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EU asylum
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EU-ECJ: The Court's judgment today annuls the "safe third
country" and "safe country of origin" provisions
of the procedures directive - and also states that the co-decision
procedure now fully applies to asylum law. The case was brought
by the European Parliament: Case
C-133/06 - full-text of judgment (pdf).
See for background: Statewatch's analysis and coverage: EU
divided over list of “safe countries of origin” –
Statewatch calls for the list to be scrapped (pdf) and EU
divided over list of "safe countries of origin" - the
list should be scrapped - secret documents reveal a shallow process
without any sense of morality or humanity
EU: BIOMETRIC VISAS & FINGERPRINTING CHILDREN: Latest version
of: Draft
Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending
the Common Consular Instructions on visas for diplomatic and
consular posts in relation to the introduction of biometrics
including provisions on the organisation of the reception and
processing of visa applications (dated 22 April 2008, pdf). There are
still substantive differences between the Council's position
and that of the European Parliament - especially on the age for
finger-printing children: Council, 6 years old and above, EP,
12 years old and above.
EU-JHA-ECRE: Memorandum
to the JHA Council: Ending the asylum lottery – Guaranteeing
refugee protection in Europe (pdf)
GREECE: Report by Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers (NOAS),
the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) and Greek Helsinki Monitor
(GHM): Report
on the violation of asylum seekers’ Human Rights by Greece (Report, pdf) and Press
release
(pdf)
"The situation for asylum seekers in Greece is alarming. Thousands of asylum seekers live under unworthy conditions, and without any forms of legal protection. The chance of receiving protection in Greece is close to zero. Transferring asylum seekers to the country is therefore irresponsible."
EU: Standing Committee of experts on international immigration,
refugees and criminal law: Views on the Commission
report on the evaluation and future development of the FRONTEX
agency
(pdf)
UK: Positive Action For Refugees & Asylum Seekers: Dawn
raids PAFRAS Briefing Paper No 4 (pdf) and Mental
health, destitution and asylum PAFRAS Briefing Paper No 5 (pdf)
EU-DUBLIN AGREEMENT: European Council on Refugees and Exiles
(ECRE) Letter
to EU Presidency (pdf) The letter says that "the unacceptable
conditions for asylum claimants in Greece, the obstacles to accessing
a fair determination procedure and the risk of other serious
human rights violations" as its reasons. "Greece is
not a safe place for those in need of protection," Bjarte
Vandvik, the head of the ECRE, said.
EU: European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE): Sharing
Responsibility for Refugee Protection in Europe: Dublin Reconsidered (pdf) Press
release
(pdf)
EU-RETURNS DIRECTIVE: Statewatch
Supplementary Analysis: The EU's Returns Directive by Professor Steve Peers,
University of Essex who concludes:
"The EP and the Council have to decide whether their endlessly-repeated support for the principles of fairness, human rights and human dignity is a genuine commitment, or simply empty rhetoric."
Netherlands: Two
deaths in immigration detention in 2 months
“States
should not impose penalties on arriving asylum-seekers” by Thomas Hammarberg
(CoE, full-text, link):
"A minimum of solidarity with those oppressed is to receive them when they are forced to flee. The “right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution” is indeed a key provision in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sadly, this right is not fully observed in parts of Europe today. Instead, refugees are met with suspicion and too often even placed in detention."
EU: FINGER-PRINTING CHILDREN: The high-level SCIFA/Mixed Committee,
meeting on 12 February 2008 discussed the age at which children
should be fingerprinted for visas, residence permits and EU passports
and travel documents in: EU doc
no: 6138/08
At a subsequent meeting of the Visa Working Party, on 18-19 February
2008 (EU doc no: 6952/08) it was reported in SCIFA that for the:
- age limit: the vast majority of delegations agreed on the age of six and even a lower age where the national legislation allows for it. Two delegations maintained the limit of twelve years."
The two governments referred to - Germany and Austria - support the 12 years old and above proposal from the European Parliament.
The "majority" support finger-printing children six years old and over while allowing any government to have a lower age "where national legislation allows for it".
UK: Border & Immigration Agency: Introducing
compulsory identity cards for foreign nationals (pdf)
GREECE: Pro Asyl report: "The truth may
be bitter, but it must be told" (pdf) The Situation of Refugees in the
Aegean and the Practices of the Greek Coast Guard.
UK: 11 MILLION - CHILDRENS' COMMISSIONER REPORT: Claiming
asylum at a Screening Unit as an unaccompanied child (pdf):
"The oppressive nature of large parts of the asylum screening process makes it difficult for children to give a full and accurate account of themselves. This may have implications for the decision made on their asylum claim."
EU-BORDERS: EUROPEAN DATA PROTECTION SUPERVISOR: Border
Management
(press release, pdf) EDPS
issues first comments on EU border management package (7 pages, pdf) Peter
Hustinx, EDPS, says:
"It is crucial that the impact on the privacy rights of individuals crossing the EU borders is adequately taken into account. A lack of data protection safeguards would not only mean that the individuals concerned might suffer unduly from the proposed measures, but also that the measures will be less effective, or even counter productive, by diminishing public trust in government action."
The EDPS comments cover:
- piling up of
legislative proposals in the area...making it difficult for stakeholders
to have a comprehensive overview;
- heavy reliance on biometric data;
- lack of evidence supporting the need for new data systems;
- lack of evaluation of existing systems.
