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Dakar The Regional United Nations Network on Migration together with the Regional UN-SDG COVID-19 Executive Committee in West and Central Africa are concerned with the wellbeing of millions of migrants across the region amid the COVID-19 crisis. While they face the same health threats from COVID-19 as any other human being, migrants may be exposed to a higher level of vulnerability linked to discrimination and exclusion in their living and working conditions or in their access to basic services including healthcare. Under these difficult circumstances, migrants may be at risk of abuse and other human rights violations.

Over 30,000 migrants are currently stranded at borders and more than 2,000 are waiting to be assisted in overcrowded transit centers where they are at heightened risk of COVID-19 infection. Since the outbreak in the region, thousands were abandoned in the desert by smugglers and traffickers along migratory routes. Some were deported, putting their lives and health at risk and others are being targeted with discrimination, hate speech, and xenophobia.

As governments in West and Central Africa are taking preventive measures such as border closures to protect their countries from the spread of COVID-19, migrants, including those in irregular situations, may find themselves disproportionately impacted, unable to access healthcare, social services or protect themselves. In addition, border closures further limit regular migration options including return, while forcing migrants to take more dangerous migratory routes and putting them at risk to be exploited, extorted, or abused.

Building on the principled commitments and actions outlined in the Global Compact for Safe, Regular and Orderly Migration (GCM), the Regional Network calls on governments to make every effort to address and reduce migrants vulnerabilities by incorporating their health and other vital needs in national and local responses and recovery, taking into consideration the special needs of women and children; by upholding human rights at international borders ; by confronting discrimination, xenophobia and anti-migrant narratives, and by operationalizing relevant recommendations on the human rights protection of migrants in vulnerable situations.

Member States should ensure that all migrants regardless of their migration status are able to protect themselves and their communities from COVID-19 and can avail themselves of COVID-19 testing and treatment without fear of detention, deportation or penalty. To that end, the Regional Network calls on Member States across the region to urgently expand the availability and flexibility of safe, regular pathways for migrants in vulnerable situations (GCM Objective 5), including pathways for entry and stay based on human rights, compassionate or humanitarian grounds; to cooperate in facilitating safe and dignified voluntary return of migrants on the basis of their free, prior and informed consent; to suspend all deportations during COVID-19, and to ensure that no one faces the risk of refoulement by being returned to places where their life, safety or human rights are threatened, including to uphold the prohibitions of collective expulsions and arbitrary pushbacks at borders (GCM objective 21).

Moreover, the Regional Network stresses the need for Member States to prioritize the protection of migrants rights, dignity and wellbeing, and to provide safe access to basic services, including COVID-19 treatment and integrated prevention services to all migrants, including those with pre-existing health conditions, and who may already have limited access to healthcare, including those in an irregular situation. All migrants, regardless of status, should be included in national COVID-19 preparedness, response, recovery and containment plans that guarantee non-discriminatory and equitable access to treatment, care, information, and social protection (GCM Objective 15).

Particularly for children moving unaccompanied or separated, prolonged family separation due to border closures, coupled with limited access to psychosocial support and protection services, increases their mental distress and their exposure to violence and exploitation. The Regional Network calls upon Member States to uphold the best interests of the child at all times, as a primary consideration in situations where children are concerned (GCM Objective 7).

The Regional Network reaffirms Members States commitment to eliminate all forms of discrimination, hate speech, xenophobia and intolerance against migrants and their families (GCM Objective 17). COVID-19 doesnt discriminate, and neither should we. To this end, the Regional Network stands ready to support Member States establish mechanisms to prevent, detect and respond to systematic instances of xenophobia and discrimination against migrants, and to raise awareness of COVID-19 to inform public perceptions of migrants and to reshape the narrative on migration.

Finally, the Regional Network underlines that mobility and other restrictions will need to meet the requirements of legality, necessity and proportionality, and be non-discriminatory (GCM Objective 11). The COVID-19 response does not have to be an obstacle to mobility in the region, and mobility is not an obstacle to mitigate the impact of this pandemic.

The United Nations Network on Migration was established to ensure effective, timely and coordinated system-wide support to Member States in their implementation, follow-up and review of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

In releasing this statement, the Regional Network reminds States of their commitment in the GCM to address and reduce vulnerabilities in migration and to provide access to basic services for migrants. The COVID-19 pandemic has created momentum to promote an integrated and safe approach to border management as a viable and sustainable solution to mitigate public health challenges while ensuring the health and economic security for all.

The United Nations Network on Migration is committed to supporting all partners in pursuit of the implementation of the GCM, recognizing that this cooperative framework provides an invaluable tool for ensuring all in society can contribute to a collective response to COVID-19 and are protected equally against its impact.

