What's New
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Statewatch website - archive: 2008
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New" archive for year: 2000 , 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 2005 2006 2007 back to Statewatch
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December 2008
UK: Private
firm may track all email and calls: 'Hellhouse' of personal data
will be created, warns former DPP (Guardian, link):
"It would be a complete readout of every citizen's life in the most intimate and demeaning detail. No government of any colour is to be trusted with such a roadmap to our souls." Sir Ken Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions
Italy-Tunisia: Allowing
someone to live or letting them die: Italy contravenes European
Court of Human Rights instructions by deporting Tunisian
by Gabriella Petti:
"Six days have passed since Mourad Trabelsi's expulsion, yet we know nothing about his fate once he arrived in Tunisia. His relatives have looked for him in prisons without any results, and his lawyer has not received any news. The Italian government has probably co-operated with the umpteenth disappearance of an individual involved in trials for international terrorism.* According to lawyers, many of those expelled, when they return to their countries of origin, have been arrested, subjected to torture and and have sometimes disappeared. In this case, we are dealing with someone who was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment that he has just served in an Italian prison, with a further twenty years to serve in a Tunisian jail, following a sentence issued in absentia in his country of origin."
EU: FRONTEX: Frontex
General Report 2007 (63 pages, pdf)
UK: Minister
apologises for police insect injuries: Coaker admits error over policing of
climate protest - Inquiry launched into handling of demonstration
(Guardian, link)
Spain: CEAR
expresses concern over asylum law reform (Statewatch)
UK:
Jacqui
calls Vodafone man to run massive snoop database (Register, link):
"Exclusive A senior Vodafone network architecture specialist has been appointed by Jacqui Smith to draw up proposals for a multibillion pound central silo of communications data, amid a Whitehall row about the future of the project, The Register has learned.
The Home Office team responsible for the Interception Modernisation Programme (IMP) have been told to make the case for the expansion of state surveillance it would involve again, according to insiders."
EU: Czech Data Protection President: Democracy
is flourishing, but not individual freedom (pdf):
"On the threshold of the 21st century we are witnesses
to a reinforcing of democracy, but it seems that the freedom
of the individual has become less important. As though collective
problems such as global climate change or the defence against
terrorism have been prioritised to the detriment of personal
freedom. Measures are now being implemented regardless of the
risks, difficulties and costs they can present for the individual,
restricting his or her freedom, such as the right to privacy."
Igor Nemec. President of the Czech Office for Personal Data
Protection.
UK: Information Commissioner's response
to Home Affairs Select Committee report: A
Surveillance Society?: Information Commissioner’s Response
to the
Committee’s Fifth Report of Session 2007–08
(pdf). Background: A
Surveillance Society?: The Government reply to the report from the Home
affairs Committee (pdf). See: Government
stands by data sharing: The Home Office has said that joining
up existing government systems reduces the need for big new databases (link) Background: Report
on the "Surveillance society" by the House of Commons
Home Affairs Select Committee: Report:
Vol 1
(1.5 MB, pdf) Evidence
Vol 2
(1.6 MB, pdf).
UK: What
terror jury was not told: "They tore my nails out. Then
I was interrogated by MI5" (Guardian, link) •
Britons found guilty of al-Qaida membership
• Convicted man alleged torture by Pakistani agents
EU: Justice and Home Affairs "Agenda":
Statewatch analysis: The
EU’s JHA agenda for 2009 (pdf) by Professor Steve
Peers, University of Essex
ECJ: Huber v Germany: The processing
and storage of those data relating to Union citizens for statistical
purposes or with a view to fighting crime is contrary to Community
law
(Press release, pdf) and Judgment - full-text (Judgment, pdf)
"as regards the question of the use of the data contained in the register for the purposes of fighting crime, the Court holds, in particular, that that objective involves the prosecution of crimes and offences committed, irrespective of the nationality of their perpetrators. The register at issue does not contain personal data relating to nationals of the Member State concerned. Consequently, use for the purposes of fighting crime is contrary to the principle of non-discrimination and hence contrary to Community law." (emphasis in original)
EU-FRONTEX: Pro Asyl: Appeal
to the European Parliament ”Stop the death trap at the European
Borders!“ More than 1500 documented cases of deaths at the
doors of Europe over the last 12 months illustrate a serious
human rights record (Press release, pdf) and Petition
to the European Parliament:
Year by year thousands die at Europe´s borders. Stop the
deathtrap at the EU borders! (Petition, pdf)
UK: Those
Kingsnorth police injuries in full: six insect bites and a toothache (Guardian, link)
• Kent force admits no officers hurt by protests
• £5.9m police operation 'colossal waste of money'
EU: Ombudsman
criticises age discrimination by the Commission Special report (pdf):
"The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has criticised the European Commission's discrimination against freelance interpreters who are older than 65. This follows a complaint from an interpreter who stopped receiving job offers after he turned 65, although he wanted to continue working.
The Ombudsman made a proposal for a friendly solution in which he asked the Commission to abandon this discriminatory policy. He also suggested that the Commission compensate the complainant. The Commission rejected his proposals. The Ombudsman has now sent a special report to the European Parliament (EP) asking it to support his position.
Mr Diamandouros said: "The European Parliament has abolished its discriminatory policies after my intervention. It is therefore even more regrettable that the Commission still discriminates against persons on grounds of age."
How
a child dies in Venice: 11-year-old Afghan boy dies to avoid
controls by the border police
"He was fifteen
years old. No, he was twelve. Maybe, in reality, he was only
eleven. As the day progressed, his age changed several times,
turning increasingly younger. In any case, he was a boy. He was
found dead in Via Orlanda in Mestre, Venice, run over by the
lorry under which he had hidden to escape the checks by the border
police. Why, one would wonder, does an Afghan minor, a figure
that is well protected by international conventions, by the ECHR,
and even by the Bossi-Fini law [on immigration], risk his life
in such a way in order to avoid being intercepted by the border
police?"
USA-TORTURE:
Senate
Armed Services Committee Inquiry into the treatment of detainees
in US Custody
(pdf)
EU-EP:
Conservatives
and Socialists block search for rendition truth - Ludford (Press release, pdf):
"The Socialist (PSE) and Conservative (EPP) groups, which together have a majority in the European Parliament, have allied to deny a request made by the Liberal, Green and the Communist groups for a debate on Guantanamo and the CIA extraordinary rendition programme in next week's European Parliamentary plenary session in Strasbourg."
Deadline: 31 December 2008: THE ALTERNATIVE CONSULTATION
ON EU JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS POLICY
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on
the future priorities in the field of Justice and Home Affairs
policy. The European Civil Liberties Network has produced
an alternative questionnaire to provoke a more wide ranging debate
about EU policy and practice.
Please take a few moments to complete the survey and have your
say on EU justice and home affairs policy: Complete
survey
For more information about the ECLN survey, see: the ECLN
survey
EU-EP: Report
on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union
2004-2008: Committee on Civil Liberties: Rapporteur: Giusto Catania
(As adopted by the LIBE Committee, pdf)
Renditions/Italy:
Interpretation
of "state secret" leads to suspension of Abu Omar trial
GREECE: The police shooting and death of 15-year-old Alexis
Grigoropoulos: Athens
riots spin totally out of control Athens riots spin totally out
of control (kathimerini, link):
"Epaminondas Korkoneas, the 37-year-old police officer who is alleged to have shot the teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos is a special guard, a force that was created in 1999 but fully inducted into the police only this year.
Special guards were intended to take on more menial tasks, such as guarding buildings, so that regular police officers would be able to take up other duties.
Speaking to Kathimerini, the legal counsel of the Attica Police Officers’ Union, Vaios Skambardonis, said that police officers are advised that they should only use their revolvers if human life is in danger.
However, footage of Saturday’s shooting, captured by a witness on her mobile phone does not appear to show Korkoneas and his colleague coming under any kind of threat.
The blurred, dark images appear to show the police officer standing at some distance from the 15-year-old and other youths.
There appear to be no signs of the police officers coming under any kind of attack.
Korkoneas has been charged with murder and illegal use of a weapon while his colleague has been charged as an accomplice."
See also: Riot-hit Athens to bury teenager (BBC News, link); Greece, Thessaloniki: Communique from the Ocupied School of Theatre (Indymedia, link) and Indymedia - Greece (English, link)
EU/Africa/Indian Ocean: Fortress
Europe blog details 41 deaths in November 2008
UK: Police
Officer
Amerdeep Johal 'used police files to find blackmail targets' (Times, link)
EU: European Parliament: Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE): Compromise
report on fingerprinting children (pdf). The LIBE Committee
will today consider this report which "provisionally"
sets the age limit for the taking of fingerprints from children
as 12 years old - Member States which have already adopted national
laws for a lower age are allowed to carry on - for these states
a lower age limit is set at 6 years old. The Commission is to
prepare a report:
"based on a large scale
and in-depth study carried out by an independent authority and
supervised by the Commission, which shall examine the reliability
and
technical feasibility, including through an evaluation of the
accuracy of the systems in operation, of using the fingerprints
of children under the age of 14 for identification and verification
purposes, including a comparison of the false rejection rates
occurring in each Member State and - based on the results of
that study - an analysis of the need for common rules regarding
the matching process."
An interesting Joint Statement is attached as regards: "unreliable "breeder documents"":
"The passport in itself
is only one link of a security chain starting from the presentation
of the breeder documents, to the enrolment of biometric data
and ending with the matching at the border check points. This
chain will only be as secure as its weakest link.
The European Parliament and the Council note that there is a
great diversity of situations and procedures in the Member States
regarding which "breeder documents" should be produced
in order to request the issuing of a passport and that normally
these documents have less security features than the passport
in itself, and are more likely to be subjected to forgery and
counterfeiting.
The Council shall therefore prepare a questionnaire for the Member States in order to be able to compare the procedures and which documents are required in each Member State in order to issue a passport or travel document."
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"It is to be welcomed that the European Parliament has insisted on a "provisional" limit of 12 years old for the taking of fingerprints from children. However, the taking of childrens' fingerprints is not just a "technical" question it is a moral and political one. Children do not have the right of "informed consent" and their fingerprints will be kept for the rest of their lives.
The Joint Statement on "unreliable "breeder documents" which recognises they "are more likely to be subjected to forgery and counterfeiting" begs major questions. To put in place a binding Regulation before ascertaining what the situation is in every member state, setting common security and privacy standards and providing sufficient time for these standards to be implemented is quite simply irresponsible."
Europe's
big brothers - As we celebrate the human rights legacy of the
last 60 years, the right to a private life is threatened more
than ever (Guardian, link) by Thomas Hammarberg (Council
of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights) and Ben Hayes (Statewatch)
The
Shape of Things to Come - the EU Future Group and Thomas Hammerberg: Protecting
the right to privacy in the fight against terrorism (pdf)
UK: Sussex
students arrested under anti-terror laws - A
new interactive online map reveals the nature of police activity
in Brighton during an anti-war march
Statewatch:
Observatory
on the Regulation on access to EU documents: 2008-2009 (Updated)
CoE: Excellent report from the Commissioner for Human Rights
of the Council of Europe, Thomas Hammerberg: Protecting
the right to privacy in the fight against terrorism (pdf).
From Press release: "Counter-terrorism measures must
not trample on the right to privacy" says Commissioner Hammarberg
Strasbourg, 4 December 2008
- "Freedom has been compromised in the fight against terrorism
after 11 September. Government decisions have undermined
human rights principles with flawed arguments about improved
security" says the Council of Europe's Commissioner for
Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, on the eve of the publication
of his issue paper on "Protecting the right to privacy in
the fight against terrorism."
"Not only terrorism, but also our reaction to it pose a long-term, engrained threat to human rights. The time has come to review steps taken to collect, store, analyse, share and use personal data" said Commissioner Hammarberg. "Data protection is crucial to the upholding of fundamental democratic values: A surveillance society risks infringing this basic right."
"In the war on terror, the notion of privacy has been altered" he continued. "General surveillance raises serious democratic problems which are not answered by the repeated assertion that those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear. This puts the onus in the wrong place: It should be for States to justify the interferences they seek to make on privacy rights."
EU:
European Network Against Racism: Executive
summary: racism in europe enar shadow report 2007 (pdf)
Renditions/Spain:
Damning
evidence surfaces of Aznar government collusion in Guantánamo
flights
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: The Council of Ministers of the European
Union must not adopt the outrageous directive! Joint press
statement by Anafé, APDHA, Arci, ATMF, La Cimade, Gisti,
IPAM, LDH-Belgique, Migreurop and Statewatch against
the formal approval of the Returns Directive on the eve of the
60th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights:
In English
In French
(original)
In Spanish
In Italian
ECJ-COUNCIL: The
Court annuls, for the third time, a Council Decision freezing
the funds of the People's Mojahdin Organisation of Iran
(Press release, pdf) and Full-text
of judgment (pdf)
"The Council has violated the rights of defence of the PMOI by not communicating to it the new information which, according to the Council, justified maintaining it on the European list of terrorist organisations; by refusing to communicate to the Court certain information about the case, the Council has equally infringed the fundamental right of the PMOI to effective judicial protection."
ECHR-UK: Major victory in the European Court of Human Rights:
European Court of Human Rights unanimously finds that the UK
practice of keeping indefinitely the fingerprints and DNA of
people not convicted of an offence is a violation of Article
8 of the ECHR Convention: Marper
case press release (pdf) and Full-text
of Marper judgment (pdf). The Court findings are expressed
in damning terms of UK law and practices:
"The Court noted that England, Wales and Northern Ireland appeared to be the only jurisdictions within the Council of Europe to allow the indefinite retention of fingerprint and DNA material of any person of any age suspected of any recordable offence."
"The Court was struck by the blanket and indiscriminate nature of the power of retention in England and Wales. In particular, the data in question could be retained irrespective of the nature or gravity of the offence with which the individual was originally suspected or of the age of the suspected offender; the retention was not time-limited;"
"In conclusion, the Court found that the blanket and indiscriminate nature of the powers of retention of the fingerprints, cellular samples and DNA profiles of persons suspected but not convicted of offences, as applied in the case of the present applicants, failed to strike a fair balance between the competing public and private interests, and that the respondent State had overstepped any acceptable margin of appreciation in this regard. Accordingly, the retention in question constituted a disproportionate interference with the applicants’ right to respect for private life and could not be regarded as necessary in a democratic society."
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch Editor, comments:
"The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the Marper case roundly condemns UK law and practice in taking and keeping indefinitely fingerprints and DNA from everyone arrested but not charged and of those arrested and charged but found to be innocence in court which is why the UK has the largest DNA database in the world.
The judgment will also have profound implications for EU plans to allow automated access to fingerprints and DNA by agencies across Europe under a recent Council Decision on cross-border cooperation (incorporated under the Prum Treaty).- especially for the transfer of UK biometric data to other EU countries.
As the Court notes at the moment the UK is the only place which allows the indefinite retention of fingerprint and DNA material of any person of any age suspected of any recordable offence - in most EU states this biometric data is only kept if a person is convicted for a specific serious offence. However, discussions in EU fora hint at removing legal "obstacles" to the collection and storage of DNA and fingerprints in order to "harmonise" policies based on the UK model."
UK Background: ECHR: Marper v UK case concerning the retention of fingerprints and DNA: Summary of the case (pdf) and Detailed expert submission on DNA and fingerprints (pdf), Comments posed by the ECHR in the case of S. and Marper (APPLICATION 30562/04 & 30566/04) and which relate to the application of data protection law to the retention of DNA personal data by Chris Pounder (pdf) and Historical background article by Statewatch: Law enforcement and DNA technology: the irresistable march? UK database to be expanded, EU member states to begin exchanging DNA “profiles" (pdf)
EU background: Council of the European Union: DNA compiling of the answers (EU doc no: 9445/1/06 Rev 1) and the incorporation of the Prum Treaty into the EU: COUNCIL DECISION on the implementation of Decision 2008/…/JHA on the stepping up of cross border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism and cross-border crime (pdf) and Statewatch article: Searching for Needles in an ever expanding haystack: Cross-border DNA data exchange in the wake of the Prum Treaty with EU country-by-country DNA figures (pdf). And context : Statewatch's: The Shape of Things to Come (pdf)
UK: The
Big Brother state – by stealth: Thousands of unaccountable
civil servants given access to our most intimate personal information (Independent, link)
UK: Police
and immigration given powers to demand to see identification:
Police and immigration officers will be able to stop Britons
and demand they prove their identity under proposed sweeping
new powers (Daily Telegraph, link) and Full-text: Draft Immigration
and Citizenship Bill (pdf): See Clause 26.
EU: Commission proposals:
- Council
Regulation listing the third countries whose nationals must be
in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and
those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement
(COM 716, pdf)
- Directive laying
down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers
(COM 815, pdf)
- Regulation concerning
the establishment of 'Eurodac' for the comparison of fingerprints
for the effective application of Regulation (EC) No […/…]
[establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the
Member State responsible for examining an application for international
protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country
national or a stateless person] (825/3, pdf)
- Regulation establishing
the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State
responsible for examining an application for international protection
lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national
or a stateless person (COM 829, pdf)
EU-HEALTH
RECORDS: Opinion
of the European Data Protection Supervisor (pdf). The
EDPS expresses:
"concerns about the fact that current Community healthcare-related initiatives are not always well co-ordinated with privacy and security considerations - especially with regard to the use of new information and communication technologies, thus hampering the adoption of a universal data protection approach towards healthcare. This is also evident in the current proposal where, although references to data protection can be found, these are mainly of a general nature and fail to specifically address the data protection dimension of cross-border healthcare."
European
Parliament-CIA: Question
to the Commission by the ALDE group (Liberal) (pdf)
Council
of Europe: Council
of Europe Adopts Second-rate Treaty on Access to Information:
Civil Society Groups express disappointment, call for strong
monitoring body (pdf)
UK: De
Menezes family walk out of inquest as coroner rules he was not
unlawfully killed (Guardian, link)
EU: BODY SCANNERS: Commission launches short consultation: deadline
19 December: The
impact of the use of body scanners in the field of aviation security
on human rights, privacy, personal dignity, health and data protection
(press release, link) and and Questionnaire
(Word file)
European Data
Protection Supervisor (EDPS): Press release: EDPS
sees adoption of Data Protection Framework for police and judicial
cooperation only as a first step (pdf): "the
EDPS repeatedly called for significant improvements of the proposal
to ensure high standards in the level of protection offered and
warned against a dilution of data protection standards."
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"The process of adopting this Framework Decision was a democratic fiasco with law enforcement officials deciding on issues of privacy and peoples' rights and coming down on the side of the state every time..
While the views of the European Parliament, the EDPS, national Data Protection Commissioners and civil society were virtually ignored the demands of the USA to retain unregulated bilateral access to personal data exchanges was endorsed."
See Statewatch Observatory on: Data protection in the EU
UK:
10,000 TASERS
for UK police (Home Office, pdf)
EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE: Judgment: Press Release: The
Court explains the scope of the speciality rule which states
that a person surrendered under a European Arrest Warrant for
the purpose of prosecution for a criminal offence may be prosecuted
only for that offence (pdf)
HUNGARY:
The
Hungarian Constitutional Court declares several rules of the
act regulating the criminal registry (hereinafter: CRA) unconstitutional - the Court nullified
rules on the scope of the registry, on data transfer from the
registry and on rules of dactyloscopic and photo registry
SPAIN:
ACCESS TO INFORMATION: Report
claims right of access to information is not fully recognised
Racism in policing:
the experience of Moroccan car enthusiasts' club members on their
trip to Spain
November 2008
EU: COUNTER-TERRORISM: Implementation
of the Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Terrorism (June-November
2008) (pdf), Implementation
of the Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Terrorism (pdf)
and EU
Counter-Terrorism Strategy - Discussion paper (pdf).
The discussion paper includes the following comment on Europol
(JSB is the Joint Supervisory Body of data protection commissioners)::
"While the JSB has acknowledged the fact that there is a need for Check the Web to include some personal data, their extreme interpretation of the data protection rules means that a number of high value analysis documents received from Member States cannot be input in the system, some of them because they contain the name of well-known terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden…"
The Counter-Terrorism Coordinator is keen on the idea of a "European Security Label" and says:
"Such an EU Security Label would stimulate innovative technologies that provide the best value for money in the long term, while ensuring interoperability. By introducing a compulsory 'privacy & freedom-compliance requirement', the Label would at the same time express respect for European civil liberties."
The idea of a "European Security Label" was raised in the Future Group report, see: Statewatch's: The Shape of Things to Come (pdf) and the European Security Research and Innovation Forum (ESRIF) report in September, see: European Security Research and Innovation Forum intermediate report (pdf).
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"The background documents to the Future Group and the ESRIF report show that PET (privacy enhancing technology) with a European Security Label would allay fears that law enforcement and internal security agencies could gain access to communications and personal data. But equally they show that the agencies are opposed to PET because this could be exploited by criminals and others. The likelihood is that such an official "Label" would give the impression that privacy would be respected while built-in trap-doors would give the agencies access whenever they want"
UK: 10,000
tasers for police (pdf)
EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council, 27-28 November 2008
- Background documentation: Press
release, 27 November - including story below (French,
pdf): "B"
Points Agenda (pdf) and "A"
Points Agenda (adopted without discussion, pdf). Background
note (pdf); Council
information note (French, pdf); Notes from French presidency website
(link); Broadcast
material from EU media library (pdf)
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL, Brussels, 27 November: Restriction
on the freedom of movement within the EU for people who have
been convicted of serious crime in the past or for "repeated
offences" (which may be "low level")
"Ministers are discussing the adoption of Council Conclusions: Free movement of persons: abuses and substantive problems – Draft Council conclusions on abuses and misuses of the right to free movement of persons (16151/1/08, 26 November 2008, pdf). These say that: "Only those exercising their rights in the spirit of the Treaty should benefit from freedom of movement." While referring to third country nationals the proposals would apply to EU citizens as well and allow Member States to deny entry to those who:
"break the law in a sufficiently serious manner by committing serious and repeated offences"
The scope of "repeated offences" is undefined and could apply, for example, to protestors who take part in cross-border demonstrations.
These Conclusions are based on
a proposal put forward by the UK: Statewatch Analysis: The
UK proposals on EU free movement law: an attack on the rule of
law and EU fundamental freedoms by Professor Steve Peers
- University of Essex (pdf):
The draft conclusions constitute an attack on the rule of law
and the fundamental freedom of EU citizens and their family members
to move freely within the Community. They indicate an intention
to:
- ignore a recent important ruling
of the Court of Justice as well as many prior rulings of the
Court;
- attempt to dictate to the Court how to interpret EC legislation;
- amend or re-interpret EC legislation at the dictat of interior
ministries, without applying any form of legislative process;
and
- dictate to the Commission how to perform its independent task
as guardian of EC law.
The UK proposal includes considering:
"the cumulative damage caused by continuous low-level
offending can amount to a sufficiently serious threat to public
policy"
United
Kingdom delegation: Free movement of persons: abuses and substantive
problems - Draft Council Conclusions (EU doc no: 15903/08.
18 November 2008, pdf)
GREECE: PROASYL REPORT: “The
situation in Greece is out of control”: Research into the
situation of asylum seekers in Greece (pdf)
ITALY: Draft
Report on the LIBE delegation to Italy on September 18th/19th
(nomads camps emergency) (pdf) and Annex
I and Annex II to the Draft Report of the LIBE delegation to
Italy on September 18th and 19th (pdf)
DENMARK: PET
in security quandary (link)
"The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) was outmanoevred today after the Supreme Court determined it had been wrong to detain one of two men the Service alleged had planned to kill one of Denmark's Mohammed cartoonists.
The man was one of two men detained in the case, and while the Supreme Court said there had been grounds to detain one of the men, evidence had not been sufficiently forthcoming to support the detention of the other man.
Both men were made subjects of an administrative order to leave the country. While one of the men left Denmark voluntarily, the other remains in the country as there are fears for his safety if he returns to his own country."
Profiling
Web Users – Some Intellectual Property Problems by Nicholas Bohm and Joel Harrison in
"Computers and Law", publication of the Society for
Computers and Law (November 2008, pdf).
European Ombudsman: Ombudsman
investigates Commission's Early Warning System (Press
release plus letter, pdf)
The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has opened
an investigation into the European Commission's "Early Warning
System" (EWS). This computerised information system lists
companies, NGOs, associations or other parties which, according
to the Commission, are deemed to pose a threat to the financial
interests of the European Union. All EU institutions and bodies
may block or suspend contracts or payments to entities listed
under certain EWS warning levels.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE: Speaking
of Terror: A survey of the effects of counter-terrorism legislation
on freedom of the media in Europe (pdf) A new report
by Privacy International for the CoE Media and Information Society
Division examines how the “war on terror” has affected
access to information, the growth of incitement, glorification
and “extremism” restrictions on speech, blocking of
internet sites, increased surveillance of journalists and limits
on protection of journalists’ sources. The report finds
that the laws have already seriously affected freedom of expression
while providing little benefit in fighting terrorism. The report
also examines the roles of the United Nations Security Council,
European Union and Council of Europe in promoting new laws while
paying little attention to human rights.
