On Monday, a Frontex operated repatriation flight took off from Spain’s Canary Islands for Mauritania. 51 African migrants were on board. This is the third such flight this year, says the Spanish Ombudsman. The repatriations are a result of a 2003 agreement signed between Spain and Mauritania.
The number of migrants arriving in the Spanish Canary Islands increased last month to 18 times the number in January 2019, the AFP news agency reports. However, fewer migrants are trying to reach mainland Spain by boat.
A boat carrying around 190 migrants was intercepted by the Mauritanian coast guard on Friday, the UN migration agency said. This comes less than two days after 63 migrants drowned when their vessel sank in the same waters en route from The Gambia. The country's president has vowed to crack down on people traffickers.
A coastal town in Gambia is in mourning after at least 63 people died in a shipwreck off the coast of Mauritania on December 4.
At least 150 people were on board the migrant vessel that departed from Gambia at the end of November. 83 who were on board swam to shore.
A thirteen-month-old baby recently drowned while crossing with her mother from Morocco to the Canary Islands in a wooden boat. The Spanish territories continue to draw migrants from Western Africa, costing thousands of lives.
The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR has launched a series of consultations to better protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) refugees. Consultations will take place over the next few months in different parts of the world.
A project that aims to protect migrant workers' rights in North Africa has been launched in Tunis. The project, titled "Support to Improving Migration Governance and Promoting Fair Labor Migration in the Maghreb," will support improvements in migration management.
Authorities in west and central Africa have rescued 500 victims of human trafficking in a series of raids. The operation was part of a German-funded initiative targeting organized crime.
France is set to adopt tougher immigration laws next year. More than two-thirds of migrants who come to Italy from Libya have been victims of human trafficking. Humanitarian corridors in Italy and France offer safe passage - but to whom? This and more in today's summary.