Zapatero propondrá en su presidencia aumentar los medios de Frontex y negociar acuerdos de repatriación - Yahoo! Noticias
lunes, 13 de julio, 15.08
Europa Press
España propondrá en su presidencia de la UE en la primera mitad de 2010 "aumentar" los medios de la Agencia Europea de Control de Fronteras Exteriores (Frontex) contra la inmigración ilegal y alcanzar acuerdos para la repatriación de 'sin papeles' negociados a nivel europeo con los países de origen y tránsito, ha avanzado hoy el presidente del Gobierno, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
En rueda de prensa conjunta con el primer ministro griego, Kostas Karamanlis, con quien ha hablado de la próxima presidencia española de la UE, Zapatero reconoció que Frontex "necesita más medios y compromiso de los países de la Unión", pero advirtió de que para controlar la inmigración irregular resulta "esencial" construir una política de cooperación en la materia con los países de origen y tránsito de la inmigración, como la que España ha elaborado con Marruecos.
El fortalecimiento de la política europea de inmigración será una de las prioridades de la presidencia española de la UE, que apostará por que la Unión "lidere" las negociaciones para conseguir acuerdos comunes de repatriación, en lugar de los pactos que existen de forma bilateral entre ciertos países comunitarios y africanos, según Zapatero. Karamanlis señaló que los acuerdos de readmisión tendrán que ir acompañados de ayuda financiera para los países africanos.
Zapatero destacó que la elaboración de una política europea de asociación con los países emisores y de tránsito de la inmigración debe constituir una de las grandes políticas exteriores de los Veintisiete.
Para ello, Zapatero y Karamanlis acordaron proponer en los próximos meses la creación de "un nuevo espacio de concertación política" en torno a la inmigración ilegal dentro de la Unión por el Mediterráneo, la asociación que integra a los Veintisiete con sus vecinos de la ribera sur. "Sin una fuerte asociación, no se pueden conseguir los objetivos", advirtió el presidente español.
Karamanlis confió en que la presidencia española de la UE sirva para dar un "nuevo empuje" a la Unión por el Mediterráneo, una iniciativa del presidente francés, Nicolas Sarkozy, que bebe del Proceso de Barcelona lanzado en la década de los 90 a propuesta de España.
Al margen de la inmigración, Zapatero y Karamanlis repasaron el estado de la situación económica internacional y de las perspectivas sobre la entrada en vigor del Tratado de Lisboa. Zapatero calificó de "muy buenas" las relaciones entre España y Grecia, al que se refirió como el país, junto con Portugal, con el que España más coincide en lo político.
La prensa griega se interesó por si los dos líderes hacían una lectura en clave nacional de los pasados comicios europeos. Zapatero, como ha dicho en anteriores ocasiones, indicó que las elecciones del pasado 7 de junio eran para renovar el Parlamento Europeo y aseguró que su partido "saldrá a ganar" en los próximos comicios generales.
Vietnamese immigrants in mass deportation | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 08.06.2009Immigration | 08.06.2009
Amid high security, a group of around 100 Vietnamese have been deported from Germany. It was the first group deportation for years in Berlin. Refugee and human rights organisations protested against the move.
It is the first time that the European Union agency for external border security, Frontex, is financing a group deportation.
One hundred and three women and men as well as one child were put on a plane to Hanoi on Monday evening.
Around 200 demonstrators had gathered beforehand at Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport to protests against the mass deportation. The case had attracted widespread public attention in recent days as many of the Vietnamese immigrants had been living in Germany for several years.
Human rights and refugee organizations had organised opposition to the deportation, warning that the immigrants could face reprisals if sent back to Vietnam.
"We are protesting primarily against the fact that we are deporting people to a country like Vietnam that violates human rights," said Wolfgang Lenk, a Green Party city counsellor who turned out to support the protest.
Two vietnamese men with a stack of cigarettesBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Some illegal Vietnamese immigrants in Germany have been involved in cigarette smugglingHe warned that any form of mass deportation usually meant that individual cases were not considered with sufficient care.
Despite a large police presence two demonstrators managed to enter the airport and were briefly detained by police, officials said.
Most of Vietnamese had been living in Germany without residence permission, the 26 others had been living in Poland. The deportation operation was organised in cooperation between the German and Polish authorities.
For many of the Vietnamese, the trip home is the end of a long and difficult journey. Lured by the promises made by people smugglers of a better life, many of these would-be immigrants paid huge sums of money to get to Germany, only to submit an asylum application that in most cases was rejected.
Nevertheless, the number of new arrivals from the Asian country has been growing, not just in Germany, but also in neighboring Poland and the Czech Republic.
About 85,000 Vietnamese live legally in Germany; the number of undocumented Vietnamese immigrants is unknown. Unlike this most recent wave of arrivals, the Vietnamese who arrived in the 1970s and 1980s succeeded in establishing a life for themselves. Those in what was then West Germany were "boat people" fleeing from the Communist regime; those in East Germany arrived as guest workers.
ai/dpa/EPD/AFP
Editor: Chuck Penfold
ekathimerini.com | EU offers help with immigration
The European Union moved a step closer to meeting the requests of Greece and other Mediterranean countries for greater assistance in their efforts to tackle illegal immigration during a meeting of justice and interior ministers that ended yesterday.
Following the Luxembourg meeting, the EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Jacques Barrot said that he would make it a priority to work closely with countries such as Turkey and Libya so that they would be obligated to improve their border controls and honor the repatriation agreements that they have signed.
Greece has long complained about Turkey accepting only a small percentage of the thousands of illegal immigrants that arrive every year after setting off from neighboring countries.
Athens has found it increasingly difficult to deal with a growing influx of migrants and the city’s mayor, Nikitas Kaklamanis, applauded the news from Luxembourg.
“I welcome this decision, which, once implemented, will significantly stem the unrestrained flow of migrants from our neighboring country into Greece,” he said.