UK-EU: British
government sues EU Council over decision to exclude UK from decision
on police access to Visa Information System (VIS) (Case
C-428/08, pdf). Having chosen not to participate in the common
EU visa policy and the development of VIS, the UK was also excluded
from the decision to grant Europol and law enforcement agencies
in the member states access to VIS data. The British government
is now seeking annulment of the latter decision (i.e. access
to VIS for UK law enforcement agencies) on the grounds that the
EU decision was given an incorrect legal basis in the provisions
developing the Schengen area.
EU: Revised
proposal on telecoms regulation: 'Citizens' Rights Directive'
(pdf): This is a draft Directive amending the 2002 Directive
on privacy in telecommunications. It addresses aspects of data
protection, data security, confidentiality, traffic data, location
data, caller ID, subscriber data and unsolicited communications
but will not apply to activities falling outside of the 'first
pillar', including access by law enforcement agencies to data
collected under the EU's mandatory retention regime.
UK:
Armed police officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary took
part in a joint operation to check motorists' road tax licenses
with Cumbria police last week. Police taking part in Operation
Lee on public roads near Sellafield stopped motorists and a police
spokesman said that if an arrest was necessary it would be carried
out by a Cumbria Constabulary officer, not an armed response
officer. (News and Star 13/11/08) - source: N-BASE
Nuclear Information Service
MALTA: Scandalous:
Borg Olivier requests confidential data of ‘complaining
citizens’ (Malta Today. link) In an email to government
ministers, PN secretary general blurs state and party lines by
requesting personal data of individuals who complained to ministries
EU-UN-ROMA: UN
experts call for European action to stop violence against Roma (UN press release, pdf):
"Effective
action is required to stem the growing tide of hostility, anti-Roma
sentiment and violence across Europe" stated the UN Independent
Expert on minority issues, Gay McDougall. "Where a hard-core
of extremism exists in society and is willing to perpetrate violence,
the full force of the criminal justice system must be used to
protect targeted populations."
Equally, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance,
Githu Muigai, stressed that "such actions reveal serious
and deep-rooted problems of racism and discrimination against
Roma at the heart of modern Europe that must be addressed in
the most vigorous manner and through the rule of law."
See also: Ethnic riot erupts in Czech town (BBC News, link)
EU: European Commission drops proposals for
"body scanners" at airports (which strip people
naked). On 18 November the Commission announced that it was to
drop its proposal for "body scanners" to be used as
part of airport security after opposition from the European Parliament
and civil society groups. Lack of EU rules means member states
can choose whether or not to use "body scanners".
See: Letter from Commissioner Tajani to EP (pdf)
See also: EU: Body Scanners at airports: MEPs say that fundamental rights are under threat (EP Press release, pdf) and The measure was proposed in the Commission proposal for a Regulation on aviation security: full-text (pdf).
UK: INTRODUCTION OF
ID CARDS: Home Office: Consultation press
release
(pdf) and full Consultation
document
(pdf) and see story below.
UK: Home
Office: Identity and Passport Service: Introducing
the National Identity Scheme: How the Scheme will work and how
it will benefit you (pdf). The No2ID campaign comments:
"The document doesn't mention that once your details are in the database they are in there for life, that it is your responsibility to keep that data up to date and to not lose your card, that you can't check your record, that there are fines for any errors or if you fail to keep your data up to date, and that the National Identity Register Number will be used to track you for the rest of your life."
UK: The fear of children - There is dismaying
evidence of intolerance and hatred of young people and that attitude
is matched by the Labour government by
Henry Porter (Guardian, link)
UK: Vetting
blunders label 12,000 innocent people as paedophiles, violent
thugs and thieves (Daily Mail, link)
CoE-FRANCE: “French
detention and immigration policies risk reducing human rights
protection” says Commissioner Hammarberg (Press release, pdf)
and Memorandum
by Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human
Rights
(pdf):
"Security concerns should not undermine a full respect for human rights norms. Some French policies on detention and immigration risk undermining these standards.” With these words, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, presented today his report on France, identifying problems as regards prison conditions, preventive detention (rétention de sûreté), juvenile justice and rights of migrants.
Grinding
down the human rights defenders (link). The Autumn 2008 issue of the
IRR's European Race Bulletin examines the resistance and the
criminalisation of solidarity and protest, also contains an article
on the the Austrian general election and the death of Jörg
Haider.
EU: "CHECK
THE WEB" PROJECT which looks for terrorist websites with
the object of closing them down: From "terrorism" to
"Islamist propaganda from moderate Islamist websites":
Draft
Council conclusions on the continuation of work on combating
terrorism
(EU doc no: 15684/08, dated 14 November 2008, pdf) These Conclusions
say there is a need:
"to combat the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes, and in particular to participate in the European "Check the Web" project, inter alia on subjects such as "Islamist propaganda from moderate Islamist websites"" (emphasis added)
But see: EU: Revised EU Strategy for Combating Radicalisation and Recruitment to Terrorism (EU doc no: 15175/08, dated 14 November 2008, pdf), which says that factors leading to "radicalisation" include: "unresolved international and domestic strife" (as before there is no mention of Palestine, Iraq or Afghanistan). The Strategy report goes on to say that:
"We need to empower mainstream voices by stepping up the dialogue with political, religious and separatist groups which favour moderation and exclude recourse to violence."
Presumably "mainstream voices" that "favour moderation" include "moderate Islamist websites"? Or does "moderate" only extend to websites categorised by EU police and internal security agencies as not carrying "Islamist propaganda"?
Background: Most documents on the EU's "Check the Web" project are pretty bland or censored, see: Conclusions of the Kick-off conference "Check the Web" - Berlin, 26-27 September 2006 (EU doc: 13930/08, dated 10 November 2008, pdf)
EU-US DATA-INFORMATION-SHARUNG: Data
chief attacks transatlantic police plan (Inquirer, link)
Italy: Raft
of restrictive amendments under discussion, as new norms on asylum
and family reunion come into force
ASGI, the Associazione Studi Giuridici
sull'Immigrazione, has presented a number of documents highlighting
the problems that would result from amendments that have been
submitted to the law decree on security (Ddl 773) that is undergoing
scrutiny in the Senate since 11 November 2008 and the latest
reform of the education system.
See also: Italy:
Institutionalising discrimination by Yasha Maccanico (Statewatch Bulletin, Vol 18
no 2 April-June 2008):
"The racist scape-goating of Roma and Sinti has paved
the way for an ominous crackdown by the Berlusconi government
with echoes of a terrible past and could lead to a shift to authoritarianism
that will be difficult to reverse."
USA: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Documents
Reveal U.S. Knowingly Transfers Detainees To Countries That Torture (link) The
documents obtained by the ACLU and Columbia Law School Human
Rights Clinic
(link)
EU: "Freedom,
Security and Justice: What will be the future?" – Consultation
on priorities of the European Union for the next five years (2010-2014,
pdf): Opinion of the National Red Cross Societies of the Member
States of the European Union and the International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
European
Parliament lifts immunity of far-right MEP (euobserver, link)
Italy: High
ranking police officers acquitted in sentence for brutal G8 Diaz
school raid
Spain: Report
claims right of access to information is not fully recognised
GREECE: Protests in Greek prisons: Public
support for prison protests - Greece in the Spotlight (pdf)
CoE: RENDITION: Dick Marty: Brief to US
Supreme Court: Khaled el-Masri case (pdf)
Press
Release: European Union sets its military sights on space
- Venus
to Mars: full-text of report (pdf)
Amsterdam, 17 November. For immediate release. European space
policy is increasingly driven by military rather than civilian
objectives, according to From Venus to Mars: the European Union´s
steps towards the militarisation of space, a new report from
the Transnational Institute and Campagne tegen Wapenhandel (Dutch
Campaign Against Arms Trade).
“Under the guise of ´dual use´ technologies,
we are witnessing the creeping militarisation of European space
policies” says Frank Slijper, author of the report.
“The EU is now investing large sums in new military space
technologies at the behest of the very businesses that stand
to profit from its policies.”
From Mars to Venus charts the emergence of a military role for
the formerly purely civilian ESA. The report highlights how projects
that are initially presented as civilian or civil security initiatives
often have ´dual´ or multiple use that includes a
strong military component. For example, the main rationale for
the Kopernikus project, which gives the EU a global monitoring
capacity, is now more clearly stated in terms of its capacity
for providing intelligence to support future European and NATO
military interventions.
Updated: EU-EXCHANGE OF CRIMINAL RECORDS: Exchange of criminal
information and "intelligence": Draft
Guidelines on the implementation of the "Swedish Framework
Decision" (13942/REV1/08, 107 pages, pdf).
"The aim of this publication is to provide guidelines for the implementation of Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA on simplifying the exchange of information and intelligence between law enforcement authorities of the Member States of the European Union."
See also the underlying measure - which goes much wider as it covers both the exchange of "information" and of "intelligence" (that may be "hard" and reliable, or "soft" and unreliable, uncorroborated: Framework Decision on simplifying the exchange of information and intelligence between law enforcement authorities of the Member States of the European Union (pdf)
GENOA-2001: No
justice in Genoa - The G8 protesters were brutalised, yet the
Foreign Office showed complete indifference (Guardian, link). See
Statewatch's Observatory
on reactions to protests in the EU
EU-EUROPOL: Report from the UK House of Lords Select Committee
on the EU: EUROPOL:
Coordinating the fight against serious and organised crime (285 pages, pdf)
EU-USA-DATA PROTECTION: Opinion from the European Data Protection
Supervisor: Final
Report by the EU-US High Level Contact Group on information sharing
and privacy and personal data protection (pdf)
EU/Africa/Middle East: Fortress Europe
blog details 108 deaths in October 2008
UK: Mohamed
Raissi falsely imprisoned (Press release, pdf) and Full-text
of Court Judgment (pdf):
"Today
the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment confirming that Mohamed
Raissi was falsely imprisoned by officers of the Metropolitan
Police when they arrested and detained him at Paddington Green
Police Station on 21 September 2001.
Mohamed Raissi is the brother of Lotfi Raissi who was wrongly
accused of training the 9/11 hijackers. The Court of Appeal confirmed
in February this year that Lotfi was “completely exonerated”
in a strongly worded judgement that was critical of the part
played by the Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan
Police in the failed attempt to extradite him."
Joint
UK-French charter to repatriate Afghans narrowly averted?
Paris,
4 November 2008: CONCLUSIONS OF THE XL COSAC (Conference of Community
and European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European
Union) includes:
"COSAC expresses its concerns about the proposal for a regulation regarding public access to documents (COM (2008) 229), which should not limit the access to documents in comparison with the current situation. COSAC thus invites the European Parliament and the Council to guarantee a full public access to European documents, according to the transparency principle."
See also Letter from the Grand Committee of the Finnish Parliament (pdf)
And Statewatch's Observatory on access to EU documents: 2008-2009
UK: Academics
are not immigration officials (Letter to the Guardian, 10 November
2008, link). See also news story with a slightly insensitive
headline: Academics
balk at 'spying' on students to nail migrant scams (link)
GREECE, Athens: ASYLUM-SEEKERS PROTEST - MIGRANT DIES: Press
release from NGOs (pdf)
ARSIS - Social Association for the Support of Youth, Ecumenical Refugee Programme, Greek Helsinki Monitor, Group of Lawyers for the Rights of Migrants and Refugees (Athens), Group of Lawyers for the Rights of Migrants and Refugees (Thessaloniki) ,Hellenic League for Human Rights Movement for Human Rights, Solidarity with Refugees in Samos, National Focal Point on Racism and Xenophobia, KEMO PRAKSIS "PROS-FYGI", Initiative for Solidarity with Refugees in Mytilini.
"during
the weekend of 25-26 October, after having been barred from the
asylum process for two months, an unprecedented number of asylum
seekers (around 3000)
queued up outside the building of the Aliens' Directorate at
Petrou Ralli Street, in order to claim asylum under conditions
which degraded their human dignity.
The response of the police was to resort to violence in order to repel the crowd; as a result, many were injured while the death of a migrant during these events is being treated as suspicious following witness accusations."
UK: Policing the 21st century: Home Affairs Select Committee
report: Vol
I: Report
(link) and Vol
II: Evidence
(link)
Italy/Libya: "Special and
privileged" bilateral relationship treaty
On 30 August 2008, Italy and Libya signed a friendship, partnership and co-operation treaty for the purpose of developing a "special and privileged" bilateral relationship involving a strong and wide-ranging partnership in political, economic and other fields. The treaty also seeks to end the "painful" chapter of the past involving suffering inflicted on Libyan people during Italy's colonial adventure, for which Italy expressed its regret in a joint statement in 1998.
Catching
History on the Wing by A. Sivanandan, November 2008, speech by the IRR's director,
at the IRR's fiftieth celebration conference (Full-text of speech,
IRR, link):
"the refugees and asylum seekers, thrown up on Europe's shores, stem from the uprooting and displacement of whole populations caused by globalisation, and the imperial wars and regime change that follow in its wake. Globalisation and immigration are part of the same continuum. We are here because you are there."
THE ALTERNATIVE CONSULTATION ON EU JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
POLICY
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on
the future priorities in the field of Justice and Home Affairs
policy. The European Civil Liberties Network has produced
an alternative questionnaire to provoke a more wide ranging debate
about EU policy and practice.
Please take a few moments to complete the survey and have your
say on EU justice and home affairs policy: Complete
survey
For more information about the ECLN survey, see: the ECLN
survey
UK: Government
black boxes will 'collect every email' (Independent, link): "Internet
"black boxes" will be used to collect every email and
web visit in the UK under the Government's plans for a giant
"big brother" database"
VICHY-FRANCE: Protests
as France's Vichy hosts first conference since war (link)
VICHY, France (AFP) Protesters against Europe's immigration policy
descended on the town of Vichy Monday as the shamed capital of
France's former pro-Nazi dictatorship hosted its first international
government conference since World War II.
Passport
Service dismisses 14 for database abuses (Computer Weekly, link)
EU: Proposal
for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council
providing for sanctions against employers of illegally staying
third-country nationals (EU doc: DS 1006/08, pdf). Report from the Council
Presidency to SCIFA setting out the latest positions on the proposed
Directive.
However, you will not find this document listed on the Council public register of documents because it has been classified as a Room Document and thus to be kept hidden.
EU: European Data Protection Supervisor: The
EDPS and EU Research and Technological Development: Policy paper (pdf)
UK: Total
spending ban on men accused of funding al-Qaida: Pair
caught in legal trap they cannot challenge - Funds frozen under
power never discussed by MPs (Guardian, link)
UK-USA: Cross-party attempt to fight extradition
of British hacker (Guardian, link) "Senior politicians
from all parties are urging the home secretary, Jacqui Smith,
to halt the extradition of the computer hacker Gary McKinnon
unless she receives a guarantee from the US that he will be allowed
to serve any sentence imposed in Britain."
Background: Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America with Exchange of Notes (pdf) See Statewatch analysis: The UK-US Extradition Treaty (pdf) - removes or restricts key protections for defendants and signed and adopted with no parliamentary scrutiny
October 2008
EU-PNR:
Latest Council document: General discussion of
matters relating to the analysis and transmission of PNR data
and data-protection (pdf) and PNR: Opinion of the
Fundamental Rights Agency (pdf)
UK: Joint Human Rights Committee: Parliamentary Committee criticises
government's "unacceptable delay" in removing breaches
of human rights standards by UK: Full-report (112 pages, pdf) In
this year's report the Committee again considers a number of
issues including corporal punishment of children; investigations
into cases involving the use of lethal force and the total ban
on prisoners' voting. Chair of the Committee Andrew Dismore MP
said;
"This
report highlights some of the cases where a breach of individual
rights has been identified, yet the Government has failed to
respond with decisive action to prevent repeat violations arising.
Providing an effective, speedy and transparent response to the
decisions of the courts must be part of the Government's commitment
to bring rights home."
ID CARDS: Northern
Ireland HUman Rights Commission: More than just
a card: Intrusion, exclusion and suspect communities: implications
in Northern Ireland of the British National Identity Scheme (pdf) and Ethnic
Profiling, ID Cards and European Experience (pdf) See also: The
Irish dimension to the case against ID cards (IRR News, link)
EU: PROPOSED ENTRY-EXIT SYSTEM: National responses to questionnaire:
Presidency
project for a system of electronic recording of entry and exit
dates of third-country nationals in the Schengen area (68 pages, pdf), Belgium
response
(pdf) and Portugal
response
(pdf)
EU: Police Cooperation - Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg):
Police
cooperation within the Benelux (EU doc no: 14509/08, pdf)
EU: Undercover police: Latest: Overview
of replies to questionnaire on undercover officers (EU doc no: 5001-Rev
4-08, pdf)
EU: "Friends of VIS" set-up: Draft
Council Conclusions on a group of "Friends of the VIS" (pdf)
UK-EU: All Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition:
Report (pdf)
EU: DATA RETENTION: Press release by Arbeitskreis Vorratsdatenspeicherung
(German Working Group on Data Retention), 29 October 2008:
"Resistance against watering down of traffic data
protection
In a letter to EU Commissioner Viviane Reding published today, 11 German organisations are criticising a European Parliament move that would allow telcommunications providers to collect traffic data for "security purposes".
The civil liberties, journalists, lawyers and consumer protection organisations are warning in the letter that the European Parliament's vote on the telecom package of 24 September contains a "blank cheque" for the collection of more traffic data than is currently being collected even under the directive on data retention, without setting a time limit. The series of data abuses and incidents that have occurred in Germany, Italy, Greece, Latvia, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary in recent years demonstrates that only erased data is safe data, the letter continues. The EU Council (where the telecom package will be debated on 27 November) is asked to reject the proposal.
A background paper published today by the German Working Group on Data Retention points out that the European Parliament move is the result of lobbying by the US-based Business Software Alliance (BSA). The BSA recently sent a hitherto unpublished paper to EU member states, pushing for even more extensive data collection powers and for exempting Internet usage data from data protection law."
The letter sent by 11 organisations (in German):
The
Working Group's background paper on the issue (in English)
The
Business Software Alliance's lobbying paper (in English)
UK: Bigger
databases increase risks, says watchdog (Guardian, link)
"The
proliferation of ever larger centralised databases is increasing
the risk of people's personal data being lost or abused, the
government's official privacy watchdog claims today. The warning
from the information commissioner, Richard Thomas, comes as he
discloses that reported data losses have soared in the past year."
EU: ACCESS TO
EU DOCUMENTS - FINLAND: Commission proposals would "constitute
a backward step": Ministry
of Justice, Finland, Press Release (pdf)
"If adopted in the proposed form, the proposal, however, would be more restrictive than the current rules on access to documents. The Commission proposes to exclude some document categories totally from the scope of implementation of the Regulation. The Commission also proposes that documents be accessible to the public only if they are registered and meet certain technical requirements....
The Government finds that the regulation on access to documents has worked well on the whole and that there is no reason to change its fundamental principles. The Commission proposal would, if adopted as such, constitute a step backwards."
and Opinion of the Grand Committee in the Finnish Parliament (pdf)
"The Grand Committee emphasises that if approved, the Commission's proposal would lead to a major reversal of the Union's transparency and the public's access to documents. The proposal is thus in contradiction to goals that have been repeatedly affirmed by the European Council.
The Grand Committee considers it worrying and reproachable that the Commission has advanced in support of its proposal justifications that must be considered untrue and misleading. Such conduct is liable to weaken the Commission's public credibility."
SPAIN: Report
to the Human Rights Committee, October 2008 (pdf). Its Conclusions
include:
"Torture and ill-treatment are an on-going reality in the Spanish state prisons, police stations, minors’ centres or alien centres, as well as in the streets and public spaces. This violence is a Spanish state exclusive responsibility. The more than 5.000 complaints compiled during the last 7 years show us the size of this problem."
EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council, 24 October 2008: Press
release
(English, pdf)
UK: Police
will use new device to take fingerprints in street (Guardian, link)
EU-AFRICA: European Commission: One year after Lisbon:
The Africa-EU partnership at work (COM 617, pdf) and One
year after Lisbon: The Africa-EU Partnership at work: Commission
contributions to the implementation of the EU-Africa Action Plan
(2008-2010)
(SEC 2603, pdf)
EU: Exchange of criminal information and "intelligence":
Draft
Guidelines on the implementation of the "Swedish Framework
Decision" (105 pages, pdf). This is a "partially accessible"
document with the names of officials removed:
"The aim of this publication is to provide guidelines for the implementation of Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA on simplifying the exchange of information and intelligence between law enforcement authorities of the Member States of the European Union."
EU: Statewatch
analysis: Proposals for greater openness, transparency and democracy
in the EU
(pdf) by Professor Steve Peers, University of Essex.
"The
European Union’s titanic treaties keep hitting the icebergs
of public opinion. Despite some undoubted improvements in ensuring
openness and transparency in
the EU since 1991, there is still a widespread and justified
perception that:
- the EU’s activities are too secretive and convoluted,
- the EU does not listen enough to the general public or organised
civil society; and
- there is too little control of the activities of the EU by
the public, and in particular there is insufficient control of
EU actions by directly elected parliaments....
The steps toward further openness, transparency and democracy in the European Union outlined in this analysis could largely be taken separately from any initiative relating to ratification of the Treaty 0f Lisbon."
EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council, Luxembourg, 24 October
2008: Press
release
(French, pdf); Background
Note
(pdf) "B"
Points agenda
(pdf). "A"
Points agenda
(pdf) The agenda includes discussion on the following two documents:
- Draft Council conclusions on setting up national alert platforms and a European alert platform for reporting offences noted on the Internet (EU doc no: 14071/08, pdf). Council "Conclusions" are enabling measures (known as "soft law"). A European alert "platform" is to be set up to deal with cybercrime with:
"the aim is to promote common practices with regard to the tracing, acquisition, compilation and storage of data, search and seizure of computer data".
The question
though is: What is cybercrime? Up to now this has only covered
terrorism and child pornography. But there is talk now of extending
what the EU calls "cyber patrols" to other crimes,
as yet undefined.
- Police
cooperation within the Salzburg Forum - an example for successful
Regional Cooperation - Joint Presentation of the Salzburg Forum
on EU level
(EU doc no: 14304/08, pdf). Report of a group, "the Salzburg
Forum", that you might never have heard of:
"The Salzburg Forum which was founded in 2001 constitutes a platform for regional cooperation in the field of internal security between Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Croatia takes part in the Salzburg Forum as an observer."
UK: Why
are fear and distrust spiralling in twenty-first century Britain? Joseph Rowntree Foundation
(pdf)
EU: Body
Scanners at airports: MEPs say that fundamental rights are under
threat (EP
Press release, pdf)
EU: Social
Movements Against the Global Security Architecture (pdf) A Critique of
the Militarisation of Social Conflict and the Securitisation
of Everyday Life: Assessment of the Strategy Papers of the 'Future
Group' (on the future of EU Home Affairs policies) and the 'new
strategic directions' of NATO, put forward in the publication,
'Towards a Grand Strategy in an Uncertain World' - Proposal for
a campaign against the new EU policies to be ratified under the
Swedish Presidency of the EU in 2009. This analysis uses Statewatch's:
The
Shape of Things to Come (pdf)
Not
the Way Forward: The UK’s Dangerous Reliance on Diplomatic
Assurances
(Human Rights Watch, link)
UK: Farnborough
Airport: 'terrorist' plane spotters (Indymedia, link)
USA:
The TSA and DHS released their final rule for the so-called Secure
Flight program to require each would-be airline passenger, even
on domestic flights within the USA, to get individualised per-person,
per-flight prior permission from the TSA before they would be
"allowed" to board a plane: See: The
Practical Nomad (link)
EU: Kopernicus –
what’s in it for Joe public? by
Philip Hunt, October 2008.
"The GMES forum in Lille on the 16-17 September 2008
was a perfect example of why so many EU institutional efforts
fail to get a good press. The event marked the launch of Kopernicus,
the new EU umbrella for a host of different earth surveillance
services from satellites and ground sensors. Yet the occasion
singularly failed to impress."
What is Kopernikus? "Kopernikus is a European initiative, formerly called Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security (GMES), which uses satellites and other sensors on the ground, floating in the water or flying through the air to monitor our natural environment as well as keeping an eye on the security of every citizen."
UK:
Identity
minister moots ID cards on driving licences (The Register, link)
"Speaking at the Biometrics Conference 2008, Home Office
minister Meg Hillier said there was 'nothing to stop' drivers'
licences or other documents from being designated to work as
ID cards.... Under the Identity Card Act 2006, the Home Secretary
can "designate documents" that will require anybody
applying for them to be placed on the National Identity Register
(NIR), the backbone of the ID card scheme." Hillier's
presentation to the Biometrics Conference 2008: "showed
ID cards also playing a part in accessing public services from
2015, with the minister showing a slide referencing maternity
allowance, tax returns, TV licences and incapacity benefit."
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"This idea supports the contention, not just in the UK but across the EU, that it is only a matter of time before there is one state-issued card. This would include biometrics (eg: finger-prints) and cover passports, ID cards, driving licences, health records and so-called e-government (ie: going to the doctor, getting out a library book etc). When this data is combined with other information held by the state (eg: tax, employment, criminal record, travel history, phone-calls, internet usage etc) the surveillance of everyday life of everyone living in the EU is going to be all pervasive."
