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Spain: The number of migrant deaths rises again (1)

01 February 2006

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The annual report on 'illegal' immigration published by the Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de Andalucía (APDHA) for 2005, entitled "Human Rights on the southern border", throws up a number of concerns. Once again, as was the case in last year's report, it highlights that in 2005, there was the highest number of confirmed deaths (368, although the report estimates that the actual number of deaths could easily reach 700; the figures for the previous year were of 289 confirmed deaths and an estimate of well over 500) of migrants seeking to reach Spain since APDHA began monitoring such cases eight years ago.

The report provides a detailed break-up of these deaths, analyses the human rights implications of European border control policies, the worsening situation of would-be sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco, which started well before events in Ceuta and Melilla in the late summer - early autumn of 2005, and are a direct result of Morocco taking up a role in EU border policy which has resulted in serious violations of human rights. Moreover, the report also provides statistics concerning arrivals by sea, arrests and repatriations, and examines the tragic events in Ceuta and Melilla, noting the great variety of abuses that were committed both on Moroccan soil and in Spain, including the illegal deportation of 73 sub-Saharan Africans to Morocco, which has resulted in a court case being brought against the government by NGOs.

The full-text version of the report is available (in Spanish) at: Derechos Humanos en la Frontera Sur 2006.
Informe sobre la inmigración clandestina en el año 2005. January 2006. http://www.apdha.org/documentos/inmigracion/informe2006.doc

The 2005 APDHA report on illegal immigration in 2004 (in Spanish) is available at:
http://www.apdha.org/areas/documentos/inmigra2004.pdf

and its unofficial translation into English by Statewatch is available at:
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2005/apr/spain-migrants-deaths-report.pdf

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