• Jury convicts #Ibrahima_Bah : Statement from Captain Support UK

    Following a three-week trial, Ibrahima Bah, a teenager from Senegal, has been convicted by an all-white jury at Canterbury Crown Court. The jury unanimously found him guilty of facilitating illegal entry to the UK, and by a 10-2 majority of manslaughter by gross negligence. This conviction followed a previous trial in July 2023 in which the jury could not reach a verdict.

    Ibrahima’s prosecution and conviction is a violent escalation in the persecution of migrants to ‘Stop the Boats’. Observing the trial has also made it clear to us how anti-black racism pervades the criminal ‘justice’ system in this country. The verdict rested on the jury’s interpretation of generic words with shifting meanings such as ‘reasonable’, ‘significant’, and ‘minimal’. Such vagueness invites subjective prejudice, in this case anti-black racist profiling. Ibrahima, a teenage survivor, was perceived in the eyes of many jurors to be older, more mature, more responsible, more threatening, with more agency, and thus as more ‘guilty’.
    Why Ibrahima was charged

    Ibrahima was arrested in December 2022 after the dinghy he was driving across the Channel broke apart next to the fishing vessel Arcturus. Four men are known to have drowned, and up to five are still missing at sea. The court heard the names of three of them: Allaji Ibrahima Ba, 18 years old from Guinea who had travelled with Ibrahima from Libya and who Ibrahima described as his brother; Hajratullah Ahmadi, from Afghanistan; and Moussa Conate, a 15 year old from Guinea.

    The jury, judge, defense, and prosecution agreed the shipwreck and resultant deaths had multiple factors. These included the poor construction of the boat, water ingress after a time at sea, and later everyone standing up to be rescued causing the floor of the dinghy ripping apart. A report by Alarm Phone and LIMINAL points to other contributing factors, including the lack of aerial surveillance, the failure of the French to launch a search and rescue operation when first informed of the dinghy’s distress, and the skipper of Arcturus’ delay in informing Dover Coastguard of the seriousness of the wreck. Nonetheless, the Kent jury has decided to exclusively punish a black teenaged survivor.

    What the jury heard

    Many of the other survivors, all of whom claimed asylum upon reaching the UK, testified that Ibrahima saved their lives. At the moment the dinghy got into danger, Ibrahima steered it towards the fishing vessel which rescued them. He was also shown holding a rope to keep the collapsed dinghy alongside the fishing vessel while others climbed onboard. One survivor told the court that Ibrahima “was an angel”.

    The story told by witnesses not on the dinghy contrasted greatly to that of the asylum seekers who survived. Ray Strachan, the captain of the shipping vessel Arcturus offered testimony which appeared particularly prejudiced. He described Ibrahima using racist tropes – “mouthy”, not grateful enough following rescue, and as behaving very unusually. He complained about the tone in which Ibrahima asked the crew to rescue his drowning friend Allaji, who Strachan could only describe as being “dark brown. What can you say nowadays? He wasn’t white.” Strachan also has spoken out in a GB News interview against what he considers to be the “migrant taxi service” in the Channel, and volunteered to the jury, “It wasn’t my decision to take them to Dover. I wanted to take them back to France.” This begs the question of whether Strachan’s clearly anti-migrant political opinions influenced his testimony in a way which he felt would help secure Ibrahima’s conviction. It also raises the question if jury members identified more with Strachan’s retelling than the Afghans who testified through interpreters, and to what extent they shared some of his convictions.

    When Ibrahima took the stand to testify in his defense he explained that he refused to drive the rubber inflatable after he was taken to the beach and saw its size compared to the number of people expecting to travel on it. He told how smugglers, who had organised the boat and had knives and a gun, then assaulted him and forced him to drive the dinghy. The other survivors corroborated his testimony and described the boat’s driver being beaten and forced onboard.

