ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – A change in asylum procedure by Ethiopia’s government is undermining neighboring Eritreans’ access to asylum and denying unaccompanied children the necessary protection, Human Rights Watch asserted Tuesday. The rights group said Ethiopia in January changed its refugee policy that had granted all arriving Eritrean asylum seekers refugee status. Most go to Ethiopia, which currently hosts more than 170,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers. According to the United Nations refugee agency, 44% of Eritrean refugees based in northern Ethiopia were children as of December. “The refusal to register unaccompanied children may compel them to return to abusive situations,” Human Rights Watch said.

Source: Ethiopian News April 21, 2020 09:22 UTC