Issue 05/17, 17 March
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Statewatch News, 17 March 2023 (also available as a PDF)
In this issue:
- Secrecy and the externalisation of migration control
- UK asylum plans could end EU police cooperation
- Olympic surveillance violates international law
And: Simplify EU visa suspensions to limit asylum applications; Externalisation of migration policies is not the answer to a lack of reception; overview of the state of play with current justice and home affairs legislative proposals.
Access denied: Secrecy and the externalisation of migration control
Our new report aims to contribute to public and political debate on the transparency, accountability and legitimacy of the externalisation agenda. It contains a series of case studies on three key target states for the EU – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Morocco and Niger – based on information received in response to access to documents and freedom of information requests submitted to institutions within those countries, as well as within the EU itself.
And see:
· Press release: European interior ministers agreed new deportation scheme in secret
· Op-ed in EUobserver: The secrecy behind the EU's plans to 'externalise' migration
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UK asylum plans could end police and judicial cooperation with the EU
The UK government's latest attack on refugees, described as "a clear breach of the Refugee Convention" and seemingly incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, could lead to the EU terminating parts of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
The "Illegal Migration Bill" mandates the automatic detention of anyone arriving in the UK in an irregular manner, with a view to their swift deportation, in breach of international law. If the Bill passes, it could cause problems for any police and judicial cooperation with the EU under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) that was signed at the end of 2020, which requires that the UK adhere to the European Convention on Human Rights.
Read more here.
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France: Proposed Olympic surveillance measures violate international human rights law
Civil society public letter on the proposed French law on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games condemns a legal proposal to deploy algorithmic surveillance cameras in public spaces. The law would make France the first EU country to explicitly legalise such practices, violate international human rights law by contravening the principles of necessity and proportionality, and pose unacceptable risks to fundamental rights, such as the right to privacy, the freedom of assembly and association, and the right to non-discrimination.
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Our reports
Report
Access denied: Secrecy and the externalisation of EU migration control
News
European interior ministers agreed new deportation scheme in secret
UK asylum plans could end police and judicial cooperation with the EU
EU: Simplify visa suspension to limit asylum applications, says Swedish Presidency
France: Proposed Olympic surveillance measures violate international human rights law
EU: Note on state of play with current justice and home affairs legislative proposals
New report
13 MarchAccess denied: Secrecy and the externalisation of EU migration control
For at least three decades, the EU and its Member States have engaged in a process of “externalisation” – a policy agenda by which the EU seeks to prevent migrants and refugees setting foot on EU territory by externalising (that is, outsourcing) border controls to non-EU states. The EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, published in September 2020, proposed a raft of measures seeking to step up operational cooperation and collaboration in order to further this agenda.
News
13 MarchEuropean interior ministers agreed new deportation scheme in secret
European interior ministers signed a secret joint statement in February last year that committed EU and Schengen states to increase financial and material support for deportations from the Balkans, increasing the region’s role as a migration “buffer zone”, a report published today by Statewatch and the Heinrich Böll Stiftung reveals.
9 MarchUK asylum plans could end police and judicial cooperation with the EU
The UK government's latest attack on refugees, described as "a clear breach of the Refugee Convention" and seemingly incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, could lead to the EU terminating parts of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
9 MarchThe externalisation of migration policies to the South is not the solution to the structural crisis of reception in the North
Statement published to coincide with the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting of 9 and 10 March, calling for an end to repressive migration policies and "a return to Europe's founding values of solidarity and respect for the law". Signed by 16 organisations, including Statewatch.
7 MarchEU: Simplify visa suspension to limit asylum applications, says Swedish Presidency
The Swedish Council Presidency says there is an “evident” need to revise the EU’s visa suspension mechanism due to “a near-record number of asylum applications in 2022” from citizens of visa-free countries and an “extremely cumbersome” process for removing countries from the visa-free list.
