Just this weekend, a migrant in a detention center (CRA) in the Paris region attempted to take his own life. Another attempted to set a cell on fire. One non-governmental organization working with refugees and migrants, La Cimade, has sounded the alarm yet again over the deplorable living conditions in the CRAs.
Dozens of NGOs have called on the EU to end the controversial policy, saying it undermines the bloc's values. Despite several attempts, EU leaders have made little progress on a bloc-wide solution to irregular migration.
The Libyan prime minister has called on those concerned about the country's migrant camps to help by taking in, or taking back, migrants. This follows comments from Austria's president that refugees should not be sent back to Libya, where tens of thousands of people are detained in terrible conditions.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has denounced the deteriorating conditions in Libyan detention centers in Misrata and Kohms due to a 'sharp increase' in the number of people held, including pregnant women and children. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported violence and deaths related to fighting in Tripoli.
The Libyan coastguard this week said it had intercepted some 500 migrants out at sea and brought them back to the Northern African nation during the course of 72 hours. The news comes just as Human Rights Watch has released a damning report in which it accuses the EU of contributing to the extreme abuse of migrants in Libya, saying the bloc is condemning the migrants to “nightmarish detention”.
Libyan authorities are holding 144 people, including four children, in a detention center in the city of Misrata. The group was rescued from the Mediterranean three days ago by the cargo ship 'Lady Sham'. The UN says they should not have been returned to Libya, and Europe must ensure rescued migrants are allowed to disembark in a safe place.
Around 40 people in a holding center in Vincennes and 70 people in a center in Mesnil-Amelot, both in the Paris region, are on hunger strike. They allege police violence and a lack of access to adequate medical care; they say that their goal is to highlight the conditions in which they are being held.
Denmark has approved funding to transform a remote island from a contagious diseases laboratory into a detention center, which would house migrant criminals who cannot be deported. The move was criticized by the UN.
Aid organizations SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) are being forced to end their life-saving Mediterranean rescue mission. MSF managing director Florian Westphal told DW the situation is "catastrophic."
The UNHCR announced the evacuation of the first group of refugees, hosted in new departure facilities, from Libya to Niger last week.
European law says 'an asylum seeker shall not be detained on the sole reason of seeking international protection or having entered and/or stayed in the country irregularly.' So if the irregular entry by migrants is not a criminal offense, when is the detention of asylum seekers allowed? And what is the reality in Europe?
For many refugees it's a lose-lose situation in Libya. The crackdown by Italy and Libya means a sea crossing is next to impossible. Meanwhile, local authorities feel overwhelmed. Karlos Zurutuza reports from Zuwara.