    The prosecutor, however, sought to discredit Ibrahima, cross-examining him for one-and-a-half days. He demonised Ibrahima and insisted that he was personally responsible for the deaths because he was driving. Ibrahima’s actions, which survivors testified saved their lives, were twisted into dangerous decisions. His experiences of being forced to drive the boat under threat of death, and following assault, were disbelieved. The witness stand became the scene of another interrogation, with the prosecutor picking over the details of Ibrahima’s previous statements for hours.

    Ibrahima’s account never waivered. Yes he drove the dinghy, he didn’t want to, he was forced to, and when they got into trouble he did everything in his power to save everybody on board.
    Free Ibrahima!

    We have been supporting, and will continue to support, Ibrahima as he faces his imprisonment at the hands of the racist and unjust UK border regime.

    This is a truly shocking decision.

    We call for everybody who shares our anger to protest the unjust conviction of Ibrahima Bah and to stand in solidarity with all those incarcerated and criminalised for seeking freedom of movement.

    https://captainsupport.net/jury-convicts-ibrahima-bah-statement-from-captain-support-uk

    #scafista #scafisti #UK #Angleterre #criminalisation_de_la_migration #migrations #réfugiés #procès #justice #condamnation #négligence #Stop_the_Boats #verdict #naufrage #responsabilité #Arcturus

    • “NO SUCH THING AS JUSTICE HERE”. THE CRIMINALISATION OF PEOPLE ARRIVING TO THE UK ON ‘SMALL BOATS’

      New research shows how people arriving on small boats are being imprisoned for their ‘illegal arrival’. Among those prosecuted are people seeking asylum, victims of trafficking and torture, and children with ongoing age disputes.

      This research provides broader context surrounding the imprisonment of Ibrahima Bah, a Senegalese teenager, who has recently been found ‘guilty’ of both facilitating illegal entry and manslaughter. He was sentenced to 9 years and 6 months imprisonment on Friday 23rd February. In their statement, Captain Support UK argue that “Ibrahima’s prosecution and conviction is a violent escalation in the persecution of migrants to ‘Stop the Boats’.”

      The research

      This report, published by the Centre for Criminology at the University of Oxford and Border Criminologies, shows how people have been imprisoned for their arrival on a ‘small boat’ since the Nationality and Borders Act (2022) came into force. It details the process from sea to prison, and explains how this policy is experienced by those affected. Analysis is based on observations of over 100 hearings where people seeking asylum were prosecuted for their own illegal arrival, or for facilitating the arrival of others through steering the dinghy they travelled on. The report is informed by the detailed casework experience of Humans for Rights Network, Captain Support UK and Refugee Legal Support. It also draws on data collected through Freedom of Information requests, and research interviews with lawyers, interpreters, and people who have been criminalised for crossing the Channel on a ‘small boat’.

      Background

      In late 2018, the number of people using dinghies to reach the UK from mainland Europe began to increase. Despite Government claims, alternative ‘safe and legal routes’ for accessing protection in the UK remain inaccessible to most people. There is no visa for ‘seeking asylum’, and humanitarian routes to the UK are very restricted. For many, irregular journeys by sea have become the only way to enter the UK to seek asylum, safety, and a better life.

      Soon after the number of people arriving on small boats started to increase, the Crown Prosecution Service began to charge those identified as steering the boats with the offences of ‘illegal entry’ or ‘facilitation’. These are offences within Section 24 and Section 25 of the Immigration Act 1971. However, in 2021, a series of successful appeals overturned these prosecutions. This was on the basis that if the people on a small boat intended to claim asylum at port, there was no breach of immigration law through attempted ‘illegal entry’. The Court of Appeal found that those who arrive by small boat and claim asylum do not enter illegally, as they are granted entry as an asylum seeker.

