News

Launched in 1999 and updated regularly, Statewatch News includes our own reporting and writing as well as articles, announcements, documents and analyses from elsewhere on civil liberties, EU policies and state practices. You can receive updates in your inbox by signing up to our mailing list, or use our RSS feed to get instant alerts.

27 May 2020

EU-UK: Commission not happy with UK's 'action plan' to fix unlawful use of Schengen database

The European Commission has condemned a UK action plan to remedy its mismanagement and misuse of the Schengen Information System as "not adequate... mainly because the implementation timelines of at least 10 of the recommendations are very lengthy and cannot be considered acceptable."

27 May 2020

EU: Increase in cumulative charges for terrorism and war crimes

A report from Eurojust, the EU's judicial cooperation agency, highlights the increasing use of "cumulative" charges against foreign terrorist fighters.

27 May 2020

COVID-19 and the justice system in Europe: lawyers' association sounds the alarm

The pandemic is taking its toll upon the criminal justice system in EU member states, according to the CCBE.

26 May 2020

UN joint guidance on ensuring migrants' rights during the COVID-19 pandemic

A note from the UN Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) and the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants.

26 May 2020

The dismal UK Home Office response to coronavirus: the wider picture

"We've learned that closeness does not mean contact, so I hope that this can count as a Letter from Afar even if afar seems a strangely 19th-century way of talking about the distance between Newport and Bristol. I wanted to share with you some of my reflections on the UK Home Offices response to coronavirus and what it means for migrants and asylum seekers.

26 May 2020

Racial discrimination in education and EU equality law

A report by the European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination.

25 May 2020

First victory against French police drones

French rights group La Quadrature du Net have won a court case against the Parisian police's use of drones to try to enforce the coronavirus lockdown.

22 May 2020

UK: BAME people fined more than white population under coronavirus laws

An investigation has found that racial disparities in the application of laws to enforce the coronavirus lockdown.

20 May 2020

Greece: Tents at Sea: How Greek Officials Use Rescue Equipment for Illegal Deportations

An exposé of the Greek authorities' use of rescue tents to leave refugees floating at sea after interception.

20 May 2020

Hungary: No more transit zones, now asylum seekers will have to apply abroad

The Hungarian authorities have responded to a CJEU ruling declaring that the detention of asylum-seekers in 'transit zones' was illegal by announcing a plan to enforce all asylum-seekers to present their requests from protection at Hungarian consulates.

20 May 2020

New analysis: reinforcement of Frontex runs into legal problems

An internal Frontex report published today by Statewatch highlights a series of issues in implementing the agency’s new legislation, including uncertain legal terminology and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

20 May 2020

New Right, old racism – the battlefield of Covid-19

"As Public Health England conducts its controversial rapid review into Covid-19 disparities, lurking in the background is a new school of ‘race realists’ whose retrogressive biological arguments must be tackled head-on.(...)"

20 May 2020

UK: Artificial intelligence in the police force: a force for good?

This short paper explores how police forces in the UK are communicating their use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision systems (ADS).

20 May 2020

UK: Prison sentences for any serious crime to be increased for ‘terrorist connection’ under government plans

"Judges will be able to increase prison sentences for any serious crime by finding a “terrorist connection” under new government proposals.

19 May 2020

Risk of repression: New rules on civil society supporting refugees and migrants in Greece

"The operation of civil society in Greece has consistently contributed to strengthening the rule of law, accountability of the state, transparency and the protection of human rights, in particular the rights of minorities and the most vulnerable.

19 May 2020

Syrian refugees in Cyprus pushed back to Turkey

"On 15 May 2020, the administration of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) forcibly sent 100 Syrian refugees, including unaccompanied children, to Mersin, Turkey. They have been transferred to Kilis, near the Syrian border, where they are now. Most of the 100 Syrian refugees – 56 – are children and women and girls are in the majority.

18 May 2020

EU data watchdog ‘very worried’ by Hungary’s GDPR suspension

"The European Data Protection Board, the EU’s umbrella organisation overseeing the application of EU data protection rules across the bloc, has voiced its concern over the suspension of EU data protection rights in Hungary.

18 May 2020

Hungarian Supreme Court: Romani children deserve financial compensation for school segregation

"The Hungarian Supreme Court has confirmed a lower court verdict according to which Romani children from the town of Gyöngyöspata are entitled to compensation for having been segregated in school. According to the judgment, the school in northern Hungary, the local authority and the local education department must pay a total of 100 million forints (EUR 282,105) to the families of 60 Romani children for separating them away from non-Romani pupils and delivering them a worse education.

18 May 2020

40 percent of LGBTI people suffer harassment, finds largest ever EU survey

The survey of 140K people finds little progress in attitudes and striking differences between countries.

 

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