk of ill-treatment contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights...

Almost one million persons, mostly children, internally displaced in Central African Republic

10th January 2014 | News

10 January 2014 UNHCR announced on 3 January 2014 that due to violence in Central African Republic (CAR) more than 935,000 persons, 60% of whom are children, have been forced to seek safety in another part of their country. According to UNHCR, at the close of 2013,...

New Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund for 2014-2020 backed by European Parliament Civil Liberties committee

10th January 2014 | News

10 January 2014 The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), just backed by the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties committee, has a total budget of € 3.1 billion for 2014-2020. The bulk of the funds, €2.7 billion, are destined for national level programmes,...

Albania, Georgia and Kosovo added to the French list of “safe countries of origin”

10th January 2014 | News

10 January 2014 On 16 December 2013, France’s Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) added Albania, Kosovo, and Georgia to the list of safe countries of origin. Applications submitted by asylum seekers from countries of origin included on...

EASO and UNHCR sign working agreement to strengthen cooperation

23rd December 2013 | News

The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) signed last week a working agreement which aims to establish a stronger cooperation between both organisations. The organisations have agreed to cooperate on...