Source Material and Useful Links

8/8/2018: The number of people drowning in the Central Mediterranean or being taken back to squalid detention centres in Libya has surged as a result of European policies aimed at closing the central Mediterranean route, Amnesty says in a new briefing. Source: Amnesty International

Tread Softly Comment: The forensic detail of Amnesty's briefing provides timely support to the current voyage of the NGO rescue ship, Aquarius, in the Central Mediterranean. The headline nails accountability for the consequences of neglecting established human rights principles. One odd aspect of the full briefing is the apparent ignorance of the recognition of a new Libyan Joint Rescue Coordination Centre by the International Maritime Organization. Without this move, the EU could not have ordered NGO ships to defer to the Libyan coastguard. Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

3 Boys Rescued from Cave, Once Stateless, Get Thai Citizenship

8/8/2018: Three young soccer players who were trapped with other team members for almost three weeks in a cave in northern Thailand were granted Thai citizenship on Wednesday along with their 25-year-old coach. Source: VOA

Tread Softly Comment: Like most media reports of this good news, the article omits to mention that stateless people in Thailand struggle to access public education or health services. N0netheless, the Thai cave rescue has already drawn welcome international attention to the plight of the country's stateless people. According to the UN Refugee Agency, the Thai government has pledged to attain zero statelessness by 2024. Campaigners have a fresh opportunity to exert pressure for the increased rate of processing applications that is necessary to deliver this pledge. Relevant Briefing: Rights-based Development

Defence of refugee law sets Aquarius on Mediterranean collision course

5/8/2018: The European Council has ordered NGO vessels not to interfere in the zone now coordinated by the Libyan coastguard. But the NGO rescue ship Aquarius is determined to prevent migrants being returned to Libya. Source: Waiting to Credit Marvels

Tread Softly Comment: Medecins Sans Frontiere and its partner SOS Mediterranee are making a principled stand against the prospect of returning rescued migrants to Libya, a country which is not internationally recognised as a place of safety. The rather less principled European policy is to ignore established laws that protect asylum-seekers by empowering the Libyan coastguard to control the search and rescue region. This could lead to confrontation at sea between the coastguard and the NGO vessel. Keep an eye on live updates from Aquarius. Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

Bangladesh: Refugees awaiting future return to Myanmar need safer camps

5/8/2018: The Bangladeshi government should relocate Rohingya refugees living in a severely overcrowded mega camp to safer ground in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch has said in a report. Source: Human Rights Watch

Tread Softly Comment: There are awful dilemmas informing this headline. At a time of obsessive resistance to asylum-seekers by Europe and US, Bangladesh received 700,000 Rohingya refugees within the space of a few months, creating the world's largest refugee camp. But the conditions are poor and Human Rights Watch is forced to conclude that Bangladesh deliberately resists improvements because they might give a sense of permanence to the camp. Hence the reluctant criticism. Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

Aquarius returns to Central Mediterranean: humanitarian assistance at sea desperately needed

1/8/2018: The rescue boat Aquarius, run in partnership between SOS MEDITERRANEE and Médecins Sans Frontières, has set sail from Marseille. Aquarius is heading back to the Central Mediterranean in order to render assistance to people in distress at sea. Source: Medecins Sans Frontieres

Tread Softly Comment: MSF is sailing full tilt into action with its enemy, the European migration policy in the Mediterranean. The press release sets out its rules of engagement: in essence, Aquarius will not accept orders to desist from rescue operations if the alternative condemns migrants to disembarkation in Libya. This scenario would defy the EU Leaders' edict: "All vessels operating in the Mediterranean must......not obstruct operations of the Libyan Coastguard." At peak season for attempted crossings and with EU officialdom on vacation, MSF warns of "the increased probability of deaths at sea." Relevant Briefing: Compacts for Refugees and Migration

EU Commission takes Hungary to court over treatment of asylum seekers

19/7/2018: The European Commission has referred Hungary to the European Court of Justice over its treatment of asylum seekers, declaring that Budapest is not complying with EU law. Source: Politico

Tread Softly Comment: Sooner or later the EU had to throw the refugee rulebook at its renegade member country for denying the right of asylum and for the "Stop Soros" legislation. But it may need to be careful with the wording of the charge sheet. Accusing Hungary of holding "asylum seekers in transit zones for excessively long periods" and denying the right to "be assisted by relevant.....non-governmental organisations" sounds uncannily similar to criticisms of Germany's recent policy change and of EU policy in the Mediterranean. Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

UN, international NGOs boost Central America presence amid migrant crisis

17/7/2018: The Trump administration's forced separations of undocumented migrant families, mainly from Central America, has drawn attention to the crime-stricken region. International aid organizations and UN agencies are increasingly examining their role. Source: Devex

Tread Softly Comment: the headline is supported by clear statistics, demonstrating how the escalation of human needs (migration from Central America up more than 10 times in last 6 years) hasn't been matched by new financial resources of major agencies working in the region, despite their best endeavours and despite the scandal of Trump's separation of families at the US border. Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

Afghanistan: Record high civilian casualties make returns unjustifiable

16/7/2018: Amnesty International is calling on the international community to halt forced returns of refugees to Afghanistan, at a time when civilian casualties in the war-torn country continue at record highs. Source: Amnesty International

Tread Softly Comment: Amnesty is drawing attention to the increasingly sloppy interpretation of the principle of non-refoulement by European countries, citing Turkey in particular. The rights of asylum-seekers from Afghanistan should not be calibrated to fit political convenience. It's surprising that the article omits to mention that almost 2 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan have been given a succession of deadlines to return. Quite apart from the issue of their rights, this scenario raises serious questions about conditions for returns from Europe. Relevant Briefing: Rights of Refugees and Migrant Workers

Formal talks on global refugee compact conclude with strong and broad agreement

6/7/2018: The international community’s efforts to strengthen its response to refugees has passed an important milestone. The final version of the compact will be submitted to the UN General Assembly, which will consider it for adoption later in 2018. Source: UN Refugee Agency

Tread Softly Comment: There's no final text available as yet. The signs are that the refugee compact will remain grounded in the current international refugee protection regime, leaving the toughest issues to the parallel negotiation of a Global Compact for Migration. Relevant Briefing: Compacts for Refugees and Migration

More international support needed for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, say UN and World Bank chiefs

2/7/2018: UN Secretary-General António Guterres made the appeal during a visit to the world’s largest refugee site. He and the World Bank President visited Bangladesh to garner more support for the refugees from Myanmar. Source: UN Refugee Agency

Tread Softly Comment: Reference in the article to "half-a-billion US dollars in grant-based support" from the World Bank is misleading, as it is in the Bank's own press release. Only 10% of that figure appears to be available to the UN's Rohingya appeal for $950 million, which remains chronically under-funded. Relevant Briefing: Compacts for Refugees and Migration

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