“Elevating the mass illegal immigration problem from a national to a European matter must be accompanied by generous financial and technical assistance from the European Union to Greece to meet the needs of both the Greek Police and the Coast Guard, so that the protection of our borders, particularly at sea, brings substantial results,” added Kaklamanis.
Greece is also likely to have been encouraged by an agreement for a pilot burden-sharing scheme, under which EU member states will accept refugees from Malta on a voluntary basis.
“Through this pilot project, refugees and other persons with humanitarian protection currently in Malta will have the opportunity to move to other EU member states and resettle there,” said Barrot.
He said that the EU could not force member states to accept asylum seekers but that the Commission intended to ask the countries to pledge how many migrants from Malta they would accept.
Italy had been pushing for obligatory burden sharing but a number of states raised objections.
The issue will be picked up for discussion again when Sweden takes over the rotating EU presidency next month.
INMIGRACIÓN UNA OPORTUNIDAD: EL DEFENSOR DEL PUEBLO DA LA RAZÓN A CEAR : SE HA EXPULSADO ILEGALMENTE A SOLICITANTES DE ASILOviernes, junio 05, 2009
El Defensor del Pueblo da la razón a CEAR: se ha expulsado ilegalmente a solicitantes de asilo.
CEAR pide que la Fiscalía investigue los hechos y la falta de colaboración de las autoridades con la Oficina del Defensor del Pueblo.
El Defensor del Pueblo acusa a la Delegación de Gobierno en Ceuta y a la Comandancia de la Guardia Civil en esa ciudad de obstaculizar la investigación y de falta de lealtad institucional.El Defensor del Pueblo ha dado la razón a CEAR en su denuncia sobre devoluciones ilegales de solicitantes de asilo a través de la frontera de Ceuta. En un informe hecho público hace unos días, la oficina del Defensor afirma que ?ha quedado acreditada la práctica de unas devoluciones por la vía de hecho, con ausencia del procedimiento legalmente establecido, y en las cuales se ha lesionado el derecho constitucional de los interesados a la asistencia letrada. Asimismo, ha quedado acreditado que se realizaron devoluciones de personas que se encontraban ya residiendo en territorio español como solicitantes de asilo o con cita concedida para realizar la solicitud?. Para el defensor del Pueblo, los hechos constituyen ?una muy grave vulneración de la normativa de extranjería, y debieron ser investigados con la diligencia y la profundidad que merecían?. El 28 de diciembre de 2004, la Guardia Civil de Ceuta detuvo y expulsó a nueve personas que contaban con la documentación que les acreditaba como solicitantes de asilo. Ante las denuncias de CEAR, el Defensor del Pueblo requirió información a la Delegación del Gobierno en Ceuta y a la comandancia de la Guardia Civil de la misma ciudad, requerimiento que no ha sido atendido. Por ello, la oficina del Defensor denuncia que ?la demora en la respuesta y fundamentalmente el contenido de la misma evidencian a juicio de esta Institución la falta de interés en que estos hechos sean definitivamente aclarados, y ponen de manifiesto la persistencia en la obstaculización de la presente investigación y una falta de lealtad institucional que será debidamente reflejada ante las Cortes Generales en el próximo informe?. La Oficina del Defensor del Pueblo ha dirigido a la Delegación del Gobierno en Ceuta un recordatorio de deberes legales y confía en que en el futuro se respeten la Ley y el Reglamento de extranjería.CEAR solicita que la Fiscalía General investigue a fondo lo sucedido y adopte las medidas correspondientes contra los responsables de las expulsiones de solicitantes de asilo. Además, CEAR exige que se hagan efectivas las garantías suficientes para que estas prácticas sean erradicadas, y que se establezcan unas directrices claras por escrito hacia todos los organismos competentes sobre el respeto a la voluntad de pedir asilo y la aplicación del principio de no devolución. CEAR solicita también que se abra una investigación sobre la falta de respuesta de las autoridades a los requerimientos de la Oficina del Defensor del Pueblo, y que se actúe contra los responsables. Esta falta de respuesta supone un menosprecio de los deberes que las autoridades tienen con la alta institución de la Defensoría.
Le Monde.fr : Imprimez un élément
LEMONDE.FR | 05.06.09 | 13h47 • Mis à jour le 05.06.09 | 17h41
Le préfecture de police de Paris essaie-t-elle de se débarrasser des demandeurs d'asile ? Jeudi 4 juin, plusieurs associations d'aide aux étrangers l'ont accusée de ne pas délivrer de récépissé à des centaines de demandeurs d'asile au motif qu'ils ne possèdent pas de domicile fixe. Une pratique illégale, déjà condamnée "à dix reprises" en avril et mai par le tribunal administratif de Paris, soulignent Amnesty, la Cimade ou encore le Secours catholique. La justice demandait alors à la préfecture de "cesser de porter une atteinte manifestement illégale au droit d'asile".
En principe, les demandeurs d'asile qui souhaitent obtenir une autorisation provisoire de séjour doivent justifier d'une domiciliation. Des associations sont agréées pour leur servir de "boîte aux lettres" pour la première demande et les premiers renouvellements. Pour les renouvellements suivants, la préfecture demande ensuite une adresse fixe. Sans ce sésame, les personnes se retrouvent "privées de leurs droits économiques et sociaux" estiment les associations, comme par exemple une allocation de 320 euros, "leur seule ressource".
A la préfecture, on explique que ces cas sont marginaux par rapport au nombre de cas examinés chaque année. "En 2008 nous avons délivré 14 900 récépissés dans le cadre du droit d'asile à Paris, soit un quart du nombre total sur toute la France." Pour l'ACAT (Action des chrétiens pour l'abolition de la torture), au contraire, il s'agit d'une pratique régulière de la part de la préfecture. "Notre souhait, ce n'est pas de faire du contentieux avec la préfecture. Mais nous constatons qu'il faut passer par des décisions de justice pour que le préfet de police respecte les droits des demandeurs d'asile", avance Florence Boreil, responsable des programmes.
