ICERAS

GENEVA —  The U.N. refugee agency said Friday that the whereabouts of thousands of Eritrean refugees remained unknown two weeks after their camp came under attack in Ethiopia’s northern Afar region. Armed men entered the Barahle refugee camp on February 3, prompting 21,000 Eritrean inhabitants to flee for their lives. More than 4,000 trekked the […]

At a briefing for journalists in Geneva, a spokesperson the UN agency said that unidentified assailants targeted Barahle camp on 3 February after fighting engulfed the area, according to harrowing accounts provided by refugees. Chaos and terror “Refugees who trekked the long distance to the regional capital in Semera told UNHCR staff that armed men entered the […]

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is working with the Ethiopian authorities and partners to provide emergency aid to thousands of Eritrean refugees who fled Barahle refugee camp and its environs in the Afar region after fighting engulfed the area. Refugees who trekked the long distance to the regional capital in Semera told UNHCR staff that […]

Two years on from the peace deal with Ethiopia, Eritrea’s leadership has increased its regional and international diplomatic engagement, but without improving the plight of Eritreans through critical human rights reforms. Eritrea’s government remains one of the world’s most repressive, subjecting its population to widespread forced labor and conscription, imposing restrictions on freedom of expression, […]

There were approximately 13 thousand Eritrean nationals residing in the United Kingdom in 2020, a decrease from the 11 thousand Eritrean nationals residing in the United Kingdom in 2008. The highest number of Eritrean nationals residing in the United Kingdom was in 2017 with 35 thousand nationals. readmore

In November 2020, fighting in the Tigray region of Ethiopia destroyed a secondary school which opened in 2018 in the Hitsats refugee camp. The school was attended by both refugees and Ethiopians. Hitsats was opened in 2013 to accommodate Eritrean refugees. In 2018, it housed over 15,000 refugees, nearly half under the age of 18. It was closed in February […]

itrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 and is officially a presidential republic. However, the East African country is de facto ruled by a repressive dictatorship under President Isaias Afwerki, who initially ousted the parliament and restricted freedom of the press. There is no separation of powers, independent judiciary or constitution. In 2018, a peace […]

Refugees are people who are recognized as refugees under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, people recognized as refugees in accordance with the UNHCR statute, people granted refugee-like humanitarian status, and people […]

“I go UK,” he says, “And I have job, I work.  And I have house, and bed. Maybe television.  But house, and bed.  Here, three people in tent for one people.  In UK, I have bed.” I’m sitting in a waiting room in Calais, France with three young men.  They’re fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen – […]

Worldwide Eritrean Refugee Population and Protection. As of the end of 2018, UNHCR counted 507,300 Eritrean refugees receiving protection under its mandate worldwide – up from 486,000 a year previous – thus sustaining Eritrea as the ninth largest country of origin for refugees.  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: “Global Trends: Forced Displacement 2018.” These were […]