EU EXTERNAL PARTNERS: Large-scale movements of people from Lebanon to Syria ― NGOs urge Libya to accept migration-related recommendations from UN human rights review ― EU and Nigeria sign ‘readmission’ agreement ― Prominent human rights activist jaile…

• More than 130,000 people have entered Syria from Lebanon since the start of the latest conflict.
• Several NGOs have used a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council to reiterate their concerns about the treatment of people on the move in Libya.
• The EU has agreed to provide additional funding to Nigeria for migration-related activities.
• A prominent human rights activist has been imprisoned in Tunisia.
• Two leading refugee rights NGOs have renewed their criticism of the EU-Türkiye migration deal on the tenth anniversary of its adoption.

More than 130,000 people have entered Syria from Lebanon since the start of the latest conflict. According to data published by the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Data Tracking Matrix, March, 95% of the people who crossed the border 2-18  March were Syrian nationals, the majority of whom were “families and young men who had travelled to Lebanon for work and may intend to return once conditions allow”. Commenting on the situation, IOM Director General Amy Pope said: “The current situation is a stark reminder of how quickly instability can reshape mobility patterns across entire regions”. According to Lebanese authorities, more than one million people have also been displaced within Lebanon itself.

Several NGOs have used a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) to reiterate their concerns about the treatment of people on the move in Libya. In their contributions to a session on the adoption of the outcome of Libya’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 23 March, organisations including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomed the North African country’s partial acceptance of the UPR recommendations. However, they raised concerns about a number of issues, including those related to migration. In its statement to the HRC, ICJ noted “Libya’s failure to accept several recommendations concerning the human rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, including ending their arbitrary detention and collective expulsions, the establishment of an asylum system compliant with international law and the decriminalisation of ‘irregular migration’”, while HRW noted that Libya had “rejected or noted recommendations calling for the closure of abusive migrant detention centres, the establishment of a fair asylum system and ratification of the Refugee Convention”.

The EU has agreed to provide additional funding to Nigeria for migration-related activities. The announcement came in the margin of the eighth Nigeria-EU Ministerial Dialogue in Abuja. According to the press release that was issued by the EU Delegation to Nigeria on 23 March, the EU announced an investment package worth EUR 290 million to be mobilised in seven initiatives, including in the area of “migration management” for which EUR 16 million would be provided “to support the reintegration of returning migrants and to strengthen the fight against smugglers and traffickers of human beings”. Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said: “We have made real progress on the EU-Nigeria Readmission Agreement to ensure safe and dignified returns of those Nigerians who can no longer stay in the European Union”. “This is part of a broader co-operation on migration. It shows that even on sensitive issues, trust delivers results”, she added.

A prominent human rights activist has been imprisoned in Tunisia. Saadia Mosbah, who is the founder of the anti-racism NGO M’nèmty, was arrested in May 2024 and charged with money laundering and illicit enrichment. On 19 March, the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced the 66-year old activist, who had been a prominent advocate for people on the move from Sub-Saharan Africa in Tunisia, to eight years in prison and a 100,000 dinar (approximately EUR 30,000) fine. It also sentenced eight other activists to between one and three years each. Mosbah’s lawyer described the verdict as “part of a broader effort to dismantle civil society groups and shift responsibility for the state’s failure to address the migrant issue onto these groups” while the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) condemned it as “a serious blow to the principles of justice and the freedom of civic action” and called for “the immediate release of Saadia Mosbah and the dropping of all charges against the association’s activists”.

Two leading refugee rights NGOs have renewed their criticism of the EU-Türkiye migration deal on the tenth anniversary of its adoption. In a joint press release issued on 18 March, ECRE member organisations PRO ASYL and Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) denounced the “catastrophic human rights consequences” that the 2016 agreement had had for people seeking protection in Europe. Commenting on the anniversary, Minos Mouzourakis from RSA said: “The legacy of the EU-Turkey deal lingers only in human suffering and rule of law breakdown,” while Wiebke Judith from PRO ASYL noted: “The experience with the EU-Turkey Deal should serve as a lesson for the European Commission and the member states: such deals violate the Geneva Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights, cause immense suffering for asylum seekers who are entitled to protection in Europe, and do not even work in practice”.

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