Europe’s undocumented migrants struggle to access healthcare

NAIROBI, 25 April 2013 (IRIN) - Europe's financial crisis and rising xenophobia are complicating access to medical treatment for undocumented migrants, according to a new report by the international NGO Médecins du Monde (MdM).

"Soaring unemployment rates, rising child poverty, people losing their homes because of insolvency every month… The social systems in Europe are quaking under the strain," the authors say. "The crisis has generated austerity measures that have had a deep impact on all social safety nets, including healthcare provision."

To read the full article, click: here.

To read the MdM report, click: here.

MEP Olle Schmidt asks Commission if an action group can be set up to tackle human trafficking in the Sinai

MEP Olle Schmidt adressed HR Catherine Ashton in the form of a written question this week (30 April 2013) whether the Commission could consider setting up an action group to address human trafficking in the Sinai.

MR Schmidt pointed out that refugees from the Horn of Africa who travel through the Sinai desert to reach Israel have to face Bedouins, people smugglers on their way who exploit the vulnerability of these refugees.

Women are raped, people are locked up for months on end in order to extort even more from them, and people are killed for their organs or just because it is possible.

Read more: MEP Olle Schmidt asks Commission if an action group can be set up to tackle human trafficking in...

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.

Read more: EEPA Director Prof. Mirjam van Reisen was appointed as member of the Independent Advisory...

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.