Background: The Shape of Things to Come (pdf) including the "Internet of Things", the "digital tsunami" and surveillance by public security agencies.
EU: European Criminal Record Information System: ECRIS
latest draft proposal (EU doc no: 12858/08, pdf) ECRIS is intended to
create: "efficient mechanism of exchange of information
extracted from criminal records."
Among the offences listed are:
- Insult of the
State, Nation or State symbols
- Insult or resistance to a representative of public authority
- Public order offences, breach of the public peace
- Revealing a secret or breaching an obligation of secrecy
- Unintentional damage or destruction of property
- Unauthorised entry or residence
- Other unintentional offences
- Prohibition from entry to a mass event
- Placement under electronic surveillance
- Withdrawal of a hunting / fishing license
- Prohibition to play certain games/sports
- Prohibition from national territory
This proposal replaces an earlier draft: EU doc no: 12007/08 (pdf)
Background: European Data Protection Supervisor: European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) (Press release and Opinion, pdf). Commission proposal for ECRIS (pdf) and Outcome of first discussions in the Council's Multidisciplinary Group on Organised Crime (pdf) - yet another instance where law enforcement agents and officials will be deciding on the transfer of personal data.
UK: Our
rights are priceless in the relentless struggle against terrorism says Sir Ken Macdonald
(Crown Prosecution Service, link). See also: Sir
Ken Macdonald: "The response to terror should not include
surrender" (Independent, link)
Interpol
wants facial recognition database to catch suspects (Guardian, link)
The creeping database state: UK:
Passports will be needed to buy mobile phones (Times, link) and EU:
Draft Council conclusions on the use of closed-circuit television
surveillance in combating terrorism
The latter includes enabling: "police and security services to benefit from a full national or regional mapping of CCTV installations, which could help them to carry out their missions." and "Advantage should be taken of the possibilities offered by developments in technology."
This is a reference to the next generation of CCTV cameras which collect and store digital images which can be searched for facial matches, See The Shape of Things to Come of "Internet of Things", the "digital tsunami" and surveillance by public security agencies.
THE "WAR ON TERRORISM": Free
agent:
Former MI5 chief and spy novelist Stella Rimington speaks her
mind - on Iraq, the 'huge overreaction' to 9/11, and why the
secret service is much more liberal than we think (Guardian,
link) and Response
to 9/11 was 'huge overreaction' - ex-MI5 chief (link)
OECD
Group demands rapid UK action to enact adequate anti-bribery
laws
(Press release, link) and Full-text
of OECD report on UK (link, pdf). See also: Britain's
failure to tackle corruption damned amid new claims against BAE (Guardian, link)
EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Annual
report on access to documents, 2007 (pdf). The low number of visitors to
the Commission's public register of its documents - only 39,013
over the full year, 3,251 per month - tells us that it is not
seen as a useful source of documentation. Many, many documents
are not listed and of those that are many do not give access
to the text of the document. And this leads in turn to:
"The constant increase in the number of initial applications since the Regulation was adopted was again observed in 2007, when 4196 initial applications were registered by departments, 355 more than in 2006."
The Commission's failure to list all the documents its receives or produces is the subject of a Statewatch complaint to the European Ombudsman.
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: Migreurop statement on the first effects
of the returns directive: Three months on from the return
directive's approval by the European Parliament, Migreurop notes
how its implementation of an approach involving the systematic
detention of migrants is being followed by Member States approving
measures that follow the same rationale, namely the detention
and criminalisation of migrants. Highlighting developments in
France and Italy, the European network reaffirms its commitment
to struggle against human rights abuses in detention centres
through its campaign to guarantee a right of access to detention
sites:
Detention of foreigners : the first effects
of the "return" directive (English)
Détention
d'étrangers : les premiers contrecoups de la directive
retour
(French,
original)
Detenzione
degli stranieri : i primi effetti della direttiva Rimpatri (Italian)
Detención
de extranjeros : los primeros efectos de la Directiva "
retorno"
(Spanish)
Basque Parliament resolution strongly condemns the Returns
Directive: In its plenary session on 10 October 2008, the
Basque Parliament approved a resolution that strongly condemns
the Returns Directive, described as "a serious violation
of fundamental human rights", for "penalising and criminalising"
people who merely seek to enter Europe to work and improve their
living conditions. It encourages Basque institutions, political
groups and society to devise ways of opposing and minimising
the impact of its implementation to stop the "limiting of
fundamental human rights", and the creation of a category
of human beings "who are even more vulnerable, and who may
be subjected to all manners of abuses due to their being considered
irregular". It also calls on European Union member states
to reconsider the Directive's contents, drawing a comparison
with the time when "many of us, men and women... were forced
to emigrate... as a consequence of the civil war and dictatorship,
or for economic reasons". Original
(in Euskera - Basque - and Spanish) (pdf, pp. 5-8). Unofficial
Statewatch translation Thanks to Mugak/SOS Arrazakeria for drawing
our attention to this document.
EU: European
Pact on Immigration and Asylum (full-text, EU doc no: 13440/08, pdf)
The European Pact on Immigration and Asylum is still not officially online on the Council's
public register of documents as we write, even after its adoption
by the EU Summit (15-16 October 2008). No draft has ever been
online, even after it was agreed by the last Justice and Home
Affairs Council - five versions are listed but their text is
not publicly accessible.
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"After all the media speculation as to what is and is not in the Pact it is a disgrace that its text was not made publicly available at any stage. It was not officially available before the JHA Council agreed it, when parliaments and civil society might have wished to express a view. It was not available after it was agreed by the JHA Council, nor now when it has been adopted by European Summit. This is no way to instil trust in democracy at the EU level."
An unofficial
version was made available by Statewatch in July:
Informal Justice and Home Affairs Ministers meeting in Cannes:
European
Pact on immigration and asylum
EU-PNR
scheme being re-written by the Council: EU-PNR system to cover all flights in
and out of the EU and to cover everyone, EU citizens and visitors
- in addition any EU state that wants to (like the UK) can extend
this to cover flights within the EU as well. Processed PNR data
to be checked against: "national, international and European
files"
EU-DETENTION
CENTRES/CAMPS: Migreurop have updated their map of Europe: Detention
centres/camps
(link)
ECJ-MANDATORY
DATA RETENTION: Advocate General in the European Court of Justice
considered that the EU directive on data retention was enacted
on the correct legal basis in a case brought by Ireland: Press
release
(pdf) and Full-text
of Opinion
(pdf). The Advocate General says that "Article 95 EC
must be intended
to improve the conditions for the establishment and functioning
of the internal market" and is therefore the correct
legal basis. Then in bizarre reasoning states that:
"As regards Ireland’s argument that the sole or main purpose of the directive is the investigation, detection and prosecution of serious crime, the Advocate General accepts that there is no doubt that the rationale of the obligation to retain data lies in the fact that it facilitates that objective. Nevertheless, he considers that the mere fact that the directive refers to such an objective is not sufficient for a finding that it is an act falling within the area covered by police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters."
See Statewatch Observatory The surveillance of telecommunications in the EU
USA:
High level report condemns data-mining: Protecting
Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists: A Framework
for Program Assessment (link) and Executive Summary (pdf). See also: ACLU
press release: ACLU
Hails DHS-Funded Report Condemning Data Mining (link)
UK:
Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, Statewatch and Campaign
Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC). A seminar series
on: “Terrorist lists”, Proscription, Designation and
Human Rights: Fourth Seminar: Tuesday 21st October National security,
proscription and foreign policy ‘War on terror’,
new world order? Seminar leaflet (pdf)
UK: Storm
over Big Brother database (Independent, link) "Early plans
to create a giant "Big Brother" database holding information
about every phone call, email and internet visit made in the
UK were last night condemned by the Government's own terrorism
watchdog."
EU-EP-COMMISSION:
"Body scanners": Civil Liberties Committee unanimously
calls on the Commission to appear before the parliament to explain
itself:
"European Parliament to debate on airport body scanners: On initiative of the Alliance of the Liberals and Democrats for Europe, today the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties unanimously decided to ask the Commission to come before the Parliament and refer on a proposal to allow European airports to introduce body scanners at security check points.
"The introduction of systems to scan the naked body of an airplane passenger poses a serious challenge to individual privacy and fundamental liberties. This is a decision that cannot be dealt with merely at a technical level. The European Parliament must have a say on this decision," said Marco Cappato MEP (Radicals/ALDE), author of the oral question on the matter which will be debated in plenary by the European Parliament." (ALDE press release)
Question to the Commission (pdf)
See story below: The lead Transport Committee in the European Parliament decided not to act.
PORTUGAL-CIA FLIGHTS: Jornal de Notícias, Portugal,
9.10.08. Secret CIA flights: Along with other European
countries, Portugal granted fly-over rights in the past for CIA
planes carrying presumed Islamic terrorists. Portuguese Foreign
Minister Luís Amado explained yesterday that if Portugal's
government has not made a statement on the matter, it was to
avoid prejudicing EU Commission President José Manuel
Barroso, who was Portuguese prime minister at the time. Jornal
de Notícias critices this position: "Luís
Amado is entirely right, Barroso should be spared inconvenience.
He is an important man in the EU, and we are always proud when
one of our emigrants is successful. ... As citizens, however,
we have the right to know whether our government was aware at
least of this one flight between Guantánamo and Cairo
with a stop-over at the Portuguese military base [on the Azores
Islands]. ... We have the right to know if the government authorised
these flights or not, and if so under what conditions."
See also: REPRIEVE
submission to Portuguese Inquiry into rendition, 2 April 2008 (pdf)
EU-EP-COMMISSION: Body scanners: The European Parliament's
Transport Committee is not going to use its powers to oppose
the Commission's plans to introduce new airport security measures
including body scanners (which strip people naked) because Commission
Vice-president Tajani has told the Committee that the Commission
intention is to allow the use of body scanners only as an additional
option for the screening of passengers, not an obligation.
The measure was proposed in the Commission proposal for a Regulation on aviation security: full-text (pdf). As it is being considered as a "technical measure" falling within the powers of the Commission the European Parliament has either to accept or reject the whole proposal - which the Transport Committee is choosing not to do. The Commission's view is set out in a letter from Vice-President Tajani in a letter to Mr Costa, Chair of the Transport Committee: Tagani letter (pdf)
The Commission's position is a bit different from that taken in its: Third Report on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No. 2320/2002 establishing common rules in the field of civil aviation security (COM 582 dated 29 September 2008, pdf) which says:
"A number of trials have been progressed during 2007, involving the use of body scanners (millimetre wave and backscatter) and dogs. At the end of the trial period, the Commission will decide whether the new method should be included in EU legislation. It is highly likely that this will soon be the case for body scanning equipment, which is expected to considerably facilitate passenger flow through screening points as well as raising standards." (emphasis added)
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"The notion that the Commission's proposal for introducing "body scanners", which strip people naked, is OK because their use is only "optional" is irresponsible - all EU states could decide to exercise this option.
In an EU of "common values" and standards a proposal which would subject people including women, old people and children to such a shameful and undignified experience and that offends against proportionality, privacy and civil liberties should not be sanctioned anywhere."
USA: IT
DOESN'T ADD UP (Schnes, link) In Maryland, USA, paranoid police
have been getting all hot under the collar about a dark and sinister
group called “Algebra.” This group was approached by
someone from “Homeland Security” who asked what the
group’s message and agenda was. The Al-gebra Project, however,
has no links to Al-Qaeda. It is actually just a group trying
to improve young people’s maths skills.
EU: Fingerprinting children for EU passports: The European Parliament
Civil Liberties Committee voted in favour of fingerprinting children
from the age of 12 for passports, the same age as agreed for
visas. The plenary session of the EP now has to vote on the issue:
Letter
from Sarah Ludford MEP to the rapporteur (pdf), BIODEV
II: Children Fingerprinting Intermediary report to the European
Commission
(pdf) Biometrics
of Juveniles
(Sagem, pdf) and UK
test figures
(pdf). Background: Civil
Liberties Committee votes for finger-printing children from the
age of 12 and above for EU passports (EP press release) and Google Search
for Statewatch coverage
UK: Parliamentary Joint Human Rights Committee: Counter-Terrorism
Policy and Human Rights (Thirteenth Report): Counter- Terrorism
Bill
(pdf)
EU: European Commission Communication: Strengthening
the global approach to migration increasing coordination, coherence
and synergies
(pdf) and Report on: The application
of Directive 2003/86/EC on the right of family reunification(pdf)
UK
border facial scan tests hit by errors and breakdowns (Register, link) "A
trial of automated border control using facial scanners is already
in trouble, according to UK Border Agency (UKBA) sources quoted
by the Daily Telegraph. The scanners at Manchester airport, said
one source, are breaking down on almost a daily basis, and the
automatic booths are unable to detect 'tailgating', where two
people go through on one passport."
UK:
The
all-seeing state is about to end privacy as we know it - Plans
for a vast central database of our emails, phone calls and texts
will see everyone monitored as a potential suspect (Guardian, link).
The number of accesses to communications data held by service providers:
1 January 2005
- 31 March 2006: 439,054 giving an adjusted annual figure of
: 351,243
1 April - 31 December 2006: 253,557, giving an adjusted annual
figure of:
338,076
1 January - 31 December 2007: full 12 month figure:
519,260
The great majority of requests are by law enforcement agencies who have automated access to the data.
In addition, surveillance warrants ("telephone-tapping") issued by the Home Secretary have risen from 1,712 when the Labour government came to power in 1997 to 7,970 in 2007 - the highest figure on record.
See: Statewatch's Observatory: Telephone tapping (and mail-opening figures) 1937-2007
See also: There’s no hiding place as spy HQ plans to see all (Sunday Times, link) and Communications Data Bill (pdf) Announcement of government plans to retain internet usage in forthcoming Bill (in addition to powers already adopted to retain communications data for phone-calls, faxes and mobile calls)
For context see:
critique in: The
Shape of Things to Come of "Internet of Things", the "digital
tsunami" and surveillance by public security agencies.
Institute of Race Relations (IRR): CATCHING HISTORY ON THE WING On 1 November 2008 the Institute of Race Relations
shall be celebrating fifty years of its existence with a conference
on anti-racism - past and future. The event will provide the
chance both to celebrate IRR's achievements and have serious
debates on the anti-racist struggles ahead with Lord Ouseley,
Colin Prescod, A. Sivanandan, David Edgar, Victoria Brittain,
Salma Yaqoob, Ruqayyah Collector, Arun Kundnani and Liz Fekete,
among others. Catching History on the Wing on Saturday 1 November
2008, 1-6pm at Mander Hall, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London
WC1H 9BD.
The full agenda can be viewed here: http://www.irr.org.uk/pdf/CatchingHistoryOnTheWing.doc Tickets cost £10 waged, and can be ordered online at: http://www.irr.org.uk/2008/november/ha000001.html, by phone with a credit card or by sending us a cheque in the post. A limited number of free tickets are available for the unwaged, but must be booked in advance.
Also to mark our 50th birthday, a collection of writings by A. Sivanandan, entitled Catching History on the Wing, is being published by Pluto Press. Advance copies can be purchased from the IRR now at a special price of £12, for a limited time only. For more information and to order your copy, go to http://www.irr.org.uk/2008/september/ha000014.html
European Parliament: Draft Committee reports on: On
problem of profiling, notably on the basis of ethnicity and race,
in counterterrorism, law enforcement, immigration, customs and
border control (Sarah Ludford MEP, pdf) and The
Annual Reports of the European Parliament, Commission and Council
on public access to documents (Marco Cappato MEP, pdf)
Proposals you might have missed:
NATO: Albania
and Croatia to join NATO (pdf)
UK & IOM: UK
government proposal to grant full international status to the
IOM
(International Organisation on Migration, pdf) including "immunity
from jurisdiction and execution" and "immunity
from personal arrest and detention". The IOM
in the UK
(links) works with the Home Office to "return" people
to third world countries and says that: "Since 1999 IOM
UK has assisted more than 27,000 people to return to some 130
countries."
EU:
The
Internet of Things - French Council Presidency Conference Nice, 6-7 October (link)
Allegedly a conference bringing together "stakeholders",
while the speakers are pre-dominantly from multinationals. European
Commission: Early
Challenges regarding the “Internet of Things” (September 2008, pdf)
Opinion
of the European Data Protection Supervisor: RFID (pdf) Opinion
of the Article 29 Working Party on personal data (WP 136, pdf)
Background: See critique in: The Shape of Things to Come of "Internet of Things", the "digital tsunami" and surveillance by public security agencies.
European Commission press release: Security
research for a safer world (pdf) and The
Third European Security Research Conference (SRC’08) held in Paris on 29
and 30 September 2008. Organised under the French Presidency
of the European Union, this event will bring together more than
1,200 representatives from the worlds of research, industry and
European institutions. List
of speakers and full-text of some presentations (link) and European
Security Research and Innoviation Forum intermediate report (pdf)
Background: Statewatch Report: Arming Big Brother: new research reveals the true costs of Europe's security-industrial complex by Ben Hayes (pdf). The EU is preparing to spend hundreds of million on new research into surveillance and control technologies, a report by the Transnational Institute (TNI) and Statewatch.
Council of Europe: Convention on access to documents: European
Parliamentarians call on Council of Europe To Redraft Substandard
Convention on Access to Official Documents (Press release, pdf):
"Strasbourg, 6 October 2008: The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Friday (3 October 2008) adopted unanimously a resolution expressing concern that the world’s first treaty intended to guarantee public access to information had significant flaws. In a rare step, PACE called for the Convention on Access to Official Documents to be redrafted."
EU-EP: "Body
scanners" proposal: Draft question to the European Commission
for the European Parliament plenary session (ALDE group, pdf) It
is proposed by Marco Cappato and co-signed by Ignasi Guardans,
Jeanine Hennid-Plasschaert, Renate Weber, Ona Juckneviciene,
Sarah Ludford, Alexander Alvaro and Sophie in't Veld:
"Although
such a measure has a fundamental impact on fundamental human
rights, such as the right to privacy, to data protection and
to personal dignity, it is being examined in the framework of
the comitology procedure, as if it was a merely technical measure
related to civil aviation. The European Data Protection Supervisor
has not been consulted on the matter, nor the Fundamental Rights
Agency, while the Commission did not accompany the proposal with
an impact analysis on fundamental human rights."
European Commission proposes "Virtual strip searches"
with "body scanners" able to strip people naked at
airports to be introduced by April 2010: Commission
proposal for a Regulation on aviation security: full-text (pdf). See below for
press coverage.
EU: Damning
report from Court of Auditors on EU agencies including FRONTEX (European Agency for
the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders
of the Member States, pdf) Even the Council's draft Conclusions
recognise the problems: EU
doc no 13528/08 (pdf) and notes:
"WITH CONCERN the general findings of the Court that the audited decentralised agencies do not plan their activities adequately nor, for most of them, have at their disposal sound tools for monitoring their activities, and that the reporting of the activities and the evaluation of the results need to be improved; CALLS on the agencies concerned to remedy to this situation."
Spain: SOS Racismo on creation of "Brigade for the Expulsion
of Foreign Offenders" A day after the announcement on
25 September 2008 by the Secretary of State for Security, Antonio
Camacho, that a special police brigade (Brigada de Expulsiones
de Delincuentes Extranjeros, Bedex) would be set up to pursue
foreign nationals involved in crimes that cause social alarm,
such as membership of organised criminal gangs, terrorism or
gender-based violence, SOS Racismo issued a statement describing
the measure as a further step towards "legal apartheid".
"A
new police brigade that increases legal apartheid" [English, Statewatch
translation]
"Una
nueva brigada policial que aumenta el apartheid jurídico" [original, in Spanish]
Italy: Ghanaian student beaten up by local traffic police
in Parma. Emmanuel, a 22-year-old Ghanaian student, was beaten
up by the vigili urbani (local traffic police) in Parma, after
he was picked up on suspicion of drug dealing on 29 September
2008.
This is one of
the latest in a long list of attacks that have taken place over
the last few weeks, which, alongside the Berlusconi government's
policies on immigration and security, have resulted in a national
demonstration against racism being organised that will take place
in Rome tomorrow, on 4 October 2008.
"Emmanuel
- beaten up and insulted in Parma by the municipal police". (link, progetto Melting
Pot Europa)
Contro
tutti i razzismi, national demonstration blog
UN
human rights chief spotlights plight of millions of detainees
worldwide: Press
conference by new Commissioner Navanethem Pillay (UN link). In
another report Immigrants
among millions unlawfully detained: rights chief (Reuters,
link) the Commissioner singles out the EU for criticism of excessively
long periods of detention of migrants::
"We have a number of concerns with increasingly restrictive and often punitive approaches to migration in many developed countries of which the EU's recent return directive is one example," she told a news conference.
"The great majority of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers are not criminals and therefore should not be confined in detention centres like criminals," Pillay said.
Under the EU plan agreed last May, illegal immigrants to the 27-member bloc can be detained for up to 18 months before being sent home, and also face a five-year re-entry ban.
Referring to that maximum detention period, Pillay said: "This appears excessive, especially if obstacles to removal are beyond the immigrant's control, for example if their home country fails to provide the necessary documentation." "
EU/Africa: Fortress Europe blog details 191 deaths in September
and 619 in the third quarter of 2008 The Fortress Europe
blog which tracks the deaths of migrants during their migration
journey, has published its figures for September 2008, noting
that there were 191 deaths, with incidents entailing the most
fatalities taking place in Egypt (83), in the Channel of Sicily
(35), in Sudan (21), in Spain (15) and in Greek minefields in
the Evros region near Turkey (4). The death count in August was
the worst in the whole of 2008, with 270 deaths, a majority of
which occurred between Libya and Italy (179), with deaths also
occurring in Algeria (14), Spain (45), Greece (1), Egypt (1)
and Iran (30). In July, there were at least 158 deaths, including
13 infants and two pregnant women, of which 48 occurred in the
Channel of Sicily, the same number in Spain, and 38 disappeared
on the route between Algeria and Sardinia.
For the break-downs, monthly reports and more, see: Fortress
Europe
(link)
EU-AFRICA: Counter EU-Africa Summit - Citizens' Summit on Migration,
Paris 17-18 October 2008: Call
for a Citizen Summit on migration (English, link), Sommet
Citoyen sur les Migrations (link) and Dossier
for the Press
(pdf). Over 250 NGOs are supporting the Citizens' Summit including
Statewatch.
COE-UK: Council
of Europe report criticises 42-day detention - Plan could breach
human rights legislation - Separate report criticises conditions
for detainees (Guardian, link) Report to the UK Government
on the visit to the UK carried out by the European Committee
for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 2 to 6 December
2007
(pdf) and UK
government response (pdf) plus CoE: Parliamentary Assembly report:
Proposed
42-day pre-charge detention in the United Kingdom (CoE, link)
September 2008
EU:
European Commission proposes "Virtual strip searches"
with "body scanners" able to strip people naked at
airports to be introduced by April 2010: Commission
proposal for a Regulation on aviation security: full-text (pdf). The Commission
proposal is being considered by the Transport Committee in the
European Parliament. Letter
from Paolo Costa (Chair of the European Parliament's Transport
Committee) to the Commission (pdf) raises questions on the continuing
liquids ban - has the Commission carried out the promised review?
And on the introduction of "body scanners".
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"The Commission's proposal that "body scanners", which strip people naked, are to be part of a new aviation security package is not explained or justified at all. It would appear that this is yet another case of "if it is technologically possible it should be used" without any consideration of proportionality, privacy and civil liberties.
The screening methods proposed include metal detection, explosive trace equipment and bottled liquid scanners, what else will be revealed by body scanning? And if there is another need then it should be targeted with a specific technology without subjecting people including women, old people and children to such a shameful and undignified experience"
See: Press coverage (1 October) and see EU to introduce 'virtual strip searches' at airports by 2010 - Digital body scanners which leave little to the imagination will be used by airport security on passengers travelling across the European Union within two years (Daily Telegraph, link)
See: ACLU
Backgrounder on Body Scanners and “Virtual Strip Searches”
See: US newspapers and information on implementation:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-06-05-bodyscan_N.htm
http://www.tc2.com/what/bodyscan/index.html
http://www.slate.com/id/2160977/
UK:
Investigation
into claims of abuse on asylum-seekers (Independent, link) See: Outsourcing
abuse: The use and misuse of state-sanctioned force during the
detention and removal of asylum seekers A report by Birnberg Peirce & Partners,
Medical Justice and the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation
Campaigns (pdf)
EU: Juristras has released
its project home-page JURISTRAS
(link) comparatively explores processes of human rights litigation
in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the effects
of its judgments on national laws, judicial attitudes and policy
making. Among the countries under study are: Austria, Bulgaria,
France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Rumania, Turkey, and United Kingdom.
Austria
in crisis as far right win 29% of vote - Strache seen as further to right than mentor
Haider (Guardian, link)
EU: FOI
in the EU: When is a “document” not a “document”? (pdf) Analysis by Tony
Bunyan.
The European Commission has put forward a number of changes to the Regulation on access to EU documents adopted in 2001. Controversially it proposes to change the definition of a "document" which in turn affect which would or would not be listed on its public register of documents. Does this have anything to do with the fact that the European Ombudsman has just ruled that the Commission must abide by the existing definition of a "document" in the Regulation and that it must list all the documents it holds on its public register?