7 MarchFrance: Proposed Olympic surveillance measures violate international human rights law
Civil society public letter on the proposed French law on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games condemns a legal proposal to deploy algorithmic surveillance cameras in public spaces. The law would make France the first EU country to explicitly legalise such practices, violate international human rights law by contravening the principles of necessity and proportionality, and pose unacceptable risks to fundamental rights, such as the right to privacy, the freedom of assembly and association, and the right to non-discrimination.
7 MarchEU: Note on state of play with current justice and home affairs legislative proposals
Last week the Swedish Presidency circulated a note to member states setting out the state of play with the 37 current justice and home affairs legislative proposals that are under negotiation.
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Garden Court Chambers, 21 MarchUK: Implications of the Illegal Migration Bill - Part Two
“Garden Court Chambers is holding an online seminar on the new Illegal Migration Bill which is being rushed through Parliament and its serious implications for asylum-seekers. This will be the second event in our three-part webinar series about the Illegal Migration Bill.
The Bill would serve to further weaken protections for victims of trafficking and will likely give rise to a real risk of legal challenge.”
New material
Material we have shared on our Twitter and Facebook accounts.
- Asylum and immigration
- Civil liberties
- Law
- Military
- Policing
- Prisons
- Privacy and data protection
- Racism and discrimination
- Security and intelligence
- Surveillance
Asylum, immigration and borders
The Guardian, 16 MarchUK: Social workers should not assess asylum seeker ages for Home Office, professional body says
“The professional body for social workers has urged its members not to work with the Home Office to assess the ages of asylum seekers, saying that political pressures could undermine their professional judgment.
The Home Office is recruiting social workers to join the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB), which was set up under the Nationality and Borders Act to take responsibility for determining the age of asylum seekers away from local authorities.”
Channel Crossings, 16 MarchUK: 311 migration experts sign a letter to the Times
“We are writing to express our objection to the UK’s Illegal Immigration Bill. As scholars of migration it is clear to us that the Bill is not evidence based, workable, or legal under human rights law. Research on borders around the world finds that enhancing borders does not stop movement, it funnels people into more dangerous journeys, increasing the chance of death. This is precisely what has happened in the Channel borderzone.”
The New Humanitarian, 16 MarchFlipping the Narrative
“Flipping the Narrative is an ongoing series that aims to put the voices of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants at the centre of conversations about the policies and events that shape their lives”
InfoMigrants, 16 MarchBrussels: Building occupied to demand accommodation for asylum seekers
“A protest was organized in Brussels on Monday to occupy a public building and demand an emergency solution for some 50 asylum seekers who are currently lacking accommodation.”
Corporate Watch, 15 March2022 UK charter deportations: a balance sheet
“In 2022, the UK deported 1,566 people to nine countries on 62 specially-chartered flights flown by eight airlines. The figures are a little higher than 2021, when 1,305 people were deported on 65 charter flights. Combining Freedom of Information requests by Patrice Petit with flight data available via flight tracking websites, Corporate Watch can reveal which companies carried out these flights, and how much money the Home Office paid them to do it.”
European Commission, 13 MarchMidday press briefing from 13/03/2023
Press briefing in which the Commission representatives find it hard to respond to pointed questions from journalists about deaths at sea in the central Mediterranean and about cooperation with Libya.
The Guardian, 13 MarchHundreds gather in Parliament Square to protest over illegal migration bill
“Hundreds of people have gathered in Parliament Square to protest against the government’s controversial new asylum and migration law as MPs debated the measures in the Commons.
The crowd, which first congregated around the Winston Churchill statue, chanted ‘What do we want? Safe passage. When do we want it? Now’, and ‘Who built the NHS? Migrants built the NHS.’ Many held placards, which read ‘migrants and refugees welcome here: blame austerity, not migrants’.”