      In response, in June 2022, the Nationality and Borders Act expanded the scope of criminal offences relating to irregular arrival to the UK. First, the offence of ‘illegal arrival’ was introduced, with a maximum sentence of 4 years. Second, the offence of ‘facilitation’ was expanded to include circumstances in which ‘gain’ was difficult to prove, and the maximum sentence was increased from 14 years to life imprisonment. During Parliamentary debates, members of both Houses of Parliament warned that this would criminalise asylum seeking to the UK.

      Who has been prosecuted since the Nationality and Borders Act (2022)?

      New data shows that in the first year of implementation (June 2022 – June 2023), 240 people arriving on small boats were charged with ‘illegal arrival’ off small boats. While anyone arriving irregularly can now be arrested for ‘illegal arrival’, this research finds that in practice those prosecuted either:

      – Have an ‘immigration history’ in the UK, including having been identified as being in the country, or having attempted to arrive previously ( for example, through simply having applied for a visa), or,
      – Are identified as steering the dinghy they travelled in as it crossed the Channel.

      49 people were also charged with ‘facilitation’ in addition to ‘illegal arrival’ after allegedly being identified as having their ‘hand on the tiller’ at some point during the journey. At least two people were charged with ‘facilitation’ for bringing their children with them on the dinghy.

      In 2022, 1 person for every 10 boats was arrested for their alleged role in steering. In 2023, this was 1 for every 7 boats. People end up being spotted with their ‘hand on the tiller’ for many reasons, including having boating experience, steering in return for discounted passage, taking it in turns, or being under duress. Despite the Government’s rhetoric, both offences target people with no role in organised criminal gangs.

      The vast majority of those convicted of both ‘illegal arrival’ and ‘facilitation’ have ongoing asylum claims. Victims of torture and trafficking, as well as children with ongoing age disputes, have also been prosecuted. Those arrested include people from nationalities with a high asylum grant rate, including people from Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea, and Syria.

      Those imprisoned are distressed and harmed by their experiences in court and prison

      This research shows how court hearings were often complicated and delayed by issues with interpreters and faulty video link technology. Bail was routinely denied without proper consideration of each individual’s circumstances. Those accused were usually advised to plead guilty to ‘illegal arrival’ at the first opportunity to benefit from sentence reductions, however, this restricted the possibility of legal challenge.

      Imprisonment caused significant psychological and physical harm, which people said was particularly acute given their experiences of displacement. The majority of those arrested are imprisoned in HMP Elmley. They frequently reported not being able to access crucial services, including medical care, interpretation services including for key documents relating to their cases, contact with their solicitors, immigration advice, as well as work and English lessons. People shared their experiences of poor living conditions, inadequate food, and routine and frequent racist remarks and abuse from prison staff as ‘foreign nationals’.

      Children with age disputes are being imprisoned for their arrival on small boats

      Research (see, for example, here) by refugee support organisations has highlighted significant flaws in the Home Office’s age assessment processes in Dover, resulting in children being aged as adults, and treated as such. One consequence of this is that children with ongoing age disputes have been charged as adults with the offences of ‘illegal arrival’ and ‘facilitation’ for their alleged role in steering boats across the Channel.

      Humans for Rights Network has identified 15 age-disputed children who were wrongly treated as adults and charged with these new offences, with 14 spending time in adult prison. This is very likely to be an undercount. The Home Office fails to collect data on how many people with ongoing age disputes are convicted. These young people have all claimed asylum, and several claim (or have been found to be) survivors of torture and/or trafficking. The majority are Sudanese or South Sudanese, who have travelled to the UK via Libya.

      Throughout the entirety of the criminal process, responsibility lay with the child at every stage to reject their ‘given’ age and reassert that they are under 18. Despite this, the Courts generally relied on the Home Office’s ‘given age’, without recognition of evidence highlighting clear flaws in these initial age enquiries. Children who maintained that they were under 18 in official legal proceedings faced substantial delays to their cases, due to the time required by the relevant local authority to carry out an age assessment, and delays to the criminal process. Due to this inaction, several children have decided to be convicted and sentenced as adults to try to avoid spending additional time in prison.

