Immigration and asylum - new material (2)
01 January 2009
Europe’s shame: a report on 105 deaths linked to racism or government migration and asylum policies, Liz Fekete. European Race Bulletin no. 66 (Winter) 2009, pp.36. This issue of the bulletin consists of an extended report by the IRR into deaths in the EU in 2007 and 2008 due to either racism or government migration and asylum policies. “Those who died were asylum seekers, migrants, refugees, members of minority ethnic groups or targets of far-Right activity. Though we unearthed 105 deaths, we found that, all too often such deaths are neglected by Europe’s political leaders, as well as its mainstream newspapers. Cases listed here...include murders by members of far-Right parties, racist killings, deaths that occurred in immigration removal centres or after contact with the police. Some people died at the hands of extremists, others because of the climate of racism and related intolerance which blights so much of the continent, and still more fell victim, one way or another, to Europe’s tough, unbending and inhuman asylum and immigration policies.” Contact: info@irr.org.uk
Detention of Trafficked Persons in Shelters: A Legal and Policy Analysis, Anne T. Gallagher & Elaine Pearson. Asia Regional Trafficking in Persons Project and Human Rights Watch August 2008, pp 27. This study considers the international legal aspects of victim detention in shelters and weighs up the common justifications for such detention from a legal, policy and practical perspective. It is based on desk research of shelter practices in a number of countries and field-based research undertaken principally in South East Asia. It concludes that routine detention of victims or suspected victims of trafficking in public or private shelters is unlawful. The second part of the Study deconstructs various policy arguments in favour of victim detention by asking: can victims consent to their own detention? Is it indeed true that detention provides the only – or even the best chance of delivering much needed support and protection to victims of trafficking? http://www.artipproject.org/01_aboutartip/ARTIP_Detention- Study_0808_final.pdf
Returns at any cost: Spain's push to repatriate unaccompanied children in the absence of safeguards. Human Rights Watch, 2008, pp26. This report focuses on the lack of legal representation during repatriation procedures of children that has a fundamental impact on their lives and may put their well-being and the exercise of their fundamental rights at risk. Adult migrants, on the contrary, receive free legal assistance. In order to improve the situation, Spain has recently concluded a bilateral agreement with Morocco and Senegal to ensure that children are not repatriated to situations of risk. Spain has also financed reception centres in Morocco. However, according to the report, Spain has repeatedly sent unaccompanied children back to situations of risk in their country of origin. Human Rights Watch urges Spain to improve its safeguards for unaccompanied children who face repatriations: http://hrw.org/reports/2008/spain1008/spain1008web.pdf
Recent Developments in Immigration Law - part 3, Tooks Chambers’ Immigration Team. Legal Action February 2009, pp. 36-40. This piece covers recent developments in immigration case law.
Integration of Female Immigrants in Labour Market and Society. Policy Assessment and Policy Recommendations. FeMiPol Policy Brief no. 3, March 2008, pp 14. Migration flows to EU countries during the last few decades indicate a growth in feminisation, with female migrants increasingly entering informal labour markets in care, health, domestic services and the sex industry. This policy brief by FeMiPol examines the impact of integration policies on the position of migrant women within selected EU countries in the last decade, and formulates recommendations for policies which foster integration of new female migrants: http://www.femipol.uni-frankfurt.de/docs/policy_briefs/PB3.pdf
Heathrow 2008-2009. Independent Monitoring Board (April) 2005, pp. 35. This report details another government migration scandal, the degrading and negative treatment of detainees: www.imb.gov.uk/annual-reports/09-annual-reports/Heathrow_2008-2009.pdf?view=Binary