Alarm Phone, 12 March30 people die due to non-assistance by the Italian authorities
“The Alarm Phone was alerted by 47 people on a boat in distress, trying to escape from the inhumane conditions in Libya. They relayed their GPS position (N 33°56, E018°28) which we forwarded to the Italian, Maltese, and Libyan authorities at 2:28h CET on 11 March. The situation was critical. The boat was adrift. The weather conditions were extremely dangerous. The people on board were screaming on the phone that they needed help.”
Border Criminologies, 10 MarchUK: Refugees, Deportation and Detention: The Illegal Migration Bill
“The first reading of the Illegal Migration Bill took place in the House of Commons on 7th March 2023. The Bill, in its current form, creates a group of people who will be subject to a duty to deport and a power to detain. Refugees, and others within this group with international protection needs, are denied the ability to be recognised and protected as such. The Bill also removes rights from those who have been trafficked and subjected to modern slavery.”
Verfassungsblog, 10 MarchWhat is the Point of the UK’s Illegal Migration Bill?
“The politically inconvenient fact that most of the 15% of asylum seekers who reach UK territory in this way [by small boat across the Channel] are found to have legitimate asylum or protection claims seems to be a particular source of rage with a leaked Conservative Party email to party members under Suella Braverman’s name blaming “an activist blob of leftwing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour Party” for boat crossings, which at least suggests she knows her audience. This is “Build the Wall” for an island nation and, like Trump’s project, its primary value is as a fantasy object rather than a practical project.”
Border Criminologies, 10 MarchUK: Border Control as Politics
“This week’s publication in the UK of the Illegal Migration Bill heralds a new low in law in policy, and a disastrous step-change in the politicisation of borders in this country. While its terms and legality will be debated in Parliament and, no doubt, in the courts, the wider, political impact of this legislative bid, and the furore surrounding it, is already having an impact, by setting the terms and the tone of the debate. Moreover, while condemnation has been swift from within legal, academic, and activist circles, and from those who have sought asylum in the UK, as well as from some public figures, the British Labour Party has offered very little opposition.”
EurActiv, 10 MarchFrontex co-wrote interception report with Italy before shipwreck
“The EU border agency Frontex has confirmed that it analysed in real time the intercepted data from the migrant boat that eventually sank in late February together with two official Italian representatives at the Frontex headquarters in Warsaw.”
Council of the EU, 9/10 MarchJustice and Home Affairs Council, 9-10 March 2023
Outcomes, including: "Ministers highlighted the need to step up implementation of the action plans on the Central Mediterranean and Western Balkan routes. They also called on the Commission to develop action plans for the Eastern and Western routes."
Altreconomia, 9 March“Il naufragio di Cutro era prevedibile ed evitabile”: l’esposto di 40 organizzazioni
“In 26 documentate pagine decine di realtà della società civile italiana ed europea chiedono con “fondata ragione” alla Procura di Crotone di fare luce sul naufragio di domenica 26 febbraio a Steccato di Cutro, costato la vita ad almeno 72 persone, tra cui molti bambini. La normativa inchioda le autorità italiane”
UK government, Home Office, 9 MarchUK unveils plans for travel scheme to bolster the border
The UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme will launch for Qatari visitors in October 2023. UK version of the EU's ETIAS, USA's ESTA and other such schemes.
Statewatch coverage from when the scheme was first proposed: Nationality and Borders Bill: Biometric permission to travel scheme will affect tens of millions of people
CNCD 11.11.11, 9 March
Open society letter to the Belgian government before it takes over as Council presidency [also signed by Statewatch and Migreurop]
“On 9 and 10 March 2023, the EU’s JHA Council will be dedicated to the strengthening of Fortress Europe and the externalisation of migration issues. The 27 thus wish to put an end to the structural crises of reception in Europe. Us, the associations that signed this open letter, denounce this false good solutions and demand that Belgium, in this Council on the eve of its EU [Council] presidency in 2024, radically redirects the outlook of European migration policies, moving away from a repressive logic towards solutions that are enacted in solidarity, are durable and respect international law”.
