Amnesty International’s 2022 Annual Report highlights what it refers to as "the hypocrisy of the West" in its selective application of human rights. In Europe, that double standard identified by Amnesty was most evident in the response to the war in Ukraine.
At least 2,400 Afghans who fled their country after the takeover of the Taliban remain in detention in the UAE, a Human Rights Watch report claims. The group says the Afghans have no legal pathways to refugee status or resettlement elsewhere.
A total of 105 migrants arrived in Bari on March 10 after they were rescued by the private rescue crew of Life Support, a ship run by Emergency. Speaking with the NGO, the migrants told stories of abuse and torture in Libya.
Twenty-two Syrian migrants who have spent more than five months in Libya are on a hunger strike to demand their release, a human rights group has said. Thousands of migrants are detained under appalling conditions in the north African country.
An investigation by the Italian police has led to the arrest of five people, three Bangladeshi nationals and two Sudanese, on charges of torture in Libyan detention centers of migrants that disembarked on the Italian island of Lampedusa on December 26 with them.
Following an international manhunt led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an Eritrean man described as one of "the world's most wanted" human traffickers has been arrested in Sudan. Interpol said that the suspect, Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam, had a reputation for being "particularly cruel and violent against migrants."
Politically divided Libya has reportedly sent more than 200 irregular migrants back across its land borders with Egypt, Sudan and Chad. A recent UN report suggests that migrants in Libya are often "compelled to accept 'assisted return' to their home countries," possibly in inhumane conditions.
Several migrants were found having suffered physical abuse on the Greek Island of Lesbos last week. The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity says that it is the latest reported attack on would-be refugees trying to reach the EU.
Moroccan police have arrested 25 African migrants near the border with the Spanish enclave Melilla, where at least 23 people died in June while attempting to cross the border. Meanwhile, the Spanish ombusdman has accused Spain of violating migrant rights during the same incident.
Activists gathered in Italian cities, including Rome and Naples, to protest against the Italy-Libya agreement, citing concerns over human rights abuses.
The UN refugee agency has condemned the discovery of 92 naked people at the Evros river along Greece's border with Turkey. The agency is demanding an urgent investigation into the incident, as tensions continue to rise between the two countries.
The bodies of 15 people were found on a beach near the city of Sabratha in Libya on Friday, most of them burned inside a charred boat. The UN mission in Libya has condemned the killing and accused migrant smugglers.