European Leaders Meet to Address Libya Concerns
E.U. leaders are meeting in Brussels amid fears of a new surge in migrants crossing from Libya. E.U. states last month agreed new aid money and training for the Libyan coast guard.
The current E.U.-Libya plan aims to assist the coast guard in intercepting smugglers’ boats and returning migrants to shore. Back on land there are plans to upgrade camps with the help of U.N. agencies.
Some 180,000 people made the hazardous crossing in 2016, but early signs suggest this year’s flow could be higher.
“The numbers are already significantly higher than last year,” a European diplomat told Reuters. “There is growing concern. It just looks like it’ll happen all over again.”
Libya itself is embroiled in a civil war, with the U.N.-recognized government of Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli challenged by rival authorities in the east and an ISIS insurgency.
Existing camps in Libya have been described by rights groups as “modern-day slave markets,” and E.U. diplomats told Reuters they were worried about getting more involved in the chaotic state.
Hawaii Challenges Trump’s Revised Travel Ban
Hawaii has challenged President Donald Trump’s new travel ban on refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries. A U.S. District Court judge ruled that the state could sue over the order, challenging it as unconstitutional.
Most experts agree that court challenges to the revised travel ban will be harder than those that succeeded in blocking it last time. The new order imposes a 90-day ban on citizens from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen entering the U.S. It does not include Iraq, as the original order did. It also applies the restriction only to new visa applicants.
The first order was put on hold by a federal judge in Seattle, a decision upheld by an appeals court in San Francisco.
In its claim, Hawaii asserts that the ban will hit its ability to recruit faculty and staff for its universities and will damage its tourism industry.
“This second Executive Order is infected with the same legal problems as the first Order,” the state said in court papers. The suit names Ismail Elshikh, an American citizen from Egypt, and says the revised order “is subjecting a portion of Hawaii’s population, including Dr. Elshikh, his family, and members of his Mosque, to discrimination and second-class treatment.”
Turkey Kicks Out Mercy Corps
Turkey has revoked the license of a U.S.-based charity working with refugees. Mercy Corps, which works with the large Syrian refugee population, has been ordered to cease operations.
Christine Nyirjesy Bragale, director of media relations at Mercy Corps, said the group had not been given a reason for having its permit revoked. No comment could immediately be obtained from Turkish government officials.
The U.K. media reported that allegations had been made against Mercy Corps and other charities, claiming that they were supporting armed groups who oppose Turkey’s government.
The NGO supplied the 15,000 Syrian refugees who had arrived in Turkey by November last year with cash cards, hygiene kits, clothing and other aid.
Recommended Reads:
- The Guardian: Where Did the Money Go? How Greece Fumbled the Refugee Crisis
- The New Yorker: The Underground Railroad for Refugees
- Foreign Affairs: A World Without Borders
- Lapham’s Quarterly: Brontosaurs Whistling in the Dark