A/HRC/41/53 received reports of recent cases where Eritrean families living in Western Europe had received demands for ransom from trafficking networks in Libya to secure the release of relatives. Some families were repeatedly forced to pay large sums of money to free their relatives. In a positive development, in June 2018, for the first time, the Security Council 34 and the European Union imposed sanctions on six human traffickers in Libya, two of whom were Eritreans. 72. The ongoing conflict in Libya and the interceptions by the Libyan coast guard of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean have led to an important decrease in the number of those reaching Europe through the central Mediterranean route. 35 However, Eritreans continue to face life-threatening situations in their attempts to seek refuge in third countries. According to reports, Eritrean migrants and refugees are using alternative routes through Turkey to reach Greece 36 and through Algeria and Tunisia to reach southern Europe. Others have been heading south across Ethiopia and then onward to Kenya and Uganda. B. Asylum policies applicable to Eritrean asylum seekers 73. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that some Governments are tightening their asylum regulations applicable to Eritrean asylum seekers. In previous reports the Special Rapporteur has documented changes in the protection policies for Eritrean asylum seekers in several countries (e.g., A/HRC/35/39, paras. 39–40; and A/HRC/38/50, paras. 99–104). 74. Eritrea is among the top countries of origin of asylum seekers in Switzerland. In recent years, the Swiss migration authorities have applied stricter admission criteria in assessing the protection provided to Eritrean asylum seekers. In January 2017, the Federal Administrative Court of Switzerland ruled that illegally exiting Eritrea could no longer, in itself, justify the granting of refugee status; additional factors must also exist. 37 This more restrictive approach was confirmed in an August 2017 decision in which the Court found that Eritreans who had served in the national service would not necessarily face the risk of being recalled back into service or punished if they returned. 38 In July 2018, the Court ruled that having to face forced military conscription upon return to Eritrea was, in itself, insufficient grounds for obtaining asylum. 39 Since early 2018, the State Secretariat for Migration has been reassessing the temporary admission of Eritreans and, as of September 2018, temporary admission permits have been cancelled in 9 per cent of the 250 cases reviewed. 40 The State Secretariat for Migration plans to reassess some 2,800 additional cases by mid-2019. The Special Rapporteur notes that the cancellation of temporary admission permits has serious consequences, as holders of cancelled permits no longer benefit from the right to work, access to education or social assistance, which leaves them with limited options for subsistence. Returning to Eritrea would expose many of them to arrest, harassment and violence. In December 2018, examining the situation of an Eritrean asylum seeker in Switzerland, the Committee against Torture found that deporting the 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 16 United Nations, “Security Council Committee concerning Libya adds six individuals to its sanctions list”, press release, 7 June 2018. Eritreans represented 2.2 per cent of the approximately 520 refugees and migrants reaching Italy by sea during the period between January and March 2019. The number of Eritreans making the sea crossing decreased from over 1,550 during the period between January and March 2018 to 11 during the same three-month period in 2019. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Operational Portal: Refugee Situations, “Mediterranean situation”. In February 2019, Eritreans were among the top 10 nationalities of migrants and refugees apprehended or rescued in the Aegean Sea by the Turkish coast guard. International Organization for Migration, “Migrants’ Presence Monitoring: Turkey”, situation report, February 2019, p. 2. Decision D-7898 (30 January 2017). Decision D-2311/2016 (17 August 2017). Decision E-5022/2017 (10 July 2018). See also decision E-5762/2015 (2 October 2018). State Secretariat for Migration, “Fin du projet pilote d’examen des admissions provisoires des ressortissants erythréens”, available in French at: www.sem.admin.ch/sem/fr/home/aktuell/news/2018/2018-09-03.html.