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Also available as a PDF.
In this issue:
- Externalisation: Sudan, North Africa, dozens of documents
- Webinar: Asylum, immigration and data protection
- New material from across Europe and beyond
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New externalisation bulletin
Sudan, North Africa, dozens of official documents
The latest edition of the bulletin Outsourcing borders: Monitoring EU externalisation policy is now available. It has analyses on the EU’s position with regard to refugees fleeing the war in Sudan, the EU’s ongoing support for authoritarian and violent regimes in North Africa, and includes dozens of previously-unavailable official documents.
Read the bulletin here.
You can find some coverage of material in the bulletin here:
· Egypt and Tunisia show 'little interest' in EU migration deal despite billions (EUobserver)
· L’Unione europea continua a sostenere regimi violenti ed autoritari (A-DIF)
· رغم المليارات.. مصر وتونس لا تظهران اهتماما باتفاقية الهجرة مع الاتحاد الأوروبي (aboutmrs.com)
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Webinar
Data protection in immigration and asylum: Rights and opportunities for redress
Do you work with people in immigration or asylum proceedings? Do they face problems of secrecy and lack of access to information about their case? Would you like to know more about how data protection law can be used in migration and asylum cases? Join us for an online workshop on 6 November.
Find out more and sign up here.
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New material
EU faces migration rebellion as Poland vows to block asylum-seekers ----- Italy’s offshore detention centers in Albania open for business ----- Forced to swim to shore: Tunisian coast guard abandons migrants at sea ----- France's interior minister says he 'does not rule out' banning the Muslim Brotherhood ----- Egypt ramps up crackdown on exiled human rights defenders, says report ----- Spain: Call for taser purchase for Barcelona police to be halted ----- UK: Police spy ‘bragged’ about fathering a child with activist, inquiry hears
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New material
Asylum, immigration and borders
Asylum, immigration and borders
EU: VDL embraces deportation centers
"Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU should consider legislating for “return hubs” in third countries to speed up ejections of undocumented immigrants, in a letter to capitals ahead of an EU leaders’ migration gabfest later this week."
Politico Europe, 15 October 2024
ECtHR judgement finds Germany and Greece responsible for ill treatment of Syrian refugee
The judgment found both states responsible for ill-treatment (Article 3 ECHR) and Greece for a violation of Article 5.4 (judicial control on lawfulness of detention), in the case of a Syrian transferred without his asylum application and the risk of refoulement being duly examined.
ECtHR, 15 October 2024
‘Safe countries of origin’ in asylum law: the CJEU first interprets the concept
“Along with judgments on Afghan women asylum seekers (discussed here) and the status of Turkey as a ‘safe third country’ (discussed here), the Court of Justice of the European Union recently gave its first judgment interpreting the substance of the concept of ‘safe countries of origin’ in EU law. The judgment addressed a number of important points, interpreting the law in ways that may have broad relevance to EU law on asylum procedures going forward.”
EU Law Analysis, 14 October 2024
EU faces migration rebellion as Poland vows to block asylum-seekers
"Poland’s government aims to temporarily suspend the right of arrivals to claim asylum even though that clashes with both international law and European Union rules — but Prime Minister Donald Tusk insists he will not backtrack."
Politico Europe, 14 October 2024
11 October 2013, from a state massacre to the sentence on the Libra ship
On 11 October the government announces the start of deportations to Albania of migrants rescued by Italian navy ships in international waters. Chronicle of the start of deportations under the new deal, with musings on likely legal complications and the use of a ship involved in a previous large-scale shipwreck while Italy and Malta hesitated in the hope the other member state would intervene to take 16 people to Albania at great cost.
A-DIF, 12 October 2024
Poland to establish EU-funded “foreigner integration centres” to serve growing number of migrants
"Poland is establishing 49 new “integration centres for foreigners” across the country to “provide standardised services to newly arrived migrants and serve as platforms for cooperation between local authorities, the government and NGOs”, the European Commission has announced.