PLUSIEURS CENTAINES DE REFUS EN 2009
Les pratiques de la préfecture sont révélatrices, pour Marianne Lagruen, avocate spécialiste du droit d'asile, d'une "politique générale à l'égard des étrangers" et des demandeurs d'asile. Les associations dénoncent un procédé qui permet de multiplier les expulsions pour remplir les objectifs chiffrés du ministère de l'immigration et de l'identité nationale, au détriment du droit d'asile. Ce que dément la préfecture.
En 2006, elle avait déjà été condamnée à plusieurs reprises par le tribunal administratif pour les mêmes faits. Pour Marianne Lagrue, la pratique a commencé avec le vote de la loi sur l'immigration en 2006, qui a modifié les exigences concernant le domicile. "La préfecture a interprété le domicile comme l'endroit où l'on habite, et a arrêté de se contenter d'une attestation de domiciliation temporaire délivrée par une association. Le tribunal administratif a une interprétation différente: une adresse temporaire est suffisante", explique l'avocate.
Ainsi le 11 mai 2009, le tribunal administratif a rendu un jugement concernant le cas de M. Ramesh X, ressortissant sri-lankais, hébergé provisoirement par un ami. Le refus de lui délivrer un récépissé a été jugé comme "une atteinte grave et manifestement illégale à la liberté fondamentale que constitue le droit d'asile". La justice a enjoint au préfet de police de renouveler le récépissé de M. Ramesh X. Selon l'ACAT, environ six cents personnes se seraient vu refuser leur récépissé de demande d'asile depuis le début de l'année.
Hélène Franchineau
EU unlikely to agree on African refugees in June | Prague Monitor
ČTK |
5 June 2009
Luxembourg, June 4 (CTK) - The European Union is unlikely to reach an agreement on how to help countries like Italy and Malta cope with waves of illegal migrants under the Czech EU presidency that will last till the end of June, Czech Interior Minister Martin Pecina told journalists Thursday.
Thousands of illegal immigrants get from north Africa across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe every year.
"The discussion has only just started," said Pecina who headed an EU meeting dealing with the issue Thursday.
Pecina said he believes some form of voluntary cooperation will be agreed on.
France and Portugal have already accepted some refugees from Malta, for example.
EU Commissioner Jacques Barrot, in charge of justice, freedom and security, Thursday also spoke about voluntary help.
However, Italy would like other EU countries to help it compulsorily. Some EU countries seem to consider this unacceptable.
According to the Italian authorities, 36,900 refugees reached Italy's shores in 2008, which was 75 percent more than in 2007.
The Italian parliament passed a new law in May that considers the country's illegal entry and illegal stay a crime. Italy has returned some 500 migrants to Africa based on the law since then. This was criticised by the United Nations, the Catholic Church and humanitarian organisations.
The issue is to be discussed at the EU summit on June 18-19, but a compromise solution will probably be sought by the Swedes to whom the Czechs will hand the EU presidency.
Cleared of Terror Charges, a Target for Deportation - NYTimes.comJune 4, 2009
By DAMIEN CAVE
MOORE HAVEN, Fla. — Youssef Samir Megahed toyed with a piece of lint on the other side of the bulletproof glass and described his case as simply “weird.”
In April, a federal jury acquitted him on charges of transporting explosives during a road trip with a friend who had packed model rocket propellants in the trunk. But three days later, in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Tampa, Mr. Megahed was arrested again in connection with the case, this time by immigration authorities.
The new charge is that he “is engaged in or is likely to engage in” terrorist activities, a violation of his legal residency in the United States.
“They just label you a terrorist and that’s it,” said Mr. Megahed, 23, who moved to Florida from Egypt with his family 11 years ago and is being held here at an immigration detention center.
Mr. Megahed is at least the third Florida defendant in three years to be brought up on immigration charges after prosecutors failed to win terrorism convictions in federal court. If convicted of the new charges and deported, he would join thousands of other Muslim and Arab men sent home since Sept. 11, 2001, as part of an extensive law enforcement strategy that relies on the immigration courts to remove potential threats.
Some national security experts say the country is safer without such men, and immigration officials declare the deportations both legal and fair. But with President Obama scheduled to speak in Cairo on Thursday about repairing relations with the Muslim world, Mr. Megahed is being presented by critics of the immigration strategy here and abroad as a test case of the president’s pledge to break with some of the Bush administration’s most unpopular policies.
Egyptian news outlets and blogs have taken up Mr. Megahed’s cause. Several federal jurors who acquitted him have also made the rare move of publicizing their outrage at their verdict’s being second-guessed, while Arab-American groups, civil rights organizations and churches have lobbied the Obama administration for his release.
“We are sending the wrong message to American Muslims and the Muslim world,” said Ramzy Kiliç, executive director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group for Muslims. “If Obama really wants to make a new way forward with mutual respect, he has to start here at home.”
Immigration courts have not been central to the prosecution of cases involving terrorism. But in such cases, they share prosecutorial advantages similar to those found in the controversial military tribunals for suspects accused of being foreign fighters.
In immigration courts, for example, hearings can be closed to the public, the burden of proof is lower than in federal court, and a wider scope of evidence, including hearsay, can be used. Michael Wishnie, a law professor at Yale University, said using immigration courts in these cases amounted to “second-class justice” because “the defendant’s rights are reduced.”
In Mr. Megahed’s case, officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement have emphasized that his deportation hearing is a civil, not a criminal, proceeding, possibly with new evidence, and does not amount to “double jeopardy” — the prohibition on trying defendants more than once for the same crime.
“This is nothing new,” said Bill West, chief of national security for immigration enforcement until he retired in 2003. “The concept goes back to Al Capone — get the bad guys any way you can, on any violation you can.”
Still, the main question in the immigration case is essentially the same as it was in the federal trial: Is Mr. Megahed a danger to society, or, as his lawyer argues, is he only “guilty of having stupid friends”?