EU: LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - State of Play:
- The "Blue
Card" proposal for so-called "legal migration":
EU
doc no: 13163/08 (pdf)
- The "Blue Card" proposal: EU
doc no: 13009/08 (pdf)
- Employer sanctions: Working Party on Migration and Expulsion:
EU
doc no: 12634/08 (pdf)
- Employer sanctions: Working Party on Migration and Expulsion:
EU
doc no: 11366/08 (pdf)
EU: The European
Commission has launched a consultation on: "Freedom,
Security and Justice: What will be the future?", consultation
on priorities for the next five years (2010-2014)":
Consultation (link). First, the texts
of the Tampere programme (1999-2004) and the Hague programme
(2005-2009) are provided but there is no reference to the Future
Report: Freedom, Security, Privacy – European Home Affairs
in an open world (pdf) report from the Council - this has been
sent to the Commission who will draft a proposal for the next
5 years, the "Stockholm" programme (2010-2014) and
the final content will be decided and adopted by the Council
(the 27 EU governments). See also critique of this report: The
Shape of Things to Come
Indeed in the Briefing Note (from the French Council Presidency to JHA Ministers) for the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 25 July it says the:
"Commission reaffirmed that it [Future Group report] is an excellent contribution and that they will be a source of inspiration during the development of the post The Hague.programme" (EU doc no: 12418/08)
Second, some of the questions in the consultation are really pretty basic, eg: "Do you think that the EU should step coordination to curb illegal immigration into the EU? and "Do you think the EU should do more to help Member States seize and confiscate profits from criminal activities in order to ensure that crime does not pay?" and "Should the EU do more in the fight against corruption?" Full text of consultation (pdf).
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"It would be very naive to expect the responses to the consultation to have much influence on what the Commission proposes because many of the questions are far too general. In addition, not to tell people what the Council - who will make the final decision - has already sent to the Commission in its "Future Group" report means that many questions which should be asked are not."
See also Statewatch's Observatory: "The Shape of Things to Come" - the EU Future group
US: Fact
Sheet: U.S. Department of Homeland Security 9/11 Anniversary
Progress and Priorities (DHS, link)
UK: First
sight of the ID cards that will soon be compulsory (Independent, link)
"The Government was accused yesterday of cynically targeting
immigrants to boost support for its controversial £4.7bn
compulsory identity cards scheme as the Home Office unveiled
the documents it plans will eventually be held by every adult
in Britain."
and Editorial:
An
assault on our freedom (link)
EU: JUSTICE & HOME
AFFAIRS COUNCIL, Brussels, 25 September 2008: Press
release
(pdf), "A"
Points agenda
(pdf), "B"
Points agenda
(pdf) and Background
Note
(French, pdf)
EU-USA:
Exchange of letters show that the USA wants an agreement with
the EU signed in December 2008 on the US ESTA (Electronic System
of Travel Authorisation) system while the US side fails to answer
derailed questions on privacy and protection. EU Commissioner
Barrot wrote to Michael Chertoff, Head of US Homeland Security
on 8 September 2008: Full-text
of letter to Chertoff (pdf). This says that the EU wrote to the US on
4 August but that the reply of 29 August "fails to answer
any of the specific questions we asked". The reply from
Chertoff, on 15 September 2008: Full text
of Chertoff reply (pdf) says that while they are "committed"
to privacy:
"the data we gather under US law from those seeking to
enter the United States is not subject to negotiation."
The Chertoff response then refers to the EU-US "High Level Contact Group" on data protection and exchange as providing the solution and the matter should be resolved "in time for our signing an agreement when you come to Washington in December".
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"This is typical of the EU-US relationship. The US lays down the law and expects the EU to comply and if it does not then - as on visas - the US simply negotiates behind its back with individual Member States. The idea that the High Level Contact Group report could provide privacy and data protection to EU citizens is simply nonsense as the ACLU has observed."
Letter from the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to the European Parliament:
Full-text
of ACLU letter (pdf)
EU-US: Final
Report by EU-US High Level Contact Group on information sharing
and privacy and personal data protection (pdf)
Background: United States Plans New Travel Procedures for 27 Countries (US EU Mission, link) Known as ESTA (Electronic System of Travel Authorisation). An application to travel to the USA has to be made and authorisation given prior to boarding a plane or boat.
This will apply to the EU countries currently included in the Visa Waiver Programme who are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In addition, the following are being considered for inclusion at a later date include Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Malta - all of whom have signed MOUs with the USA.
The ESTA form asks about health, any criminal record including those "involving moral turpitude or a violation related to a controlled substance" (whether spent or not under EU law), whether you are seeking "entry to engage in criminal or immoral activities" and whether you have ever been involved in espionage, sabotage or terrorism.
The European Commission has yet to decide whether ESTA constitutes a breach of the visa waiver programme (see below). See also: US to screen foreign air passengers (euobserver, link)
EU: European
Parliament: Combatting
terrorism/Protection of personal data: MEPs underline freedom
of expression
(Press release) Resolution
on the Council Framework Decision amending Framework Decision
2002/475/JHA on combating terrorism (pdf) and Resolution
on the draft Council Framework Decision on the protection of
personal data processed in the framework of police and judicial
cooperation in criminal matters (pdf). See:EU
makes headway on anti-terror law (euractiv, link).
By a massive majority, with 600 MEPs in favour and only 21 against plus 39 abstentions the parliament voted to replace "public provocation" by "public incitement in the proposal to amend the definition of "terrorism" as this had a clear legal meaning. They also voted overwhelmingly, 556 in favour to 90 against and 19 abstentions, to reiterate - for the third time - substantial amendments to the proposed Framework Decision on the transfer of personal data in police and judicial matters.
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"The European Parliament are to be congratulated on the clear stand they have taken on the definition of terrorism and data protection.
Unfortunately they are only being "consulted" and the Council [EU governments] can simply ignore their views and those of national parliaments, data protection authorities and civil society. These two measures, like hundreds of others adopted since 1993, will form part of EU law yet they will lack true democratic input and hence any legitimacy."
Background:
Observatory
on data protection in the EU
“White
man’s burden”: criminalising free speech
USA: New
airport screening 'could read minds' (Daily Telegraph,
link) "US security officials could soon be screening
potential terror suspects with a new type of technology capable
of detecting "hostile intent"."
EU: MIGREUROP: No
to the deportation agreements (link) Presentation at the World Social
Forum on Migrations, Madrid, 11-14 Sept 2008 with the following
participants :Migreurop network, AME (Mali), Group 484 (Serbia),
Legal Clinic (Bulgaria), HCA/RLAP (Turkey), Halina Niec Human
Rights Association (Poland), MRAP (France), AMDH (Morocco), SOMIM
(Portugal), Statewatch (UK) plus: No
to expulsion agreements: “Campaign Kit” (pdf)
Access to detention camps (link) Presentation at the World Social Forum on Migrations, Madrid, 11-14 Sept 2008 with the following participants: Migreurop Network, Kisa (Cyprus), Legal Clinic (Bulgaria), HCA/RLAP (Turkey), Andalusia Acoge (Spain), APDHA (Spain), Cimade (France), SOLIM (Portugal), Fasti (France), Halina Niec Human Rights Association (Poland) plus: Detention centres: Campaign for the right of access: Campaign Kit (pdf)
ITALY-EU:
Italy risks legal battle over expulsion of EU citizens (euobserver, link) "The
Italian government of Silvio Berlusconi risks a legal battle
with the European Commission over the rules on the automatic
expulsion of EU citizens, a part of the so-called security package
introduced by Rome earlier this year.
EU commissioner Jacques Barrot, in charge of home affairs and justice, stated on Tuesday (23 September) that the controversial piece of law "poses problems of compatibility with community law". Roma people protesting against fingerprinting, which is part of the new Italian security package. If it is not changed shortly, he warned, the commission "would launch infringement proceedings as provided for by the [EU] treaty".
See also: Italy sends troops into Camorra's heartland after mafia killings of migrants (Guardian, link)
SWEDEN: Ahmed Agiza
"rendered" by US agents from Sweden - although still
in prison in Egypt - to get compensation. Ahmed Agiza, one of
the two Egyptians who was "rendered" from Bromma airport
by US agents, with the assistance by the Swedish secret service
(security police) to Egypt, and there tortured and sentenced
to 25 years (later changed to 15 years) prison, is to get approximately
330,000 euro in damages from the Swedish state. He is still in
prison, and had demanded 35.000.000 Swedish crowns (about 4.000.000
euro) in damages, but now the Chancellor of Justice has come
to an agreement with his lawyer to accept 330.000 euro.
The decision to allow the rendition was taken by Anna Lindh (at
the time Minister for Foreign Affairs, later assassinated) and
Thomas Bodstram (Minister of Justice) and led to Sweden being
criticised by the UN
Committee against torture (pdf). The head of the Security Service
(SS) at the time, Klaes Bergenstrand (who was involved in the
Leander case, where he together with Hans Corell produced statements
that later forced the Government to give a public apology and
Leander appr 45.000 € in tax free damages) died a couple
of years ago. Background:
1. Sweden:
Expulsions carried out by US agents, men tortured in Egypt
2. Full-transcript of "The broken promise", TV4, Monday
17 May 2004: Transcript
(pdf)
3. Ambassador's report: Report (in Swedish, 1.32 MB)
which includes the following: TV4:s translation of Embassy report
1, classified part on Page 2: 23 January 2002
EU: ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
REGULATION: Outcome of Proceedings: Procedure
to be followed for the review of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 (pdf) The Swedish delegation
wrote to all the Permanent Representations asking that the proposal
be examined by an ad hoc working party set up specifically for
that purpose. It pointed out that "as constituted at
present the Working Party on Information had neither the expertise
nor the time necessary for the examination of the proposal".
Moreover:
"as a general rule it was not appropriate for the same authority both to chair the body responsible for the preparation of a legal act (the Council General Secretariat in the present case) and to implement that act (the Council). "
This was an attempt to shift the lead role in setting the agenda and conducting negotiations from the Council's permanent General Secretariat to the Council Presidency (ie: a member state government). Though the Antici Group did not agree to set up an ad hoc working party it did take overall control away from the Council General Secretariat - decisions on contacts and consultations would be agreed jointly by the Council Presidency and the Chair of the Working Party on Information and that negotiations with the European Parliament would be conducted by the Chair of COREPER (the Head of the permanent Brussels-based representation of the member state holding the Council Presidency).
Note: The Antici Group (named after its Italian founder) is made up of assistants to the Permanent Representatives and a Commission representative, a member of the Secretary-General's Private Office and a member of the Council Legal Service. The Group is responsible for deciding on the organisation of Coreper II proceedings. The meeting, which usually takes place on the afternoon before Coreper, is chaired by the Presidency 'Antici'.
Freedom of Information: Updated, final version: Overview
of all 86 FOIA Countries (pdf) by Roger Vleugels
Amnesty International: Security
and Human Rights: Counter-Terrorism and the UN (link, pdf): "counter-terrorism
laws, policies and practices have eroded human rights protections
as governments claim the security of some can only be achieved
by violating the rights of others."
UK-COE: Commissioner
Hammarberg releases human rights report on asylum-seekers and
immigrants
(pdf) Full-text
of Memorandum
(pdf) See: Asylum
rules 'risk human rights' (BBC link) "Yarl's Wood detention
centre was visited by the commissioner this year. Changes to
Britain's asylum and immigration controls could breach human
rights, a European watchdog has warned"
Danes
face jail for 'terrorism' T-shirts (euobserver, link)
EU: FINGER-PRINTING CHILDREN:
Civil
Liberties Committee votes for finger-printing children from the
age of 12 and above for EU passports (EP press release) and Press release
from Sarah Ludford MEP (ALDE): MEPs
reject fingerprinting of 6 year olds (pdf). This decision puts the European
Parliament on a collision course with the Council (27 governments)
who want the age to be six years old and above (some governments
want it lower still) - the measure is subject to co-decision.
Six years old was accepted by the Civil Liberties Committee rapporteur but rejected by the Committee. If accepted by the
EP plenary session this would put the age of finger-printing
children the same for EU passports and for EU visas.
Background: The fingerprinting of children for inclusion on the
Eurodac database (asylum applicants) is set at 14 years old.
Statewatch first raised this issue to public attention in July
2006: EU
states will be free to fingerprint children from day one of their
life as soon as it is technologically possible: when Tony Bunyan, Statewatch
editor, commented: "All the discussions by EU governments
in the Council about the age at which children should be subject
to compulsory fingerprinting are based on the technological possibilities
- not on the moral and political questions of whether it is right
or desirable" and EU:
Fingerprinting of children - the debate goes on
EU-ECRIS: European Data Protection Supervisor:
European
Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) (Press release and Opinion,
pdf). Commission
proposal for ECRIS (pdf) and Outcome
of first discussions in the Council's Multidisciplinary Group
on Organised Crime (pdf) - yet another instance where law enforcement
agents and officials will be deciding on the transfer of personal
data.
UK: This
is no way to fight terror: A postgraduate student researching
al-Qaida, I was locked up alone for six days, then released without
charge or apology by Rizwaan Sabir (Guardian, link)
EU: Brussels
urged to take 'closer look' at NGOs (euactiv, link) Commission Vice President
Siim Kallas told a public hearing on the issue in the European
Parliament that: "Less than 20% of the 334 bodies included
in the register so far are NGOs. "It puzzles me that some
NGOs have not yet registered, and even ones funded by the Commission
have not disclosed their funding sources," Kallas said."
Proposed
rules for lobbyists (pdf) The proposed "Rules" include an
obligation to:
"ensure that, to the best of their knowledge, information which they provide is unbiased, complete, up-to-date and not misleading"
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"What does "unbiased" mean? Is a Commission press release "biased" because it presents its point of view? Or is any point of view that disagrees with it biased?"
EU-ECJ: Mandatory data
retention challenge: European civil liberties
groups lodge objection to the EU's Data Retention Directive with
the European Court of Justice: (Full-text of submission to the ECJ,
pdf) saying that the Directive breaches a fundamental right to
privacy in the European Convention on Human Rights. 43 civil
liberties groups from across the EU including Statewatch
have submitted an intervention supporting Ireland's case to have
the Directive repealed.
Short
Cuts by Daniel Soar
on security agencies spying on mobile phones (London Review of
Books, link) and Exclusive:
Widespread cell phone location snooping by NSA? (link)
Scientific American: Internet
Eavesdropping: A Brave New World of Wiretapping (link)
As telephone conversations have moved to the Internet, so have
those who want to listen in. But the technology needed to do
so would entail a dangerous expansion of the government's surveillance
powers
Scientific American: How
RFID Tags Could Be Used to Track Unsuspecting People
(link) A privacy activist argues that the devices pose new security
risks to those who carry them, often unwittingly
Scientific American: How
Loss of Privacy May Mean Loss of Security (link) Many
issues posing as questions of privacy can turn out to be matters
of security, health policy, insurance or self-presentation. It
is useful to clarify those issues before focusing on privacy
itself
EUROPEAN
SOCIAL FORUM, Malmo, Sweden: War
on terrorism and human rights (link). The US-led “war on terror”
has seen a devastating attack on international law and the framework
of human rights around the world. This seminar will focus on
the role of European governments in the practices of enforced
disappearance and secret detention and how this ‘war’
has contributed to the erosion of the human rights of targeted
communities. Amnesty, Statewatch, WILPF.
IRELAND: C
of I priest says racism 'sanctioned' by the State (link)
UK-Council of Europe: Council of Europe
Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (pdf). Note: The UK
has not ratified the Convention.
EU: FUTURE
GROUP REPORT: An interesting postscript on the Council's (EU
governments) Freedom,
Security, Privacy - European Home Affairs in an open world (pdf) report is that
the Council Presidency (France) sent this report to COREPER (high-level
committee of Brussels-based representatives of all EU member
states) and the Council (Ministers) in a document dated 9 July
2008 - it was discussed at the Justice and Home Affairs Council
on 24-25 July. However, it was not "archived" (made
publicly available) on the Council's public register of documents
until 11 September 2008 - two months later and the same day that
Statewatch released its report on the Future Group's report
on European Home Affairs: The
Shape of Things to Come Statewatch had put this document on its
website: Future
Report: Freedom, Security, Privacy – European Home Affairs
in an open world (pdf) on 7 August 2008.
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"The Council's report on the future direction of EU justice and home affairs policies raises fundamental questions on privacy, civil liberties and the kind of society we want to live in. Statewatch's analysis on "The Shape of Things to Come", was published on 11 September, by which time over 10,000 copies of the EU Future Group's report had been downloaded from our website. The very same day the Council made the report available to the public - but if Statewatch had not published "The Shape of Things to Come" when would the Council have made it public?"
UK: Fears
over privacy as police expand surveillance project - Database
to hold details of millions of journeys for five years
(Guardian, link)
EU
opens migration centre in Mali: "Outpost watchtower of Fortress
Europe"
(link) "Next October 6th, the European Union (EU) will
open a Centre for Migration in Bamako, the capital of Mali. Refugee
organizations strongly criticise this “Centre d’Information
et de Gestion de Migrations” (Cigem) even before it has
become fully operational. They call it an “outpost watchtower
of Fortress Europe”. "
German Institute for Human Rights: Human
Rights at the EU’s common external maritime border: Recommendations
to the EU legislature (pdf)
"A usual summer in the Mediterranean: thousands of deaths and cases of refoulement. Thousands of migrants – some only looking for a better life in Europe, some in need of international protection – leave the North and West African coasts."
EU: SPECIAL STATEWATCH REPORT: The
Shape of Things to Come by Tony Bunyan
The EU is currently developing a new five year strategy for justice
and home affairs and security policy for 2009-2014. The proposals
set out by the shadowy "Future Group" set up by the
Council of the European Union include a range of highly controversial
measures including new technologies of surveillance, enhanced
cooperation with the United States and harnessing the "digital
tsunami". In the words of the EU Council presidency:
"Every
object the individual uses, every transaction they make and almost
everywhere they go will create a detailed digital record. This
will generate a wealth of information for public security organisations,
and create huge opportunities for more effective and productive
public security efforts."
Seven years on from 11 September 2001 and the launch of the "war
on terorism" this major new report The Shape of Things to
come (60 pages) examines the proposals of the Future Group and
their effect on civil liberties. It shows how European governments
and EU policy-makers are pursuing unfettered powers to access
and gather masses of personal data on the everyday life of everyone
– on the grounds that we can all be safe and secure from
perceived “threats”.
The Statewatch report calls for a “meaningful and wide-ranging debate” before it is “too late” for privacy and civil liberties.
The report also
contains four Case Studies:
1) the "digital tsunami" and the surveillance state;
2) The "convergence principle"; 3) Privacy and data
protection; 4) EU-US area of cooperation.
Press release:
Eight
page Conclusions
The
Shape of Things to Come: Full report (pdf)
ITALY: European
Commission Standpoint Fails to Address Discriminatory Nature
of Fingerprinting in Italy: two leading human rights groups asked
the European Commission (press release), Full-text of letter (pdf) Background (link)
"In a letter to European Commissioner Jacques Barrot, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) expressed concern that the EC was endorsing Italy's plan to forcibly fingerprint all Roma living in the country. The groups noted that such fingerprinting would be a form of discrimination because it targets people based solely on their ethnicity."
FRANCE: French
cabinet row over 'Big Sister' database (Daily Telegraph, link) "An embarrassing
row has erupted within the French cabinet over a controversial
"Big Sister" database in which the intelligence services
will store details on millions of citizens, including their health,
social life or sexual orientation" and French
revolt over Edvige: Nicolas Sarkozy's Big Brother spy computer (Times, link)
ITALY: Italian
minister pays homage to fascist troops (Guardian, link) "Italy's defence
minister yesterday paid tribute to fascist soldiers who fought
in Italy alongside German troops during the second world war,
inflaming a row prompted on Sunday when Rome's mayor refused
to condemn fascism as evil."
EU: French Council Presidency: Latest
draft: European Pact on Immigration and Asylum (3 September, 2008,
pdf)
UK: Our
obsession with crime is crushing our freedoms by Henry Porter (Observer,
link)
France/Romania:
Ratification
of agreement to increase repatriations of unaccompanied minors
underway
EU-FOI: European
Ombudsman Open Letter to Commissioner Wallstrom (European Voice) on access to EU documents:
"You defend the Commission’s new definition
of “document” by explaining that documents drawn up
by the institutions are documents as soon as they have been sent
to their recipients or otherwise registered. But in fact, the
Commission’s proposal does not say “sent to their recipients”,
but “formally transmitted to one or more recipients”
(my emphasis)."
See for full background and documentation: EU-FOI: Statewatch's: Observatory on access to EU documents: 2008 - 2009
UK: Pressure
to deport foreign national prisoners by Frances Webber (IRR, link) As the
drive to deport foreign criminals goes on, Frances Webber, a
leading human rights lawyer, reports on new legislation affecting
foreign national prisoners and their families.
Statewatch analysis: EU implementation of
UN Security Council's 'terrorist list' breaches fundamental rights
- Kadi and Al Barakaat Foundation asset-freeze unlawful
In a judgment
with far-reaching implications the European Court of Justice
has [3 September 2008] annulled the Council Regulation freezing
the assets of Yassin Abdullah Kadi, a resident of Saudi Arabia,
and the Al Barakaat International Foundation of Sweden, part
of the 'Hawala' banking system used by the Somali Diaspora to
transfer funds internationally.
Background: Observatory
on "Terrorist" Lists: monitoring, proscription, designation
and asset-freezing
Switzerland: Parliament
approves use of Tasers in deportations In March,
the Swiss parliament approved the use by police of Taser stun
guns when forcibly deporting foreigners from the country.
How
RFID Tags Could Be Used to Track Unsuspecting People - A privacy
activist argues that the devices pose new security risks to those
who carry them, often unwittingly (Scientific American, link)
Spain: Illegal
database held by local police in Sada (Galicia)
European Parliament: Commission proposal for a Directive on:
Universal
service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications
networks, Directive 2002/58/EC concerning the processing of personal
data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications
sector
(pdf) Draft
report from the EP Internal Market Committee (pdf) Opinion
of the Civil Liberties Committee (pdf) Comments by
the European Data Protection Supervisor (pdf).
The European Data Protection Supervisor raise the question of whether Internet Protocol addresses ("IP") are personal data as the Data Protection Directive and the Privacy Directive apply whenever personal data are processed:
"If IP addresses are not deemed personal data, they can be collected and further processed without the need to fulfil any legal obligation arising from the two above mentioned Directives. For example, such an outcome would enable a search engine to store for an indefinite period, IP addresses assigned to accounts from which, for example, materials related to specific health conditions (eg: AIDS) have been searched."
EU: Red Cross-EU Office: European
Commission Policy Plan on Asylum: Opinion of the National Red
Cross Societies of the Member States of the European Union and
the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (pdf)
UK: Jean
Charles de Menezes • 7th January 1978 - 22nd July 2005:
3 Years - No Justice (pdf)
"Jean
Charles de Menezes was shot dead on 22nd July 2005 at Stockwell
tube station by Metropolitan Police officers. Despite two official
IPCC investigations
and a guilty jury verdict at the Health and Safety trial at the
Old Bailey no officer has ever been held to account for their
actions. On 22nd September 2008, the inquest into his death will
finally take place. The inquest will be the first opportunity
the Menezes family have had to ask their questions and confront
the police officers involved in the operation in a public court."
August 2008
ECHR:
Calls
for surveillance law reform after Strasbourg court victory (Irish Council for Civil
Liberties, link). Full-text
of judgment
(pdf)
"Leading human rights groups in Ireland and the United Kingdom have today called for urgent reform of surveillance laws, after securing a significant victory in their case before the European Court of Human Rights.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), Liberty and British-Irish Rights Watch took their case to Strasbourg because, over a seven year period, all telephone, fax, e-mail and data communications between the UK and Ireland, including legally privileged and confidential information, were intercepted and stored en masse by an Electronic Test Facility operated by the British Ministry of Defence.
The European Court of Human Rights has found that the rules governing data interception in the United Kingdom did not “as required by the Court’s case-law, set out in a form accessible to the public any indication of the procedure to be followed for selecting for examination, sharing, storing and destroying intercepted material. The interference with the applicants’ rights under Article 8 (the right to privacy) was not, therefore, “in accordance with the law”. It follows that there has been aviolation of Article 8 in this case.”
International
Action Day "Freedom not fear - Stop the surveillance mania!"
on 11 October 2008 (link) "A broad movement of campaigners
and organizations is calling on everybody to join action against
excessive surveillance by governments and businesses. On 11 October
2008, concerned people in many countries will take to the streets,
the motto being "Freedom not fear 2008". Peaceful and
creative action, from protest marches to parties, will take place
in many capital cities." The demands are:
- no blanket
registration of all air travellers (PNR data)
- no information exchange with the US and other states lacking
effective data protection
- no secret searches of private computer systems, neither online
nor offline
- no blanket surveillance and filtering of internet communications
(EU Telecoms-Package)
- abolish the blanket logging of our communications and locations
(data retention)
- abolish the blanket collection of our biometric data as well
as RFID passports
- abolish the blanket collection of genetic data
- abolish permanent CCTV camera surveillance and automatic detection
techniques
- scrap funding for the development of new surveillance techniques
UK-USA: Our
citizens, their law - It is time to assert the rights of British
people to enjoy a fair trial, free from bogus security innuendo
(Guardian, link)
"Gary McKinnon, the British hacker who embarrassed the Pentagon and Nasa by entering their computer systems from a flat in north London, has lost his long battle against extradition. Yesterday it was announced that he has been unsuccessful in his appeal to the European court of human rights and must now submit himself for trial in the US."
