Source Material and Useful Links

10/9/2018: Even though fewer people are attempting irregular migration to Europe, the number of deaths along the Mediterranean route has dramatically increased, according to estimates by International Organization for Migration and Amnesty International. Source: Inter Press Service

Tread Softly Comment: This new phrase "pull-back" refers to the return of migrants, intercepted in transit, to the country of departure. Lawyers believe that, in the context of Mediterranean crossings originating in Libya, "pull-back" is both illegal and the cause of the alarming death rate of 1 in 16 experienced in recent summer months. European governments may need to do some homework on "pull-back". Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

The Trump Administration’s Dismal Record on Refugees

7/9/2018: Eleven months into the US government’s 2018 fiscal year, the number of refugees resettled to the US is a dismal 19,899. This is less than half of the annual ceiling of 45,000 – itself an all-time low. Source: Human Rights Watch

Tread Softly Comment: The statistics in this article are shocking and deeply worrying. The principle of shared national resettlement quotas as one of the core long term solutions for refugees is barely tenable without the US. It's not easy to understand why the US continues to participate in the Global Compact for Refugees, having withdrawn from the parallel Compact for Migration. Relevant Briefing: Compacts for Refugees and Migration

UNRWA will prevail despite US funding cut, says its chief

3/9/2018: Expressing deep regret at the decision by the US to provide no additional funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, its Commissioner-General made clear that UNRWA's operations will continue. Source: Third World Network

Tread Softly Comment: The work of the UN agency dedicated to supporting Palestinian refugees has remained under the radar through recent years of turmoil for global migration. It's possible that Israel may not thank the Trump administration for drawing attention to the vital role of UNRWA in sustaining stability in the Occupied Territories, nor for creating a vacuum for potentially unwelcome new donor countries. Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

Conflict in Tripoli puts lives in danger, demonstrating that Libya is not a place of safety

31/8/2018: Following recent conflict between rival armed groups in Tripoli, MSF calls on European governments to acknowledge that more must be done to help people trapped within Libya to find a safe and dignified way out. Source: Medicins Sans Frontieres

Tread Softly Comment: Weekend stories of a state of emergency in Tripoli delivered the headlines that European governments least wish to see. Their migration policy for the Mediterranean already plays fast and loose with international law. MSF has wasted no time in strengthening its case for direct intervention. Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

Soros-founded university pulls refugee course over new tax

28/8/2018: A prestigious Hungarian university founded by liberal US billionaire George Soros is suspending education programmes for refugees and asylum-seekers due to a new government tax on groups deemed to support migration. Source: France 24

Tread Softly Comment: Legal actions taken by the European Union in response to Hungary's blatant infringement of established rights of refugees are grinding too slowly to save even its own grant programmes. The Budapest-based Central European University receives EU funding for research on migration. Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

“There is pressure on us”: Burundian refugees in Tanzania pushed to return

21/8/2018: With words and actions, the Tanzanian government is pressuring Burundian refugees to go home, putting them at greater risk of abuses. Source: African Arguments

Tread Softly Comment: This story from Tanzania should shake up the international donor community's failure to respond to the UN's $951m appeal to support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Successive UN appeals for Burundian refugees in Tanzania have been amongst the worst supported on record. This may explain why Tanzania has transformed itself from one of the world's most progressive hosts for refugees to what must now be described as a hostile environment. Relevant Briefing: Should we care about poverty?

Rohingya Refugees Left in Limbo One Year On

22/8/2018: Aid funding for refugee relief is running out while conditions are still not in place for the safe return of over 700,000 people forced to flee Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh after violence broke out one year ago. Source: Inter Press Service

Tread Softly Comment: Many media outlets are publishing articles to mark the first anniversary of the violent displacement of Rohingya families from Rakhine state in Myanmar. This call by the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council reflects the current priorities of humanitarian agencies. A more controversial article suggests that these agencies have important lessons to learn from their ineffective negotiations with the government in Myanmar. Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

Multilateral approach needed to contain Venezuela’s refugee crisis, experts warn

21/8/2018: As Venezuela’s crisis spirals out of control, neighbouring countries are looking out for themselves, shutting their borders to refugees. But experts warn the crisis cannot be resolved without a multilateral effort. Source: DW

Tread Softly Comment: As Venezuelan migrants spill across the region in vast numbers, this article (and the slide captions) captures detail of the uncoordinated political and humanitarian response. There are illuminating parallels with the European crisis of 2016, with the important exception that the government in the country of origin is unwilling even to discuss financial assistance to stem the exodus. Relevant Briefing: Globalisation and Migrant Workers

Aquarius standing-by for stand-off

13/8/2018: The NGO migrant rescue ship, Aquarius, is now standing-by at 32 Nautical miles from the European coast with 141 survivors onboard. Its requests for a place of safety in Malta and Italy have been refused by both countries. Source: Onboard Aquarius

Tread Softly Comment: It's taken less than a fortnight for the voyage of the Aquarius to reach its inevitable impasse. The NGO partners, Medecins Sans Frontieres and SOS Mediterranee, refuse to disembark rescued migrants in Libya, a country not recognised as a place of safety. But Italy and Malta are refusing to receive the Aquarius, despite international obligations. Will Spain defuse the situation as before? Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

Venezuelan exodus to Ecuador reaches record levels

10/8/2018: Amid ongoing social and political upheaval in Venezuela, more than half a million people have arrived in Ecuador since the beginning of the year. Source: UN News

Tread Softly Comment: The relatively calm reaction of neighbouring countries to the mushrooming exodus from Venezuela contrasts with the hysteria over migration in Europe and US. Almost a million people have moved across the border into Colombia, of which an unknown proportion are attempting to continue to Chile, via Ecuador and Peru, a vast distance. Each of these countries may receive requests for asylum, not easy to assess given that Venezuela's collapse arguably stems from economic failure rather than internal conflict. Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

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