Italy: Milan
city council found guilty of discriminating migrant children
EU: European Commission borders package:
- Preparing
the next steps in border management in the European Union (COM 69 2008, pdf)
- Preparing
the next steps in border management in the European Union - Impact
Assessment
(SEC 153 on COM 69 2008, pdf)
- Examining
the creation of a European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) (COM 68 2008, pdf)
- Examining
the creation of a European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR)
- Impact Assessment- (SEC 151 on COM 68 2008, pdf)
- Report
on the evaluation and future development of the FRONTEX Agency (COM 67 2008, pdf)
- Report
on the evaluation and future development of the FRONTEX Agency
- Impact Assessment (SEC 148 on COM 67 2008, pdf)
- Report
on the evaluation and future development of the FRONTEX Agency (SEC 150 on COM 67 2008,
pdf)
EU: FRONTEX: Conclusions
from the Expert Meeting on the Follow-up of the Joint Frontex
Europol Report on the High Risk Routes of Illegal Migration in
the Western Balkan Countries within the Frontex Risk Analysis
Network
(EU doc no: 5685/08, pdf)
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: Statewatch Analysis: The
Proposed EU Returns Directive by Professor Steve Peers, University
of Essex (pdf)
"The Council’s version of the Directive sets standards so low that it would be difficult for Member States go any lower – most obviously with the indefinite period of detention (along with the weak rules on judicial control of detention), but also as regards exclusions from the scope of the Directive, the deletion of the general human rights safeguard, the limited grounds for mandatory postponement of removals, the mandatory re-entry ban following a return decision, the lower standards for remedies, the accelerated procedures without a right to any remedy at all in the Directive, and the nearly non-existent safeguards pending removal."
Germany: Amendment
Act marks continued hostility towards foreigners and second generation
immigrants
(Feature, pdf)
"Decades of restrictive handling of asylum and migration rules have, in Germany as in the rest of the EU, led to a large number of asylum seekers and migrants living permanently without a secure legal status. Forced into illegality, undocumented migrants are economically marginalised and often excluded from basic social services that help to meet a decent standard of living with regard to housing, food, clothing, health care, legal advice, education and training. As a result of this structural violation of migrants' basic rights in Europe, the sans papiers, asylum and migrant rights groups in Germany and other EU countries are demanding the regularisation of undocumented migrants and rejected asylum seekers living in the EU without a secure residency status."
EU: FINGER-PRINTING CHILDREN FOR VISAS, EU PASSPORTS AND TRAVEL
DOCUMENTS: The Council of the European Union (the 27 governments)
and the European Parliament are currently in co-decision negotiations
over the content on which includes the issue at what age should
children be finger-printed for the issuing of visas. The Council
is proposing children of 6 years of age and above while the European
Parliament wants it to be 12 years of age and above: EU
doc no: 6067/1/08 REV 1 (the document contains a useful chart comparing
the positions of the Council, Commission and European Parliament,
pdf).
In a different, but complementary Council fora, the SCIFA/Mixed Committee is discussing the same issue not just for visas but also for all EU passports and travel documents (ie: resident third country nationals, Schengen ID cards): EU doc no: 6138/08 In this high-level Working Party the Council Presidency notes that while there is a "majority" of governments in favour of 6 years and above three governments - Czech Republic, France and Portugal - think it would be "possible" to take:
"fingerprints even for children below the age of 6 years"
While two governments - Germany and Austria - support the 12 years old and above proposal from the parliament.
The Council Presidency is proposing that it should be decided whether each government should be able to decide its own limits - some would be 12 years, some 6 years and some at birth?
"It needs
also to be decided if member States should be allowed to collect
fingerprints of children under the age of 6 on the basis of the
national
legislation."
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"It is to be hoped that the European Parliament will not budge on this issue. EU governments have been discussing this issue as a technological one, at what age is it possible to take reliable fingerprints from children, when it is a moral and political question.
This comes in parallel with the Commission's idea that peoples' visas, passports and travel documents, including those of children, will be processed in an enclosed box by machines. What kind of Europe are we heading for?"
EU: Integrated European Border Management Strategy: "None
of the policy options contribute markedly to reducing terrorism
or serious crime" Perhaps the most revealing document
in the EU's Justice and Home Affairs package on exit-entry and
border management is: Commission Staff
Working Document: Accompanying document to the Communication
New tools for an integrated European Border Management Strategy:
Impact Assessment, Draft v (17/1/2008) (pdf)
- On the role of EU databases like the Schengen Information System (SIS) and terrorism: As the "perpetrators" have mainly been EU citizens or living in the EU with official permits:
"None
of the policy options contribute markedly to reducing terrorism
or serious crime...In view of the latest terrorist acts in the
area of the EU, it can be noted that the perpetrators have mainly
been EU citizens or foreigners residing and living in the Member
States with official permits.
Usually there has been no information about these people or about
their terrorist connections in the registers, for example in
the SIS or national databases. The entry/exit system does not
register entries or exits of the EU citizens or their relatives.
Therefore, the entry/exit system will not be able to have an
impact on this specific target group."
- USA entry-exit procedures: "A total of 1,500 people were rejected at the border (but it is not clear how many of them could be classified as serious criminals or terrorist).Information on how many terrorists were rejected at the border is not available."
- a number of Case Studies are cited but these include those using irises as the biometric identifier - which are not going to be used in any EU-wide system and none of the examples involved large-scale numbers of passengers being handled.
Finally, the
proposed "Automated Border Control" processing
is described in detail - which is labour-saving as no people
are involved:
"Automated Border Control processes normally consist
of the following: Fingerprint matching would be used in conjunction
with an automated gate and kiosk.
The traveller enters the automated gate area, possibly by presenting
their passport in order to open a door that closes behind them
once they have entered (
to ensure only one passenger uses the gate at a time).