Over
70 migrants feared killed on crossing to Europe (Guardian, link)
UK-USA: US
warning to court in alleged torture case (Guardian, link)
"The US state department yesterday warned that disclosure
of secret information in the case of a British resident said
to have been tortured before he was sent to Guantánamo
Bay would cause "serious and lasting damage" to security
relations between the countries."
EU: Proposed
new EU border control system (pdf) Report for the European Parliament
LIBE Committee by Professor Steve Peers, University of Essex
EU: An
analysis of the Commission Communications on future development
of Frontex and the creation of a European Border Surveillance
System (EUROSUR) (pdf) Report for the European Parliament LIBE
Committee
"The
[Commission] evaluation, however, falls short of critically assessing
the consistence of Frontex activities with the fundamental values
upheld by the EU. In this
regard, it seems important to recall that Frontex is a first-pillar,
Community body, which should not only respect the EU fundamental
values in its activities, but also work for their promotion,
particularly in a field which touches upon critical questions
related to migration and freedom of movement."
EU: Commission finally publish full decision on air travel passenger
rules: Regulation
laying down measures for the implementation of the common basic
standards on aviation security (pdf)
UK: MI5
criticised for role in case of torture, rendition and secrecy (Guardian, link)
UK: Swarms
of robots join the army (Guardian, link) Intelligent
swarms of autonomous robots that look like insects could soon
be deployed for military information-gathering and reconnaissance
Council of Europe: Application of Convention
108 to the profiling mechanism (pdf)
France: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
Concluding
observations of the Human Rights Committee: France (pdf)
UK: Border Agency: A strong new force
at the border
(pdf)
Italy: Silvio
Berlusconi under fire as Pope appears to back warning about fascism (Guardian, link)
UK: Unmanned
spy planes to police Britain (Independent, link) The
Government is drawing up plans to use unmanned "drone"
aircraft currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan to counter
terrorism and aid police operations in Britain.
UK: PRIVATE SECURITY: The
new spies
by Stephen Armstrong (New Statesman, link) When the Cold War
ended, it didn't spell curtains for the secret agent. Private
espionage is a booming industry and environmental protest groups
are its prime target.
EU: Statewatch analysis: The surveillance
of travel where everyone is a suspect (pdf) by Tony Bunyan.
- “all
travellers are... considered a priori as potential law breakers”
- travellers to be checked by “an automated gate and
kiosk” (machines)
IRELAND: Irish
bus pass is ‘identity card by stealth’ (Times,
link)
EU/US
security “channel” - a one-way street?
What the "Outcomes" of EU-US meetings show is the extraordinary influence that the US has on EU justice and home affairs policies and practice. The dominant theme is US demands for access to EU data, intelligence and databases and ensuring that US interests are not threatened (eg: by EU data protection standards). There is also evidence of "policy-laundering", for example, detailed G8 questionnaires drafted by the US which all EU governments have to respond to (eg: use of intelligence in criminal investigation and prosecution).
UK: MANDATORY RETENTION OF ALL INTERNET USAGE: Home Office
consultation: Transposition
of Directive 2006/24/EC (pdf), which concerns:
"the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks.. [to] ensure that certain data is retained to enable public authorities to undertake their lawful activities to investigate, detect and prosecute crime and to protect the public."
In plain english the government wants to keep and access everyone's internet usage and internet telephony in the UK - more than 1 billion items a day.
See: 'Snooper's
charter' to check texts and emails (Guardian, link) and
Statewatch's Observatory: The Surveillance of telecommunications
in the EU
ITALY: Fundamental Rights Agency Incident Report:
Violent attacks against Roma in the Ponticelli district of Naples,
Italy
(pdf)
EU-PNR: European travel operators and travel agents' comments
on the EU-PNR (passenger name record) system reveal strong reservations
on the proposal: European
Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations letter
to Council Presidency (EU doc no: 12360/08, pdf).
- Scope: the
Framework Decision: "ECTAA considers that the proposal
for a Framework Decision should only cover data for passengers
on flight into and out of the EU. It is essential that it is
not extended to intra-EU flights."
- Scope: "it is fundamental that data will not be
used other than for border purposes"
- Costs: "This proposal will have significant technical, operational and financial consequences for carriers. Inevitably that cost will be passed on by the carriers to the end user, the passenger" - so we will be paying for our own surveillance
- US demands: PNR data is currently transmitted to the USA after a flight departs. The USA demand for data 24 hours in advance and immediately after flight closure is called "an uneccessary duplication". In addition: "Charter carriers in particular rarely receive such information in advance of 24 hours" and "To put in place an advance system for charter carriers would be costly and require considerable time as the current systems used by tour operators do not lend themselves to this."
Background: The Council working party has abandoned discussions on the Commission's proposal for an EU-PNR scheme and are going to start again drawing up their own proposal because a number of EU governments want to go much further. With the UK in the lead a number of member states want:
- the system
to cover not just flights in and out of the EU but also flights
between EU countries plus all flights within each country;
- the system to cover not just all flights but all sea and land
travel as well;
- the data and information gathered to be used not just
for entry-exit but also for any law enforcement purpose.
See: Note from the Austrian delegation: EU doc no: 11724/08 Council Presidency Note: EU do no: 11281/08 and Council Presidency Note: 11772/09 plus penultimate draft of the proposal during discussions in the Council's Multidisciplinary group on organised crime: EU doc no: 7656/08 Rev 2
EU: Schengen
police cooperation handbook - National Fact Sheets (618k, pdf) Contains
useful summary of national laws/powers concerning the carrying
of guns by officers, surveillance and pursuit plus listing of
relevant agencies.
UK: Tories
pledge to grant police greater surveillance powers -
for non-terrorist cases (Guardian, link)
UK: Uproar
at plan to hold inquests in secret (Times, link)
Italy: European Race Bulletin: The Italian
general election and its aftermath (IRR link, pdf)
EU: Secret report on new five year plan for "European Home
Affairs" proposes creation of an EU-USA Area of cooperation
for "freedom, security and justice" (justice and home
affairs): Future
Report: Freedom, Security, Privacy – European Home Affairs
in an open world (full-text, pdf)
"By 2014 the European Union should make up its mind with
regard to the political objective to realise a Euro-Atlantic
area of cooperation in the field of freedom, security and justice
with the United States."
Contrary to some press reports (see below) the proposed Area of EU-USA JHA cooperation would not just cover terrorism and passenger data but would cover the whole area of justice and home affairs - policing, immigration, sharing database data and biometrics and harmonising laws.
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"All the evidence from dozens of high-level EU-USA meetings on justice and home affairs since 11 September 2001 shows that it is a one-way street with the EU trying to fend off USA demands. When the EU does not cave in the USA simply negotiates bilateral deals with individual member states.
A permanent
EU-USA pact would be disastrous for privacy and civil liberties."
See:
- Secret
EU security draft risks uproar with call to pool policing and
give US personal data (Guardian, link)
- EU
plan: The rise and rise of the securocrats (Daily Telegraph, link)
- Interesting background: Bush
letter to the EU, 16 October 2001
EU: FUTURE GROUP - JUSTICE REPORT: In addition to the above report
on "European Home Affairs" the EU Future Group has
also presented a report by the High Level Advisory Group on:
The
Future of European Justice Policy Proposed Solutions for the
Future EU Justice Programme (pdf)
UK: Home
Office: Police use of taser figures as at August 2008 (pdf) and Police:
Amnesty voices concern as use of Taser guns grows (Guardian, link)
UK-USA: European
Court of Human Rights (Press release) and Abu
Hamza extradition postponed for hearing (Channel 4 News, link)
EU: Report from UK House of Lords Select Committee: Initiation
of EU Legislation (216 pages, pdf):
"The purpose of this report is to explore the processes by which ideas are transformed into EU legislation, principally by the Commission, and to draw conclusions as to the appropriateness of those processes in today’s EU. Our starting point was to ask: “Where do the ideas for legislation come from?” and “How are ideas developed to the point when they are brought forward as formal legislative proposals?”
UK: TERRORIST LAW - 42 DAYS: House of Lords: Select
Committee on the Constitution: Counter-Terrorism Bill: The Role
of Ministers, Parliament and the Judiciary (pdf). See: Terrorism:
Lords say 42-day law will put fair trials at risk (Guardian, link)
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION: Atlanta
Declaration and Plan of Action for the Advancement of the Right
of Access to Information (pdf)
"We, over 125 members of the global access to information community from 40 countries, representing governments, civil society organizations, international bodies and financial institutions, donor agencies and foundations, private sector companies, media outlets and scholars, gathered in Atlanta, Georgia from February 27-29, 2008, under the auspices of the Carter Center and hereby adopt the following Declaration and Plan of Action to advance the passage, implementation, enforcement, and exercise of the right of access to information"
UK-USA-RENDITION: Reprieve Press Release: As
New Evidence Emerges that ‘War on Terror’ Prisoners
were Held on Diego Garcia, Reprieve Demands Immediate Action
from the British Government (pdf)
July 2008
ITALY: Deployment
of armed forces to guarantee security in cities
UK: UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women: Concluding
observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (pdf) Northern Ireland
Human Rights Commission, Press release: UN
urges greater protection for women’s rights in Northern
Ireland
(pdf) NIHRC Submission: Shadow
Report on the Sixth Periodic Report of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland (pdf)
UK: Statement
from The Corner House and Campaign Against Arms Trade in response
to Law Lords' judgments in BAE-Saudi appeal by The Corner House
and Campaign Against Arms Trade (link) Full-text
of Lords judgment (pdf)
UK: Human Genetics Commission report: A
Citizens’ Inquiry into the Forensic Use of DNA and the National
DNA Database
(1 MB, pdf) Summary
of report
(pdf). See: DNA
records 'criminalise people' (BBC News, link) "Thousands of
DNA samples from innocent people are now retained. DNA profiles
of those not convicted of a crime should be removed from the
database in England and Wales, a government-funded inquiry has
said."
COE-ITALY: Memorandum:
full-text
(38 pages, pdf) Press release: Italy: “Immigration
policy must be based on human rights principles and not only
on perceived security concerns”, says Commissioner Hammarberg
presenting a special report (pdf)
"Mr Hammarberg criticised the decision to criminalise migrants’ entry and irregular stay. He sees this as a worrying departure from established international law principles. “These measures may make it more difficult for refugees to ask for asylum and is likely to result in a further social stigmatisation and marginalisation of all migrants - including Roma. Commissioner Hammarberg also noted with grave concern that Italy had forcibly returned migrants to certain countries with proven records of torture."
EU-USA:
United
States Plans New Travel Procedures for 27 Countries (US EU Mission, link)
Known as ESTA (Electronic System of Travel Authorisation). An
application to travel to the USA has to be made and authorisation
given prior to boarding a plane or boat.
This will apply to the EU countries currently included in the Visa Waiver Programme who are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In addition, the following are being considered for inclusion at a later date include Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Malta - all of whom have signed MOUs with the USA.
The ESTA form asks about health, any criminal record including those "involving moral turpitude or a violation related to a controlled substance" (whether spent or not under EU law), whether you are seeking "entry to engage in criminal or immoral activities" and whether you have ever been involved in espionage, sabotage or terrorism.
The European Commission has yet to decide whether ESTA constitutes a breach of the visa waiver programme (see below). See also: US to screen foreign air passengers (euobserver, link)
UK:
Annual Report: Report
of the Intelligence Services Commissioner for 2007 (pdf). As usual a bland
repetition of the legal position and little more.
Greece:
"Humanitarian
crisis" at Greek migrant camp - MSF (Reuters, link)
EU: VISA WAIVER RECIPROCITY: Commission: Fourth
Report on certain third countries' maintenance of visa requirements
in breach of the principle of reciprocity.. the third countries
whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing
the external borders (COM 486, pdf) Press release: "No
tangible progress has been made regarding the USA" (pdf) Threat to impose
visa conditions on US diplomats threatened.
Ireland
strongly opposed to Lisbon revote (euobserver, link) and
Poll reveals Irish animosity towards referendum rerun (euractiv, link)
UK: Report from the parliamentary Joint Human Rights Committee:
UN
Convention Against Torture: Discrepancies in Evidence Given to
the Committee About the Use of Prohibited Interrogation Techniques
in Iraq
(pdf). MPs
'misled' over interrogation (BBC News, link) "MPs and peers
have said they may have been misled over UK troops' use of banned
interrogation methods in Iraq. Not all troops had known "conditioning"
techniques such as hooding and sleep deprivation were banned,
the Joint Committee on Human Rights said."
ITALY: "State emergency" extended from three regions
to whole country: According to a press release from the Italian
Council of Ministers meeting of today (25 July 2008), the government
has declared the "state of emergency" for the whole
of Italy in relation to the persistent and extraordinary influx
of non-EU citizens, as proposed by the Interior Minister Maroni,
with the aim of strengthening the activities of fighting and
management of the phenomena. The "state of emergency"
is thus enlarged from 3 regions to all Italian territory. A decree
will probably be issued by the government together with orders,
as for the "nomads' emergency". See full background
below.
EU-ECJ: Grand Chamber judgment: Judgment overturning Akrich and
making it absolutely clear that third country national family
members can enter without any requirement of prior lawful residence
in another MS: Full-text
of judgment
(pdf) See: Court
gives backing to foreign spouses of EU citizens (euobserver, link)
Profit
and power: the privatisation of asylum control (Corporatewatch, link)
UK-IRELAND: Since 1925, 83 years ago, there has been a Common
Travel Area between the Republic of Ireland and the UK. The UK
Home Office is proposing to introduce border controls and biometric
checks: Home
office consultation (pdf) Partial
Impact Assessment (pdf) Proposals
for controls on UK and Ireland travel (Irish Times, link)
EU-PNR: EU
endorses idea of collecting air passenger data (euobserver, link).
EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers say they have "reached
an agreement on the principle of the European PNR". In fact,
they have abandoned discussions on the Commission's proposal
for an EU-PNR scheme and are going to start again drawing up
their own proposal because a number of EU governments want to
go much further. With the UK in the lead a number of member states
want:
- the system
to cover not just flights in and out of the EU but also flights
between EU countries plus all flights within each country;
- the system to cover not just all flights but all sea and land
travel as well;
- the data and information gathered to be used not just
for entry-exit but also for any law enforcement purpose.
See: Note from the Austrian delegation: EU doc no: 11724/08 Council Presidency Note: EU do no: 11281/08 and Council Presidency Note: 11772/09 plus penultimate draft of the proposal during discussions in the Council's Multidisciplinary group on organised crime: EU doc no: 7656/08 Rev 2
EU: JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL Brussels, 24-25 JULY 2008:
Press
release for 24 July 2008 (pdf). Background
Note
(pdf) "A"
Points agenda
(pdf) "B"
Points agenda
(pdf)
ITALY: SECURITY PACKAGE & DOCUMENTATION: On 23 July the Italian
Senate approved the law transforming the security package decree
into law: Link
to full-text.
The main measures adopted - having an impact on EU and non-EU
citizens - are similar to those already contained in the decrees:
- Aggravating circumstance of being irregular on Italian soil:
being a clandestine/illegal immigrant becomes an aggravating
circumstance: penalties are 1/3 higher for illegal immigrants
who commit a crime; this is valid for EU citizens and non-EU
citizens (which amounts to a discrimination on the basis of nationality
among EU citizens);
- Easier Expulsions: judges can order expulsions in a wider series of circumstances; foreigners, including EU citizens, can be expelled if they have no revenue or have been caught committing a crime. Expulsion, also of EU citizens, can be ordered for crimes punished with 2 years detention (before it was 10 years). Those who violate the repatriation order, including EU citizens, can be punished with a custodial sentence of between 1 and 4 years (violation of the free movement directive);
- "Centri di permanenza temporanea" (Cpt - Centers for temporary permanence) and "centri di permanenza temporanea e assistenza" (Cpta - Centers for temporary permanence and assistance) are renamed and becorme "centri di identificazione ed espulsione" (Cie - Centers for identification and expulsion). Those who admit false identity risk a penalty of between 3 and 6 years;
- Prison for those who provide housing to clandestines: anybody renting or anyway providing housing to foreigners who are not regularly on the Italian soil can bee punished with a custodial sentence of between 6 months and 3 years. The house or apartment can also be seized;
- Mayors and Prefects will have more powers in terms of public order, while local and State police will collaborate more. The Mayor will indicate those who are in an irregular situation on Italian soil to be expelled (the application of the free movement directive is left to local authorities, making it difficult to check compliance)
- SECURITY A LA ITALIANA: Fingerprinting, Extreme Violence and Harassment of Roma in Italy - by European Roma Rights Centre, Open Society Institute, Romani Criss, Roma Civic Alliance in Romania and Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions
- European Parliament Resolution: Census of the Roma on the basis of ethnicity in Italy: European Parliament resolution of 10 July 2008 on the census of the Roma on the basis of ethnicity in Italy
- Letter from Jonathan Faull, Director General DG Justice, Freedon and Security, to Italian government Permanent Representative in Brussels: Letter full-text (pdf)
- Italy to jail clandestine migrants (euobserver, link)
EU-LATIN
AMERICA: THE "OUTRAGEOUS" RETURNS DIRECTIVE: Letter
to EU governments and parliamentarians (Six languages, pdf) Signed by people
from: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, USA,
Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela:
"It seems
that a convenient amnesia prevents Europe from remembering what
Europe would be like without cheap labor from abroad, and without
the services that the entire world has provided her with. Europe
would not be Europe without the massacre of indigenous peoples
in the Americas and without the enslavement of the sons and daughters
of Africa, to mention only a few forgotten examples.
Europe should apologise to the world, or at the very least give
thanks for what the world has given her, instead of legalising
the hunting down and punishment of hard
working people who have come to Europe, fleeing the hunger and
the wars that the masters of the world have sent them."
EU:
TERRORIST FINANCING: Counter-Terrorism Coordinator:
Revised Strategy on Terrorist Financing (pdf)
EU: VISA WAIVER RECIPROCITY: Commission press release: "No
tangible progress has been made regarding the USA" (pdf) Threat to impose
visa conditions on US diplomats threatened.
EU: JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL Brussels, 24-25 JULY 2008:
Background
Note
(pdf) "A"
Points agenda
(pdf) "B"
Points agenda
(pdf)
Italy
to jail clandestine migrants (euobserver, link)
UK-UN
REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS LEVELS VERY STRONG CRITICISMS AT UK GOVERNMENT:
Concluding
Observations of the Human Rights Committee (pdf). Including:
On deporting people to countries where there is evidence of torture or inhumane or degrading treatment:
"The State party should ensure that all individuals, including persons suspected of terrorism, are not returned to another country if there are substantial reasons for fearing that they would be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The State party should further recognise that the more systematic the practice of torture or cruel , inhuman or degrading treatment, the less likely it will be that a real risk of such treatment can be avoided by diplomatic assurances, however stringent any agreed follow-up procedure may be. The State party should exercise the utmost care in the use of such assurances and adopt clear and transparent procedures allowing review by adequate judicial mechanisms before individuals are deported, as well as effective means to monitor the fate of the affected individuals."
On rendition:
"The
Committee notes with concern that the State party has allowed
the use of the British Indian Ocean Territory as a transit point
on at least two occasions for rendition flights of persons to
countries where they risk being subjected to torture or ill-treatment.(arts.
2, 7 and 14).
The State party should investigate allegations related to transit
through its territory of rendition flights and establish an inspection
system to ensure that its airports are not used for such purposes."
On the use of plastics bullets/projectiles:
"The State party should closely monitor the use of Attenuating Energy Projectiles (AEPs) by police and army forces and consider banning such use if it is established that AEPs can cause serious injuries."
EU:
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL Brussels, 24-25 JULY 2008: Background
Note
(pdf)
UK: SURVEILLANCE SOCIETY: A
Surveillance Society?: The Government reply to the report from the Home
affairs Committee (pdf). See: Government
stands by data sharing: The Home Office has said that joining
up existing government systems reduces the need for big new databases (link) Background: Report
on the "Surveillance society" by the House of Commons
Home Affairs Select Committee: Report:
Vol 1
(1.5 MB, pdf) Evidence
Vol 2
(1.6 MB, pdf).
EU-USA: Letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
to the European Parliament: Full-text of ACLU
letter
(pdf)
"The negotiations underway between U.S. security agencies and their European counterparts over the transatlantic transfer of personal data are just the latest efforts to overcome a looming problem...The European Union, having enacted strong legislation to protect the privacy of its citizens, cannot be asked to render that legislation meaningless by allowing its citizens’ data to be shared with a country that is, in privacy terms, all but lawless.
If Europe agrees to data-sharing with the United States under the current U.S. open records law, then European citizens will have far fewer protections for their data in the United States than U.S. citizens will have in Europe. U.S. privacy laws are weak; they offer little protection to citizens and virtually none to non-citizens."
Background: EU-USA: How America is snooping on YOU ... and may soon be snooping a whole lot more (link to Mail on Sunday) and EU-US: Final Report by EU-US High Level Contact Group on information sharing and privacy and personal data protection (pdf) This report was presented at the EU-US Summit on 12 June 2008.
CROATIA: Every
day the Croatian Government is removing tourists, mostly Asians
and Africans, from the train between Budapest and Venice - people with visas
for their destination - people who are not warned they will be
passing through Croatia until it's too late - They are left on
the border in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere
- while travellers from Western countries are allowed to continue
their journey unhindered.
EU-ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS: Council capitulates and agree to give
Mr Turco a document containing the Opinion of the Legal Service:
New
reply to the confirmatory application made by Mr Maurizio TURCO
(1/02) following the judgment of the Court of Justice (Grand
Chamber) in Joined Cases C-39/05 P and C-52/05 P (pdf)
Background: MAJOR VICTORY FOR ACCESS TO EU DOCUMENTS: COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE JUDGMENT ON ACCESS TO LEGAL OPINIONS - TURCO CASE:
"THE
COURT AUTHORISES, IN PRINCIPLE, ACCESS TO LEGAL ADVICE GIVEN
TO THE COUNCIL ON LEGISLATIVE QUESTIONS
The transparency of the legislative process and the strengthening
of the democratic rights of European citizens are capable of
constituting an overriding public interest which justifies the
disclosure of legal advice.... The Court takes the view that
disclosure of documents containing the advice of an institution’s
legal service on legal questions arising when legislative initiatives
are being debated increases transparency and strengthens the
democratic right of European citizens to scrutinise the information
which has formed the basis of a legislative act." (Court press release)
and:
"As regards, first, the fear expressed by the Council that disclosure of an opinion of its legal service relating to a legislative proposal could lead to doubts as to the lawfulness of the legislative act concerned, it is precisely openness in this regard that contributes to conferring greater legitimacy on the institutions in the eyes of European citizens and increasing their confidence in them by allowing divergences between various points of view to be openly debated. It is in fact rather a lack of information and debate which is capable of giving rise to doubts in the minds of citizens, not only as regards the lawfulness of an isolated act, but also as regards the legitimacy of the decision-making process as a whole." (Judgment)
The Court's judgment means that the Council (and the Commission) can no longer claim blanket refusals for the opinions of their Legal Services on legislative matters. The Court's judgment is also interesting because it reasserted the principle of an "overriding public interest" in allowing disclosure.
Currently the Opinions of the Council's Legal Service on legislative matters carries the following warning:
"This
document contains legal advice protected under Article 4(2) of
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European
Parliament, Council and Commission documents, and not released
by the Council of the European Union to the public. The Council
reserves all its rights in law as regards any unauthorised publication." [BOLD emphasis in original]
- Press
release
- Court
judgment - full-text
- Turco
press statement
UK: New
Criminal Information Quango sighted - Ex-mandarin hides plans
for world domination behind criticism of Police (Register, link). Report:
Review
of Criminal Information” (ROCI) (156 pages, pdf) and see: Technology
and Policing: Implications for Fairness and Legitimacy, by Peter Neyroud and
Emma Disley (Policing, link)
ITALY: The
bloody battle of Genoa (Guardian feature by Nick Davies, link)
Multimillion
pound security project shelved by ministers (Guardian, link) SCOPE project.
EU: Council Presidencies JHA Programme: French,
Czech and Swedish Presidencies: Draft Programme of the trio of
Presidencies in JHA (pdf)
EU: Legislative Update: The "state of play" on the
following measures:
- Report on European Parliament plenary session: 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 See also: The European Parliament plenary session has backed a report by Sarah Ludford MEP (ALDE) calling for the fingerprinting of children to only be allowed for those 12 year old and over - the Council of the European Union (the governments) want it to be just six years old and over. The report was supported by 455 MEPs and opposed by 64, mainly from the conservative PPE group. There were 41 abstentions. Full-text of Resolution (pdf).