The EU-funded centres will offer, among other things, courses in the Polish language and in adaptation, information and advisory points, psychological care, and various forms of legal assistance, including to prevent domestic violence and human trafficking."
Notes From Poland, 11 October 2024
Call for a G7 Action Plan to Prevent and Counter the Smuggling of Migrants
“The stated priorities of the plan are: promote enhanced cooperation on investigative capacities; strengthen border management processes; develop concrete collaborative actions; promote a productive and reliable exchange of information; engage with all facets of the international transportation system; discourage migrants from embarking on irregular and potentially perilous journeys.”
US Department of Homeland Security, 11 October 2024
Italy’s offshore detention centers in Albania open for business
"Under the 2023 deal, Tirana agreed that Italy could send up to 36,000 male migrants who have been stopped in international waters each year to two asylum-processing centers in northern Albania.
Rights groups and opposition politicians have called the deal “dehumanizing” and “illegal,” warning that diverting migrants to an extra-territorial location, run by private contractors, will obscure them from scrutiny, weakening oversight of conditions and increasing the violations of basic rights."
Politico Europe, 11 October 2024
Externalisation, the dark side of the European pact on migration and asylum
Cecile Vanderstappen concludes that “despite the billions of euros invested in this repressive strategy, so-called irregular migrations don’t decrease, nor do the deaths and violence that it entails. Most of all, it fuels the business of human traffickers.”
CNCD 11.11.11, 11 October 2024
Croatian police accused of burning asylum seekers’ phones and passports
"Croatia’s border police force appear to be burning clothing, mobile phones and passports seized from asylum seekers attempting to cross into the European Union before pushing them back to Bosnia."
The Guardian, 10 October 2024
Council of Europe calls for enhancing international cooperation in tackling migrant smuggling
“Following the Summit, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers tasked the CDPC with preparing a report, to be finalised by the end of this year, assessing the need for and feasibility of a possible instrument to combat migrant smuggling. Participants have been updated on its progress and on the different options for member states to consider in tackling migrant smuggling.”
Presentations given at the conference are available at the link.
Council of Europe, 10 October 2024
Preventing refugees from disembarking in Cyprus to claim asylum violated the Convention
The Court found that the Cypriot authorities had essentially returned M.A. and Z.R. to Lebanon without processing their asylum claims and without all the steps required under the Refugee Law. It was evident from the Government’s submissions that the national authorities had not conducted any assessment of the risk of lack of access to an effective asylum process in Lebanon or the living conditions of asylum-seekers there, and had not assessed the risk of refoulement – the forcible return of refugees to a country where they might be subjected to persecution. Nor had they examined the specific situation of the individuals concerned.”
ECtHR, 8 October 2024
Setting Gender-Based Asylum Straight: The Court of Justice’s Landing Point
“In AH and FN… the Court addressed the issue of whether women subjected to a series of restrictive, state-imposed or state-supported measures, solely based on their gender, could be granted refugee status without the need for an individual assessment of their personal circumstances.”
EU Law Analysis, 7 October 2024
People who have lived in UK for decades fear being ‘locked out’ by eVisas
“The scheme means many physical immigration documents such as biometric residence permits (BRPs) or biometric residence cards (BRCs) need to be replaced by online visas, which critics have said do not work properly.”
The Guardian, 6 October 2024
Forced to swim to shore: Tunisian coast guard abandons migrants at sea
“The Tunisian coast guard has a new method when intercepting migrants at sea: confiscating boats and forcing passengers to swim to shore. Ibrahim witnessed it first hand when he tried to cross the Mediterranean.”
InfoMigrants, 4 October 2024
At the Heart of Fortress Europe II: The Politics of Fear
"This study provides a broad mapping of Austrian-based actors, organisations, and multilateral cooperation involved in the pushbacks of people on the move. For their part, the Austrian-based actors are heavily involved in the border externalisation policies of the whole European Union."
