United News of Bangladesh

Italian authorities on Friday transferred 40 migrants with no permission to remain in the country to Italian-run migration detention centres in Albania. It was the first time a European Union country sent rejected migrants to a nation outside the EU that is neither their own nor a country they had transited on their journey, migration experts said, AP reports. A military ship with the migrants departed the Italian port of Brindisi and arrived hours later in the Albanian port of Shengjin, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) northeast of the capital, Tirana. The migrants were seen being transferred in buses and minivans under heavy security to an Italian-run centre in Shengjin, where they will be processed before being transferred to a second centre in Gjader, also run by Italian authorities. The Italian government has not released their nationalities or further details. China, ASEAN media and think tanks urged to embrace AI, address its challenges Both facilities in Shengjin and in Gjader were originally built to process asylum requests of people intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea by Italy. But since their inauguration in October, Italian courts have stopped authorities from using them and small groups of migrants sent there have returned to Italy. Italy’s far-right-led government of Premier Giorgia Meloni approved a decree last month that expanded the use of the Albanian fast-track asylum processing centers to include the detention of rejected asylum-seekers with deportation orders. It is not clear how long the migrants may be held in Albania. In Italy they can be detained for up to 18 months pending deportation. Meloni's novel approach to expel the migrants echoes US President Donald Trump’s recent deportations of migrants of various nationalities to Panama. It's also in line with a recent EU Commission proposal that, if passed, would allow EU members to set up so-called “return hubs” abroad.

Unicef on Thursday commended the recent release of 345 children from detention centres in Bangladesh by virtual courts. “This marks an important step towards children’s access to justice in Bangladesh and places the protection, safety and best interests of children first,” said Unicef Representative in Bangladesh Tomoo Hozumi on the release of the children from detention centres. Also Read:UNICEF for maintaining positive child immunization trend in Bangladesh The Bangladesh Supreme Court established the use of virtual courts in May 2020 with support from Unicef. Since then, over 1,400 children have been released from detention centres thanks to virtual courts. Less than 0.5 per cent of these children have reoffended following their release. “Detention takes its heavy toll on children’s mental and physical health so unnecessary institutionalisation must be avoided. Unicef calls for the introduction of non-custodial solutions for children who are victims, witnesses or accused of crimes,” Hozumi said in the statement. The Unicef Representative in Bangladesh said all children who can safely return to their families or appropriate alternative care should be released from detention centres. “This is particularly important during the current pandemic lockdown when centre staffing is limited and children face heightened risk of infection, neglect and abuse in the overcrowded detention centres. Hozumi said Bangladesh has demonstrated a strong leadership during the pandemic by embracing judicial reforms for the benefit of children and their rights. “We must continue to build on this momentum by expediting child-related cases which are pending in the justice system and keeping thousands of children in detention.” Also Read: Mental health alert for 332 million children linked to COVID-19 lockdown policies: UNICEF Unicef lends its full support to the government of Bangladesh, the Supreme Court Special Committee on Child Rights, and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs to improve children’s access to justice, Hozumi added. “By strengthening the application of the Children’s Act 2013, we can prevent child detention in Bangladesh, including at the police level.”