The kiosk prompts the traveller to present the e-passport for
scanning (visual and electronic) and is prompted to present one
or two fingerprints for scanning. The fingerprint image is captured
and the system converts both the captured image and the image
stored on the e-passport into templates and attempts to match
them, according to predetermined thresholds. If a good match
is achieved, a second gate opens and the traveller is allowed
to cross the border. If there is not a good enough match, or
any other problem occurs, the gate does not open and the traveller
is directed for processing by a border guard." (p65)
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"The idea that visitors and possibly EU citizens - including children aged six and above - should enter an enclosed box and be told what to do by machines and for computers to decide whether to let us out or not is a quite appalling proposal.
We are told it will save money because no officials need to be involved and that the EU should embrace all the benefits of modern technological developments. If this is the price of "progress" it is a bridge too far"
EU: JHA PACKAGE: Press Releases: 13 February 2008:
- A
comprehensive vision for an integrated European border management
system for the 21st Century
- Examining
the creation of a European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR)
- The
FRONTEX Agency: evaluation and future development
EU: JHA PACKAGE announced on 13 February 2008: Early drafts and
Inter service consultations:
- Commission
Inter-service Consolation document on the future of FRONTEX,
11 December 2007 (pdf)
- Commission
exit-entry system draft and Inter-Service Consultation document,
12 December 2007 (pdf)
- Commission
Inter-Service Consultation on European Border Surveillance System
(EUROSUR), 11 December 2007 (pdf)
See below.
EU: European
Commission proposes "entry-exit" system (Communication, pdf)
The Commission is proposing that the entry and exit of all visa-holders
will be recorded automatically - these visa-holders have to give
their finger-prints and be vetted before getting a visa in their
country of origin. However, non-visa entrants (eg: from the EU's
"white list" countries like the USA) will also have
to be fingerprinted and cleared - EU's
"white" and "black" visa lists (pdf).
Hidden inside the Communication is a reference to "Automated Border Control systems" which will apply to EU citizens as well as visitors:
"The introduction of Automated Border Control systems can enable the automated verification of travellers’ identity without the intervention of border guards. A machine reads the biometric data contained in the travel documents or stored in a system or database and compares them against the biometrics of the traveller, accelerating border checks by creating automated separate lanes replacing the traditional control booths."
Experiments are taking place along the above lines where a person enters a closed box, is automatically checked and cleared or not cleared - if a person is not cleared a side door opens and they are taken away for questioning.
The Communication proposes the issuing of "tokens" to EU citizens who do not have biometric passports (ie: those who have not had their fingerprints taken) subject to vetting as the full "roll-out" of EU biometric passports will not be complete until 2016.
Also proposed is the adopted of "common vetting criteria" across the EU.
These developments need to be seen alongside the introduction of biometric passports and travel documents across the EU requiring the taking of everyone fingerprints, see: EU governments blackmail European Parliament into quick adoption of its report on biometric passports and EU: "biometric passports" We will not just have to be finger-printed once but over and over again and the Commission's proposed introduction of an EU-PNR (Passenger Name Record) covering everyone (citizens and visitors) leaving and entering the EU: See Statewatch's Observatory on EU-PNR
EU: FRONTEX: Report
on the evaluation and future development of the FRONTEX Agency (pdf) Commission
Staff Working Document: Accompanying document: Report on the
evaluation and future development of the FRONTEX Agency: Impact
Assessment
(pdf) Commission
Staff Working Paper: Annex to the Report from the Commission
on the evaluation and future development of the Frontex Agency:
Statistical data (pdf)
EU: German
Institute for Human Rights: Border
Management and Human Rights A study of EU Law and the Law of
the Sea
by Ruth Weinzierl and Urszula Lisson (Final Study: 95 pages,
pdf)
Spain: Annual
statistics on the fight against illegal immigration published
UK
Borders Act 2007 (the 2007 Act) come into force on 31 January
2008 - Home Office Circular (pdf)
France: MEP
denied access to migrant detention centre
Greece: Emergency
Call for Action for the rights of people without papers in Patras,
Greece
(pdf)
BULGARIA:
Immigration Detention in International Law and Practice (In search
of solutions to the challenges faced in Bulgaria)
Valeria Ilareva by Valeria IIareva (pdf)
CANADA: Court decides that the USA is not a "safe third
country: In a 124-page decision Mr. Justice Michael Phelan
ruled that the Safe Third Country Agreement, which came into
effect on Dec. 29, 2004 and regulated refugee movement between
Canada and the U.S., violates refugee rights and that the United
States did not meet the conditions required to be considered
a "Safe Country" under the terms of the Agreement.
Full
text of judgment (pdf)
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: "Against
the outrageous Directive!", full-text of speech given by
Yasha Maccanico (Statewatch) at the hearing with NGOs organised
by the GUE group, European Parliament, Strasbourg on 12 December
2007
(pdf)
EU: Fingerprinting
children - VIS (Visa Information System): This document shows
the latest position of the Council of the European Union (27
governments): See: EU doc no:
16598/07
(pdf) There would be limited use of the fingerprints of children
aged 6-12:
"Fingerprints given by children aged between 6-12 at the time of collection may only be used for verification purposes"
"Verification" means that only "on-to-one" checks can be carried out to confirm that the child is the same as that recorded in the travel document. But Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria and Estonia want childrens' fingerprints to be checked "one-to-many", that is against the whole database.
The European Parliament wants the age from which children can be fingerprinted to be set at 12 years old and more, the EU governments want it to be 6 years old. The standard set for visas is likely also to apply to resident third country nationals and all EU citizens too.
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE:Updated
compilation: No!
