August
Hungary: Attacks on LGBTQIA+ rights raised with UN special rapporteurs
A letter to a number of UN special rapporteurs signed by 23 civil society organisations, including Statewatch, raises serious concerns over the Hungarian government's attacks on the rights of LGBTQIA+ people. The letter calls on the UN special rapporteurs to put pressure on the Hungarian government to change track, and to call on the EU to launch further infringement proceedings against the country.
The war in Afghanistan is over, the "war on terror" continues
US president Joe Biden made a speech yesterday to mark the end of the war in Afghanistan, two decades after the invasion by the US and its allies in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks. Biden was clear that while he is not keen on any further major military interventions, other methods (drones, missile strikes and special forces operations - will be used to hunt down "those who wish America harm" and make them "pay the ultimate price".
Council of the EU: Draft statement on the situation in Afghanistan
Statement due to be adopted by the Justice and Home Affairs Council today.
UK: Live facial recognition technology should not be used in public spaces
Over 30 human rights organisations, including Statewatch, are calling on the UK parliament and other relevant agencies and bodies to take action to ban the public deployment of live facial recognition technology. An open letter condemns the adoption of guidance for the police that sidesteps many requirements set out by court jurisprudence, and calls for urgent democratic debate on a technology that introduces "a huge shift in the relationship between the individual and the State."
EU: €5 million for new wiretapping technologies
The European Commission has made €5 million available for research projects that aim to help law enforcement authorities maintain the ability to intercept telecommunications – something which is threatened by the adoption of new technologies such as 5G networks and “edge computing”.
Belarussian government's "hybrid attack" on European borders: statement from Lithuanian, Latvian, Polish and Estonian prime ministers
A declaration signed by four EU member state prime ministers reasserts the argument that the arrival of people at their borders from Belarus is a "hybrid attack... planned and systemically organized by the regime of Alexander Lukashenka," and calls for a coordinated EU and UN response.
EU: Tracking the Pact: Migration plans for Afghanistan before the fall of the government
Two internal EU documents on Afghanistan - a European Commission "draft action plan" for a "comprehensive migration partnership" from July, and a Council discussion paper from May - make clear the level of EU and member state engagement with Afghanistan on migration prior to the fall of the government to the Taliban.
EU Military Committee advice on Libya: extend aerial surveillance, increase "attractiveness" of EU support to coast guard
Two documents concerning possible options for ongoing EU engagement with authorities in Libya.
EU: New report on reception, detention and restriction of movement at EU external borders
Asylum proposals currently under discussion are likely introduce mandatory detention for many people arriving at the external borders of the EU and deemed to have no right to enter. A new report from the European Council on Refugees and Exiles critiques existing practice and the new proposals through the lens of international law and human rights standards.
Frontex: Beleaguered border agency seeks to expand standing corps
EU border agency Frontex announced on Tuesday that it will be renewing recruitment to swell its all-new standing corps of border guards, the “EU’s first uniformed service”.
African Union condemns Danish asylum externalisation law "in the strongest terms possible"
The African Union (AU) has roundly condemned new Danish legislation that allows asylum claims filed with the country to be processed elsewhere - a move the AU says is an abdication of responsibility that will pave the way for other rich countries to try to make poor states host even more of the world's refugees.
France: Revolts in detention centres: the government throws oil on the fire
The Observatory on Detention of Foreigners (Observatoire de l'enfermement des étrangers, OEE) has condemned the French government's ongoing use of administrative detention for non-citizens, in the wake of revolts that broke out in the Mesnil Amelot detention centre last week. Forced PCR tests - which are contrary to the law - have made a tense situation even worse, says the group.
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