Mr. Megahed’s legal problems began two years ago on a road trip with Ahmed Mohamed, who, like Mr. Megahed, was Egyptian, Muslim and an engineering student at the University of South Florida. Mr. Megahed said he had known Mr. Mohamed for only a few months before traveling with him in the summer of 2007.
“It was for fun,” Mr. Megahed said in an interview here. “To see the Southeast of the United States.”
They took turns driving north until they reached Goose Creek, S.C., where the police pulled them over for going 60 miles an hour in a 45-m.p.h. zone. One of two deputies involved said he had become suspicious when the men quickly put away a laptop; a recording of the traffic stop captured the officer saying, “I think they’re part of the Taliban.”
The officers searched the trunk and found “several pipe bombs;” more specifically, four pieces of PVC tubing, about 2 to 2.5 inches long and three-quarters of an inch in diameter, which contained sugar, potassium nitrate and cat litter.
Mr. Mohamed told the police they were homemade fireworks — similar recipes can be found online. The authorities charged them with possession of an explosive device, carrying a prison term of up to 15 years. A judge set bail at $500,000 for Mr. Mohamed and $300,000 for Mr. Megahed.
“That is when the bad dreams began,” Mr. Megahed’s father, Samir, an engineer, said in an interview with his wife, Ahlem, at their upscale two-story town house in Tampa. Declaring “I love America,” he said he had brought his family to the state because the University of South Florida had accepted his two sons.
He described Youssef, the younger, as an outgoing joker who had lost a front tooth rough-housing as a boy.
Mr. Megahed, in a visitation booth at the detention center, described himself as clueless. He said he had not known the plastic tubes were in the trunk (his fingerprints were not found on them) and had never even heard the term “pipe bomb” until the police said it.
He also said he had not known they were seven miles from a naval base when they were pulled over, or that Mr. Mohamed’s laptop had a video on it showing a rocket attack somewhere in the Middle East.
“I thought it was going to be O.K.,” Mr. Megahed said. “I hadn’t done anything wrong.”
After their arrest, federal investigators found a YouTube video that Mr. Mohamed had made showing how to turn a toy into a detonator. In December, Mr. Mohamed pleaded guilty in a separate case to providing material support to terrorists and was sentenced to 15 years in prison; as part of the plea agreement, the charges from the traffic stop were dropped.
Mr. Megahed was not involved with the video. His trial began three months later and lasted three weeks. Gary Meringer, the jury foreman, said jurors were initially suspicious about the circumstantial evidence in the case — the fireworks in the trunk; the video on the laptop; a gas can in the car; that they had tried to buy a gun, while their bags lacked toothpaste or bathing suits.
An initial survey of jurors, Mr. Meringer said, produced six guilty votes, four undecided, and two not guilty. But as the jury examined each detail individually, he said, holes emerged. For example, the prosecutor’s expert could not get a simulated version of the alleged explosives to give off much more than heat and smoke.
It was also unclear whether Mr. Megahed had watched the video on the laptop, or if he had viewed a handful of Web sites — on AK-47s among other things — that were found in the browsing history on a family computer at the Megaheds’ home.
By the third day of deliberations, the jury had arrived at unanimous verdicts of not guilty of transporting explosive materials and of possessing a destructive device.
Mr. Megahed’s sister cried in the courtroom. He celebrated at the beach. Then immigration authorities arrested Mr. Megahed after a shopping trip with his father. Mr. Meringer, 57, the foreman, who is a corporate lawyer, was shocked when he heard of the immigration charge. “It literally took the air right out of my chest,” he said. “I felt the government had completely wasted the time of the legal system, the judge, the jury, the bailiffs, all of those people.”
He contacted the other jurors, and three joined him in signing a statement opposing Mr. Megahed’s detention. “We want a fair shake,” Mr. Meringer said. “A fair shake for Youssef would be that he could finish college, become a citizen and go on his merry way.”
Mr. Megahed’s hearing is scheduled for Aug. 17. By then, he will have spent nearly a year behind bars, including nine months before his trial.
His lawyer, Charles Kuck, said immigration officials had suggested they would rely in part on evidence from the family computer, which Mr. Megahed’s brother, Yahia, said had been used by numerous friends and relatives.
In the criminal trial, the judge excluded eight video clips on the computer that show rocket attacks in an unidentified Middle Eastern location; a ninth clip shows an improvised explosive device that hits an American tank.
While Mr. Megahed waits, his parents visit him every five days, as often as is allowed. His father said he worried that his son had become depressed. “Every time he tells me to bring clothes for him in case they let him out,” he said.
But in the interview, Mr. Megahed seemed determined to appear stoic. He said he had turned to an Arabic proverb for solace: “The longer you live, the more you will see.”
Lynn Waddell contributed reporting from Tampa, Fla.
timesofmalta.com - Frontex may lease aircraft to repatriate migrantsWednesday, 3rd June 2009 - 20:20CET
Frontex, the EU border control agency, has agreed to strengthen its capacity for the repatriation of migrants and may lease an aircraft for the purpose, director-general Ilka Latenen said today.
Speaking after talks with Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici, Mr Latenen said Frontex would consider leasing an aircraft for repatriation flights to start from Malta.
At present most repatriations from Malta are made through arrangements with other countries, with aircraft stopping over in Malta on their way to the migrants' countries whenever they have empty seats.
A spokesman for the Home Affairs Ministry said that Frontex will also be helping Malta to obtain the travel documents needed to make repatriations possible, a role currently undertaken by the police. No migrants may be repatriated without such documentation.
Only half of the migrants who arrive in Malta are found to be eligible for humanitarian protection and the rest, therefore, have to be repatriated.