To the Outrageous Directive (pdf, 2.4MB) Website: outrageousdirective.org (link) The petition
against the adoption of this EU Directive has now been signed
by over 18,000 individuals and 600 organisations.See: Background
EU: Detention Centres report for European Parliament: The
conditions in centres for third country national (detention camps,
open centres as well as transit centres and transit zones) with
a particular focus on provisions and facilities for persons with
special needs in the 25 EU member states (2.35 MB, pdf)
UK-ECJ: Court
of Justice judgment on UK case: The Council was right to refuse
to allow the United Kingdom to take part in the adoption of the
Frontex Regulation and the Regulation establishing standards
for security features and biometrics in passports (press release, pdf)
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: Council of Europe: On
eve of International Migrants Day, PACE committee head slams
EU proposals for irregular migrants (press release, Strasbourg, 17.12.2007).
"An EU proposal to fix at 18 months the maximum period of detention for irregular migrants in Europe “flies in the face of humanity”, according to the Chair of the Migration Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE)."
CoE PACE: Resolution (pdf) and Recommendations (pdf)
Standing Committee of experts (Utrecht) - Opinion (pdf) and see also: ECRE-AI letter (pdf)
Hearing with NGOs on the Return Directive, Wednesday, 12 December 2007, European Parliament, Strasbourg The Group GUE/NGL host key NGOs to debate the return directive and the future of European immigration policy: 17.00 hrs with Migreurop (European NGOs Network), European Conference of Churches (tbc), GISTI (France), CIRE (Belgium), Statewatch (EU civil liberties), ARCI (Italy), KERK IN ACTIE (Netherlands, tbc), CIMADE (France), PRO ASYL (Germany) (tbc) See also:
- No to the Outrageuous
Directive - Appeal to Members of the European Parliament (link)
- "State of play": For the rejection of the Directive:
English
(pdf) and French
(pdf)
- Conference of
European Churches - Press Release No.07-45/e 19 November 2007:
CEC Central Committee concerned about administrative detention
of migrants and re-entry ban in EU countires (pdf)
- Against
the detention and forced removal of minors (link)
- Commission
Proposal for a Directive on common standards and procedures in
Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals
(original)
- European
Parliament draft Resolution for debate at plenary session
(pdf)
Background:
- Statewatch
analysis: The original EU Directive on return expulsion
(Frances Webber analysis, April 2007)
- Statewatch
analysis: Revising the proposed EU Expulsion Directive
(Steve Peers analysis of German text, April 2007)
- House of Lords Select Committee on the EU: Illegal
Migrants: proposals for a common EU returns policy (May
2006, pdf)
Updated 10 December: EU: JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL, 6-7
December 2007, Brussels: Final press
release
(pdf)
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Fighting terrorism
can never be an excuse to violate human rights, say MEPs (press release, pdf)
Italy: Quota
for migrant workers set
UK: Border and Immigration Agency Complaints Audit Committee:
Report:
full-text
(pdf) Damning report says in 95% of cases, those investigating
the complaints had been from the companies under investigation.
The report says:
"In the past year only 29% of cases alleging misconduct by named officials and contract staff were handled in time. Investigations into these misconduct complaints have in our assessment remained poor. Only 8% of complainants were interviewed, thus kicking off an inequitable consideration of the complaint. We found that 89% of investigations were neither balanced nor thorough, and that as a consequence, 83% of replies were indefensible."
Migrant complaint policy shake-up (BBC News, link)
Italy: Murder
causes anti-Romanian backlash and opens way for the expulsion
of EU nationals
EU: Standing Committee of experts on international immigration,
refugees and criminal law (Utrecht) submission to the Commission
on: Proposal
to give law enforcement authorities access to Eurodac (pdf)
"There
are five core arguments why the intended proposal in our view
would be unlawful: firstly, access to Eurodac data for law
enforcement authorities would be irreconcilable with the present
purpose limitation of the Eurodac regulation, secondly,
there is no legal basis in EC law for extending the use of Eurodac
with security purposes. Thirdly, such an extension is
incompatible with basic principles of European law, international
standards, and constitutional law of the Member States,
the observance of which the Court of Justice ensures. Fourthly,
data protection authorities lack sufficient means to
protect the rights of asylum seekers and fifthly, the proposal
will affect the integrity of Eurodac."
EU-JHA COUNCIL: Press
release for 8-9 November 2007 (Final, pdf) Final agendas for the Justice
and Home Affairs Council in Brussels on 8-9 November 2007: "B"
Point agenda
(pdf) and "A"
Points agenda
- adopted without discussion (pdf) Background
Note
(pdf)
Fortress
Europe report on Libya: Escape
from Tripoli: Report on the conditions of migrants in transit
in Libya
(pdf)
GREECE: “The
truth may be bitter, but it must be told”: Greece: PRO ASYL
and Greek Group of Lawyers reveal systematic human rights abuses
in the Aegean and Brussels. asylum procedures within the European
Union. Call on EU to react (press release) Full-text
of report
(full report, pdf
EU-LIBYA: FRONTEX
led EU illegal immigration technical mission to Libya 28 May-5
June 2007
(pdf) FRONTEX is the EU's Border Management Agency
EU: Reactions to: "Blue card" scheme to, in the Commission
words:"the brightest and the best" from third
world countries to meet EU demands for skilled workers to maintain
its living standards. See story on "legal migration"
below.