Contact details:

IOM, Florence Kim: fkim@iom.int, Tel: +221 78 620 6213

OHCHR, Patrick Ifonge: consultant.ifonge@ohchr.org; Tel: +33 6 51 87 95 50

UNICEF, Sandra Bisin: sbisin@unicef.org, Tel +221 77 819 23 00

UNHCR, Romain Desclous: desclous@unhcr.org

ILO, Jennifer Patterson: patterson@ilo.org; Adam Bowers: bowers@ilo.org

UNODC, Alejandra Amaya Escoto: alejandra.amayaescoto@un.org; Henna Mustonen henna.mustonen@un.org

UNDP, Njoya Tikum: njoya.tikum@undp.org

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United Nations in West and Central Africa Concerned Over Increased Vulnerabilities of Migrants Amid COVID-19 - Benin - ReliefWeb

Refugees and dissidents from Turkey living in Germany have witnessed a surge in harassment from the estimated 8,000 Turkish intelligence agents active on German soil, an investigation has claimed.

In the fallout from the failed 2016 coup in Turkey there has been an unprecedented rise in asylum applications by Turkish citizens in Germany as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan increased repression against most forms of opposition. As a result, Turkeys intelligence apparatus has increased its operations.

Germany, which opened its borders during the 2015 migrant crisis, is believed to be home to at least four million people of Turkish origin but has at times been at odds with Turkey over its influence.

Asylum seekers are often Kurdish or supporters of the banned Gulen movement, which Mr Erdogan has clamped down on and blamed the 2016 coup attempt.

According to the newspaper Asharq Al Awsat, there were nearly 11,500 Turkish asylum applications in Germany in 2019 compared with roughly 1,800 in 2014.

The newspaper spoke to Kamil, who has been in Germany for 30 years and is wanted by Turkish authorities for his alleged support of the Gulen movement.

He said the imam at his mosque had banned him from entering after following orders by Turkey and his annual visits to his home country had stopped since 2017 after a visit by German police.

In 2019 Berlin began efforts to have imams trained in Germany rather than abroad amid concerns over the financing of religious institutions by Turkey.

Two other men, Hussein and Omar, who fled to Germany in 2017, refused to speak Turkish at a local cafe so the owners could not eavesdrop on them.

Hussein told Asharq Al Awsat that his brother had urged him to leave Turkey after the failed coup because he feared he would be tortured.

Controversy over Turkish intelligence agents and informants in Germany has rumbled along for years. In 2016 it was claimed there were more Turkish spies working in Germany than communist East Germany had in West Germany during the Cold War.

At the time, security expert Erich Schmidt-Eenboom said Turkish agents were being used for repression rather than intelligence.

"Turkey's internal conflicts between Gulen and Erdogan, and between [ethnic] Kurds and Turks, have been brought into Germany and are impacting the internal peace," Mr Schmidt-Eenboom told Swedens The Local website.

In 2017, a paper by the Royal United Services Institute warned the spy network was putting Turkey-Germany relations under intense stress. It also said Turkeys security service was using imams and officials from local Turkish-Islamic organisations to spy on Gulenists.

What is very concerning for German and Austrian authorities is the fact that individuals who have been overheard criticising Erdogan face arrest when they travel to Turkey, said Dr Tessa Szyszkowitz in her commentary for the institute.

In June, Turkey announced it had detained four members of an intelligence cell who were spying for France.

Updated: July 3, 2020 10:01 AM

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Turkey using 8,000 spies to track dissidents in Germany - The National

A 16-year-old migrant who had illegally entered Greece with his family died of a heroin overdose, Sto Nisi reported.

He was found dead on Friday by his parents in the tent where they all lived together in the Moria migrant camp on the island of Lesvos.

The body of the Afghan teenager was transported for a forensic examination at Mytilene Hospital.

Afghanistan is the heroin capital of the world, where it is not only the leading producer of the poppy plant needed to make the addictive drug, but 12.6% of the adult population in Afghanistan in 2015 were addicted to heroin.

The death of the child comes as during a formal inspection of the infamous Moria migrant camp, one of the illegal immigrants staying at the camp was arrested by police as he was found with a knife and selling heroin, as reported by Greek City Times yesterday.

During the search that took place at the Moria migrant camp, he was found to be in possession of a three-gram package of heroin, an electronic scale and a nine centimetre knife. They were immediately confiscated.

A case was filed against the illegal immigrant for drug possession and trafficking, and violation of the law on weapons and was referred to the Mytilene Prosecutors Office.

There have been many other shocking events that have occurred in Lesvos this year, including two gangs of Afghani immigrantsbattling each other,African immigrants ridiculing andcoughing on policein the midst of the coronavirus pandemic,and thousands ofolives trees being destroyed.

However, the death of a teenager to heroin, a drug that virtually did not exist on Lesvos before the migrant crisis began in 2015, shows just how rampant the addictive substance has become on the island, and calls to question how many addicts are living in the migrant camp.

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16-year-old Dies From Heroin Overdose In Greek Migrant Camp - Greek City Times

After over three months of hiatus, the government has finally resumed issuance of labour permits to the migrant workers who could not go on foreign employment in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, on Thursday, decided to issue labour permits to the migrant workers who in the wake of the pandemic had been stuck in the country during their job break and those workers who had renewed their work contracts and visas.