The information is particularly relevant given that an Austrian politician, Magnus Brunner, is the proposed new Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration.
Transform! Europe, 24 April 2024
Civil liberties
France's interior minister says he 'does not rule out' banning the Muslim Brotherhood
"The new French interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, has declared that he is not ruling out classifying the Muslim Brotherhood as a "terrorist" group and banning it, while advocating for the establishment of a new criminal offence to fight political Islam in the country."
Middle East Eye, 16 October 2024
Egypt ramps up crackdown on exiled human rights defenders, says report
“Egyptian security forces are escalating their persecution of exiled human rights defenders in an attempt to quash dissent abroad, a new report has revealed.
The report, which is based on interviews with 10 human rights activists who fled Egypt between 2017 and 2020, details how Egyptian authorities have used a range of methods to intimidate and harass them, including issuing sentences in absentia, launching judicial investigations and placing them on designated terrorism lists.”
Middle East Eye, 1 October 2024
Italy: Salvini’s video reignites debate over RAI independence
"On 14 September, Rainews24, the news channel of Italy’s public broadcaster RAI, aired an almost four-minute monologue by deputy PM Matteo Salvini of the Lega Party. In the video he defends his actions, as former Minister of Interior, ahead of a court case where he is accused of kidnapping and neglect of duty for his decision to stop the docking of the Open Arms rescue vessel in 2019."
RAI, 1 October 2024
Turkey’s Crackdown on Students and Women: Criminalising Ordinary Life
“Following orders from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Istanbul police arrested 40 individuals in the early hours of May 2024. Among them were 15 minors, aged 13 to 17, detained without legal representation or the presence of their parents. In the investigation, the prosecutor used the statements of minors that were obtained with coercion to charge 37 women, predominantly young university students and the mothers of minors, with terrorism. The first hearing of the trial will take place between 23 and 27 September at the Caglayan Courthouse in Istanbul.”
Arrested Lawyers, 22 September 2024
Policing
Spain: Call for taser purchase for Barcelona police to be halted
A group of organisations has called on Barcelona City Council (Ajuntament de Barcelona) to halt its proposed purchase of 22 tasers for the city police (Guardia Urbana). The statement notes that tasers are known to have caused deaths in multiple instances, and that the city authorities have failed to undertake the necessary assessments and due diligence.
Novact, 14 October 2024
UK: Police spy ‘bragged’ about fathering a child with activist, inquiry hears
"An undercover police officer “bragged” that he had fathered a child with an activist from whom he had concealed his real identity, a public inquiry has heard.
The officer, Bob Lambert, had the child with the woman, known only as Jacqui, while he was infiltrating animal rights and anarchist groups."
The Guardian, 14 October 2024
UK: Forensic Information Databases annual report 2023 to 2024
"The report includes information on the National Fingerprint Database policing collections and the National DNA Database."
UK Home Office, 10 October 2024
Privacy and data protection
15 organisations challenge Cnaf's grading algorithm before the Conseil d'État
15 French associations challenge algorithm in court on grounds of data protection (large-scale surveillance) and discrimination (due to automated assigning of suspicion scores). Highlights that 32 million people were concerned and 11 million suspicion scores were calculated, a practice that has huge implications for people lives’, including unwarranted benefit reimbursement claims.
GISTI, 16 October 2024
Racism and discrimination
UK: King Charles and the £200bn slavery reparations bill looming over Commonwealth summit
"King Charles and Keir Starmer have faced renewed calls for Britain to pay slavery reparations which could far exceed £200 billion ahead of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chgom) in Samoa from 21-26 October.
A group of 15 Caribbean governments, as part of the Caribbean Community or ‘Caricom’ organisation, have all agreed to table reparations on the Chgom agenda when the group meets next month."
The Guardian, 15 October 2024
“The local news cycle is peppered with brief reports on those jailed for their involvement in the 3 August far-right violent disorder in the city centre. But here’s what’s really going on…”
Bristol Cable, 7 October 2024
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