- Big
nations should compensate small countries for poaching skills (Caribseek, Caribbean
News, link)
- African
states fear brain drain through EU blue card (euobserver, link)
EU: "Legal migration" proposals from the Commission:Council
Directive on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country
nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment ( COM 637, pdf) and
Proposal
for a Council Directive on a single application procedure for
a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work
in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights
for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State (COM 638, pdf). European
Commission press release, 23 October 2007
The Commission, as agreed by the Council (the EU governments), has put forward two proposals to meet the needs of the labour market resulting from "demographic problems resulting from our ageing population" and the "limited mobility of EU citizens". A "Blue Card is to be introduced to attract "highly qualified workers" - described by the Commission from as "the brightest and the best" from third world countries. The second proposal introduces a "single application procedure" and a "common set of rights for third country workers legally residing in a Member State".
The Commission claims that the "negative "brain drain" effects in developing countries" will be "avoided" through "ethical recruitment standards" which will limit, or ban, "active recruitment by Member States in developing countries already suffering from "serious brain drain" - a statement that defies comprehension.
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"The proposal to have a common set of rights for third country workers is to be welcomed but the underlying "legal migration", Blue Card scheme, is not.
On the one hand the EU removes evermore the rights of refugees fleeing from poverty and persecution seeking sanctuary. On the other, due to the EU's ageing population, it wants to actively recruit highly skilled workers from the third world in order to maintain its own standards of living - and thus maintain, if not exacerbate, an already unequal relationship.
It is a policy devoid of humanity or principle."
EU-UPDATE:
Draft measure: Council
Decision concerning access for consultation of the Visa Information
System (VIS) by designated authorities of Member States and by
Europol for the purposes of the prevention, detection and investigation
of terrorist offences and of other serious criminal offences 2) European Parliament:
Amending
the Common Consular Instructions on visas for diplomatic missions
and consular posts in relation to the introduction of biometrics
including provision on the organisation of the reception and
processing of visa application
EU-ASYLUM: Standing Committee of experts on international immigration,
refugees and criminal law (the "Meijers" Committee)
submission to the Commission on: Green
Paper on the future Common European Asylum System (pdf)
EP-COUNCIL-ECJ:
Opinion
in Case C-133/06 EP v Council of the Advocate General (French, pdf) who argues
that the Court of Justice should annul the provisions in the
procedures directive providing for a common list of "safe
countries of origin" and for a common list of "super-safe
countries".
Biscay/Spain-Morocco: Protecting
foreign minors or getting rid of them? by Peio M. Aierbe, SOS Arrazakeria/SOS Racismo,
6 September 2007. About the Awareness Raising, Protection
and Reception of foreign under-14-year-olds who have arrived
in Biscay proposal, presented by the Grupo Popular Vizcaíno
(Popular Party Group of Biscay) of the Juntas Generales de
Bizkaia (Biscay General Assembly). A proposal from the Partido
Popular is set to be debated soon in the Juntas Generales
de Bizkaia, on the setting up of a reception centre in Morocco
for under-14s to which to send those who arrive in the institutions
of Biscay [the province of Bilbao]. See also
Spain-Senegal:
Agreement to repatriate unaccompanied minors approved
Spain: Growing
numbers of repatriations of minors envisaged, and the building
of reception centres abroad
EU: Eurodac (sylum-seekers fingerprint database): Annual
report to the Council and the European Parliament on the activities
of the EURODAC Central Unit in 2006
EU-BIOMETRIC VISAS: Latest "state of play": EU
doc no: 12665/07. The European Palriament's reservations are noted
as:
"The
Chair [Council Presidency] informed delegations of concerns raised
during proceedings in the European Parliament:
- the absence of impact assessment of the proposed measures;
- the lack of coordination with the proposal on the Visa code;
- the inappropriateness of storing the fingerprints of children
under 14 years (age of 14 is the one used in EURODAC) and of
persons older than 79 years;
- outsourcing as a general possibility given to Member States
when it should be a last resort solution only;
- the absence of the drawing up of detailed measures about personal
data."
Background: EU: European Data Protection Supervisor Opinion on: Common Consular Instructions (pdf) The EDPS underlines that it is a political decision rather than a purely technical one to determine from which age fingerprints shall be collected. See: Statewatch coverage: EU:Fingerprinting of children - the debate goes on: Spain taking fingerprints and facial images from children at birth; Czech Republic taking fingerprints from 5 and facial images from birth; Latvia and France in favour of fingerprints from 6 and facial images from birth. EU states will be free to fingerprint children from day one of their life as soon as it is technologically possible: Council Presidency proposed in June 2006 that there should be the compulsory fingerprinting of children from the age of 12 year old.
Amnesty International report: Millions
in flight: the Iraqi refugee crisis (link)
EU-EURODAC: Note
on the proposal of the JHA Council to give law enforcement authorities
access to Eurodac (pdf) from the Standing Committee of Experts on
International Immigration, Refugee and Criminal law (the "Meijers
Committee") to the European Commission.
"The
Standing Committee of Experts is deeply concerned about this
development. EU measures or policies in the field of Freedom,
Security, and Justice should not be based on the general presumption
that migrants within the EU are to be treated as suspected terrorists.
Such a policy would run against the general accepted principles
in EU law of non-discrimination and equality."
Criminalising solidarity,
part II: Italy/Tunisia:
Fishermen on trial for rescuing migrants
UPDATE:
EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council, 18 September 2007,
Brussels: Final
press release, 18 September 2007 (pdf)
Background
Note
(pdf) B
Points Agenda
(pdf) A
Points Agenda
(pdf)
Residence permits: The Council agreed a "general approach", see:EU doc no: 12725/1/07 Rev 1 (pdf). This the fingerprinting of all residence third country nationals (just over 18 million people) and the use of the "chip" to include "e-government" (right to health, social security, etc) and "e-business" "services" as well as "additional provisions". Despite early differences between the EU governments the "hawks" have won:
"The capture of fingerprints is compulsory as of the age of six years of age"
Other items to be discussed/adopted:
- Draft
Council Conclusions on further reinforcing the EU's Southern
Maritime Borders
- Council
Decision on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly
in combating terrorism and cross-border crime (Prum)
EU: Report from the German Institute
for Human Rights: The
Demands of Human and EU Fundamental Rights for the Protection
of the European Union’s External Borders (pdf) by
Ruth Weinzier.