CQFD, 8 MarchSahara : sonner l’alarme dans le desert
“Pour de nombreux Subsahariens désireux de rejoindre l’Europe, le Niger est un passage obligé. Alors que Bruxelles arrose le pays de subventions en échange d’une politique visant à bloquer les migrations, la route y est de plus en plus compliquée – et trop souvent mortelle. Ce que tentent de contrecarrer les militantes et militants du réseau Alarm Phone Sahara.”
UNHCR, 7 MarchStatement on UK Asylum Bill
“UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is profoundly concerned by the asylum bill introduced by the UK Government to the House of Commons today. In its current form, the Bill compels the Home Secretary to deny access to the UK asylum system to those who arrive irregularly. Rather than being provided with protection, these asylum-seekers would instead be subject to detention in the UK, while arrangements are pursued to remove them to another country.”
El País, 6 MarchMigrantes desvalijados por las fuerzas de seguridad de Grecia en la frontera de Europa [Migrants robbed by Greek security forces at the European border]
“En enero del año pasado, los ciudadanos cubanos Lino Antonio Rojas Morell y Yudith Pérez Álvarez se presentaron ante las autoridades en la provincia griega de Evros para solicitar asilo, tras haber entrado irregularmente en el país. Los agentes de policía no solo no hicieron caso a sus demandas, sino que los llevaron a una comisaría donde les quitaron sus teléfonos y sus mochilas. Al día siguiente, antes de ser transportados ilegalmente a Turquía junto a decenas de personas de diferentes nacionalidades, fueron registrados de nuevo.”
Legal Centre Lesvos (Twitter), 6 MarchGreece: Start of the Moria 6 appeal trial
“1) #Moria6 appeal trial to begin today!
After 2,5 years of imprisonment, the four young Afghans, who were convicted of setting the fires that destroyed Moria camp in Sep 2020 will have their case heard on appeal in Lesvos, represented in part by lawyers of the @lesboslegal”
The Guardian, 5 MarchUK: Students at top London university urged to ‘snitch’ on striking lecturers
“A prestigious London university has become the first in the country to use a “student snitch form” to encourage students to report striking staff, while threatening to dock full pay for 39 days if those named fail to reschedule missed teaching.”
EurActiv, 5 MarchItaly did not classify Frontex’s communication as ‘emergency’ before shipwreck
“Italy did not assess as an “emergency” Frontex’s communication about a boat which later sank, killing more than 60 people, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told the press on Saturday (4 March).”
Greek Council for Refugees, 2 MarchNew GCR report reveals violence against refugees at the Greek-Turkish borders and criminalization of legal aid organizations
“A new report by the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) documents extreme violence against people seeking asylum at Europe’s external border. Pushbacks of refugees to Turkey are widespread, and involve humiliation, illegal detention, intimidation, physical and sexual violence, and arbitrary confiscation of personal belongings.”
European Law Blog, 2 MarchEU: The Normalization of Denial of Legal Safeguards in the proposed Asylum and Migration Legislation
“Although the ambition of the Common European Asylum System is to guarantee harmonized and uniform standards for third-country nationals seeking international protection in the EU, it is highly questionable, how the proposed instruments, which leave the discretion to Member States to derogate in certain cases from basic rights and asylum guarantees, will achieve this objective. Already the expanded use of border procedures as presented in the amended proposal for an Asylum Procedures Regulation, and the proposed Crisis and Force Majeure Regulation allow, and even vindicate, the non-application of the full sets of rights foreseen in the asylum acquis for those applying for international protection at the borders.”
Praxis, 2 MarchUK: REPORT: experiences on the 10-year route to settlement
“Around 170,000 people are estimated to be on a ‘10-year route to settlement’ - a way for some people with strong ties to the UK to be able to stay here permanently. On this route, individuals face a number of challenges - length of time before being eligible to stay permanently, the high cost of visa fees (around £13,000 over the 10-year period for one adult), the requirement for repeat applications every 2-and-a-half-years, complex applications with few options for legal advice, and restrictions in accessing welfare through the default ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) condition.”
