| Italy seizes NGO rescue boat in Lampedusa. Sicilian prosecutors on Tuesday ordered the seizure of the Italian NGO ship, the Mare Jonio. The vessel was then escorted into the port of Lampedusa by police and the 49 refugees and migrants on board, including 12 minors, were allowed to disembark. Reuters reports that the boat will be impounded, and the crew will face possible questioning as part of an investigation into its possible role in aiding and abetting illegal immigration. In an earlier statement, the Mediterranea collective that organized Monday’s rescue off the coast of Libya said it had acted in accordance with international human rights and maritime law. Italy’s interior minister Matteo Salvini said on Monday that the Mare Jonio should have let Libya’s coastguard carry out the rescue. UNHCR has repeatedly stated that refugees and migrants should not be returned to Libya and called for the reinstatement of effective rescue capacity on the Mediterranean. | |
| Asylum-seekers returned to Mexico attend US court hearings. A group of asylum-seekers sent back to Mexico in late January under a new US policy returned to the United States on Tuesday to attend their first hearings in a San Diego immigration court. Some 240 people have reportedly been sent back to Mexico to await US court proceedings since the policy was introduced in late January. Reuters reports that three of the asylum-seekers asked to be allowed to remain in the US until their next hearings in early August because they feared for their safety while waiting out the process in Mexico. A federal judge in San Francisco is set to hear arguments by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups that are suing to halt the policy later this week. | | |
| European court clears way for Germany to return asylum-seekers to other EU countries. The European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday that Germany was within its rights to return asylum-seekers to other EU Member States, even if they would encounter poor living conditions . Under the Dublin Regulation, asylum-seekers can be returned to the EU country where they first lodged an asylum-claim. The ECJ case involved a Gambian man who lodged an asylum application in Italy before traveling to Germany and filing another claim there. He argued he should not be returned to Italy because of poor conditions for asylum-seekers there. The judges ruled that only extreme cases where the individual would be deprived of the “most basic needs” should be grounds for preventing a transfer. | | |
| Satellite imagery shows “immense” damage to Syrian cities. A “Damage Atlas of Syrian Cities ”, produced using satellite imagery collected over five years, gives an insight into the level of damage caused by eight years of war. The Atlas, produced by REACH and UNOSAT, measures infrastructural damage in 16 towns and cities across Syria and the impact on residents’ lives. It finds that damage across Syria is “immense” with children unable to attend school and no access to medical care in many areas. More than half of the Syrian population living in urban areas has been affected by aerial bombardments and fighting. Eastern Ghouta near Damascus was found to have the largest number of destroyed building while Aleppo had the highest concentration of severely damaged structures. | | |
| UK home office accused of using debit cards to monitor asylum-seekers. The Times reports that prepaid debit cards issued to asylum-seekers in the UK are microchipped and have been used by the Home Office to track users’ movements . If they leave their “authorized city” where they have been provided with temporary housing, the card can be revoked. According to the Times, of more than 27,000 cards issued, fewer than 200 people have been penalised for leaving their designated city. Civil rights group, Liberty, said the policy infringed on basic rights while the Scottish Refugee Council described it as “insulting and invasive”. | | |
| Canada allots additional US$1 billion over five years for border, asylum system. The government said it would spend an additional $902 million over the next five years to strengthen the border and speed up the asylum process, given the challenges posed by the tens of thousands of asylum-seekers who reportedly crossed the US border into Canada last year. The new money was announced as part of Canada’s annual budget. Additional funding was also allocated to provide refugees with access to temporary health coverage. | | |
| Zamira Abbasova, a refugee from Armenia, is a “business buddy” to other refugees who dream of starting their own businesses. She works with the Entrepreneurial Refugee Network to help people like Muna, a Somali refugee who wants to start a cleaning service, to turn their ideas into sustainable businesses. | | |
In the Syrian city of Aleppo, more than 30,000 buildings have been moderately or severely damaged by the conflict and nearly 5,000 buildings have been completely destroyed. The city’s pre-war population of 2.5 million has fallen to an estimated 1.6 million.
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