"It presents the requirements from fundamental and human rights and EU secondary law for the protection of the EU’s external borders. The main focus of the examination is on the special human rights problems arising from the protection of the southern maritime borders. Primarily this involves the question of access to refugee protection... A special area of focus of this study consists of an analysis of EU secondary law and the requirements stemming from EU fundamental rights."
Spain: Protocol
for the deportation of migrants to allow straightjackets and
helmets
UK: BID Bail for immigration detainees: Women’s
experiences of the Detained Fast Track asylum process at Yarl’s
Wood Immigration Removal Centre “Refusal Factory” (pdf)
European Parliament delegation to Greece to look at treatment
of asylum-seekers: Report (pdf)
UK: Home
Office FOI request reveals deportations to Afghanistan, Iraq
and DR Congo
OXFAM: Foreign
Territory: The Internationalisation of EU Asylum Policy (pdf, link)
"This study measures the fast-moving ‘internationalisation’ of EU asylum policy against the very principles of refugee protection to which the EU has publicly re-affirmed its commitment. We trace asylum policy from EU territory to its borders and periphery, then from nearby transit countries to host countries in regions of origin, and finally to refugees’ own countries."
EU: Sanctions on "illegally staying third-country nationals:
UK government position - Explanatory
Memorandum
(pdf) Background: European Commission Staff working paper: SEC
596/07
; Summary
of Impact Assessment (SEC 604/07) and Impact Assessment
(SEC 603/07)
; Proposal
for a Directive providing for sanctions against employers of
illegally staying third-country nationals (COM 249/07)
Call to sign Letter of protest to Spanish authorities on the
gagging and killing of a Nigerian citizen Osamuyiwa Aikpitanhi
during his forced deportation: The ‘Nigeria Village
Square’, a virtual meeting spot for Nigerians all over the
world, published a "Protest Note to Spanish Authorities",
which has so far been signed by more then 3.000 people. The protest
note will be delivered to Spanish embassies around the globe
at 12pm on FRIDAY June 29^th . The organisers are calling on
people to coordinate the delivery of the note to Spanish embassies
in their cities. Sign the protest note here: http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/component/option,com_philaform/Itemid,195/form_id,1/
UK: Criminal
Justice and Immigration Bill (245 pages!! pdf) The 55th Bill on "law
and order" and immigration since 1997. It is said to introduce
19 new criminal offences.
EU:European Commission: Progress
report on the Visa Information System (SEC 833, 2007)
EU-JHA COUNCIL: Justice and Home Affairs Council, 12-13 June
2007: Final
press release
(pdf)
Spain:
Another death in deportation class On Saturday, 9 June
2007, 23-year-old Osamuyia Aikpitanhi died during a deportation
flight with an Iberia jet from Spain to Nigeria. Aikpitanhi's
family blames police of punching and kicking him before he died
- with a restraining gag over his mouth. The Spanish police declined
to name a cause for the man's death and a spokesman said that
an investigation was under way. Press overview in English: http://no-racism.net/article/2143; Spanish report (espanol):
Muere un inmigrante nigeriano asfixiado durante una deportación
http://estrecho.indymedia.org/newswire/display/68704/index.php
EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council, Luxembourg: JHA
press release on 12 June (1st day decisions)
- B
Points agenda
(for discussion)
- A
Points agenda
(for adoption without any discussion)
- Background
Note
(pdf)
EU-UPDATE:
- Commission:
Green Paper on the future Common European Asylum System (COM 301)
- Report
from the Commission on the evaluation of the Dublin system (COM 299)
- Commission
Staff working paper on the evaluation of the Dublin system (SEC 724)
EU/Africa:
Chilling
details of refoulements from Morocco revealed In-depth analysis of
events and the legal implications of large-scale operations involving
the "Detention, deportation and degrading treatment of 42
black persons of sub-Saharan origin, asylum-seekers and refugees,
in Morocco in the early morning hours of 23rd to 24th December
2006".
EU-RABITS:
Regulation
for the creation of Rapid Border Intervention Teams This is now ready for
adoption by the European Parliament and the Council. Yet another
example of a "fast-track", 1st reading, deal.
GERMANY-DETENTION-CENTRES: Excellent report from anti detention
network buendnis gegen lager (Alliance Against Camps):
Systematic
exclusion and deprivation of rights: centre deportation motard
straße - Aspects of contempt for Humanity in Europe (pdf)
EU: Three European Commission Communications on migration and
"illegal employment":
- On
circular migration and mobility partnerships between the European
Union and third countries (COM 248/07)
- Applying
the Global Approach to Migration to the Eastern and South-Eastern
Regions Neighbouring the European Union (COM 247/07)
- Proposal
for a Directive providing for sanctions against employers of
illegally staying third-country nationals (COM 249/07)
EU-G6: Conclusions
of the G6 meetings in Venice, 11-12 May 2007 The G6 group of EU states
is comprised of: France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the
UK - and this meeting was also attended by the US Homeland Security
Secretary. Among the decisions and planned cooperation are:
- Migration:
"an informal dialogue to prepare legislation at EU-level"
- Exchange of information on "immigrants' entry and stay"
- To extend "the operational area" of the Maritime
Analysis and Operations Centre-Narcotics (MAOC-N) to the "Western
Mediterranean"
- To establish an "African platform" and anti-drugs
meetings of senior officials of G6 and "Mediterranean African
states"
- G6 and USA committed to the "research of shared solutions"
in combating terrorism
- To "enhance the Transatlantic Dialogue" by sharing
information, research and "law enforcement methods"
on terrorism
- "expulsion related to terrorism has proven to be an effective
tool.. [and] promoting, in repatriation States, patterns of conduct
compliant with international obligations as to the safeguarding
of human rights"
For background see: UK Select Committee
on the European Union slams G6's role
EU: Commission press
release on a: A
Comprehensive European Migration Policy (pdf)
EU-VIS: Access by agencies to the planned Visa Information System:
VIS
access by agencies (EU doc no: 8711/07). Outstanding issues on the
main VIS Regulation as at 12 April: VIS
questions
(EU doc 8151/07) and at 18 April: More VIS questions (EU doc no: 8540/07).
