Ecuador has initiated proceedings against Mexico at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of violating international law by granting political asylum to its former Vice President, Jorge Glas. Glas, already convicted of corruption and bribery in connection with the Odebrecht case, was further being investigated for corruption pertaining to the use of funds…
On Monday, the European Commission unveiled that nearly a quarter (24.3 percent to be exact) of new asylum applicants in 2023 were under 18 years old, not including data from France, Poland, and Cyprus. Earlier in 2023, Eurostat announced a 20 percent increase in new asylum claims across the EU, bringing the total to roughly…
The UK National Crime Agency (NCA) has issued charges against two individuals for their role in an English Channel crossing that led to fatal outcomes. The men have been protested on charges related to immigration offenses tied to the occurrence that led to the deaths of five migrants, inclusive of a child. In the tragic…
King Charles III has given his assent to the UK government’s Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill 2024. The bill has now officially become law after receiving Royal Assent, which signifies the final stage in the British legislative process. The bill provides the UK government the power to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, leveraging…
The UK Parliament on Tuesday approved the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, a controversial piece of legislation that designates Rwanda as a “safe country” for certain asylum seekers awaiting application assessments. This bill effectively allows for the deportation of irregular migrants under the UK-Rwanda international treaty on asylum partnership. Interestingly, the advancement of…
The Australian Human Rights Commission recently published a report detailing concerning issues at the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre in Northam, Western Australia. The findings, based on inspections, interviews and consultations carried out through 2023, reveal serious problems in areas such as drug trafficking, inadequate healthcare, and overall welfare of detainees and staff. In the…
The United Nations’ Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Cyprus spokesperson, Emilia Strovolidou, has called for Cyprus to cease forcibly rebuffing Syrian refugee boats coming from Lebanon, in violation of international human rights law and non-refoulment principle stipulated by the 1951 Refugee Convention. The Associated Press and European human rights group EuroMed Rights have both reported on this…
In an announcement made by Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides, it was revealed that the Mediterranean nation has suspended processing of asylum applications from Syrian nationals. This decision comes as a response to the recent surge in the arrival of Syrian political asylum seekers by sea to Cyprus. As indicated by UNHCR Cyprus, the number of…
The German Bundestag has recently authorized legislation granting the issuance of payment cards to asylum seekers and refugees for the distribution of state benefits, a bill initially met with contention. This nationwide mandate received approval after a conference between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and state prime ministers late last year. Here, a consensus on the prepaid…
This week, the European Union (EU) Parliament passed a legislation concerning the rights and treatment of migrants and asylum seekers within its jurisdiction. The law aligns with the broader objectives of the Migration and Asylum Pact, aimed at enhancing the existing rights of these individuals and establishing a firm procedure for their treatment across the…
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced on Thursday that Mexico had filed a case seeking provisional measures against Ecuador. This development stems from a dispute over the forceful entry of Ecuadorian authorities into the Mexican embassy in Quito, which violates the inviolability of a diplomatic mission. The forcible entry followed the expulsion of the…
In a notable turn of events, Peru’s Foreign Ministry has revoked its earlier decision to enforce a visa requirement on Mexican visitors. This decision was taken due to implications for the nation’s tourism industry and the country’s devotion to the free movement of people and goods. The visa requirement was initially abolished with the implementation…
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has announced the suspension of diplomatic relations with Ecuador following a forcible entry by Ecuadorian police into the Mexican embassy in Quito and the subsequent arrest of the former vice president of Ecuador, Jorge Glas. This chain of events took place shortly after the Ecuadorian government’s decision to expel…
The Finnish Ministry of Interior has decided to indefinitely extend the closure of crossing stations on its land border with Russia, as reported on Friday. This extension applies to the border crossing stations that were expected to reopen on April 14, further expanding the closure that was announced in February. Along with the closures at…
Colombia and Panama are failing their duties to protect and safeguard hundreds of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers embarking on the treacherous journey across the Darién Gap, according to a report from Human Rights Watch (HRW). The report, called “Neglected in the Jungle: Inadequate Protection and Assistance for Migrants and Asylum Seekers Crossing the…
This week, a record surge in incidents of anti-Muslim bias across the US was unveiled in a report released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Within 2023, the civil rights group recorded 8,061 bias complaints, topping all previous counts in their 30-year tracking history. Interestingly, the reported complaints jumped 56 percent from 2022. Most…
The Hague District Court in the Netherlands recently sought clarification from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for issues concerning the extension of the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) under Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TPD grants the CJEU the authority to make preliminary…
The UN Committee on Human Rights has recently voiced its concerns regarding two contentious pieces of UK legislation; namely, the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill and certain provisions of the Illegal Migration Act 2023. The Committee strongly urged the UK to withdraw these legal blockades, identifying a potential for discrimination against migrants and…
In recent legal news, Eric Nshimye, an individual from Rwanda, was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly concealing his involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide to acquire asylum and US citizenship. As per the indictment on Tuesday, Mr. Nshimye has been accused of various offenses, including providing false information, obstructing justice, and committing…
Almost 500 rights groups have formally reached out to the U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration with an appeal for greater protection of Haitian migrants caught up in the widespread violence and corruption plaguing Haiti. In a letter, initiated by the Haitian Bridge Alliance, these organizations have requested not just a moratorium on any further deportations…
In a high-stakes legal development, renowned entertainer Sean Combs is under investigation for human trafficking related charges. This controversial case has drawn significant spotlight given Combs’ reverberated public image. Details on the investigation’s progress can be found on Fox News. Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump instigates debates on commercializing religious items by exploiting high-priced…
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has expressed deep concern regarding the distressing discovery of 65 migrant bodies in mass graves in Libya’s southwest region. The UN migration agency suggests that the migrants may have perished during smuggling operations through the desert. This grim finding contributes to a worrisome tally of 3,129 recorded deaths and…
The Irish High Court has ruled that a decision made by the Minister for Justice in 2020 to declare the UK as a “safe country” to send asylum seekers back to during processing was “unlawful as a matter of EU law.” The judgment followed the rejection of two individuals’ applications for international protection in Ireland…
The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced the arrest of Rwandan national Eric Tabaro Nshimiye last week. Nshimiye stands accused of a decades-long scheme to disguise his involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide in a bid to acquire asylum and eventually citizenship in the United States. US authorities claim that Nshimiye took…
In a significant ruling, the Quebec Court of Appeal denied a request from the provincial government to suspend the provision of subsidized child care to asylum seekers awaiting their hearing by the Supreme Court of Canada. The issue came to light when the Quebec government pleaded to put on hold a ruling made on February…