Garden Court Chambers, 2 MarchUK: Court of Appeal rules refugees without any safe or legal route can be prosecuted for simply arriving
“The Defendant, Mr Aldaw, is a young Sudanese man fleeing persecution. He faces being prosecuted for arriving in the UK to claim asylum, without a valid visa. However, there is no provision in the Home Secretary’s immigration rules for asylum-seekers like Mr Aldaw to obtain a visa to claim asylum in the United Kingdom.”
European Commission, 2 MarchEU launches new cooperation programmes with Morocco worth €624 million green transition, migration and reforms
“Addressing irregular migration- A €152 million comprehensive programme on migration will strengthen Morocco's border management actions in the fight against smuggling networks, the National Strategy of Morocco on Immigration and Asylum, as well as the voluntary return and the reintegration of migrants to their countries of origin, in accordance with international standards in terms of Human rights.”
Factsheet: EU migration support in Morocco (pdf)
And see: EU aid and development funding has provided €215 million for border security in Morocco since 2001 (November 2019)
“Like much of what happens in Evros, the situation in the river is impossible to assess. Military restrictions meant we could not get near the islet. Heavy greenery on the opposite edge of the field, near the river, blocked any view of the island. We couldn’t see the people, but we heard their shouts.
As we made our way back to the main road—just minutes after arriving—a white pickup truck approached us from the opposite direction and blocked our path. “You’re in a restricted military area, and we may have a problem,” a man in the driver seat of the Nissan Navara said through an open window.”
Racist Crimes Watch, 27 FebruaryUN concern for criminal investigations against HRDs Dimitras, Olsen, Williamson and Akhtar and Greece’s (non-)reply
Letter from UN special rapporteurs Mary Lawlor and Felipe González Morales to the Greek authorities, and the reply of the Greek authorities.
Council of the EU, 24 FebruaryBorder management: EU concludes agreement with North Macedonia on Frontex cooperation
“The Council gave today its final green light to an agreement with North Macedonia on operational activities carried out by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). The agreement will allow joint operations to be organised and Frontex border management teams to be deployed in North Macedonia, subject to the country’s agreement.”
Fondation INSA, 22 June 2022Retrouver l’identité des migrants disparus grâce à l’intelligence artificielle [Recovering the identity of missing migrants using artificial intelligence]
“In 2020, the INSA Group (Institut national des sciences appliquées) was approached by the transregional forensics team of the International Committee of the Red Cross (CICR), which sought to improve the identification process for dead migrants in the Euro-Mediterranean zone. Here, there have been many drownings - 16,000 since 2014. As far as we know, this effort led by the anthropologist Jose Pablo Baraybar of the CICR is the only one which has faced this problem in a transversal way in the region.”
Explains efforts to develop AI solutions on this very delicate issue.
Civil liberties
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, 16 MarchSuccess through perseverance and solidarity: 25 years of achievements by human rights defenders Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
“In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, takes stock of the 25 years that have passed since the adoption of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Declaration on Human Rights Defenders), and highlights examples of achievements and success stories that human rights defenders have shared with her. The report includes examples of accessing justice, changing laws, protecting the vulnerable and holding businesses to account. The report offers a change in focus from the violations committed against human rights defenders to their often uncredited successes.”
The Guardian, 16 March‘Hostile, authoritarian’ UK downgraded in civic freedoms index
““The downgrade reflects the worrying trends we are seeing in restrictions across civil society that are threatening our democracy. The government should be setting a positive example to countries that have clamped down on civic space,” said Stephanie Draper, the chief executive of the Bond charity, a partner in the Civicus collaboration.”
Koraki, 14 MarchUN SR: ‘It shouldn’t be a crime to help people. In Greece, it's made to seem like it is.'