- EMPLOYER SANCTIONS: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council providing for sanctions against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals and EU doc no: 11000/08 plus EU doc no: 11727/08
- EJN: Draft Council Decision on the European Judicial Network
EU: EXIT-ENTRY SYSTEM: Briefing Paper for the European Parliament:
Proposed
new EU border control systems (pdf) by Professor Steve Peers, University
of Essex
USA: RENDITION-TORTURE-US ASSURANCES: Report from the UK House
of Commons foreign Affairs Committee: Human
Rights Annual Report 2007 (pdf). It includes the following Conclusions:
"We conclude that, given the clear differences in definition, the UK can no longer rely on US assurances that it does not use torture, and we recommend that the Government does not rely on such assurances in the future."
"We conclude that it is extremely important that the veracity of allegations that the Government has “outsourced” interrogation techniques involving the torture of British nationals by Pakistani author authorities should be ities investigated."
"We conclude that the Government has a moral and legal obligation to ensure that flights that enter UK airspace or land at UK airports are not pa part of the “rendition rt circuit”, even if they do not have a detainee on board during the time they are in UK territory. We recommend that the Government should immediately raise questions about such flights with the US authorities in order to ascertain the full scale of the rendition problem, and inform the Committee of the replies it rece receives in its response ives to this Report."
G8: G8
Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting, Tokyo, 11-13 June,
2008: Concluding Declaration Conclusions including Counter-Terrorism (pdf) and G8
Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Declaration on Capacity
Building Assistance (pdf)
EU: Electronic Identity Management (eIDM): Commission press release:
Electronic
Identity: easy access to public services across the EU (pdf) A
Roadmap for a pan-European eIDM Framework by 2010 (pdf) and Factsheet (pdf)
"For eGovernment and eBusiness to function to their full potential, people need a secure, convenient and effective way of identifying themselves – replacing signatures and stamps used on paper – when using electronic communication. To make this a reality, EU Member States are investing tens of billions of euros in interoperable Electronic Identity Management (eIDM)."
EU: HAGUE PROGRAMME: Report
on implementation of the Hague Programme (pdf) Brussels, 2.7.2008,
COM(2008) 373 final, (SEC(2008) 2048}
{SEC(2008) 2049} plus useful SEC documents giving details of
implementation and compliance (or non-compliance) at national
and institutional levels: SEC
(2008) 2048: Commission Stafff Working Document: Annex to the
Communication: Report on the implementation of The Hague programme
for 2007: Follow-up of the implementation of legal instruments
in the fields of justice, freedom and security at national level:
2007 Implementation Scoreboard - Table 2 (pdf) and SEC(2008)
2049: Commission Staff Working Document: Annex to the Communication:
General overview of instruments and deadlines provided for in
the Hague Programme and Action Plan in the fields of justice,
freedom and security for 2007 (Institutional Scoreboard): Report
on the implementation of The Hague programme for 2007 (Institutional
Scoreboard – Table 1 (pdf)
EP: Useful country reports from European Parliament delegations
from the Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) looking at "reception
of asylum seekers and irregular migrants": Cyprus (pdf), Denmark (pdf) and Poland (pdf)
EU: CRIMINAL RECORDS: Council
Decision on the exchange of information extracted from criminal
records – Manual of Procedure (103 pages, pdf) Interesting summary
country by country of the information stored and that required
for requests from criminal records from another member state.
EU-JHA-PASSERELLE: Statewatch
Analysis: Changing the institutional framework for EU Justice
and Home Affairs law without the Lisbon Treaty (pdf) by Professor Steve
Peers, University of Essex.
IRELAND-LISBON TREATY: Ireland
will have to vote again on Lisbon, says Sarkozy (Irish Times, link).
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"An unspoken timetable has already been decided in Brussels. In October EU governments will agree on a Declaration to be attached to the Treaty, then it will declared that Ireland will vote again in March next year - and 1st April 2009 has already been pencilled in for the formal adoption of the Treaty."
ITALY: Frattini
pide un banco de datos europeo con huellas y ADN de niños
de etnia gitana (link)
"EFE ROME.- Frattini asks for a European database containing the fingerprints and DNA of Roma children
'If Europe does not adopt this solution, we will adopt it anyway' 'The first way to protect a minor is to give him an identity and a document'. The Italian foreign affairs minister, Franco Frattini, believes that a European database containing the fingerprints and DNA of all the children of the Roma ethnic group(*) living in nomad camps is necessary as, without an identity, they have no rights, nor can they be protected.
The former
European justice commissioner pointed out in an interview with
Italian newspaper 'Il Messaggero', that "the first way to
protect a minor is to give them an identity and a document",
know who s/he is, because without this "a Roma child has
no right to health or school".
Moreover, "without an identity, it is impossible to rescue
these little innocent souls from the hands of paedophiles and
child traffickers". Frattini considered that "a European
database with the names, fingerprints, DNA indicators of all
these children" is necessary "to make their lives safer".
The minister indicated that "if Europe does not adopt this
solution, that of fingerprints, of DNA, which strikes me as being
the only possible one, we will adopt it anyway", although
he explained that they will always respect European norms.
The Italian government has embarked upon a process to create a census of the people living in underprivileged neighbourhoods and settlements, that includes the taking of fingerprints, including those of minors."
* Statewatch translation Note: " gitano ", the term used in the Spanish original, would translate as " gypsy " or " zingaro ", the problem being that both in the UK and Italy the term is derogatory, while in Spain a lot of work has been carried out to give it back its positive connotations, largely to do with culture, performing arts and dark beauty... the same has not happened, at least not to the same extent, in Italy and the UK. " Roma " is what tends to be used, but it is inadequate, as there are different ethnic groups (Rom and Sinti in Italy, Calò in Spain, travellers in the UK.
LIBYA-EU: Libya
urges EU to revise illegal immigration rules (Reuters, link)
"Libya called on the European Union to revise new rules
against illegal immigration on Monday, saying it would urge African
Union members to take action if the EU stuck by measures that
treated African migrants as criminals.
EU ministers have backed French proposals for a European pact to stem illegal immigration and attract highly skilled job-seekers, weeks after the EU decided illegal immigrants could be detained for up to 18 months and face a 5-year re-entry ban.
"Africa will not accept any law based on repression and in dealing with African migrants, including children and disabled people, as criminals," Libya's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Libyan news agency Jana...... "
ITALY:
Memorandum:
Request for expedited engagement of follow-up procedure and/or
Urgent Action/Early Warning Procedure concerning Italy ICERD
Compliance
(pdf) Petitioning Organisations: Centre on Housing Rights and
Evictions, Associazione Studi Giuridici sull’Immigrazione
(“ASGI”), The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), the
National Roma Centrum (NRC), Cultural Center “O Del Amenca”,
Policy Center for Roma and Minorities (“PCRM”), Roma
Center for Social Intervention and Studies (“Romani CRISS”),
Roma Women Association in Romania (RWAR):
"The CERD Committee reviewed Italy’s compliance with the ICERD Convention in February 2008, and duly issued Concluding Observations:
Threats to non-citizen Roma have been severely heightened following the election in April 2008 and the formation on 8 May 2008 of a new right-wing national government including extremist xenophobic and racist elements, as well as success in local elections by the extreme right in a number of municipalities, including the capital Rome. This, combined with years of anti-Roma propaganda by the Italian media, which has unceasingly portrayed Roma primarily as vagrants and criminals, has resulted in exceptional levels of discrimination throughout Italy, as well as other issues implicating emergency aspects of the Convention."
UK:
Outsourcing
abuse: The use and misuse of state-sanctioned force during the
detention and removal of asylum seekers A report by Birnberg Peirce & Partners,
Medical Justice and the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation
Campaigns (pdf)
ITALY: Rape
threats, beatings and racist chants: 15 Italians jailed for abuse
of G8 Genoa protesters: Verdict likely to embarrass Berlusconi government
(Guardian, link)
"Fifteen Italian police officers and doctors were last
night sentenced to jail terms of up to five years after being
found guilty of abusing protesters detained during riots at the
2001 G8 summit in Genoa."
See Statewatch coverage on Genoa and the trials on: Observatory on reactions to protests in the EU
USA: US
Terrorism Watch List Tops 1 Million (link)
MALTA-FOI: Citizens
and NGOs convened for Freedom of Information forum (link)
EU-VISAS-FINGERPRINTING CHILDREN: The European Parliament plenary
session has backed a report by Sarah Ludford MEP (ALDE) calling
for the fingerprinting of children to only be allowed for those
12 year old and over - the Council of the European Union (the
governments) want it to be just six years old and over. The report
was supported by 455 MEPs and opposed by 64, mainly from the
conservative PPE group. There were 41 abstentions. Full-text
of Resolution
(pdf). The Green/EFA rapporteur said:
"Speaking
on behalf of the Greens/EFA political group, Ms Tatjana ZDANOKA
(Greens/EFA - LV):
• stated that her political group cannot accept any use
of biometrics in the EU until its necessity is proven beyond
reasonable doubt. The introduction of biometrics has crucial
implications for data security and for fundamental rights. Therefore
the Greens/EFA political group cannot vote in favour of the report
at all."
and:
Speaking on behalf of the GUE/NGL political group, Ms Sylvia Yvonne KAUFMANN (GUE/NGL - DE):
• noted that the introduction of biometrics in visa is not acceptable, in particular regarding small children. She asked for an intensive study to verify the implication of such an approach."
UK: Data
Sharing Review report (pdf) Annexes (pdf) Submissions (link). Comment: Voters'
data 'should not be sold' (BBC News, link)
EU
Transparency Proposal Criticised by Sweden (link)
UK: Government threatens 11 countries that unless they change
their policies on deportations or removals of their nationals
and cooperate on crime and terrorism then their citizens visiting
the UK will have to get visas: Home Office Press release:
Results Of Britains First Global Visa Review (pdf) Statement
by Home Secretary on Visa Waiver Test (pdf) These are: are: Bolivia; Botswana;
Brazil; Lesotho; Malaysia; Mauritius; Namibia; South Africa;
Swaziland; Trinidad and Tobago; and Venezuela. These countries
have a combined population of over 300 million – nearly
five per cent of the world’s population.
"The criteria for the test included looking at passport security and integrity; the degree of co-operation over deportation or removal of a country’s nationals from the UK; levels of illegal working in the UK and other immigration abuse; levels of crime and terrorism risk posed to the UK; and the extent to which a country’s authorities were addressing these threats."
The "criteria" are a mix of establishing who is wanting to visit and much broader cooperation on policies such as crime and terrorism. It should be noted that Brazil, Malaysia and Venezuela are the European Commission's "white list" of countries not requiring visas.
ITALY: Census
of the Roma on the basis of ethnicity in Italy: European Parliament
resolution of 10 July 2008 on the census of the Roma on the basis
of ethnicity in Italy (pdf). This Resolution was passed by 336 votes
to 220 with 77 abstentions. It was backed by MEPS from the PSE
(Socialist group), ALDE (Liberal group), Greens, GUE (United
Left) and opposed by the PPE (Conservative group) and UEN (rightwing
Europe of Nations group).
- Letter from
Jonathan Faull, Director General DG Justice, Freedon and Security,
to Italian government Permanent Representative in Brussels: Letter
full-text
(pdf)
- ALDE Press release: Roma in Italy:
Extraordinary measures are unjustified. EPP deft to appeals from
civil society
(pdf)
EU:
CONCORD Press release: European
NGOs condemn putting aid at the service of immigration control (pdf):
"While European and G8 countries are failing to deliver on their international aid commitments, European Development NGOs are deeply concerned about linking immigration control and development cooperation."
EU:
Fortress Europe blog details 185 deaths in June. The Fortress
Europe blog which tracks the deaths of migrants, details 185
deaths in June alone, 173 of which have taken place in the Channel
of Sicily, where arrivals have risen three-fold, with other deaths
also reported in the Canary Islands, Venice harbour, Turkey,
where a Somali man was shot during a demonstration in a detention
centre, and Israel, where three refugees were shot by police
along the border with Egypt, including a seven-year-old Sudanese
girl. The bulk of the deaths refer to a shipwreck in the high
sea off the Libyan coast at Zuwarah on 7 June 2008, in which
one survivor was rescued, 40 dead bodies were recovered and at
least 100 people disappeared.
For full details,
see: http://fortresseurope.blogspot.com/2006/01/giugno-2008.html (original, in Italian)
http://fortresseurope.blogspot.com/2006/01/june-2008.html (English version)
EU:The
French Council Presidency is hosting: European
Police Chiefs Task Force (EPCTF) Expanded Troika Meeting in Paris on 11 July.
What is interesting is that in this Council document: European
Council (19 and 20 June 2008): Progress report from the Presidency
to the European Council - Preparatory work in view of the entry
into force of the Lisbon Treaty (pdf) it says that the new structures
under the Lisbon Treaty meant:
"It was accepted that there would no longer be a need for a formal role for the Police Chiefs Task Force."
Background: Statewatch analysis: The EU's Police Chief Task Force - a tale of self-regulation and self-definition by a body with no legal or constitutional basis, by Tony Bunyan
UK:
Biometric Assurance Group (BAG): Biometrics
Assurance Group Annual Report 2007 (pdf) A government expert group has
warned of a 'large impact' on the National Identity Scheme from
those who cannot use fingerprinting, such as many elderly people.
The Biometrics Assurance Group (BAG), in its annual report for
2007, recommends more funding for the handling of people who
cannot provide usable biometrics. The report describes the more
than 4m people over the age of 75 in Britain as "a group
for which it is hard to obtain good quality fingerprints"
"Enrolling people with challenging biometrics: Having reviewed the composition of the test group, which is composed of those with potentially challenging characteristics, BAG suggested that the group should be expanded to include individuals with the following characteristics: being elderly, mute, non-English speaking, blind or visually impaired."
Report fingers prints as ID scheme's point of failure (Register, link)
USA: Passport
record system open to abuse, IG finds (link)
"A State Department passport record system that holds
personal data on more than 120 million Americans is wide open
to abuse and unable to prevent or detect unauthorized access"
Privacy
issue will dictate data debate (Computing, link):
"What might the government learn about each of us were it to piece together fragments of our lives scattered across disparate departmental databases? The fundamental principle of data protection legislation is that personal data should only be used for the purpose for which it was originally recorded. Excessive cross-matching would be a clear and controversial infringement ­ but you can be sure the government will look for more situations where it can claim that the benefits outweigh the risks."
UK:
Statistics
on Race and the Criminal Justice System – 2006/7 (pdf). The figures show
that black people are still more than 7 times more likely to
be stop and searched by the police as white people and that Asian
people are more than twice as likely to be stop and searched.
Police stop and search figures up (BBC News, link):
"The figures showed 955,000 people were stopped and searched in 2006/7 alone, an increase of 9% and the highest figure since 1998/9.... There was also a large rise in the number of people stopped by the police and asked to account for themselves - up by a third to 1.87m in 2006/7."
Law and order: Police stop nearly 2m for questioning in year (Guardian, link)
EU:
Informal Justice and Home Affairs Ministers meeting in Cannes:
European
Pact on immigration and asylum and Presidency
Note: Asylum procedures
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"EU Ministers are saying there is no "Fortress Europe", yet anyone with eyes to see knows that there is and that the final building blocks are being put into place.
The EU is denying sanctuary to people fleeing from poverty and persecution while at the same time actively recruiting skilled labour from the Third World in order to maintain its own standard of living - because it has an ageing population.- and thus perpetuate its exploitation of scarce global resources. It is a position devoid of any humanity or morality."
- EU
won over to France's hard line on immigration and asylum (euobserver, link)
- 42
days? Try 18 months: This European targeting of illegal immigrants
is hypocritical, draconian and undiplomatic by Evo Morales, President
of the Republic of Bolivia (Guardian, link)
- Mercosur
anger at EU migrant laws (BBC News, link)
- Latin
American leaders condemn 'racist' EU law (euobserver, link)
- Central American states reject EU Returns Directive: Full-text
of statement
(pdf)
- and see below
EU/Africa/South
America: Alliance against EU Returns Directive
On 12 June 2008 in Brasilia, a week before the European Parliament voted in favour of the returns directive, the 1st Meeting of High Level Officials of African and South American Countries, involving representatives from 44 countries, the Council of the African Union and UNASUR (Union of South American Nations), with a view to preparing the 2nd African-South American Presidential Summit to be held in Venezuela in November 2008, issued a press release condemning the directive. The representatives expressed "concern" over "legislations recently approved or proposed by some countries or regional organisations concerning migration, that contravene commitments adopted in the framework of human rights conventions and the rights of migrants set out in the UN's relevant legal instruments".
The countries represented were: Angola, Algeria, Argentina, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, DR Congo, Egypt, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, Ivory Coast, Libya, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mauritius, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uruguay, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Full text of the press release (from the no-fortress Europe website,
in Spanish)
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT:
Resolution on:
Census of Roma on the basis of ethnicity in Italy (pdf) signed by MEPs
from the PSE (Socialist group), ALDE (Liberal group), Green Gorup,
GUE (United Left):
"Urges the Italian authorities to refrain from proceeding to the collection of fingerprints of Roma, including minors, as this would clearly constitute an act of discrimination based on race and ethnic origin forbidden by the art. 14th of the European Convention of human rights and furthermore an act of discrimination between EU citizens of Roma origin or nomads and those who are not and who are not required to undergo such procedures"
EU/Central America: Central American states reject EU Returns
Directive. Full-text
of statement
(pdf)
In Guatemala
City on 30 June 2008, PARLACEN (Central American parliament,
the regional body representing the governments of central America
and the Dominican Republic) issued a declaration to "forcefully
reject" the "returns directive" recently approved
by the European Parliament as a measure that "undermines
migrants human and labour rights". While PARLACEN exhorts
its member states to accept their role as countries of origin
and to take action to guarantee their citizens' human right to
both freedom of movement and to remain in their own countries,
it notes that the returns directive "contains articles that
criminalise and penalise the migrant population". The declaration
describes the measure as "criminalising, discriminatory
and xenophobic, which undermines human and labour rights, especially
those of boys, girls, adolescents and the norms of civilised
co-existence between peoples, and that violates the historical
progress made by humanity".
It goes on to challenge the emphasis on security in these measures,
the references to people as "illegals", the vision
of humans in merely economic terms; reaffirms the right to free
movement for humans, calls on regional associations from Latin
America and the Caribbean to form a united front against the
directive in negotiations with the EU and on the parliaments
of EU countries not to adopt the directive.
Spain/Colombia: Information
exchange puts Colombian asylum seekers at risk
CEAR, the Spanish Commission for Assistance to Refugees, warns
in its June 2008 legal bulletin that the cross-checking of information
on Colombian asylum applicants' documents by the Asylum and Refuge
Office with Colombian authorities during asylum proceedings contravenes
data protection legislation and the nature of the asylum process,
undermining the safety of asylum seekers from this country. Problems
that are highlighted include the infiltration of Colombian institutions
by members of paramilitary groups and the contravening of guarantees
of confidentiality that applicants receive when they first apply
for asylum.
EU-USA:
How
America is snooping on YOU ... and may soon be snooping a whole
lot more
(link to Mail on Sunday)
UK-ECHR:
Government
must review Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (link to Liberty press
release) Full-text:
Case of Liberty and others v UK
(Application no. 58243/00) (pdf)
"In a significant judgement today, the European Court of Human Rights found that UK surveillance laws had lacked the necessary clarity and accountability to prevent abuses of power when used to intercept cross-border communications."
ITALY:
Petition: "No
to ethnic profiling of Romani people" (link) This petition
is launched by "La voix des Rroms" (France) and "EveryOne
Group" (Italy). For German version and for Spanish
ITALY:
Renate Weber, MEP: The European
Commission must take the Italian Government to the European Court
of Justice” (Press statement, pdf).
"The recent statements of Italy’s Minister of Interior, Roberto Maroni, regarding a plan to fingerprint the Rroma ethnic population from the Italian Peninsula, represents a new violation of the fundamental human rights and a new defiance from a high-rank Italian official against the European Union and the values it was build upon, as well as against the European legislation."
EU
RETURNS DIRECTIVE: Mercosur
anger at EU migrant laws (BBC News, link) Latin
American leaders condemn 'racist' EU law (euobserver, link)
STATEWATCH: The following Observatories have been updated:
- Observatory on data
protection in the EU
- FOI in the EU: Observatory
on access to EU documents: 2008-2009
- Statewatch
analyses post 11 September 2001
EU: European Data Protection Supervisor: Opinion
of the European Data Protection Supervisor on the Proposal for
a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding
public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission
documents
(Press release plus Opinion, pdf)
EU-ECRE:
European Council on Refugees and Exiles: Memorandum
to the French Presidency: Seizing the opportunity to create a
meaningful Common European Asylum System (pdf)
EU: Homophobia
and Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation in the EU
Member States: Part I – Legal Analysis by Olivier De Schutter
(164 pages, pdf)
June 2008
EU-US: Final
Report by EU-US High Level Contact Group on information sharing
and privacy and personal data protection (pdf) This report was
presented at the EU-US Summit on 12 June 2008. The High Level
Group was set up on 6 November 2006 with the brief to conduct:
"discussions on privacy and personal data protection in the context of the exchange of information for law enforcement purposes as part of a wider reflection between the EU and the U.S. on how best to prevent and fight terrorism and serious transnational crime."
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"In fact the scope would cover "any criminal offence" however minor. There is no guarantee EU citizens will be informed that data and information on them has been transferred to the USA or to which agencies it has been passed or give them the right to correct it. Moreover, the agreement would apply to individual requests and automated mass transfers and allow the USA to give the data to any third state "if permitted under its domestic law".
It would be good to say that the USA must guarantee the same rights to people when personal information is transferred between EU states but this would be meaningless as the Council is about to adopt a Framework Decision which gives individuals few if any protections against misuse and abuse."
The Council of the European Union is about to adopt a: Council Framework Decision on the protection of personal data processed in the framework of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (pdf) covering the transfer of personal data and information/intelligence between EU member states. The Council has simply ignored all the criticisms of the measure from the European Parliament, the European Data Protection Supervisor, the Article 29 Working Party on data protection and civil society: See: Statewatch's: Observatory on data protection in the EU
EU-PNR:
Proposal
for a Council Framework Decision on the use of Passenger Name
Record (PNR) for law enforcement purposes - State of play (pdf) See Statewatch's:
Observatory:
EU surveillance of passengers (PNR)
EU-PNR:
NOTE from: Chair
of the Airports Group of the Council of Europe's Pompidou Group (pdf)
- calls for the
scope of EU PNR scheme to be extended from flights in and out
of the EU to cover also flights within the EU
- calls for scope to be extended from organised crime to serious
crime
- calls for Customs agencies should have access to personal name
registers
- calls for direct online access to airline passenger reservation
systems (not "PUSH" as recommended)
NB: "the Airport Group of the Pompidou Group comprises
around 110 police and customs officers working at airports in
the area of combating serious crime, especially the illegal trafficking
of drugs. Central offices of the competent authorities are represented
as well."
See Statewatch's: Observatory: EU surveillance of passengers (PNR)
EU-AUSTRALIA: PNR AGREEMENT: Full-text: Agreement
between the European Union and Australia on the processing and
transfer of European Union-sourced passenger name record (PNR)
data by air carriers to the Australian Customs Service (pdf)
BALUCH-USA-UK: Baluch
human rights defender, a British citizen, detained and deported
by USA:
"On June 23rd, Baluch human rights defender Noordin Mengal was detained at Newark Liberty International Airport in the US on his arrival from the United Arab Emirates. After being held for nearly 26 hours in the custody of the United States Department of Homeland Security, he was sent back to Dubai after being denied entry to the US. Noordin Mengal, grandson of veteran Baluch leaders Sardar Attaullah Mengal and Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, is a British citizen and a representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council on behalf of Interfaith International and is also a member of the Baluchistan National Party."
For background see: Never mind the Baluch (link to Transnational Institute)
For the record: EU-USA
"SWIFT" agreement (2007) - documentation
"Following press reports in June 2006, it was revealed that the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") operating on the basis of powers under the TFTP has served administrative subpoenas on the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication ("SWIFT")1. These subpoenas require SWIFT in the U.S. to transfer personal data held on its United States2 server to OFAC where they are used for counter terrorism purposes regarding suspected individuals or entities.... SWIFT is a Belgium-based company with offices in the United States and which operates a worldwide messaging system used to transmit, inter alia, bank transaction information. It has been estimated that SWIFT handles 80% of the worldwide traffic for electronic value transfers."
EU-ITALY: Plight
of the Roma: echoes of Mussolini: "The compulsory fingerprinting
of Italy's Gypsy population is the latest example of the country's
increasingly repressive attitude towards minorities – and
an ominous reminder of the policies of the former Fascist dictator". Peter Popham reports
(Independent, link)
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"In a EU of "common values" we are all responsible for what happens in Italy"
EU: Following a request for information to the Commission by
Professor David Miller, University of Strathclyde, it has supplied
a: List
of members of expert group on violent radicalisation (24 June 2008, pdf).