Asilo politico,respingimenti ed espulsioni - Corte di cassazione civile - sentenza n. 11264/09 del 14/05/2009Pubblicata da: Avv. Mario Pavone
Corte di cassazione civile
sentenza 11264/09 del 14/05/2009
Nonostante,quindi,che i diritto d’asilo politico sia riconosciuto dalla Carta Costituzionale,la Prima Sezione Civile della Corte di Cassazionecon con la Sentenza n.11264/2009 ha stabilito che può essere oggetto di provvedimento di espulsione, lo straniero che chiede asilo politico nel Paese atteso che,secondo la Corte,tale richiesta non blocca la procedura di espulsione.
I Giudici hanno precisato che “in tema di disciplina dell’immigrazione, poiché il provvedimento amministrativo di espulsione dello straniero extracomunitario è obbligatorio e a carattere vinco lato,il giudice ordinario è tenuto unicamente a controllare l’esistenza al momento della espulsione, dei requisiti di legge che ne impongono l’emanazione, senza che sia possibile configura re un obbligo di sospensione necessaria dal relativo procedimento qualora ne sia pendente un altro nel quale si controverta dell’esistenza dei presupposti idonei a legittimare l’adozione del relativo decreto.
Full Article - Articolo intero
GISTI - Une gestion « concertée » de flux migratoires au détriment des droits des migrants
Les associations appellent les députés à refuser les accords de « gestion concertée » soumis à leur vote le 14 mai
L’Assemblée nationale examinera ce jeudi 14 mai quatre projets de lois autorisant l’approbation des accords relatifs « à la gestion concertée des flux migratoires et au codéveloppement » entre la France et la Tunisie, la République du Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), le Bénin et le Sénégal.
Ce n’est pas la première fois que le Parlement se penche sur de tels accords. Le premier du genre, avec le Gabon, est entré en vigueur le 1er septembre 2008. Ce ne sera pas non plus la dernière : d’autres accords ont été signés mais ne sont pas encore examinés (Cap Vert, Ile Maurice, Burkina Faso), ou bien sont en cours de négociation (Mali, Cameroun, Haïti, Philippines, Egypte). La France s’est fixé pour objectif d’en conclure sept par an d’ici 2011.
Les accords de gestion « concertée » des flux migratoires comprennent trois volets :
* des possibilités de « migration légale » extrêmement limitées et déjà prévues par les dispositifs de droit commun ;
* la lutte contre l’immigration irrégulière, avec des clauses par lesquelles les Etats s’engagent à réadmettre leurs propres ressortissants en situation irrégulière voire, pour certains (Gabon, Congo, Bénin), les ressortissants de pays tiers ayant transité par leur territoire ;
* une politique présentée comme “ambitieuse” en matière de « développement solidaire », mais entièrement subordonnée à la collaboration des pays concernés à la lutte contre l’immigration « illégale ».
Outre que ces accords sont déséquilibrés, conclus essentiellement à l’avantage de la France pour servir ses objectifs de renforcement des contrôles migratoires, ils portent en eux des risques importants de violation des droits des migrants. Le volet consacré à la réadmission des personnes en situation irrégulière soulève les plus grandes inquiétudes : les modalités prévues pour « établir » soit la nationalité de personnes à expulser, soit le transit par le territoire des Etats parties, permettent le renvoi de personnes vers des pays qu’elles ne connaissent pas, sans garantie suffisante de respect des droits fondamentaux. Il existe en outre un risque important de refoulement vers un pays où les droits fondamentaux pourraient être bafoués en violation de l’article 3 de la Convention européenne des droits de l’Homme.
Nous savons aujourd’hui que ces risques sont réels : la mise en œuvre des accords signés par l’Italie avec la Libye, la Tunisie et l’Egypte et ceux signés par l’Espagne, avec des pays d’Afrique subsaharienne (dans le cadre de son « plan Afrique ») a déjà conduit à des renvois massifs et à de graves atteintes aux droits des migrants régulièrement dénoncées par des ONG de défense des droits de l’homme.
En 2008, Amnesty international a rendu public un rapport sur la situation dramatique de migrants expulsés depuis l’Espagne vers la Mauritanie, en exécution d’un accord de réadmission signé en 2003 : pratiques de détention prolongée, mauvais traitements, absence de procédure équitable du droit d’asile, renvoi des mineurs isolés, etc.
Quant au « développement solidaire », il est inacceptable de subordonner l’aide au développement à la « maîtrise des flux migratoires » au prétexte d’un lien de cause à effet, par ailleurs nullement démontré, entre développement et baisse des migrations.
Nous demandons aux membres de l’Assemblée nationale de procéder à un examen approfondi des implications, des conséquences et des risques que font peser ces accords tant sur les droits des personnes que sur les sociétés civiles des pays concernés.
Un tel examen ne pourra conduire qu’à refuser l’approbation de ces accords le 14 mai prochain.
Mardi 12 mai 2009
Organisations signataires : Act-Up Paris, Association des réfugiés sans frontières (ARSF - Cameroun), Association des travailleurs maghrébins de France (ATMF), La Cimade, Collectif Haïti France, Fédération des Tunisiens pour une citoyenneté des deux rives (FTCR), Gisti, Mrap, Plateforme d’associations franco-haïtiennes, Union des associations latino-américaines en France, Un monde Avenir (Cameroun).
Si indaga sui migranti respinti Roma, la Procura apre un fascicolo - cronaca - Repubblica.itl fatto oggetto dell'inchiesta risale allo scorso 20 maggio
I magistrati si sono mossi sulla base di un esposto dei radicali
Berlusconi: "Sbagliata la politica della sinistra". Alfano: "Con noi le leggi e i trattati internazionali"
ROMA - La Procura della Repubblica di Roma ha aperto un fascicolo sul respingimento di 227 migranti dello scorso 20 maggio. Al momento non ci sono né ipotesi di reato né indagati.