A moving interview:
“The situation of refugees is not my mandate. But on hearing what human rights defenders had to say about their experiences attempting to work with people seeking safety in Greece, I organised a visit to the country. I feel very strongly about the complete lack of compassion towards people forced to migrate and for doing that end up being pushed back or dying in the Mediterranean, and I just can’t take it in, that the idea of solidarity which was a good thing, has now been effectively made into some kind of offence.”
EUobserver, 14 MarchThe Polish activist facing three year's jail for helping abortion
“Three years in prison is what Polish activist Justyna Wyndrzyńska is facing for showing empathy to another woman in need of abortion care and helping her to obtain one. Just a week after International Women's Day, this women's rights activist on Tuesday (14 March) will have her next and most likely last hearing.
Her possible conviction would set a dangerous precedent in the EU and beyond, by ultimately putting the work of sexual and reproductive health and rights defenders at risk and contributing to the silencing of human rights activists.”
The Guardian, 13 MarchUK: Insulate Britain protester jailed after vowing to return to streets
“Stephen Pritchard tells judge before sentencing that peaceful resistance is ‘most responsible thing I can do’.”
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, 9 MarchGreece: criminal investigations opened against human rights defenders Panayote Dimitras, Tommy Olsen, Madi Williamson and Ruhi Akhtar (joint communication)
“Since the sending of the communication, several restrictive measures have been imposed on Panayote Dimitras as the investigation against him continues. These include a travel ban, a duty to report to the police twice a month, a €10,000 bail, and a prohibition on his work with the Greek Helsinki Monitor or any related activities.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders expressed her concerns about these developments on 25 January 2023 and will continue to follow the case.”
Domani, 11 MarchItaly: Gli attacchi del governo ai media sono diventati uno scandalo europeo
“I ripetuti attacchi alla libertà di informazione, inclusi quelli a Domani, sono ormai uno scandalo internazionale. Giornalisti, sindacati, organizzazioni per la libertà dei media sono in allarme dopo che i carabinieri si sono presentati in redazione per sequestrare un articolo riguardante il sottosegretario Claudio Durigon. Per eurodeputati e commentatori Meloni sta mostrando il suo vero volto.”
Pressenza, 6 MarchItaly: Processo alla solidarietà. Intervista a Fulvio Vassallo Paleologo
“Fulvio Vassallo Paleologo, redattore tra l’altro di Pressenza.com, già docente di Diritto Costituzionale presso l’Università di Palermo, fondatore dell’Associazione Diritti e Frontiere (ADIF) e da sempre impegnato nella tutela dei migranti, ha di recente curato con Giovanna Procacci e Domenico Rizzuti il volume, edito da Castelvecchi, “Processo alla solidarietà. La giustizia e il caso Riace”. Esso risulta particolarmente pregnante nei giorni della strage di Stato di Cutro.”
Law
The Guardian, 14 MarchAsylum seekers win permission to challenge UK’s Rwanda policy
“Ten people from conflict zones threatened with removal to Africa claim there has been a failure to consider risks of deportation.”
InfoMigrants, 13 MarchItaly: Judge acquits 18 Turin activists who 'helped migrants'
“A judge in the north-western Italian city of Turin acquitted 18 left-wing activists who had trespassed on public property because evidence at the trial showed that they helped migrants who were trying to reach the border with France.
A judge in Turin has acquitted 18 persons who illegally occupied a former roadman's house in Oulx, in Alta Valle Susa, in Piedmont, north-west Italy, with the objective of assisting those who faced major challenges as they tried to cross the border with France.
The Turin judge ruled that the trespassing charge was committed. However, she acquitted the 18 defendants for the ‘minor nature of the offence’.”
Not On Our Border Watch, 9 MarchUpdate: Frontex faces trial the 9th of March
“Frontex will be held liable on the 9th of March before the General Court of the EU. For the first time, the European border agency faces an action for damages in which it is held accountable for their part in illegal pushbacks at the European borders. The action is brought by a Syrian family who fell victim to a pushback.
