EEPA Director Prof. Mirjam van Reisen was appointed as member of the Independent Advisory Commission of International Affairs by the Dutch Government.

Please see below the Press Release from the University of Tilburg (NL).  An English version of the press release will follow in the coming days.

Hoogleraar Mirjam van Reisen benoemd tot lid Adviescommissie Internationale Vraagstukken

Hoogleraar Mirjam van Reisen, bekleder van de Marga Klompé leerstoel, is per 1 januari door de Ministerraad benoemd als lid van de Adviescommissie Internationale Vraagstukken (AIV). Zij wordt tevens Voorzitter van de Commissie Ontwikkelingssamenwerking van de AIV. De AIV is een onafhankelijk adviesorgaan dat de regering en de Staten-Generaal adviseert over buitenlands beleid, met name de rechten van de mens, vrede en veiligheid, ontwikkelingssamenwerking en Europese integratie. Van Reisen is verbonden aan de Tilburg School of Humanities.

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ACP-EU relations after 2020: Review of options

As the Cotonou Agreement expires in 2020, policy makers on both the ACP and EU side need to start looking towards future options.  External challenges such as climate change and the increasing role of emerging economies challenge the status quo and will require changes responses.

Earlier this year (February 2013), following a request from the European Parliament’s Committee on Development, the European Commission published a policy brief which draws up tree different scenarios for ACP-EU Relation after 2020.

Read more: ACP-EU relations after 2020: Review of options

Migrant voices - Ethiopians in Yemen describe kidnapping and torture

Record numbers of migrants from the Horn of Africa are crossing into Yemen, most of them on their way to find better opportunities in Saudi Arabia and other rich Gulf countries. But many do not make it any further. Seeking a new life, they end up unwitting victims of a smuggling racket designed to exploit the migrants at each juncture of their journey.

Recent years have seen Ethiopians make up the majority of these migrants: Of the 107,000 recorded migrants crossing the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden into Yemen in 2012, around 80,000 were from Ethiopia.

Four irregular migrants with diverse backgrounds, all from Ethiopia, told IRIN about their journeys to Yemen.* While their stories differ in details, they all share a similar set of experiences: brutality, broken promises and extortion.

To read the full article, click: here.

Irregular migrant numbers to EU drop by half

The number of people attempting dangerous sea crossings into Europe has increased.

BRUSSELS - The number of people trying to get into the EU dropped by around a half in 2012, the EU's border agency said Thursday (18 April).

The Warsaw-based Frontex says some 73,000 people were detected in 2012, down from around 114,000 the year before.

“This was the first time since systematic data collection began in 2008 that annual detections have plunged under 100,000,” said its annual report.

To read the full article, click: here.

Far from her parents, a young refugee girl in South Sudan is again forced to flee

For four days, 16-year-old Hiba Ishmail Al Haji and her sister walked through the bush to escape the aerial bombings in Sudan's South Kordofan state that had already separated the girls from their parents.

UNHCR, which had been assisting the girls in their compound by hiring a female carer, providing relief items, organizing food rations and improving security around the premises, is now working to trace all the girls who fled and to either reunite them with family members or place them with foster families.

Of the more than 70,000 refugees living in the Yida settlement, an estimated 1,750 arrived as unaccompanied minors. UNHCR seeks to protect all unaccompanied children by reuniting them with immediate or extended families or by placing them with foster families.

The UN refugee agency has long expressed concerns over the presence of armed elements in the Yida settlement and over its proximity to a militarized and contested border. In addition to severely compromising the civilian character of the settlement, the presence of armed elements greatly hinders UNHCR's ability to provide protection to refugees.

"Many of the girls do have relatives here and with some additional assistance the families should be able to look after these children."stated Carolyn Akello, a protection officer with the UN refugee agency.

To read full article click here