L'esposto dei Radicali. L'esposto era stato presentato il giorno stesso dal partito Radicale. "Speriamo la giustizia faccia il suo corso" - ha detto la deputata radicale Rita Bernardini -. Abbiamo chiesto di verificare se questi respingimenti rispettino la normativa nazionale ed internazionale sul diritto d'asilo, considerando, tra l'altro, che la Libia non ha adottato il Trattato di Ginevra sul diritto d'asilo. E a quegli esponenti del Popolo della Libertà che obiettano che una volta eravamo garantisti mentre ora presentiamo denunce a destra e a manca, replico che essere garantisti significa anche denunciare le violazioni del diritto".
Il premier: "La sinistra sbagliava". Nonostante le indagini della magistratura e le critiche della comunità internazionale e della Cei, il governo va avanti. Il presidente del Consiglio Silvio Berlusconi ha affermato che "serve una politica europea sul tema dell'immigrazione" e che "le politiche della sinistra era sbagliata perché spalancava le frontiere". Il premier ha parlato anche dei "respingimenti", una parola "brutta" secondo Berlusconi. "Si tratta di individuare e
intercettare, le imbarcazioni ancora fuori dalle nostre acque territoriali, assisterle completamente con acqua, viveri, con cure mediche, scortarle fino alla terra libica dove si possono rivolgere a un'Agenzia dell'Onu per chiedere il diritto di asilo. E quando il diritto di asilo e' confermato, noi non ci siamo mai rifiutati di accoglierli'' ha concluso.
Alfano: "Rispettiamo leggi". Sull'immigrazione oggi vertice ad Agrigento alla presenza del ministro della Giustizia Angelino Alfano. "Siamo una repubblica libera e sovrana - ha detto Alfano - che ha le sue leggi sull'ingresso nel nostro Paese. Abbiamo dalla nostra parte leggi nazionali e trattati internazionali che prevedono delle regole: chi entra in Italia violando quelle regole, viola le nostre leggi".
Il Guardasigilli è poi tornato sul trattato Italia-Libia e sulle polemiche con il governo maltese sul caso del cargo Pinar. "Faremo sì che le nostre leggi non vengano violate in ossequio ai trattati internazionali e al trattato con la Libia" ha detto. "Applicheremo queste modalità secondo quello che, a seconda dei luoghi di provenienza, prevedono le leggi internazionali. Anche di recente, con la vicenda che ha visto protagonista anche Malta - ha aggiunto Alfano - il governo italiano si è fatto carico dei doveri umanitari ma sempre secondo il principio per il nostro Stato di avere rispettati i propri confini".
(1 giugno 2009)
A.H.C.S: Immigrati/ Unione forense: Respingimenti? Denunciamo violazione di: In lotta a tratta violate convenzioni internazionali diritti
Roma, 27 mag. (Apcom) - "Abbiamo inoltrato ufficialmente oggi la lettera di denuncia di violazione della Convenzione europea dei diritti umani alla Corte di Strasburgo, in merito ai 24 migranti che sono stati respinti il 7 maggio scorso in Libia": lo dichiara Anton Giulio Lana, membro del direttivo dell'Unione forense per la tutela dei diritti dell'uomo, che collabora con il Consiglio Italiano per i Rifugiati (CIR). "Tredici di loro - sottolinea - provenivano dall'Eritrea e undici dalla Somalia, quindi avevano tutti diritto a chiedere l'asilo politico. L'Eritrea, infatti, è in una condizione di guerra continua con i paesi confinanti e i civili sono chiamati in massa a una leva forzata e illimitata. In Somalia, invece, i miliziani fondamentalisti di al-Shabab hanno lanciato una violenta offensiva contro le forze governative, che nel solo mese di maggio ha causato centinaia di morti e circa 50.000 profughi". "L'articolo 3 della Convenzione europea dei diritti dell'uomo - continua Lana - impedisce il respingimento di persone verso paesi di transito dove possono essere soggetti a trattamenti disumani, come la Libia, o verso i paesi d'origine da cui i profughi sono fuggiti. L'articolo 4 del IV protocollo della stessa Carta, inoltre, vieta i respingimenti collettivi senza preventivo accertamento dell'identità. Siamo fiduciosi - conclude - che la Corte possa accogliere il ricorso dei migranti".
Pubblicato da Agenzia Habeshia per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo
Libya asks for more European help to stop illegal immigration | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 26.05.2009
The EU promised Libya, which has long land and sea borders, 20 million euros ($25 million) in February. Yet the Libyan government says this is not enough to help it stop the flow of migrants. Libya's interior ministry urged the EU on Tuesday to provide additional "technical aid, training and equipment."
More than 67,000 people crossed the Mediterranean Sea, headed for Europe, in 2008, with half of them landing in Italy and Malta, according to the United Nations' refugee agency. The number of illegal immigrants reaching Italy grew by 75 percent in 2008 compared to the previous year. During the same time period, it grew by 65 percent in Greece.
Illegal immigration is also becoming a domestic issue in Libya. Many Libyans blame the increasing numbers of African migrants for a variety of social ills. But the migration issue is a sensitive one for Libya, since leader Moammar Gadhafi, the chair of the African Union, has endorsed a vision of a single African state, which would allow free movement of people and goods within the continent. Libyan and EU flagsBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The EU and Libya have said they'll work together on immigration
Europe looks to neighbors for help
Gadhafi has also tried to establish a better relationship with the European Union by agreeing to stop banned weapons programs in 2003. The two sides are currently negotiating a pact to expand cooperation on a wide range of issues.
"We must do everything in our power to stop boat crossings, to guarantee coastal checks and help countries like Libya put in place agreements it can keep," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said last week.
The European Commission is currently preparing new plans to combat illegal immigration, which are to be announced by mid-June. Barroso pointed out that the EU cannot stop illegal immigration on its own and needs to work with governments outside the bloc.
th/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Susan Houlton
ASGI25.05.2009
Il Ministro dell'interno Maroni ha fornito ampia informativa su questioni connesse all'immigrazione, focalizzando in particolare l'attività svolta dal Governo nel lasso di tempo che va dal 6 al 10 maggio scorso, quando 471 cittadini stranieri sono stati fermati prima dell'ingresso nelle acque territoriali nazionali e ricondotti nel porto di Tripoli.
