MIGRATION

An alliance of humanitarian and rights organisations are calling for the abrogation of the legal obligation to report people without residency status who seek medical care —– Almost 50 organisations and associations are demanding the abolition of the legal obligation to report people without regular residence status who seek medical care. Going to the doctor without fear is not possible …

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has launched a new project in Abuja, Nigeria, to raise awareness of the scourge of human trafficking among populations at risk in migration prone areas across the country. The 23 March launch marked the tenth anniversary of the Nigeria–Switzerland Migration …

Maisha – African Women in Germany e.V. has been honoured with yet another award for its efforts for the empowerment of African women in Germany. Maisha, founded in 1996 by Virginia Wangare Greiner, was recently bestowed with the “Corporate Livewire West Germany Prestige Award 2020/21” for being the best “Self-Help Group of the Year”. The organisation was honoured especially for …

Chancellor Angela Merkel and state and civic leaders have finalised a plan to improve the integration of immigrants into society, the education system and the job market. It outlines a road map for the coming decade. Kathleen Schuster/DW reports Getting a job might have been once been considered enough to be successfully integrated into society as a foreigner. For Germany, …

Nigeria and Switzerland have commemorated the 10th anniversary of a partnership on migration between the two countries. To mark the event, a mobile information campaign bus and a brochure on the “10 Years Migration Partnership Between Nigeria And Switzerland” were launched at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, on Tuesday. The Blue Bus, a “one-stop office for Public Enlightenment and …

The EU’s border protection agency Frontex says the number of irregular border crossings at Europe’s external borders dropped by 40 percent in the first two months of 2021, compared to the same period last year, to 12000. For example, the number of illegal border crossings in February reached 4 650, about half the figure from the same month of last …

Cameroonian officials, led by Minister for Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, have repatriated over 5,000 Nigerian refugees to the north-eastern Borno State. According to a statement on the Facebook page of Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, the handing over took place on Monday in Amchiide, a border community between Nigeria and Cameroon, close to Banki in Bama Local Government Area …

The Initiative for Youth Awareness on Migration, Immigration, Development and Reintegration (IYAMIDR), said the current situation in the country would likely drive many more Nigerians into irregular emigration. Mr Solomon Okoduwa, Executive Director of IYAMIDR, who is a former aide to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Illegal Migration, made this known in an interview with NAN in Benin …

How an IOM frontline worker goes beyond return counselling by providing African migrants in Germany with the support they need Berlin – It is a full day for Danielle Al-Qassir at the foreign immigration office in Berlin. “I have clients calling me on my work phone, my private phone and the landline, and we have clients coming in in-person,” she …

The number of asylum applications in Europe fell by almost a third last year. A total of 461,300 applications, 31 per cent fewer than in 2019, were filed, according to EASO, the EU’s asylum office based in Valletta, Malta. The main reason for the decline, according to EASO, is the Corona pandemic travel restrictions. The figures cover all initial applications …

The annual Henley Passport Index has just been released. It ranks passports according to the number of countries their holders can travel to visa-free. The latest ranking named Japan as the country with the most powerful passport in the world followed by Singapore while Germany and South Korea tie for third place Holders of the Japanese passport can travel visa-free …

Rita Ekua Yamoah reports on a recent program, organised by the Frankfurt-based non-governmental organisation Maisha e.V. for the empowerment of girls and women in Ghana against irregular migration, which took place in Accra. — Germany-based Maisha – African Women in Germany e.V. has again held a 5-day program to empower women who went through difficulties as a result of irregular …

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim as the new Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), a statement signed by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), announced on Tuesday. She succeeds Mrs Julie Okah-Donli, who was obviously sacked as her tenure had not yet expired.   Sulaiman-Ibrahim, a …

On 24 November 2020, the European Court of Human Rights published a Chamber judgement in the case Unuane v. the United Kingdom (no. 80343/17) concerning the applicant’s deportation to Nigeria, following a criminal conviction, forcing him to leave his partner and three children in the United Kingdom. The Chamber held that there had been a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private …

A migrant organisation has criticised Germany and Austria for deporting people to Nigeria amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to Nigerian media reports, 32 Nigerians were forcibly returned to Nigeria on a flight from Germany last Thursday (12 November). “It is unfortunate that the German government decided to embark on such a deportation operation especially at a time when Europe is …

Foreigners who are to be deported may not be visited at night, according to the Düsseldorf Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgericht Düsseldorf) in a new ruling announced on Tuesday (17 November). The court was of the opinion that persons to be deported have the right to night rest and as such should not be woken up in the middle of night like …

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has forbidden Switzerland from deporting a homosexual Gambian to his homeland. The Swiss authorities had failed to consider whether The Gambia would protect the man against attacks by non-state actors, the court ruled in Strasbourg on Tuesday. Therefore, the deportation would violate the prohibition of inhuman treatment if carried out. Switzerland must also …

The Director-General of Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Mrs Julie Okah-Donli, has been appointed as the new chair of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons (UNVTF). A statement titled ‘Press release on appointment of DG NAPTIP as new chair of UNVTF’ by Olivia …

In a sign that it may become increasingly difficult to cross the Mediterranean on boat, a major route of irregular migration to Europe from Africa, Libya’s coast guard intercepted about 1,000 migrants and returned them to Libya within three days in the past week. From Sunday until Tuesday, a total of 935 migrants who tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea …

An unfortunate effect of COVID-19, to include on the already long list, is that news stories which would usually make the headlines are either not being reported or are consigned to the back pages. What can happen is that governments then feel able to ignore important issues safe in the knowledge that they may be less likely to be challenged.