An earlier Commission
response of 3 June 2008 (pdf)
USA: Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), the Center for Constitutional
Rights (CCR), and the International Human Rights Clinic at NYU
School of Law (NYU IHRC): Rights groups challenge
CIA for failure to release more than 7,000 documents relating
to secret detention, rendition and torture program (pdf)
"The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) must no longer be allowed to use classification arguments in its attempts to prevent the disclosure of illegal or embarrassing conduct in its secret detention, torture, and rendition programs, three prominent human rights groups said today. The statement came just hours after they collectively filed a motion to require the CIA to make certain information public and to provide more details about all the documents withheld."
FRENCH EU COUNCIL PRESIDENCY: European
Pact on immigration and asylum (January 2008, pdf)
UK: COUNTER TERRORISM BILL: The House of Commons Justice Committee
today publishes the Government's response to its report on the
Counter Terrorism Bill, in which the Committee expressed its
concerns about the proposals relating to the coroners system
which provided for "the Secretary of State to certify that
a coroner's inquest may be held without a jury and to appoint
a particular security cleared coroner in inquests which are expected
to involve the consideration of material that should not be made
public". Justice
Committee report (pdf) See also: UK parliamentary Joint Human Rights
Committee report: Counter–Terrorism
Policy and
Human Rights: Government Responses to the Committee's Twentieth
and Twenty–first Reports and other correspondence (pdf)
"A joint-agreement to share terrorist screening information between the government of the United States of America and the government of Hungary was passed recently, in exchange for movement toward a Hungarian visa waiver. The agreement, published in the National Gazette on June 20th, 2008, outlines the standards upon which information will be passed between the two governments. Terrorist screening information includes identifying information (full name, known aliases, date of birth, passport, etc.) for individuals reasonably suspect to be engaging in, or who has been related to acts of terrorism or terrorist activities.... This agreement is an step in promoting the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and Hungary. Enacted on March 17, 2008, the MOU strives for Hungarian membership in the Visa Waiver Program. If a participant in the Program, there would be a visa waiver for Hungarians staying in America for 90 days or less."
Council of Europe: New book: CIA
above the law? Secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers
of detainees in Europe (300 pages, link to ordering page, hard-copy 23
euro, pdf 8 euro)
MASRI-UN-MACEDONIA: The UN Committee against Torture (CAT) and
the Human Rights Committee (HRC) have advised the Macedonia government
to undertake a new and thorough investigation into the abduction
and ill-treatment of Mr Khaled El-Masri when held by CIA agents
in secret detention.
- HRC
report
(pdf)
- CAT
report, 21 May 2008 (pdf)
- CAT
report, 20 May 2008 (pdf)
See for full background Statewatch's Observatory on CIA Rendition
EU
countries obstructing investigations into CIA renditions, report
says
(euobserver, link) "The "most important" of
the CIA's secret detention prisons, or 'black sites', in the
years immediately following the 11 September attacks was situated
in Szymany, some 160km north of Warsaw, according to officers
with the US intelligence service. In a weekend article in the
New York Times newspaper, unnamed CIA officers tell of one of
the presumed dozens of sites, hitherto vehemently denied by the
Polish government as having been located within the country."
UK: Report
on the operation in 2007 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and of Part
I if the Terrorism Act 2006 by Lord Carlile (pdf) and Government
Reply to
the Report by Lord Carlile (pdf) and Terrorist
arrests, charges and conviction figures for 2007 (Source: Lord Carlile's
report)
EU: FOI-ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS: Statewatch Analysis
June 2008: Proposal on access to documents: Article-by-Article
commentary
(pdf) Analysis of the Commission's proposed changes to the Regulation
on access to EU documents (1049/2001) by Professor Steve Peers,
University of Essex.
EU: Latin
America could halt EU trade talks over return directive (euobserver, link)
MALTA: Journalists
Committee welcomes the decision to open migrants detention centres (pdf)
"The Journalists Committee welcomes the decision taken by the Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carmel Mifsud Bonnici to open migrants detention centres to journalists. Committee chairperson Karl Schembri said this was a positive development for journalists in Malta and recalled the role of the Journalists Committee in calling for open access to detention centres... Today, the new minister has finally taken on board our appeal and open up detention centres to journalists.The Journalists Committee has for years argued that detention centres and prisons were kept closed to journalists against all sense of transparency and accountability"
UK: Review
urged on RIPA surveillance powers (pdf) LGA media release 23 June 2008.
The Local Government Association has today written to the leaders
of every council in England calling on them to undertake an urgent
review of surveillance operations carried out under the Regulation
of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).
European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): Opinion
on safer Internet for children: data protection is an essential
prerequisite to the safety of children online (pdf)
EU:
COUNTER-TERRORISM report: Implementation
of the Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Terrorism and Implementation
of the Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Terrorism - Addendum:
Adoption of measures plus Implementation
of the EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy - Priorities for further
action
EU: The Council produces a regular Newsletter
on the European Security and Defence Policy (link)
EU: Paper by Professor Steve Peers: Can
the Treaty of Lisbon be ratified or implemented?: A legal analysis
(pdf)
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: Global outcry against EU
immigration directive (euobserver, link)
Souhayr Belhassen,
president of the International Federation for Human Rights, argued
that the timing of the European Parliament's vote was particularly
unfortunate as the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights will be celebrated later this year. "By
adopting this text, the European legislator lets us understand
that migrants are not human beings like any other, provided with
rights and to whom states owe obligations," Belhassen added.
"They are dehumanised." Parliament
Votes Jail for Asylum-Seekers by David Cronin
Green group in the European Parliament: Returns
directive: Vote of shame mocks standards of civilisation (Press statement, link)
GUE (European United Left) group in the European Parliament:
Europe
no longer the cradle of human rights (link to statement)
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: The European Parliament has voted this
morning (18 June) 367 in favour, 206 against and 109 abstentions
on the amended text approving the "compromise" text
with the Council.
EU: UNITED: "Fortress
Europe": More than 8800 Deaths, 20 June 2007, International
Refugee Day.
UNITED has co-ordinated an international refugee campaign since
several years, which consists of two complimentary parts: - Protesting
against the restrictive asylum and migration policies, that are
often referred to as "Fortress Europe": especially
focusing attention on the deaths of already more than 8800 people
who tried to find a safe haven in Europe and Promoting a safe
environment for refugees and asylum seekers where they do not
have to fear racism and intolerance.
EU OMBUDSMAN: Ombudsman:
new rules on investigations will help in finding the truth (pdf)
EU-FOI: Access to documents: Commissioner
Wallströms hits back at critics: ”They can’t have
read the text” (Wobbing. link). Report by by Staffan Dahllöf.
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"The idea that Statewatch, and Steve Peers who represented us at the hearing in the European Parliament on 2 June, had not read the text is sheer nonsense. We have worked on access to EU documents for over 15 years and we know how the current definition of a "document" works in practice - and it works fine. The only institution which does not like the definition is the Commission. In response to Statewatch's complaint to the European Ombudsman, over its failure to put all its documents on its public register, the Commission President repeatedly rejected the definition of a document in the Regulation as being too wide".
EU:
Commission is set to agree today two "packages", one
on asylum, the other on immigration: (pdf's)
Asylum package:
- Communication:
Policy plan on asylum: A integrated approach to protection across
the EU
- Commission
Staff Working Document: Accompanying document to the Policy Plan
on the Common European Asylum System Impact Assessment
- Commission
Staff Working Document: Annexes
- Memorandum
to the Commission
- Green
Paper
(2.6 MB)
- Citizens
Summary
Immigration package:
- Communication:
On common principles for the further development of the Common
Immigration Policy: a platform for a new European approach
- Commission
Staff Working Document: Accompanying document on common principles
for the further development of the Common Immigration Policy:
a platform for a new European approach: Impact Assessment (SEC, 76 pages)
- Commission
Staff Working on common principles for the further development
of the Common Immigration Policy: a platform for a new European
approach: Impact Assessment (SEC, 60 pages)
- Memorandum
to the Commission
- Citizen
Summary
EU-RETURNS DIRECTIVE: European
Parliament press release on the debate, 17 June 2008 (pdf)
EU:
Institute of Race Relations pan-European research project: New
report says Islamophobia warps integration efforts: Integration,
Islamophobia and Civil Rights in Europe (Press release, link), Download
the Introduction (link, pdf), Buy the
full report
(link)
EU-PNR: UK House of Lords' European Union Committee: The
Passenger Name Record (PNR) Framework Decision (89 pages, pdf). A very
useful report which considers amongst other issues the scope
of the proposed EU-PNR Framework Decision which primarily rests
on tackling terrorism:.
"Most
significant of all, Ms Hillier’s [Home Office Minister]
letter contains no reference to terrorism, and none of the examples
she lists bears any relation to terrorism.
Likewise, in oral evidence she was unable to give an example
of the successful use of PNR in relation to a terrorist-related
offence. She did assert that PNR “has absolutely been a
tool in tackling terrorism”, and explained the problems
of sharing information about this in public (Q 28). However such
a statement is unpersuasive when not accompanied by even a claim
that PNR has succeeded in preventing, or assisting in the prevention
of, a single terrorist attack, or bringing to justice the perpetrators
of such an attack.
Similarly, Mr Hustinx told us that when the US Secretary of Homeland
Security was addressing the European Parliament “he was
careful to annex a list of some 20 or so examples to his speech
and it was all about drugs and people evading paying taxes and
things like that, but there was very little in terms of precision
on terrorism” "
In this context it is interesting to note that in the UK Border & Immigration Agency: e-Borders: Friends of Presidency Group meeting presentation, Brussels, 27 March 2008 (pdf) it is stated that:
"The UK does not profile terrorists using PNR. In that respect we believe we are different to other governments who do use profiling techniques..." (emphasis added)
EU: An interesting document published the day after the Irish
referendum on the Lisbon Treaty: European
Council (19 and 20 June 2008): Progress report from the Presidency
to the European Council - Preparatory work in view of the entry
into force of the Lisbon Treaty (pdf)
EU: Critical
review instead of complacency: Amnesty International’s ten-point
human rights programme for the French Presidency of the European
Union,
June 2008 (pdf)
EU-EP: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: As the European Parliament votes on
the Returns Directive there will be a silent demonstration outside
the parliament in Strasbourg on 17 June 2008. Demonstrations
against the Directive will be taking place in a number of other
countries including: Rome (pdf) Lisbon (pdf) Summary
of demonstrations (pdf) Bulletin
from No to Fortress Europe (pdf)
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"If passed this will be the 13th measure on visas, borders, immigration and asylum to be adopted by the European Parliament as a result of "first reading deals" negotiated in secret trilogue meetings with the Council.
Neither the final deal nor the penultimate draft are available to the public on the Council's register of documents. Nor was the letter from the Council to the European Parliament setting out the deal of 4 June made available to the public either until a few days ago. There was no time at all for national parliaments and civil society to read, debate and react as the deal was already set in stone. This is no way to run a democracy, especially when the issues at stake concern peoples' fundamental rights."
- the final and penultimate deals are addressed in Statewatch analysis: The Returns Directive: 9 June 2008 (pdf) by Professor Steve Peers, University of Essex
- see: Secret trilogues and the democratic deficit by Tony Bunyan
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: 42
days? Try 18 months: This European targeting of illegal immigrants
is hypocritical, draconian and undiplomatic by Evo Morales, President
of the Republic of Bolivia (Guardian, link) and Compromise
on return directive "totally unacceptable" : For Francis Wurtz, President of GUE/NGL,
the agreement on the return directive negotiated between the
Council and Parliament's rapporteur - Manfred Weber (EPP) - is
totally unacceptable in both form and content" and see also:
Appeal
to the Members of the European Parliament (pdf)
EU: PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE REGULATION ON ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS:
Speech
by Professor Steve Peers on behalf of Statewatch at the hearing
in the European Parliament on 2 June 2008 (pdf) who concludes:
"I would urge the European Parliament to take the opportunity to improve the Commission’s proposal significantly, as there are major problems with it."
CIA-RENDITION: Rights
groups demand investigation of CIA’s Extraordinary Rendition
Program: Lawsuits against Germany, US and Macedonia seek justice
for Khaled El Masri (pdf)
"The
European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR),
Berlin, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Open
Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), both based in New York, met
today in Berlin with lawyers from Germany, Macedonia and the
United Kingdom to discuss the latest developments in the CIA
rendition case of German citizen Khaled El Masri.
ECCHR filed today a lawsuit against the German Government at
the Berlin administration court for its failure to demand the
extradition of 13 CIA agents suspected of having illegally “rendered”
Mr. El Masri from Macedonia to a US prison in Kabul, Afghanistan."
UNITED: Football
without racism (pdf)
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: Statewatch
analysis: The Returns Directive: 9 June 2008 (pdf) by Professor Steve
Peers, University of Essex.
"Despite some positive changes to the text which result from the EP’s involvement in the negotiations, the agreed text of the returns Directive is still fundamentally deficient from the point of view of human rights as well as the basic principles which should underpin EU immigration and asylum law."
EU: Commission proposal on: the
establishment of the European Criminal Records Information System
(ECRIS)
(pdf)
EU: E-PRIVACY: Commission Press release: Electronic
Identity: easy access to public services across the EU (pdf)
EU-EAW: European
Arrest Warrant - 2007 (pdf) Figures from 17 member states.
UK: Behind Closed Doors: A Report on the Military Influence in
UK Universities: Press
release
(pdf) Behind
Closed Doors
(Full-report, pdf). "A report by UK scientists reveals the
secrecy surrounding the growing influence of the military on
the research agenda in British universities."
UK: Millions
must be on vetting list (BBC News, link) More than one
in four adults in England will have to register with child protection
authorities next year, under an expanded safeguarding scheme.
Anyone working or volunteering with young people will have to
register. The government says 11.3 million people will be on
a database, with registration costing £64 per person.
UK:E-PETITION: We
the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to stop the involvement
of arms company Lockheed Martin in the 2011 Census for England
and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, because this company's
history of working in American military intelligence will undermine
public confidence in the Census process (link to sign the petition,
deadline 15 June 2008).
UK: Report on the "Surveillance society" by
the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee: Report:
Vol 1
(1.5 MB, pdf) Evidence
Vol 2
(1.6 MB, pdf).
Press comment: MPs must act now to set limits on snooping (Daily Telegraph, link) ID cards could help turn Britain into a surveillance society, warn MPs (Guardian, link)
US
accused of holding terror suspects on prison ships (Guardian, link)
GERMANY: Federal Ministry for the Interior plans to amend the
Federal Criminal Police Office Act; including authorisation of
online computer searches and video surveillance in private homes.
Press
release
(link) and In
a Nutshell: Draft Law on Preventing International Terrorist Threats
through the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKAG-E). The proposals are said
to be: "restricted to cases of terrorist threats"
and include:
"provisions on the surveillance of private homes and telecommunications as well as remote searches of computer hard drives." and:
"Measures concerning telecommunications interception at the source allow the surveillance of telecommunications which is conducted in encrypted form with the help of Voice over IP or other Internet tools either prior to encryption or at the recipient’s computer after decryption. This measure has become imperative given the increasing use of such forms of communication." and:
"The power of the acoustic and visual surveillance of private homes"
EU: Corporate Observatory
Europe (CoE): How
hired-gun lobbyists pulled the teeth out of new EU lobbyists'
register (link)
UK-LONDON: June 2008 - The
EU and UN ‘terrorist lists’ and the European Courts:
The slow road to procedural justice (seminar 19 June 2008, pdf). First in
a series of four seminars on "Terrorist lists", proscription,
designation and human rights organised by Haldane, Statewatch
and CAMPACC.
European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, called on the
European Parliament (EP) to defend the European Union’s
commitment to transparency and the citizens’ right of access
to EU documents at a public hearing in the EP's LIBE Committee
(Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs), the Ombudsman said:
"The
Commission's proposals would mean access to fewer, not more,
documents. This raises fundamental issues of principle about
the EU's commitment to openness and transparency."
Press
release
(pdf)
Full-text
of speech
(pdf)
See for full background and documentation: EU-FOI: Statewatch's:
Observatory
on access to EU documents: 2008 - 2009
Football: EURO 08: Legal support and helpful advice for football
fans: This information sheet is intended for visitors of
the EURO 08 football games in Switzerland. It contains some recommendations
and legal advice on how to avoid confrontations with the police
and private security personnel and to exercise your rights when
dealing with police in Switzerland. See: European
Civil Liberties Network - Noticeboard
EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) 5-6 June 2008, Brussels:
Press
release,
Conclusions
on external borders and
Conclusions
on migration partnerships. For full background and documentation
on current Justice and Home Affairs issues see: Statewatch European
Monitoring and Documentation Centre (SEMDOC)
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: Statewatch supplementary
analysis: The Returns Directive – the final stages? (pdf) The European Parliament and the
Council have now reached agreement on a text of the proposed
‘Returns Directive’, although the Council has already
changed its position on this agreement and it remains to be seen
whether the plenary EP will support it. Despite some positive
changes to the text which result from the EP’s involvement
in the negotiations, the agreed text of the returns Directive
is still fundamentally deficient from the point of view of human
rights. MEPs now face a choice of adopting the agreement on the
table or pushing for positive amendments with a risk that the
incoming Council Presidency will try to lower standards in this
area.
A new analysis by Professor Steve Peers concludes: "The fundamental problem with the deal on the returns Directive is that they should never have been forced to make such an invidious choice in the first place".
May 2008
GRIP Report: 1998-2008, a
mixed anniversary for the European Code of Conduct on arms exports:
First regional agreement on control of arms exports, the European
Code of Conduct on arms exports is celebrating its 10th anniversary
on June 8, 2008. Useful but imperfect, the Code should continue
its evolution and correct its weaknesses in order to achieve
its primary objective: to prevent any arms exports from Europe
that could harm the peace and undermine security and sustainable
development in the countries of import. Ten years after its adoption,
the record is mixed and the European Union is still reluctant
to transform the Code into a legally binding Common Position.
Read or download : http://www.grip.org/bdg/pdf/g0918.pdf
HUNGARY: Constitutional
complaint filed by HCLU against Hungarian telecom data retention
regulations
(Hungarian Civil Liberties Union) (pdf)
EU: E-PRIVACY DIRECTIVE: Council:
Progress report (29 May 2008, 79 pages, pdf) and Council
Compromise Proposal for Amending Directive 2000/58/EC (Privacy
Directive)
(pdf), Opinion
of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) on proposed
changes to privacy in electronic communications directive (pdf) and Article 29
Working Party on data protection: Opinion on the review
of the Directive 2002/58/EC on privacy and electronic communications
(e-Privacy Directive) (pdf)
EU-UK: UK
Border & Immigration Agency: e-Borders: Friends of Presidency
Group meeting, Brussels, 27 March 2008 (pdf) This presentation took place as
discussions are underway on a proposal to set up an EU-PNR scheme
(see story below). It describes the UK timetable for checking
all airline passengers against watchlists to "identify known
persons of interest" and that it will eventually cover "all
routes in/out on all modes of transport" (air, sea and land).
See also: UK: Code
of practice of practice on the management of information shared
by the Border and Immigration Agency, Revenue and Customs and
the Police
(March 2008, pdf); Draft Regulatory
Impact Assessment: Police and Justice Bill: Data Capture (pdf) and Police
and Justice Act 2006 extends data gathering to passengers travelling
inside the UK (pdf)
EU-PNR: Proposal
for a Council Framework Decision on the use of Passenger Name
Record (PNR) for law enforcement purposes (EU doc no: 7656/2/08,
pdf) and later Discussion
of the Council's position on EU-PNR (EU doc no: 9514/08). The Council is
driving a "coach and horses" through the original proposal
including increasing its scope beyond terrorism and organised
crime. Although "Passenger Information Units" (PIUs)
who will vet passengers are to some extent limited in their use
of data national "competent authorities", to whom all
the data can be passed, are to be allowed to further process
the data if they come across "other offences" (ie:
any crime, see Article 4.5).
European Data Protection Supervisor: EDPS expresses serious concerns about EU PNR proposal (Press release and Opinion, pdf). See also: PNR (passenger name record) scheme proposed to place under surveillance all travel in and out of the EU which includes the original Commission proposal and Observatory: EU surveillance of passengers (PNR)
UK: Arrests at Nottingham University and: Stop
the Deportation of Hicham Yezza (link)
"Hicham's arrest took place on Wednesday 14th May. Rizwaan Sabir, an MA Politics research student was also arrested. Both were released without charge six days later. It has subsequently become clear that these arrests, which related to so-called "radical materials" involved an Al Qaeda manual downloaded by Sabir from an official US Government website, as part of his dissertation research into political Islam, and emailed to Yezza for printing.
Hicham was re-arrested on immigration grounds. Hicham was re-arrested under immigration legislation and, due to confusion over his visa documentation, charged with offences relating to his immigration status. He sought legal advice and representation regarding these matters whilst in custody. On Friday 23rd May, the Home Office informed his solicitor that he was being removed on Sunday 1st June and Hicham was moved to an immigration detention centre. He now faces imminent deportation to Algeria without due process."
Research into Islamic terrorism led to police response (Times Higher Education, link) and Statement from staff and students (pdf): "Nottingham University Students and Staff Express Serious Concerns about Recent Use of Terrorism Act on Campus and Demand Academic Freedom"
UK: Communications
Data Bill
(pdf) Announcement of government plans to retain internet usage
in forthcoming Bill (in addition to powers already adopted to
retain communications data for phone-calls, faxes and mobile
calls). Revealed
- Government plans to tap phone and internet use (Computer Weekly, link)
See also: ‘Big
Brother’ database for phones and e-mails (Times, link). For background:
Statewatch
Observatory: The surveillance of telecommunications in the EU
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: The
full-text of the latest Council draft of the Returns Directive,
EU doc no: 8812/08
EU: RETURNS DIRECTIVE: Mandatory
expulsion and entry ban decisions in Returns Directive violate
general principles of Community law (pdf)
Today, the Netherlands based Meijers Committee (Standing Commitee of Experts on international immigration, refugee and criminal law) published a comment on the draft Returns Directive. On 23 April 2008, a compromise was reached between the Council and the European Parliament on the text of the Returns Directive (2005-0167 (COD), COM(2005) 391). In the meantime some aspects of the text have been changed. Still, the text, in its present form, violates important principles of Community law. Such is in particular the case where the draft directive contains binding Community legislation compelling Member States to take mandatory expulsion measures or mandatory entry ban measures in certain categories of cases. The Standing Committee is of the opinion that the draft Directive must not be accepted by the European Parliament.
"Precisely as the new executive passes the “Security package”, someone dies of insecurity. It happened in Turin in the brand new CPT that cost as much as 11,160,184 Euros (source, “La Stampa” 26/5/08 page 56) and which, from now on, will be called an Identification and expulsion centre, as envisaged in the law decree that is due to be issued soon."
Spain/Basque Country: European Democratic
Lawyers association criticises trial against prisoner support
and human rights organisations
Institute of Race Relations: European Race Bulletin no. 63 -
mobilising against "foreign criminals" by Liz Fekete.
The Spring 2008 issue of the Institute of Race Relations' European
Race Bulletin examines the emergence across Europe of a new mobilisation
against 'foreign criminals': Download a copy of
the issue
(link, pdf)
EU: PRUM IMPLEMENTING DECISION: The near finished Decision which
will allow the exchange of fingerprints, DNA and vehicle data
between Member States: Draft Council
Decision on the implementation of Decision on the stepping up
of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism
and cross-border crime (pdf) Detailed 91 page
annex
(pdf) and Opinion
of the European Data Protection Supervisor (January 2008, pdf)
EU-SIS II: Commission
Staff Working Document: Annex to the Report from the Commission
to the Council and the European Parliament on the development
of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II)
Progress Report July – December 2007 (SEC 552, 2008, pdf)
UK-USA 2011 UK CENSUS CONCERNS: The House of Commons Treasury
Committee has expressed strong concerns that if the 2011 UK census
is run by a US company that the data could be accessed by USA
security and law enforcement agencies: House
of Commons Treasury Committee: Counting the population:
"We remain
concerned that the personal information gathered through the
2011 Census could be subject to the United States Patriot Act
and therefore we ask the
Government to take clear legal advice and advice from the US
State Department and to publish it in response to this Report."
(see
pages 34-35)
Background: Was the seizure of Indymedia's servers in London unlawful or did the UK government collude? and
In November 2007 Raytheon Systems Ltd of the UK headed a consortium which won a £650 million Home Office contract to track, profile and check against "watch-lists" everyone entering and leaving the UK - see Trusted Borders (pdf) The parent company Raytheon USA, has 73,000 employees world-wide and describes itself as:"a technology leader specialising in defence, homeland security, and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning more than 80 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; command, control, communications and intelligence systems." See: We must not tolerate this putsch against our freedoms by Henry Porter (Observer, link)
Italy: Frattini
among the winners of Italy's 2008 Big Brother Awards
Greece, Crete: Surveillance
and democracy: International Workshop (Programme and abstracts, link)
Italy: Italy:
ASGI (Associazione Studi Giuridici sull'Immigrazione) and ENAR
(European Network Against Racism) issue press releases on violence
against Roma
and: Italy's
crackdown on Roma criticised across Europe (euobserver, link)
UK: Augustine's
deportation to Nigeria: On 27 March,
Augustine, a Biafran independence activist was deported to Nigeria,
where his brother has been killed and his wife and children are
missing.
