Equality and Human Rights

The town of Ceuta, together with its sister town Mellila a bit further down the Mediterranean coast, is an anachronism. Whilst situated on the African continent the towns are recognised as being fully part of Spain – a colonial hang-over that has taken a life of its own. The enclaves were once considered of strategic importance for the defence of Spain. They have now become springboards for illegal migration into Europe. Yesterday, 5,000 arrived, taking the authorities by surprise. They say the migrants either swam around the border fences that jut out into the sea or walked across at low tide.

Ethiopia has delayed its national elections due to logistical reasons. Some opposition parties have also refused to take part and no vote will be held in the Tigray region. The election will be Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's first major electoral test. 

The brigade raided several hideouts for gangs that had been implicated in kidnapping and theft activities in Bani Walid. Creating a safe environment is one of the key priorities of the Libyan government. Brigade 444 had also released several Egyptian abductees in March. 

Biden's use of the word "genocide" was a significant moral victory for the Armenian people however the geostrategic implications of this for the South Caucasus should not be exaggerated, argues Benyamin Poghosyan in this commentary.

"We remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring. We affirm the history. We do this not to cast blame but to ensure that what happened is never repeated."

The European Parliament recently adopted a toughly worded resolution on the human rights situation in Bahrain focusing in particular on the cases of death row inmates and human rights defenders. The resolution exposed the dilemmas in Europe as the EU seeks closer relations with the Gulf states, but where concerns about the human rights situation in the region remain high.

As part of the various reforms currently being implemented in Saudi Arabia, the sponsorship system for foreign labour, also known as the "Kafala" system, has been scrapped as of Sunday 14 March. The change was introduced as part of the Labour Reform Initiative (LRI) announced last November.