HRW says Ethiopian migrant deaths may be crime against humanity

HRW says Ethiopian migrant deaths may be crime against humanity

A Human Rights Watch investigation released Monday found hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers were killed by Saudi border guards when they tried to cross into the country along the border with Yemen. “Human Rights Watch research indicates that, at time of writing, the killings are continuing,” said the…

Laureen Fagan

Laureen is the editor of Africa Times

UK defends Rwanda deportation policy

The UK continues to defend its deal to send migrants to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed, despite ongoing opposition from human rights organizations and a last-minute court decision that halted a deportation flight to Kigali. Home Secretary Priti Patel, the British architect of the Migration and Economic Development…

Greece confirms migrant rescue on stormy Mediterranean Sea

Officials in Greece have confirmed an ongoing search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea east of Crete, following reports of a migrant ship in distress. Yet the situation remains a bit confusing, according to one NGO monitoring the ship’s fate. On Friday, the Hellenic Coast Guard said they were…

IOM sees increase in Mediterranean migrant deaths

Back in March, a 22-year-old rapper named Sohail Al Sagheer left Algeria for Spain aboard a migrant boat. He went missing and his body wasn’t found until April 5, when it was discovered off the coast of Aïn Témouchent. The Algerian musician is one of at least 1,146 people who…

Dozens of migrants thrown into sea off Djibouti coast

Smugglers forced dozens of migrants overboard in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, forcing some 80 people to their deaths by tossing them into the sea after leaving Djibouti. The International Organization for Migration said at least 200 passengers were aboard the boat when it departed, but the traffickers started…

UN agencies call for action on Mediterranean migration

Dozens of African migrants were rescued this week from what international migration agencies say is the largest shipwreck this year off the Libyan coast, but the death of at least 45 others has renewed attention to policies that fail to protect Mediterranean Sea migrants. The International Organization for Migration (IOM)…

G7 sessions focus on African partnership, inequality

While there are quite a few issues confronting participants of the G7 meetings in France – from the wildfires in the Amazon to the “surprise” appearance of the Iranian foreign minister – they haven’t overshadowed the importance of Africa on the agenda. That’s made clear by the number of African…

UNHCR laments Italy’s approval of stiff migrant rescue penalties

The United Nations refugee agency responded quickly on Tuesday to a decision made by Italy’s parliament that will impose harsher penalties against those people and organizations involved in migrant search and rescue on the Mediterranean Sea. The UNHCR said that under the changes, fines for private vessels that rescue migrants…

Young Africans want opportunity, but want to stay in Africa

More than a third of all Africans consider migration in search of opportunity, especially as the continent’s young and educated populations continue to grow, according to new data from the Afrobarometer research organization based in Ghana. “Potential emigrants are overwhelmingly motivated by a hunger for jobs and economic opportunity,” said…