Si tratta di una politica di respingimento e riaccompagnamento pienamente conforme al vigente quadro normativo internazionale che il Governo intende proseguire senza tentennamenti convinto che essa rappresenti un valido deterrente contro le organizzazioni criminali, consenta di salvare molte vite umane e garantisca una drastica riduzione degli sbarchi, tanto che il Centro di identificazione ed espulsione di Lampedusa, da sempre sovraffollato ed emblema del fallimento delle precedenti politiche, ospita ad oggi 60 migranti, peraltro in attesa di trasferimento essendo stato loro riconosciuto lo status di rifugiati. Il Ministro ha richiamato la validità del principio di cooperazione tra Stati alla base delle operazioni condotte in sintonia con le autorità libiche ed ha dettagliatamente specificato tutte le norme, le convenzioni e gli accordi internazionali che certificano la correttezza delle procedure adottate dall'Italia che peraltro, attraverso le intese bilaterali con la Libia che impegnano al rispetto di norme e standard internazionali in tema di accoglienza, sta svolgendo una funzione di surroga rispetto ai doveri dell'Unione europea, di cui è dunque auspicabile un maggiore impegno al pari dell'UNHCR, in una linea di governance condivisa tra Paesi d'origine e di destinazione.
Pur apprezzando i risultati acquisiti in termini di contrasto alla tratta di esseri umani, il sen. D'Alia (UDC-SVP-Aut) ha lamentato la parzialità della risposta del Ministro, giacché gli sbarchi rappresentano solo il 10-15 per cento del complessivo fenomeno dell'immigrazione clandestina. Non convince peraltro la politica dei respingimenti, non sufficientemente garantista per profughi e richiedenti asilo.
Anche ad avviso del sen. Li Gotti (IdV), il Ministro non ha fornito alcuna risposta convincente sul rispetto delle norme internazionali; anzi, tenuto conto che, in caso di intercettamento in acque internazionali, il riaccompagnamento è previsto solo su richiesta del natante intercettato, le procedure adottate dall'Italia sono certamente scorrette ed espongono il Paese a censure in ambito internazionale.
Il sen. Bricolo (LNP) ha invece sottolineato i risultati conseguiti dal Governo e dal Ministro dell'interno sulla base di una politica seria e severa fondata sul rispetto delle regole, in linea con l'opinione della stragrande maggioranza dei cittadini italiani. I respingimenti rappresentano uno strumento efficace di lotta all'immigrazione clandestina, massicciamente adottato da altre nazioni europee, in un'ottica di necessaria regolazione del fenomeno anche al fine, in un momento di crisi economica, di salvaguardare posti di lavoro a vantaggio dei cittadini italiani.
Nel sottolineare come la pratica dei respingimenti sia contraria persino alla lettera della legge Bossi-Fini, la sen. Finocchiaro (PD) ha evidenziato che le procedure adottate hanno di fatto negato i diritti riconosciuti ai profughi e ai richiedenti asilo, avendo configurato un respingimento collettivo espressamente vietato dalle norme nazionali ed internazionali.
Infine, il sen. Saltamartini (PdL) ha ricordato come l'attuale Governo abbia ereditato un milione di clandestini presenti sul territorio nazionale ed un fenomeno degli sbarchi in deciso aumento, con tutto ciò che ne conseguiva anche in termini di tragedie del mare. La politica di prevenzione e di respingimento predisposta dal Ministero dell'interno ha conseguito brillanti risultati nel contrasto alle organizzazioni criminali ed ha consentito di fatto di salvare un grande numero di vite umane.
Resoconto stenografico
Fonte : comunicato del Senato della Repubblica sulla seduta n. 214 del 25/01/2009 - www.senato.it
Suspected Asylum seekers moved to Christmas Island | The AustralianMay 24, 2009
Article from: Australian Associated Press
A BOATLOAD of 77 suspected asylum seekers has been intercepted near Ashmore Reef off Australia's northwest coast.
The vessel is believed to be carrying 73 passengers and four crew, Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus said in a statement today.
The group will be transferred to Christmas Island where they will undergo health and security checks.
Mr Debus said the Royal Australian Navy discovered the vessel about six nautical miles north of Ashmore Reef.
“The Australian government is committed to strong border security arrangements and is determined to deal effectively and appropriately with people smugglers,” he said.
It is the 13th boat carrying suspected asylum seekers to be intercepted in Australian waters this year.
AAP
Vidal-Quadras pide que se expulse a los 'sin papeles' que cometan cualquier delitoEl candidato del PP ve "lógico" que los extranjeros en paro vuelvan a sus países
EL PAÍS - Barcelona - 22/05/2009
El vicepresidente del Parlamento Europeo, el popular Alejo Vidal-Quadras, ha elegido este viernes un barrio del área metropolitana de Barcelona con un alto índice de población extracomunitaria para reclamar que los inmigrantes en situación de desempleo regresen a sus países de origen por ser "una de las salidas más lógicas". "Creo que el retorno es una vía que se ha de usar. Es obvio que no se pueden quedar aquí de manera indefinida", ha dicho. Vidal-Quadras también ha exigido la expulsión inmediata de los inmigrantes que hayan cometido cualquier delito, incluso de carácter menor. Pero no ha especificado si esta medida debería aplicarse en caso de condena firme o por el mero hecho de su detención.
Vidal-Quadras ha criticado también las "regularizaciones masivas" que llevó a cabo el Gobierno socialista en 2005, y ha repetido la tesis de que esta medida provocó un efecto llamada que "generó grandes tensiones y desequilibrios". Lo ha dicho durante su visita un mercadillo de Badalona. Aunque la zona que pisaba es un feudo socialista, los populares se convirtieron en la segunda fuerza de esta ciudad tras las últimas elecciones municipales. Su líder municipal, Xavier García Albiol, que ha acompañado a Vidal-Quadras en su visita, logró esta gesta con un discurso muy centrado en un rígido control de la inmigración. Hace unos meses, volvió a centrar la atención pública catalana cuando se opuso a la creación de un oratorio musulmán para evitar, dijo, la creación de guetos.