This trial is crucial for fundamental rights in Europe. The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is supposed to ensure that everyone has the right to ask for asylum. For the past years, Frontex has participated in illegal operations to push back thousands of asylum seekers from Europe’s borders. As a result of pushbacks many people have lost their lives, others have been assaulted, abused and mistreated.”
EU Law Analysis, 4 MarchThe Windsor Framework: limiting the scope of EU law in Northern Ireland in practice, though not in theory (part 1)
“After many months of on-off negotiations and three Prime Ministers on the UK side, the UK and EU have agreed another Brexit deal: the so-called Windsor Framework, which amends the controversial Northern Ireland protocol (or as we must soon call it, the Protocol Formerly Known as Northern Irish), and includes a number of other legal texts. This blog post is in two parts: this first post is an overview of the Windsor Framework as a whole, while a second part looks in more detail at a specific issue: the ‘Stormont Brake’ on amendments or replacements to EU legislation within the scope of the protocol.”
European Court of Human Rights, 3 MarchGrand Chamber to examine case concerning refusal of compensation following unsafe convictions
“The Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights to which the case Nealon v. the United Kingdom and Hallam v. the United Kingdom (application nos. 32483/19 and 35049/19) had been allocated has relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber of the Court1.
The applications concern the refusal to compensate the applicants for wrongful conviction. The two applicants, Victor Nealon and Sam Hallam, had their convictions quashed after those convictions had been found to be unsafe. Their subsequent applications for compensation for wrongful conviction were refused on the basis that a new or newly discovered fact did not show beyond reasonable doubt that they had not committed the offences (this being the statutory test for a “miscarriage of justice” applicable at the relevant time).”
Military
UK government, 13 MarchPM announces major defence investment in launch of Integrated Review Refresh
“The Prime Minister has announced that the UK will ramp up investment in defence to meet the challenges of an increasingly volatile and complex world, as the Government launches an update to the 2021 Integrated Review.
The 2023 Integrated Review Refresh [IR23] confirms that an additional £5 billion will be provided to the Ministry of Defence over the next two years, to help replenish and bolster vital ammunition stocks, modernise the UK’s nuclear enterprise and fund the next phase of the AUKUS submarine programme. It follows a £24 billion four-year cash uplift in defence spending in 2020, the largest sustained increase since the Cold War.”
European Commission, 10 MarchAn EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence to ensure a stronger and more resilient EU
“Space systems and services in the European Union are crucial for the functioning of our society and economy, as well as for security and defence. As such, the EU has identified space as a strategic domain. In the current geopolitical context of increasing power competition and intensification of threats, the EU is taking action to protect its space assets, defend its interests, deter hostile activities in space and strengthen its strategic posture and autonomy.”
Policing
El Salto, 15 MarchIdentifican a una agente de policía infiltrada en los movimientos sociales de Madrid [Female police officer infiltrating Madrid’s social movements identified]
“La funcionaria, infiltrada bajo la falsa identidad de Mavi L.F., ha militado en diferentes movimientos sociales de Madrid del entorno del ecologismo y los centros sociales. Se añade a la lista que, desde junio, se ha publicado con los policías infiltrados en Barcelona y Valencia.”
[The officer was using a false identity, and adds to a growing list, after similar cases were revealed in Barcelona and Valencia.]
Security Architectures in the EU, 15 MarchReport in Germany accuses police of „direct brutality“ at protest in Lützerath
“The police actions around Lützerath two months ago violated the freedom of assembly on several levels, write 14 observers from the Constitutional Rights Committee in a detailed report on the eviction of the brown coal village. They see a fundamental problem in the police monopoly on the use of force.”
Wikipedia, 15 MarchInternational Day Against Police Brutality
“The International Day Against Police Brutality occurs on March 15.”
Prisons
European Parliament Think Tank, 6 MarchPrisons and detention conditions in the EU
“This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee, aims to provide background information and policy recommendations concerning prisons and detention conditions in the EU, on the basis of European and national regulations, legislation, policies and practices.”
