NETHERLANDS: MPs approve two controversial asylum laws ― Reports reveal border police’s use of force against children during forced deportations ― IND calls for end of time delay penalties ― Organiser of vigilante border controls arrested
The lower house of parliament has approved two draft laws that will significantly tighten asylum rules in the Netherlands. An investigative platform has revealed that border police officers used force against children ten times during forced deportations in 2024. The...
MEDITERRANEAN: More deaths and rescues ― German government to stop funding ‘civil fleet’ ― Spanish police investigating murders of people on the move near Balearic Islands ― NGO report reveals use of torture against people on the move ― Greece deploys warships to prevent boat departures from Libya ― ‘Biggest legal challenge yet’ to Italy-Albania Protocol
There have been more deaths and NGO-led rescues along the Mediterranean migration routes. The German government has announced that it is cancelling the funding that it has been providing to search and rescue NGOs since 2022. Spanish police have launched a murder...
EU EXTERNAL PARTNERS: UNHCR calls for urgent funding for refugees in Egypt ― EU co-operation with ‘dodgy’ Libyan authorities continues unabated ― Turkish border guards convicted for torturing and killing migrants
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has issued an urgent appeal for increased international funding to support the rising number of refugees in Egypt. European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration has confirmed that he will be travelling to Libya for...
AIDA Country Report on Serbia – Update on 2024
The updated AIDA Country Report on Serbia provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content of international protection in 2024. It is accompanied by an...
EU EXTERNAL PARTNERS: European Parliament committee probes human rights in EU-Southern Neighbourhood deals ― EU approves €4 billion aid to Egypt ― Sudanese refugees fleeing Egypt ― Italian NGOs demand end to Italy-Libya co-operation ― EU allocates €202 million to Palestine ― UNRWA chief warns of funding crisis ― Council of Europe body reports rise in hate crimes in Türkiye ― NGO criticises Tunisian authorities over silence on migrant deaths
The European Parliament (EP) Subcommittee on Human Rights has organised a public hearing on the human rights implications of the EU’s memoranda of understanding (MoU) with its partners in the Southern Neighbourhood. The EP has approved €4 billion in macro-financial...
AIDA Country Report on Ukraine – Update on 2024
The updated AIDA Country Report on Ukraine provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content of international protection in 2024. A number of key...
Philip Rudge – A Tireless Campaigner for Refugee Rights in Europe
By Martin Barber and Jeff Crisp We were both working at the British Refugee Council (BRC) in 1984, when Philip Rudge arrived to set up the office of the modestly-named European Consultation on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) on the top floor of 3-9 Bondway, in Vauxhall in...
EU EASTERN BORDERS: Baltic countries and Poland call on EU to increase focus on eastern border ― Estonian NGO helps to relaunch mental health support helpline for Ukrainians ― Finland’s border law set for 18-month extension ― NGO criticises Poland’s treatment of unaccompanied minors on Belarus border
The Baltic countries and Poland have called on the EU institutions to increase their focus on the bloc’s eastern border. An NGO in Estonia has relaunched a helpline to provide mental health support for Ukrainians living in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe. Finland’s...