Latest full: Draft
of the EC Regulation setting up the Visa Information System (dated 2 April 2007)
EU: Policy
Plan on Legal Migration (COM 669, 2007, pdf)
EU: Fundamental
rights, fundamental flaws (press
release 19 April 2007): Statewatch has published a damning critique
of crucial EU proposals on suspects' rights in cross-border criminal
proceedings, data protection in the area of police and judicial
cooperation, and the expulsion of migrants from the EU. Four
detailed Statewatch analyses of the draft EU measures show the
extent to which powerful member states are driving down standards
of human rights protection in the creation of the so-called EU
"Area of Freedom, Security and Justice". Two of these
measures - suspects' rights and data protection - will be discussed
by the Member States at this week's Justice and Home Affairs
Council (19-20 April 2007).
EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council, 19-20 April 2007 in Luxembourg:
Press
release
(final, pdf) Framework
Decision on racism and xenophobia (pdf) Statement on Frontex (pdf) SIS
and VIS
(pdf)
EU: Yet another fast-track, "first reading", deal between
the Council and the European Parliament: Draft
Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing
a mechanism for the creation of Rapid Border Intervention Teams (pdf)
Italy: Criminalising
solidarity - Cap Anamur trial underway
The trial of Elias Bierdel, Vladimir Dachkevitce and Stefan Schmidt, respectively president of the German NGO Cap Anamur, and captain and first officer on the ship bearing the same name that saved 37 African shipwreck victims between Libya and Lampedusa in June 2004, began on 27 November 2006 in Agrigento (Sicily)
Spain/Africa: Three-fold
increase in dinghy deaths as the EU border moves south - "the number sarriving
and dying are rising"
EU: Latest Draft
of the EC Regulation setting up the Visa Information System (dated 2 April 2007),
together with the outstanding issues between the Council and
the European Parliament
UK: Border
and Immigration Agency launched
EU: Latest
draft Council Regulation on a uniform format for residence permits (EU doc no: 7468/07)
UK: Parliamentary Joint Human Rights Committee: The
Treatment of Asylum Seekers (pdf) It calls for an end to the detention
of children and condemns the present system of dealing with those
seeking asylum
EU: The Council has agreed on a letter to the Court of Justice
re enlarging the Court's jurisdiction over immigration and asylum,
asking the Court to develop one of its two proposals for changing
the Court's rules to establish an emergency procedure for JHA
cases: Letter,
EU doc no: 7646/07 (pdf)
EU: VIS (Visa Information System) update:
- Draft Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community Code on Visas Covers Article 10 to 14 plus a number of annexes including draft visa application form (19 March 2007, 28 pages, pdf)
- Draft Council Decision on access for consultation of the Visa Information System (VIS) by designated authorities of Member States and by Europol for the purposes of the prevention, detection and investigation of terrorist offences and of other serious criminal offences (20 February 2007, pdf)."Designated authorities" is a euphemism for internal security agencies.
- Draft Regulation concerning the Visa Information System (VIS) (13 March 2007) Outcomes on discussion with the European Parliament
EU: FRONTEX
work programme 2007 - EU Border controls agency
EU: Resident third-country nationals: biometric permits: Update:
The Council Presidency is proposing that resdience permits will
be "issued as individual documents, irrespective of the
age of the person" and that a new Article in the Regulation
saying that all children aged six and over should be fingerprinted:
EU
doc no: 6201/07 This is despite
the Commission's view that: "the reliability of fingerprints
is only acceptable for children above 12 years old"
See previous story: Resident third country nationals - biometric residence permits Planned residence permits will have two "chips" - one with biometrics (fingerprints) the other with "national" data and so-called services. Over 17 million people with the right to reside in the EU will be issued with: a two-chip residence permit which will be treated as an ID card too and which will control access and use of "e-government" services (ie: benefits, employment, education, health, driving licence etc) and be used by "e-business" (ie: debit/credit cards and their histories)
EU: Still 46 EU citizens wrongly on the Schengen Information
System (SIS): EU doc
no: 6071/07
The biggest
offender last year was Switzerland which had 283 EU citizens
put on the SIS, now this is down to 5. However, the numbers in
some countries have actually gone up since May 2006: Lithuania
up from 2 to 4 people, Poland up from 4 to 9 people, Spain up
from 1 to 3 people, UK up from 2 to 3 people and Greece (3) and
Rumania (5) are offenders.
Article 96 which allows aliens to be refused entry. Article 96 concerns data placed on the SIS "relating to aliens who are reported for the purpose of being refused entry" by a member state (from its own state or other EU states). The grounds include "a threat to public order or national security" (Art 96.2). In April 2005 the Heads of national units (SIRENE Bureaux) "were kindly requested to check their national data and to delete the respective data from the system". In June 2005 a report from the Schengen Joint Supervisory Authority recommended that member states: "prevent Article 96 alerts on nationals from EU Member States." Previous relevant reports: EU doc no: 8281(pdf) (previous: EU doc 7005/05 (pdf).