Privacy and data protection
UK House of Commons, 15 MarchData Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill
The renewed version of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill last year.
See: UK: Police and intelligence agencies to increase joint work, with reduced privacy safeguards (30 January)
Racism and discrimination
Koraki, 4 MarchTunisia begins ethnic cleansing programme
“Tunisia was the sole success story of the ‘Arab Spring’, freed from a dictator, and with a progressive, modern constitution. Now, it is in the grip of a new, seemingly even worse, dictator, who has now – perhaps thanks to promises of cash from Italy’s fascist government – embarked on a programme of ethnic cleansing.”
Migration Policy Group (MPG) for the European Commission, December 2022A comparative analysis of non-discrimination law in Europe 2022
“The European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination has published the new Comparative analysis of non-discrimination law in Europe 2022, authored by MPG’s Isabelle Chopin and Catharina Germaine.
The Comparative analysis provides a summary of the state of affairs of non-discrimination law in the 27 EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and the United Kingdom as well as the five candidate countries Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye.”
Security and intelligence
United Nations, 16 MarchSide event on the margins of HRC52 on the Development, Use, and Transfer of New Technologies in the Context of Counterterrorism and Countering Preventing Violent Extremism
“This event organized on the margins of the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council aims to bring together key interlocutors to reflect on concerns raised by the misuse of new technologies worldwide in purported service of counter-terrorism and countering or preventing violent extremism. The event will review developments in the field of new technologies, including in particular biometrics, artificial intelligence, surveillance technology, and drones, and will consider the challenges that increasingly ubiquitous use of these technologies pose for the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide.”
Surveillance
Lighthouse Reports, 14 MarchBehind the Scenes of the Suspicious Machines
Background information on an “unprecedented experiment on welfare surveillance algorithm reveals discrimination” investigation, with Lighthouse investigations editor, Eva Constantaras.
Council of Europe, 10 MarchCouncil of Europe urges Hungary to align law on secret surveillance with ECHR judgments
“Strasbourg, 10.03.2023 – The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers has called on the Hungarian authorities to implement the Szabó and Vissy group of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights. In a its Interim Resolution (*) published today, the Committee “exhorted” the authorities to adopt-without further delay-the measures required to bring domestic legislation on secret surveillance for national security purposes fully and effectively in line with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights.”
Security Architectures in the EU (Matthias Monroy), 9 MarchGerman travel ban: Using passenger data against international Antifa?
“Already on 24 February, the Federal Police in Germany had prevented the chairman of the Association of Persecuted Nazis – Anti-Fascists (VVN-BdA), Florian Gutsche, from leaving the country at Berlin airport. The organisation made the announcement earlier this week. Gutsche was on his way to Bulgaria, where he wanted to participate as an observer in international protests against the fascist ‘Lukov March’ in Sofia.
The 34-year-old was released with a six-page „exit ban“ that applied to any foreign travel that weekend. Such a travel ban is possible under the Passport Act; in the case of a violation, there is the threat of detention.”
And: Germany follows US lead in misuse of airline reservation data (Papers, Please!): “For more than decade, German police have been acting on no-fly “recommendations” made by “advisors” from the US Department of Homeland Security stationed at German airports. Those DHS recommendations have been based on secret evidence, secret US algorithms, and secret US blacklists including the recently-revealed US no-fly list and “selectee” list. German police may not even know on what, if any, evidentiary basis these US advisors have recommended that German authorities prevent a person from flying.”
Pulitzer Center, 6 MarchNetherlands: This Algorithm Could Ruin Your Life
“IT WAS OCTOBER 2021, and Imane, a 44-year-old mother of three, was still in pain from the abdominal surgery she had undergone a few weeks earlier. She certainly did not want to be where she was: sitting in a small cubicle in a building near the center of Rotterdam, while two investigators interrogated her. But she had to prove her innocence or risk losing the money she used to pay rent and buy food.”
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