According to Bhola Nath Guragain, the spokesperson with the Department of Foreign Employment, labour permits will be issued to only those migrant workers who wish to go back to their jobs.

Distribution of re-entry labour permits have started from the Foreign Employment Office in Tahachal, Kathmandu, and other Labour and Employment Offices in all Provinces from today, Guragain told the Post.

These workers will have to undergo Covid-19 screening and follow the standard health protocol to obtain their labour permits.

The government has still not made any decision on issuing labour permits to the first-time applicants of overseas employment.

In mid-March, when coronavirus cases started multiplying in labour destination countries, the government had stopped labour migration for an indefinite period. The department on March 13 stopped giving labour permits, a move that has affected thousands of aspirant migrant workers.

After the government relaxed the lockdown, the Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC) last week decided that Nepali citizens, including the migrant workers who are at home during job break would be allowed to go on foreign employment as per the recommendation of the Ministry of Labour.

However, the CCMC decision to resume labour migration has drawn criticism from several labour migration experts. According to them, allowing Nepali workers to migrate on foreign employment will only put them at risk because most of the labour hosting countries are still reeling under the pandemic.

According to Swarna Kumar Jha, a labour migration researcher, the government decision to allow Nepali migrant workers to go on foreign employment lacks both timeliness and logic.

The government decision to resume labour migration clearly shows that they are not serious about its own decision. On the one hand, we are bringing back workers from several labour destination countries. And on the other, we are hurrying to send the workers to those same countries, said Jha.

The time is not right to start sending workers. Even if the government wanted to send workers, it could have begun with countries like South Korea and Japan where the pandemic is largely under control and the number of Nepali workers working and living is relatively smaller, added Jha, who is also a coordinator with the National Network for Safe Migration.

The government is currently busy bringing home Nepali workers from various labour destination countries after they lost their jobs in the wake of the pandemic.

We had been receiving calls from migrant workers asking us to resume labour migration. Workers on leave and those with good-paying jobs wanted to go back to their jobs, said Guragain. Following their demands, we took the proposal to the Labour Ministry, which made the decision to issue re-entry labour permits.

Jha, however, said that the governments decision to send workers abroad is merely an attempt at diverting the attention of returnee migrant workers and unemployed youths away from its failure to create jobs at home.

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Government starts issuing labour permits to migrant workers on job break and with renewed contracts - The Kathmandu Post

For almost 13 years, Mumbai has been a second home to 48-year-old Pramod Yadav and his younger brother who came from their native village in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, to work at construction sites and earn a living in the country's financial capital.

However, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, tens of thousands of migrant workers, like Pramod, were forced to undertake a long and painstaking journey from Mumbai and other metropolitan cities in order to return to their native places.

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Daily labourers like us are hit the hardest by the outbreak, driving us deeper into hunger and poverty, shared Pramod in an agonised voice as he waited in the queue for his turn to receive food and facemasks distributed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

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Besides labourers like Pramod, some were young children and women, carrying with them the life they had built for themselves packed into their small bags.It will take us around three days to reach Gonda and a few more days in a quarantine camp until we finally meet our family, said Pramod.As the Covid-19 outbreak battered Mumbai and other parts of the country, many vulnerable sections including daily wage-earners and migrants lost their livelihoods, leaving them with no other option but to return to their hometowns.

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Indian Railways and Maharashtra Government arranged special Shramik Express trains which continue to ferry distressed migrants back to their native villages.Hundreds of such special trains were arranged daily from Mumbai and suburban areas, Pune, Nagpur and Nasik. Besides taking these special trains, many helpless migrants also travelled hitching rides on buses, vans, cycles or on foot; often hundreds of miles away braving heat, hunger and the scourge of the virus.

In such testing times, Dawoodi Bohra volunteers joined hands with the BMC to make the long journey of migrants a tad less arduous by serving them food, fruits and water at railway and bus stations.

This effort to serve migrants was undertaken by the Dawoodi Bohra communitys global philanthropic initiative - Project Rise. While fresh meals were cooked at the communitys Faizul Mawaid al Burhaniyah kitchens in Mumbai and Nagpur, the distribution of food packets at the respective stations was taken up by the communitys volunteer corps, Burhani Guards.

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We know the situation is really bad for these workers who are both monetarily and emotionally in a very difficult position. This is the least we can do for them to ensure they have something to eat on their way back home, said Yusuf Hakimuddin, spokesperson of Project Rise which has been providing food, water and other essentials during the lockdown period in coordination with the BMC and other local authorities.

Acknowledging the Bohra communitys kind gesture, Assistant Municipal Commissioner of BMC, in a letter to Shahzada Husain Bhaisaheb Burhanuddin stated, Your father His Holiness Dr Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin has always guided your members to serve fellow citizens and this charitable service of your community people in the hour of crisis is highly commendable and appreciated.

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Dawoodi Bohras join other volunteers to serve migrants food, water during their arduous journey back home - Deccan Herald