Article 96 is primarily used to exclude from entry "illegal aliens" including refugees deported from the EU, See: Three-quarters of a million "illegal aliens" banned from Schengen area and Report of the Schengen Joint Supervisory Authority on an inspection of the use of Article 96 alerts in the Schengen Information System (pdf). See also: SIS II fait accompli? Construction of EU's Big Brother database underway
EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council, Brussels, 15-16 February
2007: Provisional
press release for 15 February 2007 (pdf)
- "B"
Points agenda
- "A"
Points
(adoptedwithout discussion) agenda
- Background
Note
EU: Standing committee Secretariat of experts on international
immigration, refugee and criminal law (The Meijers Committee):
Regarding:
Note on the draft proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament
and of the Council establishing a Community Code on Visas. COM
(2006) 403 final; 2006/0142 (COD) (pdf)
Libya/EU: The fruits of EU-Libyan cooperation on immigration
- Thousands arrested and deported Libyan press agency Jana
has released statistics concerning the detention and expulsion
of "illegal" immigrants, described as "infiltrators"
seeking to illegally emigrate to Europe, by Libyan security forces.
Just in the month of January 2007, 2,866 people have been apprehended,
and a slightly higher number, 2,931, have been expelled. Jama,
Libyan press agency (http://www.jamahiriyanews.com), 23.1.2007 and 12.2.2007.
EU-Visa Information System (fingerprint database): Latest draft
proposal compares the Commission proposal and the Council of
the European union (the 27 governments) current position: EU
doc no: 5213/07 and the state of play in the Council's position
and negotiations with the European Parliament: EU
doc no: 5456/07 Background:
Statewatch coverage: EU: Fingerprinting of children - the debate goes on and EU states will be free to fingerprint children from day one of their life as soon as it is technologically possible Standing committee of experts on international immigration, refugee and criminal law (Meijers Committee): Note on the recent proposal by the Commission to amend the EC Visa Regulation (pdf) Opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor, January 2006, EU Data protection working party criticise proposals on VIS and Study for the extended impact assessment of VIS (2004)
EU-PRUM TREATY-SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS: The Prum Convention
was adopted by seven member states in May 2005 (Belgium, Germany,
Spain, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Austria): Prum
Treaty
(full-text, pdf). This has now been supplemented by (in true
Schengen fashion) with: Administrative
and technical implementing Agreement to the Prüm Convention (16 pages, pdf) ANNEX
to Administrative and technical implementing Agreement to the
Prüm Convention (145 pages, pdf)
UK: Borders
Bill - full-text (pdf) Includes giving powers of detention (up
to three hours), search and seizure, and use of "reasonable
force" to immigration officials; the taking of biometrics
(fingerprints) to issue a "biometric immigration document",
and the further taking of fingerprints to confirm the data on
the document. The biometric and information gathered may be used
"for specified purposes which do not relate to immigration".
Also introduces "automatic deportation" for a non-British
people sentenced to prison for 12 months or more.
UK: Roll
call of deaths of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants, 2005
onwards
(Institute of Race Relations, Factfile, link)
EU: NEW - Two draft Council Decisions to transpose parts of the
Prum Treaty into EU law: Draft Council Decision
on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly
in combating terrorism and cross-border crime and Draft
Council Decision on improving cooperation on request
These two draft Decisions have been prepared by the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union (full-time officials) for the meeting of the Article 36 Committee (high-level officials representing the 27 member sates) in Brussels on 25-26 January 2006. They are both based on the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) which means the governments have to agree unanimously but the European Parliament is only "consulted" (ie: its opinion can be ignored).
It is expected that at least two more Council Decisions on "first pillar" (TEC) aspects of the Prum Convention will be proposed by the European Commission - these will be subject to qualified majority voting in the Council and codecision with the European Parliament. That is, one on the introduction of armed "air marshals" on flights in the EU and another on the immigration aspects eg: the joint deportation of asylum-seekers.
Background: The Prum Convention (full-text, pdf) The Prum Convention was adopted by seven member states in May 2005 (Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Austria). House of Lords report: Behind Closed Doors, Statewatch: Some remarks on Schengen III (the Prum Convention) and - Behind closed doors - policy-making in secret intergovernmental and international fora
EU: Informal Justice and Home Affairs Minister meeting, Dresden,
Germany, 14-16 January 2007 - Notes:
- Stepping
up cross-border police cooperation by transposing the Prüm
Treaty into the legal framework of the EU
-
Shaping
European home affairs policies after the expiry of the Hague
programme in 2010
- Initiative
concerning the European migration policy
Open letter by Moroccan,
African and European associations: In
Morocco, the rights and dignity of men and women are scorned
in the name of the protection of Europe's borders
EU: Third
country nationals - biometric residence permits Planned residence permits will have
two "chips" - one with biometrics (fingerprints) the
other with "national" data and so-called services.
Over 17 million people with the right to reside in the EU will
be issued with: a two-chip residence permit which will be treated
as an ID card too and which will control access and use of "e-government"
services (ie: benefits, employment, education, health, driving
licence etc) and be used by "e-business" (ie: debit/credit
cards and their histories)
EU: German Council Presidency: Justice
and Home Affairs External Relations Multi-Presidency Work Programme and “Living
Europe Safely” Work programme of the Federal Ministry of
the Interior for the German EU Presidency
EU-Morocco: In
the name of commitments made to the EU, migrants and refugees
are rounded up in Morocco
(Statement by the Migreurop network)
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