Home page: www.statewatch.org
1. EU: EXCHANGE OF CRIMINAL RECORDS: “Swedish Framework Decision”: update
2. GENOA-2001: No justice in Genoa
3. EU/Libya: Petition against detention camps for migrants in Libya
4. EU-EUROPOL: Report fromUK House of Lords Select Committee
5. EU-USA-DATA PROTECTION: European Data Protection Supervisor
6. UK: Mohamed Raissi falsely imprisoned
8. Joint UK-French charter to repatriate Afghans narrowly averted?
9. GREECE, Athens: ASYLUM-SEEKERS PROTEST – MIGRANT DIES
10. Italy/Libya: “Special and privileged” bilateral relationship treaty
11. Catching History on the Wing by A. Sivanandan, IRR’s director
12. Tthe ALTERNATIVE CONSULTATION ON EU JHA POLICY
13. EU: Proposal for a Directive sanctions against employers
14. EU: EDPS and EU Research and Technological Development
15. EU-PNR: Latest Council document
16. UK: Joint Human Rights Committee: “unacceptable delay” in removing breaches
17. ID CARDS: Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission: More than just a card
18. EU: PROPOSED ENTRY-EXIT SYSTEM: National responses
19. EU: Police Cooperation – Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg)
1. 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):
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/nov/eu-criminal-records-
exhange-guidelines-swedish-fd-13942-rev1-08.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.”
plus: 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 – draft Guidelines:
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/nov/eu-criminal-records-
exhange-guidelines-swedish-fd-dec-2-15574-08.pdf
2. GENOA-2001: No justice in Genoa – The G8 protesters were brutalised, yet the Foreign Office showed complete indifference (Guardian, link):
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov
/15/genoa-g8-protesters-trial/print
See Statewatch’s Observatory on reactions to protests in the EU:
www.statewatch.org/observatory3.htm
3. EU/Libya: Petition against detention camps for migrants in Libya (Fortress Europe, link)
fortresseurope.blogspot.com/2008/11/libya
-sign-petition-against-migrants.html
A petition “for an international investigation on the detention conditions of migrants and refugees arrested in Libya on their way to Europe” was launched by the directors of the documentary “Come un uomo sulla terra”, which features stories told by African refugees about their journey through Libya. The petition, to be sent to Italian and EU authorities as well as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, highlights Italy’s responsibilities as a result of bilateral agreements whereby Italy provides “financial and technical support to Libya” to control migration flows.
4. 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):
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/nov/eu-europol-hol-slt-cttee-08.pdf
5. 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: www.statewatch.org/news/2008/nov/eu-us-dp-edps-hlcg-opinion.pdf
6. UK: Mohamed Raissi falsely imprisoned (Press release):
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/nov/uk-raissi-prel.pdf
and Full-text of Court Judgment: www.statewatch.
org/news/2008/nov/uk-raissi-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.”
8. Joint UK-French charter to repatriate Afghans narrowly averted?
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/nov/uk
-france-deportation-afghan-flight.htm
9. GREECE, Athens: ASYLUM-SEEKERS PROTEST – MIGRANT DIES: Press release from NGOs:
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/nov/
greece-asylum-seekers-prel.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.”
10. Italy/Libya: “Special and privileged” bilateral relationship treaty:
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/nov/01italy-libya-treaty.htm
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.
11. 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): www.irr.org.uk/2008/november/ha000016.html
“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.”
12. 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:
www.ecln.org/index.html
For more information about the ECLN survey, see: the ECLN survey:
www.ecln.org/index.html
13. 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):
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/oct/eu-ds
-doc-migr-room-doc-ds1006-08.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.
14. EU: European Data Protection Supervisor: The EDPS and EU Research and Technological Development: Policy paper:
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/oct/eu-edps-res-tech-dev-paper.pdf
15. EU-PNR: Latest Council document: General discussion of matters relating to the analysis and transmission of PNR data and data-protection:
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/oct/eu-pnr-14592-08.pdf
and PNR: Opinion of the Fundamental Rights Agency:
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/oct/ep-pnr-opinion-fra.pdf
16. 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)
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/oct/uk-jhrc-gov-responses.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.”
17. 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:
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/oct/n-ireland-nihrc-id-cards.pdf
and Ethnic Profiling, ID Cards and European Experience:
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/oct/n
-ireland-nihrc-id-cards-profiling.pdf
See also: The Irish dimension to the case against ID cards (IRR News, link):
www.irr.org.uk/2008/october/ha000030.html
18. 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):
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/oct/eu-tcn-
exit-entry-schengen-questionnaire-13403-08.pdf
Belgium response: www.statewatch.org/news/2008/oct/eu-tcn
-exit-entry-schengen-questionnaire-13403-add1-08.pdf
Portugal response: www.statewatch.org/news/2008/oct/eu-tcn-
exit-entry-schengen-questionnaire-13403-add2-08.pdf
19. EU: Police Cooperation – Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg): Police cooperation within the Benelux (EU doc no: 14509/08):
www.statewatch.org/news/2008/oct/eu-police
-cooperation-within-benelux-14509-08.pdf