EU: REGULATION ON ACCESS TO EU DOCUMENTS: EU
transparency proposal criticised by Sweden (euobserver, link) and
Swedish
Journalist's Association considers draft EU-law 'disgraceful' (Wobbing, link) Full
news and documentation is on: Statewatch's: Observatory
on access to EU documents: 2008 - 2009
Morocco/EU: Moroccan navy accused
of sinking dinghy, causing 29 to die: On the night of 28 April 2008, a chase in the
high sea off the coast of Al Hoceima ended when a Moroccan navy
officer slashed a dinghy's pneumatic body, resulting in 29 would-be
sub-Saharan migrants (including four women and four children)
drowning, according to survivors.
UK: ‘Big
Brother’ database for phones and e-mails (Times, links)
- Beware:
Big Brother has got you fingered
- Living
off the grid – how to escape the spies all around us
- New
database increases power of surveillance over citizens
EU-FOI: Statewatch has created an: Observatory
on access to EU documents: 2008 - 2009 which will track and place on record
all the news, analyses and documentation concerning proposed
changes to the Regulation on access to EU documents.
EU:
Article 29 Working Party on data protection: Opinion
on the review of the Directive 2002/58/EC on privacy and electronic
communications (ePrivacy Directive) (pdf)
UK: A
source for concern (Guardian, link) This week's court case involving
police demands for a journalist's notes is seen as the latest
example of a threat to media freedom. Duncan Campbell examines
what impact it could have on terrorism coverage
EU:
UPDATE: Commission proposals to amend Regulation on access to
EU documents: Proposed
changes to the Regulation on access to EU documents - COM (2008)
229 final
(pdf) with Explanatory Memorandum and annotated text. The text
previously put online was the version circulated for the Commission
meeting on 30 April - the version that emerged and was adopted
contained a number of changes, including a different definition
of a "document". Comments
on the definition of a "document" in the Commission
proposal: Back to the age of the "dinosaurs"? by Tony Bunyan, Statewatch
editor, who comments:
"The Commission does not like the current definition of a document so it is proposing to change it to severely limit its scope. The current definition of a document must be left unchanged.
Nor does the Commission like the current Article 11 obliging it to list "without delay" all documents on its public register - which since 2002 it has failed to do - so the new definition of a "document" would allow it to carry on only listing a fraction of the documents it produces and receives. Article 11 must not be changed and must be implemented by the Commission.
At a stroke the the new era of openness and transparency promised in the Amsterdam Treaty would be dealt a fatal blow and we will be back in the age of the "dinosaurs". "
Note on "dinosaurs": The forces for secrecy in the EU - were referred to by Mr Söderman, then the European Ombudsman, at a Conference in Brussels on 26 April 1999 as the "dinosaurs" - who under the cloak of implementing the Amsterdam Treaty wanted to turn the clock back so that the institutions could control what documents are released.
Portugal: Report
on torture suffered by Leonor Cipriano
SOS Prisões and ACED
produced a report that they sent to high-ranking Portuguese authorities
with competencies in this field concerning the allegations of
torture suffered in September 2004 by Leonor Cipriano at the
hands of the judicial police in their offices in Faro.
Netherlands:
Human Rights Watch report: The Netherlands:
Discrimination in the Name of Integration: Migrants’ Rights
under the Integration Abroad Act (pdf)
EU:
VISA ENTRY CHECKS TO BE SUSPENDED IF THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE:
Draft
Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of […]
amending Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 as regards the use of the
Visa Information System (VIS) under the Schengen Borders Code (EU doc no: 8674/08,
pdf). The creation of the Visa Information System (VIS) is a
major new system being put in place by the EU. It covers all
visitors to the EU who have to apply for a visa in their country
of origin, be fingerprinted and then security checked before
a visa is issued. All the details, including fingerprints are
held on the central VIS database so that on entry to and exit
from the EU identity checks can be carried out. However, this
new proposal from the Council Presidency says that if there are
too many people to be checked and "all resources have been
exhausted" then only random checks will be carried out.
"By way
of derogation, where traffic of such intensity arises that the
waiting time at the border crossing point becomes excessive and
all resources have been
exhausted as regards staff, facilities and organisation and where,
on the basis of an assessment of the risk related to internal
security and illegal immigration, it is established that the
consultation in the Visa Information System need not be systematic,
such consultation may be carried out on a random basis for as
long as these conditions are met."
EU RETURNS DIRECTIVE: AI & ECRE: Press
release
(pdf) See also: FIDH:Proposal for
a “returns” Directive: The FIDH calls for the suspension
of the text’s adoption until it conforms to Member States
international human rights obligations (pdf) and GUE
group in the European Parliament: Press release (link, pdf) 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." "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) plus Fortress
Europe
(link) and Migreurop (link)
Council
used terror law to spy on fishermen (Guardian, link)
BULGARIA:
EU MANDATORY DATA RETENTION DIRECTIVE: We
have to abolish Regulation ¹ 40, which gives the Ministry
of Interior the right to retain data for every Internet-user (2.5MB, pdf) and Bulgaria:
Against Internet “Bugging” (link to Global Voices). For background
see: Statewatch's Observatory on The surveillance
of telecommunications in the EU
EU Ombudsman launches EU-wide consultation on access to databases:
Press
release,
Letter, Statement, and the Original
Complaint
(all pdf)
"The European
Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has launched a consultation
process within the European Network of Ombudsmen on access to
information contained in databases. This follows a complaint
from a Danish journalist about the refusal of the European Commission
to disclose data on beneficiaries of EU agricultural subsidies.
The Commission justified its refusal on grounds of confidentiality.
Furthermore, it argued that the EU's rules on access to documents
apply to databases only if the data can be easily retrieved.
The Ombudsman was not convinced by this approach. He therefore
contacted his colleagues in the Member States to find out about
"best practices" at the national level aiming to ensure
maximum public access to databases. This consultation is particularly
important given that this issue at stake forms part of the current
debate on the reform of the EU's rules on access to documents."
UK-TREATIES-UAE: Extradition
Treaty: between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland and the United Arab Emirates on Extradition (pdf) Treaty
between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
and the United Arab Emirates on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal
Matters
(pdf)
EU-RETURNS DIRECTIVE: FIDH:Proposal for
a “returns” Directive: The FIDH calls for the suspension
of the text’s adoption until it conforms to Member States
international human rights obligations (pdf) and GUE
group in the European Parliament: Press release (link, pdf)
Italy: Beppe Grillo posts list of convicted MPs and senators:
Former comedian turned political activist Beppe Grillo, who has
engaged in a campaign to prohibit politicians who have received
firm judicial sentences from taking up their seats in the Italian
parliament and Senate, has posted a list of 17 politicians who
will be present in the new legislative chambers. Interestingly,
it includes Renato Farina, the journalist of right-wing daily
newspaper Libero, who negotiated a six-month suspended sentence
after pleading guilty to working for the secret services (journalists
are forbidden from doing so), and was allegedly involved in the
cover-up into the Abu Omar kidnapping and rendition to Egypt
in 2003. Source: http://www.beppegrillo.it, May 2008.The list:
www.beppegrillo.it/documenti/parlamento_pulito_2008.pdf
UK Government loses appeal against de-proscription of PMOI -
how long before the EU backs down? The Court of Appeal has refused
to overturn a ruling that it must end the "perverse"
listing of an Iranian opposition group as a banned terrorist
group, ruling that there were "no valid grounds" to
contend that the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission made
legal errors when it ordered the People's Mojahedin Organisation
of Iran (PMOI) to be removed from the 'blacklist' (AP, 7.5.08).
In December 2006, the EU Court of Justice ruled that the PMOI
should be removed for from the EU terrorist list, partly on the
grounds that the reasons for its inclusion were "unclear".
But the EU has steadfastly refused to remove them from the list,
a position that now appears wholly untenable. See: See Statewatch
Observatory on "Terrorist"
lists: monitoring proscription, designation and asset-freezing
EU-AUSTRIA: To introduce Schengen border controls on entry for
European football championship: Full-text
of EU doc no: 9068/08, pdf) See also: Expulsion
from Belgium and Schengen bans for anti-war protesters - SIS
used to curb dissent; Schengen framework used to curb free movement and Football
fans taken off records
UK: Damning
verdict on police complaints watchdog (press release) and Court
judgment: full-text
USA: Congressional Research Service report: Data
Mining and Homeland Security: An Overview
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
UK: Police
seek to axe anti-arms trade movie (link to SchNews) and Watching
You in Big Brother Britain (thanks to SchNews): Car of peace protesters
"flagged" on Police National Computer led to them being
stopped and questioned under the Terrorism Act.
UK: The UK has the most CCTV cameras in the world: CCTV
boom has failed to slash crime, say police (Guardian, link)
EU: FOI IN THE EU: Revised and Updated: Statewatch
analysis of the proposed changes to the Regulation on access
to EU documents
by Tony Bunyan with additional comments from Steve Peers, May
2008.
Full background and documentation since 1993 is on the Statewatch Observatory: FOI in the EU
EU: FOI IN THE EU: Should there be a Freedom
of Information Act for the EU? (European Citizens Action Service,pdf)
Brussels
criticised on access to documents law (euobserver, link) The
European Commission proposes to improve public access to documents
of the EU institutions (Commission press release, pdf)
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"Mr Barroso says "the access to document rules are working well. These changes seek to improve the access to documents for European citizens". While Commissioner Wallstrom says "Access to documents is an essential tool for democracy and now we want to improve it".
The rules on access are not working well and these changes will takes us several steps backwards. For example, the Commission does not agree with the definition of a "document" in the Regulation, so it wants to change it. The Commission's public register of documents is a joke so now it wants to change the rules. There would be a longer list of exceptions to refuse access, including mandatory exceptions where applications do not even have to be considered. And would leave in place the rule which allows the institutions to deny access to documents on measures about to be adopted in Brussels - a practice that would never be tolerated at national level.
The Amsterdam Treaty was agreed 11 years ago (1997) and was meant to herald a new era of openness and transparency – we only got half of the loaf and have been waiting for the other half, now the Commission wants to takes away some of this.”
See: Statewatch
analysis of the proposals
Full background and documentation since 1993 is on the Statewatch
Observatory: FOI
in the EU
and see also:
- Viewpoint
by Tony Bunyan: More openness or just a drop in the ocean? The
need for Freedom of Information in the EU
- The
right to know or the right to try and find out? The need for
an EU freedom of information law, by Ben Hayes
- "Unaccountable
Europe"
by Tony Bunyan
ITALY-GENOA 2001: Rete del Sud Ribelle
activists acquitted of "subversive association" charges
April 2008
EU: Report from Justice: Human
rights and the future of the European Union (pdf)
UK: MI5
accused of colluding in torture of terrorist suspects - British agents alleged
to have questioned men at Pakistani interrogation centre after
they had been brutally mistreated and 'Endemic,
widespread and systematic' use of torture and Fourth
Briton accuses MI5 of collusion in torture of detainees (Guardian, links)
Belgian
arms transfers to the Middle East - GRIP report (French, pdf) Traditionally,
the Middle East is a privileged destination of world arms exports.
This region is indeed very keen on new military equipment it
can buy easily thanks to oil revenues. For decades, Belgium,
almost exclusively through Walloon exports, managed to obtain
a share of this market, particularly by building continuing trade
relations with one of the states in the region, Saudi Arabia.
Yet these Belgian transfers, like those of other states, raised
many questions, especially concerning the unintended use that
could be made of exported arms, such as internal repression or
the risk of diversion by terrorist groups.
Exclusive: Commission proposals to amend Regulation on
access to EU documents: Statewatch
analysis:
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
“The scope of the Commission’s amendments and its
consultation do not consider many of the fundamental questions
posed by civil society and the European Parliament.
Perhaps the most crucial is the public’s right to know what
is being discussed before it is adopted in Brussels – a
practice that would never be tolerated at national level.
Moreover, two of the Commission amendments are highly retrogressive.
The new definition of a document would mean that if an official
does not register it then it is not a “document” –
a recipe for abuse. And the obligation of institutions to give
public access to the full text of documents would be limited
to legislative measures – and not cover the hundreds of
thousands of other documents produced and received.
The Amsterdam Treaty was agreed 11 years ago (1997) and was meant
to herald a new era of openness and transparency – we are
still waiting for this to happen.”
Documentation
- Adopted version: Explanatory Memorandum and Annotated text
- Penultimate
version: Commission
proposals - Consolidated text
- Penultimate version: Commission
Explanatory Memorandum
- Penultimate version: Memorandum
to the Commission
- Penultimate version: Table comparing
current text to proposed changes
- Full background and documentation since 1993 is on the Statewatch
Observatory: FOI
in the EU
EU: European Data Protection Supervisor: EDPS
issues policy paper on his role in EU research and technological
development
(Opinion - full text, pdf) Press
release
(pdf)
UK: Face
scans for air passengers to begin in UK this summer - Officials
say automatic screening more accurate than checks by humans (Guardian, link) Report
that the UK Border Agency is to introduce facial scans at airports
to compare with "the image.. on the computer chip in
their biometric passports" by using facial recognition
technology at automated unmanned gates. A machine would accept
or reject the match.
Finger-printing, iris and face scans, and DNA taken from people are biometrics giving the state a unique identifier for an individual. With varying degrees of accuracy - none is perfect - these biometrics can be used for verification ("one-to-one", the person from whom the biometric is taken matches that on the passport chip) or identification ("one-to-many", where the person's biometric is checked against the whole database and watch-lists).
The "facial image" held on the chip of recently issued EU passports simply contains a digitised copy of the normal passport picture, this is not a biometric. To try and match this "facial image" with a "facial scan" (plotting 1,840 unique features on a person's face) is quite reliable - but will make errors - for "one-one" checks but not at all reliable for "one-to-many".
As a report from
the UK's National
Audit Office
(NAO) concluded: "current facial recognition technology
is not reliable enough to enable the automated checking of applications
against the full database of existing passport holders".
It also found that the "chips" in ten-year passports
only have a guaranteed lifetime of two years and "there
are technical concerns that facial features can change a great
deal over a decade... the software may fail to find matches where
it should." Moreover, consultants for the NAO report
concluded that facial recognition technology: "is not
sufficiently reliable to enable fully automated searches even
in relatively small databases, and performance is known to decline
as database size increases."
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"The UK and other EU governments refer to the digitised passport photo as a biometric when it is not for ideological reasons - to get us used to the idea that they already have one of our "biometrics" so why should we not give them another - our fingerprints.
The process however is very different. In most cases the passport picture is simply submitted by post or at an office whereas the compulsory taking of fingerprints requires the physical presence of the person at an "enrolment centre" where they have to prove "they are who they are"."
UK-USA: Secret
pact allows the US to spy on UK motorists (Inquirer, link)
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.
Ireland: Call
for new data protection legislation after Bank of Ireland laptops
lost
(Sinn Fein press release, pdf)
UK: Breaking news 24 April 2008 - High Court quashes Treasury
asset-freezing regime For full details, background and reactions:
click
here
EU: BORDER MANAGEMENT & DATA PROTECTION: Spring
Conference of European Data Protection Authorities, Rome 17-18
April 2008: Declaration on EU border management (pdf): Current Commission
proposals indicate:
"a trend
to full control and surveillance of persons entering or leaving
the Schengen area, irrespective of their nationality."
"the underlying concept of distrusting travellers by
isolating selected "good faith" travellers from all
other travellers, even considering the latter as potential law
breakers. This will involve screening before and at the gate,
controlling the passing of borders and the automatic processing
of specific data of travellers. This concept does little to translate
into reality "the symbolic effect of showing the EU as open
to the world"2, as mentioned in the communication of the
Commission and it is even doubtful whether it fits in with the
values of the European Union."
"Until now no evaluation took place on the effectiveness of the implementation of existing legal measures and no reliable evidence is presented to support the need for new systems nor has any evidence been brought as to the need to supplement the ongoing initiatives in the field."
See also: Spring Conference of the European Data Protection Authorities, Cyprus 10-11 May 2007: Declaration on the principle of availability (pdf)
UK: COUNTER-TERRORISM: The Government
Response to the Report by Lord Carlile of Berriew Q.C.: Third
Report of the Independent Reviewer Pursuant to Section 14(3)
of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (pdf) Third Report
of the Independent Reviewer pursuant to Section 14(3) of the
Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, Lord Carlile (pdf)
UK: CONTROL ORDERS: The
Government Reply to the 10th report from the Joint Committee
on Human Rights: Counter-Terrorism Policy and Human Rights (Ninth
Report): Annual Renewal of Control Orders Legislation 2008 (pdf)
EU: Protests:
Proposal to create EU-wide "troublemakers" database,
full story
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"We can now see a pattern emerging across the EU where people who exercise their democratic right to attend cross border protests are confronted by aggressive para-military policing, surveillance, preventive detention and expulsion.
This is a reflection of the EU's definition of "security" at international events which is now defined as covering both "counter-terrorism" and "public order".
Back in 2003
the bilateral exchange of information on "suspected troublemakers"
between EU states for international events was agreed. What is
proposed now is not the one-off exchange of information related
to a specific event but a permanent EU-wide database of suspected
"troublemakers", this is utterly unacceptable in a
democratic Europe."
See also: Policing
protests in Switzerland, Italy and Germany
1. Switzerland: Policing of the anti-WEF demonstration in Davos; 2. Italy: Demonstrators convicted for G8 clashes; 3. Switzerland: 200 arrests at peaceful street party; 4. Germany: 60 per cent of G8 investigations dropped
Brussels
abandons plans to protect gays and lesbians (euobserver, link)
Britain's
financial Guantanamo: This Thursday [24 April 2008], Mr Justice Collins
of the High Court will deliver his judgment the case of 'G',
'K', 'A', 'M', and 'Q' v. H.M. Treasury. In the words of Rabinder
Singh QC, "the facts of the case are reminiscent of an Austro-Hungarian
novel". At issue are two 'Orders in Council' adopted under
the 1946 United Nations Act. This Act allows the government to
introduce domestic law to implement UN agreements - in this case
a series of Security Council Resolutions dealing with the financial
sponsors of terrorism - without consulting parliament. See full
story.
EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) 18 April 2008, Luxembourg:
Press
release
(18 April, pdf), A
Point agenda
(adopted without discussion, pdf), B
Point agenda
(pdf), Background
Note
(pdf) For full background and documentation on current Justice
and Home Affairs issues see: Statewatch European
Monitoring and Documentation Centre (SEMDOC)
USA-EU: THE US IS PLACING UNDER SURVEILLANCE E-MAILS, PHONE-CALLS
and INTERNET USAGE and TRANSACTIONS OF EUROPEANS:: American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Letter to the President of the EU
Article 29 Data Protection Working Party (pdf) The letter, from
Barry Steinhardt, Director of ACLU's Technology and Liberty Program,
says that US agencies, through agreements with EU service providers
which allow data and content to "pass through" the
USA, is conducting extrajudicial surveillance of Europeans.
- "Internet
transactions and email between Europeans is increasingly sent
through servers in the U.S."
- "In many ways this situation is similar to the SWIFT case:
transactions between two individuals in Europe may well transit
through U.S. telecommunications companies and as a result will
be made accessible to the U.S. government."
- "This activity involves no oversight or legal protections
for non-U.S. persons. As a result, the communications of European
citizens are completely vulnerable to abuse."
- "We believe that this situation clearly violates European legal requirements for the fair and lawful processing of personal information."
EU: Latest draft: Council
Framework Decision amending Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA on
combating terrorism (EU doc no: 7785/3/08, REV 3, 14 April 2008, pdf):
"The objective of the proposal is to update the Framework Decision and align it with the Council of Europe Convention on Prevention of Terrorism, by including public provocation to commit terrorist offences, recruitment for terrorism and training for terrorism....
it lies at the interface between fundamental rights and freedoms such as freedom of expression. It is therefore essential that the right balance is struck in the instrument."
See Statewatch Observatory on "Terrorist" lists: monitoring proscription, designation and asset-freezing
UK: "You
don't have the right to silence" (indymedia, link) "Yes, that's
what officer 0801 from West Midlands Police told me today at
Birmingham Airport when I said "No comment" to his
surprising question: "Have you been involved in organising
any protests in this country?" And since I was held for
one and a half hours to be asked such silly questions, I thought
I would waste another hour and a half writing about it."
and: Recruiting Spies at British Airports (indymedia, link)
For background see: Special report from Statewatch, September 2003: Special Branch more than doubles in size: Analysis of the Special Branch’s role in conducting surveillance for MI5 and on public order by Tony Bunyan
EU: Council of the European Union: Annual
report on access to documents, 2007 (pdf). Worthy of note is the growth
in the number of classified documents:
"350 (original language) sensitive documents were produced in the period concerned, 26 classified as "SECRET UE" and 324 as "CONFIDENTIEL UE". Of these, 3 "SECRET UE" document and 61 "CONFIDENTIEL UE" documents are mentioned in the register, in accordance with Article 9(2) and Article 11(2) of Regulation No 1049/2001."
Of the 350 classified documents produced during the year only 64 were listed on the Council's register of documents.
In addition, applications were examined for access to 802 documents classified as "RESTREINT UE" - 35,3 % concerned European Security and Defence Policy, 28% Common Foreign and Security Policy CFSP and 25.5% Justice and Home Affairs.
The top issue for which documents where applied to the Council for access to was Justice and Home Affairs: 20,1 % in 2004 to 22,5 % in 2005 and 24,5 % in 2006, reaching 26,8 % in 2007.
UK: Free
Our Information: Promoting alternative information, news and
ideas: Journal Launch: Information, Society and Justice (pdf) Thursday 1st May
2008, Time: 6.00pm to 9.00pm. Henry Thomas Room (TG-30), Tower
Building, London Metropolitan University, 166-220 Holloway Road,
London N7 8DB. Speakers: Firoze Manji (The Pambazuka Experience),
Duncan Bowie (Debating Radical Politics), Tony Bunyan (Watching
the state, informing the people), Shiraz Durrani (Why Information,
Society and Justice?), Prof. John Gabriel (Chair)
IT and telcommunications surveillance equipment
(quintessenz,
link)
"A collection of network monitoring and datamining suites
made by Nokia Siemens, Ericsson, Verint and others. All systems
are compliant to ETSI and CALEA "lawful interception"
standards, the vendors themselves are involved in the standardization.
While the official name of the game is still "lawful interception"
these suites perform "high speed government surveillance".
From Iran to China "intelligence platforms" and "monitoring
centers" are used to track down the democratic opposition,
dissidents, ethnic and religious minorities. The vendors are
mostly European and US companies."
IT and telcommunications surveillance equipment
(quintessenz,
link)
"A collection of network monitoring and datamining suites
made by Nokia Siemens, Ericsson, Verint and others. All systems
are compliant to ETSI and CALEA "lawful interception"
standards, the vendors themselves are involved in the standardization.
While the official name of the game is still "lawful interception"
these suites perform "high speed government surveillance".
From Iran to China "intelligence platforms" and "monitoring
centers" are used to track down the democratic opposition,
dissidents, ethnic and religious minorities. The vendors are
mostly European and US companies."
EU-JHA-ECRE: Memorandum
to the JHA Council: Ending the asylum lottery – Guaranteeing
refugee protection in Europe (pdf)
EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN: Annual report: "Ombudsman: EU institutions
must become more transparent": Press
release
(pdf) Executive
Summary
(pdf) Annual
report - full text (link)
EU: European Institute of Public Adminstration (EIPA) Seminar:
Transparency
and Data Protection: Cooperating or Conflicting Elements of Good
Governance?
(Programme, pdf) 15-16 May 2008, Maastricht (NL)
UK: Spy
caught by anti-aviation group was ‘more Austin Powers than
007’
(Times, link) "A spy who infiltrated a direct action
anti-aviation group has been exposed after making a series of
elementary errors that aroused the suspicions of genuine activists."
Plane
Stupid foils infiltration attempt (link)
Was
it like this for the Irish? Gareth Peirce on the position of
Muslims in Britain (London Review of Books, link)
EU: Draft
Framework Decision on the enforcement of decisions rendered in
absentia and amending Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA on the
European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between
Member States
(EU doc no: 8074/08, pdf)
USA-FUSION CENTRES: EPIC obtains documents revealing Federal
role in state fusion centre secrecy: "WASHINGTON, DC - The
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has obtained a Memorandum
of Understanding between the FBI and the Virginia State Police
that details federally imposed limitations on the Virginia open
government law. The memorandum, a January 2008 agreement signed
by the FBI and the Department regarding Virginia's fusion intelligence
center, references federal exemptions that would limit the ability
of Virginia citizens to obtain public records from a state agency."
Full-text
of fusion centre MOU (3.37 MB, pdf) EPIC, “Information
Fusion Centers and Privacy”
ECJ-TRANSPARENCY: Interesting new opinion on transparency issues
re aviation security rules which were kept secret: Opinion of
Advocate General Sharpston delivered on 10 April 2008, Case
C-345/06 Gottfried Heinrich (Full-text, pdf) Aviation
security Liberal's & Democrat's opposition to secret annexes
vindicated by EU advocate general (ALDE, press release, pdf)