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EU risks breaking aid rules in bid to curb African migration – Oxfam

Published

1 year ago

September 23, 2023

EU risks breaking aid rules in bid to curb African migration – Oxfam

The European Union could be breaching international rules by using aid intended to promote development in Africa to stem migration into Europe, according to a new report by Oxfam.

The report published Thursday reveals that six out of 16 EU-funded migration actions in Niger, Libya and Tunisia worth a total €667 million potentially breach the aid rules set out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Oxfam’s findings suggest the EU is increasingly diverting its development aid to pursue a domestic strategy of deterring migration, undermining human rights and welfare.

The EU allocates 10% of its landmark €79.5 billion international aid package to migration-related activities. At least 93% of funds must promote development and welfare in developing countries, in compliance with the OECD’s aid criteria.

But the Oxfam report suggests a third of EU-funded migration actions in three African countries violate these rules.

“EU aid is going towards supporting the coastguards despite their extremely poor human rights track record,” Stephanie Pope, Oxfam EU migration expert, told Euronews.

“In Libya, the coastguard only a few months ago fired shots at rescue ships attempting to help people in distress at sea. The Tunisian coastguard has been reported to steal engines of migrant boats, as well as refusing to help people in distress at sea contrary to its international obligations,” she added.

The OECD says any actions that “neglect the rights of forcibly displaced persons and migrants” do not qualify as aid.

Responding to the report on Thursday, a European Commission spokesperson refuted the claim that money destined to fight poverty is being diverted to fight migration.

“Most of our actions are actually helping to address the root causes of migration,” the spokesperson said.

Of the eight migration activities analysed by Oxfam in Niger, a country often used as a corridor for migrant smugglers between sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb, only one was found to support safe and legal migration.

In Libya, none of the migration projects analysed foster safe and regular pathways, Oxfam says.

Funding ‘complex’ to trace

The NGO also says that tracking the EU’s multiple financial mechanisms to stem migratory flows from Africa to Europe, including as part of the controversial migration deal struck recently with Tunisia, is increasingly complex.

The deal, signed between European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Tunisian President Kais Saied in July, has been criticised for its questionable legal basis and lack of democratic oversight.

The European Parliament has blasted the deal for failing to recognise mounting evidence of Tunisian authorities’ abusive treatment of sub-Saharan migrants, including illegal pushbacks, racial hatred and human rights violations.

The report calls on the Parliament to hold the bloc’s executive to account on its migration actions, warning that the EU’s increasing preoccupation with migratory flows is eclipsing crucial development aid in Africa.

Oxfam also says the EU is missing out on opportunities to open safe migration routes and harness the development advantages of migration.

“If the EU increasingly redirects these already very scarce development funds towards its own misguided migration interests, the risk is that there’s even less money available to give these countries the support they urgently need right now,” Pope said.

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World

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Published

3 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Italian state railways Ferrovie dello Stato plans to invest 1.3 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in a photovoltaic plant with an initial 1 gigawatt (GW) capacity that would cover 19% of its energy needs by 2029, the CEO said in a newspaper interview.

World

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Published

4 hours ago

December 22, 2024

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Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.

The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.

On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.

The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)

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The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.

One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.

In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.

Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.

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Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.

In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.

Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

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A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.

The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.

In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.

Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.

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After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.

Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.

On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.

For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)

Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.

The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.

This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.

Ashlyn Messier is a writer for Fox News Digital.

World

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Published

5 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.

A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.

The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.

Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.

Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.

Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.

“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.

“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”

Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.

The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.