También han acompañado a Vidal-Quadras la presidenta del PP regional, Alicia Sánchez-Camacho, y Santiago Fisas, el otro candidato catalán del PP. Cataluña "no tiene una capacidad de acogida ilimitada", ha dicho la primera, que ya opinó hace unos meses, cuando se le preguntó por la estrategia de García Albiol, que "aquí no cabemos todos". Y Fisas, que abandonó su cargo de consejero de Cultura del Gobierno madrileño de Esperanza Aguirre para ir en las listas populares, ha opinado que "la T-4 de Madrid no puede ser una especie de coladero de Europa".
ekathimerini.com | European Commission chief promises a new plan to tackle illegal immigration but Italy says repatriation is more humane
AFP
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (right) and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso give a joint press conference on Tuesday in L’Aquila, which was struck by a deadly earthquake in April.
ROME (Combined reports) – European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told an Italian newspaper Tuesday he will unveil new plans to combat illegal immigration to Europe within weeks.
“By June 10, the EC Vice President Jacques Barrot and myself will present new proposals with three aims: to prevent sea tragedies, protect the principle of free movement and defend people’s right to asylum,” he said in an interview with Corriere della Sera.
Europe must “provide a strong answer” to illegal immigration and consider creating an EU asylum bureau to examine individual cases, he added, while also underlining people’s universal right to claim asylum.
“It is unacceptable that traffickers risk the lives of tens of thousands of people. There have been more deaths in areas around the Canary Islands (off the west coast of Africa) than during Lebanon’s civil war (between 1975-1990, in which more than 150,000 died).
“That doesn’t need to be the case,” he said.
More than 67,000 people crossed the Mediterranean Sea to seek asylum in Europe in 2008 – half of them arrived in Italy and Malta – according to figures released January by the United Nations refugee agency.
The number of clandestine immigrants reaching Italy grew by 75 percent last year over 2007, and expanded by 65 percent over the same period in Greece, ministries in both countries have said.
Italy, which came under fire for sending would-be immigrants crossing by boat back to Libya earlier this month, is trying to pass a controversial law to stop illegal immigration through measures including fines of thousands of euros.
“We must do everything in our power to stop boat crossings, to guarantee coastal checks and help countries like Libya put in place agreements it can keep,” Barroso said.
Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Tuesday that his country’s holding centers for immigrants are like “concentration camps,” adding it was more humane to send migrant boats back to Libya than let them enter Italy.
“I think it is much easier... to examine individual situations in the country of origin, otherwise they come here and go to a camp which, I should not be saying this, is very similar to a concentration camp,” Berlusconi told reporters. Since coming to power last year, Berlusconi’s government has cracked down on illegal immigration, controversially making it a crime to be an illegal immigrant.
It plans to double the number of holding camps for migrants to 20 from 10 and has renamed them “Identification and Expulsion Centers.”
Last week, the lower house of parliament passed a bill which trebles the amount of time immigrants can be held in such centers to six months.
Aid groups have long denounced overcrowding, unhygienic conditions and in some cases police abuse at the holding centers, particularly the one on the southern island of Lampedusa, where most of the immigrants from Africa wash ashore. (AFP, Reuters)
Berlusconi a Barroso "Centri immigrati come lager" - cronaca - Repubblica.itIl presidente della Commissione Ue all'Aquila parla al premier di migranti e terremoto
Per l'Europa "evitare di far partire barconi ma rispettare il diritto di asilo"
Dall'Europa 480 milioni di euro per il terremoto in Abruzzo: "Ottima l'idea di spostare il G8"
AQUILA - "Non vorrei dirlo, ma i centri di identificazione degli immigrati somigliano a dei campi di concentramento, tanto è vero che il Parlamento ha negato che la permanenza possa essere aumentata a sei mesi". Lo ha detto il premier Silvio Berlusconi, durante una conferenza stampa all'Aquila con il presidente della Commissione Ue. Barroso si è detto convinto che sia bene far funzionare direttamente nei Paesi di partenza dei barconi uffici dell'Onu che valutino la concessione di asilo politico ai migranti.
Barroso: "Evitare i battelli". Sappiamo che la situazione è molto seria e difficile in particolare per l'Italia e Malta - ha ammesso Barroso - per questo l'Unione europea è disposta a dare risposte forti. La priorità - ha detto ancora il presidente della Commissione Ue - è evitare le tragedie sul mare, dobbiamo fare in modo che i battelli non lascino le coste garantendo il controllo delle coste insieme agli Stati da cui si parte, senza comunque violare i diritti dell'asilo politico".
Contributi Ue all'Abruzzo. E parlando poi del terremoto in Abruzzo, il presidente della Commissione europea ha detto che "se sarà confermata la stima di 10 miliardi di euro di danni, l'Europa aiuterà l'Aquila con 480 milioni di euro. Disponibile anche a valutare la richiesta di ritagliare una zona franca nella regione colpita dal terremoto. Sono molto vicino alla gente d'Abruzzo e al loro dolore. Credo che sia stata un'ottima decisione spostare il G8 dalla Maddalena all'Aquila".
(19 maggio 2009)
timesofmalta.com - Malta UNHCR head steps downMonday, 18th May 2009 - 14:22CET
Neil Falzon, the local representative of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, has resigned.
Mr Falzon said his decision to step down was purely personal and he had handed in his resignation letter well before recent criticism of the office.
The UNHCR has been criticised by, among others, Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici, for its opposition to the immediate repatriation of migrants.
The Malta UNHCR office is being run on an interim basis by Hossein Kheradmand.
Mr Falzon joined the UNHCR in 2005 and was head of the Malta office since 2007.
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