      These young people have experienced serious psychological and physical harm in adult courts and prisons, raising serious questions around the practices of the Home Office, Border Force, Ministry of Justice, magistrates and Judges, the CPS, defence lawyers, and prison staff.

      Pour télécharger le rapport :
      Full report:https://blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2024-02/No%20such%20thing%20as%20justice%20here_for%20publication.pdf
      Summary : https://blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2024-02/SUMMARY_No%20such%20thing%20as%20justice%20here_for%20publication.pd

      https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/content/news/report-launch-no-such-thing-justice-here
      #rapport

    • Ibrahima Bah was sentenced to nine years for steering a ‘death trap’ dinghy across the Channel. Was he really to blame?

      The young asylum seeker was forced into piloting the boat on which at least four people drowned. Under new ‘stop the boats’ laws, he’s responsible for their deaths – but others say he’s a victim

      In the dock at Canterbury crown court, Ibrahima Bah listened closely as his interpreter told him he was being sentenced to nine years and six months in prison.

      In December 2022, Bah had steered an inflatable dinghy full of passengers seeking asylum in the UK across the Channel from France. The boat collapsed and four people were confirmed drowned – it is thought that at least one other went overboard, but no other bodies have yet been recovered.

      Bah’s conviction – four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one of facilitating a breach of immigration law – is the first of its kind. The Home Office put out a triumphant tweet after his sentencing, with the word “JAILED” in capital letters above his mugshot. According to the government, Bah’s sentence is proof that it is achieving one of Rishi Sunak’s main priorities: to “Stop the Boats”. But human rights campaigners are less jubilant and fear his conviction will be far from the last.

      Of the 39 passengers who survived that perilous journey in December 2022, about a dozen were lone children. Bah is a young asylum seeker himself, from Senegal. The judge determined he is now 20; his birth certificate says he is 17. Either way, he was a teenager at the time of the crossing. So how did his dream of a new life in the UK end up here, in this courtroom, being convicted of multiple counts of manslaughter?

      As with so many asylum seekers, details about Bah’s life are hazy and complicated. He has had little opportunity to speak to people since he arrived in the UK because he has been behind bars. His older sister, Hassanatou Ba, who lives in Morocco, says the whole family is devastated by his imprisonment, especially their mother. Hassanatou says her brother – the only son in the family, and the only male after the death of their father – has always been focused on helping them all.

      “He is gentle, kind and respectful, and loves his family very much,” she says. “He always wanted to take care of all of us. He knew about the difficulties in our lives and wanted our problems to stop.”

      In court, the judge, Mr Justice Johnson KC, noted that Bah’s early upbringing was difficult and that he was subjected to child labour. His initial journey from Senegal was tough, too, as he travelled to the Gambia, then Mali (where the judge acknowledged he had been subjected to forced labour), Algeria and Libya before crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe. The risk of drowning in a flimsy and overcrowded boat in the Mediterranean is extremely high, with more than 25,000 deaths or people missing during the crossing since 2014. The Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority found there were reasonable grounds to conclude Bah was a victim of modern slavery based on some of his experiences on his journey. He told the police the boat journey was “terrifying”, and took four days and four nights in an “overcrowded and unsuitable” vessel.

      Bah and his fellow travellers were rescued and taken to Sicily. From there, he travelled to France and met Allaji Ba, 18, from Guinea, who became his friend and who he has described as his “brother”. The pair spent five months in Bordeaux before travelling to Paris, then Calais, then Dunkirk, spending three months in an area known as the Jungle – a series of small, basic encampments. The refugees who live there are frequently uprooted by French police. The vast original Calais refugee encampment – also known as the Jungle – was destroyed in October 2016, but the camps still exist, albeit in more compact and makeshift forms. Some people have tents, while others sleep in the open air, whatever the weather.

      In the Jungle, Bah met a group of smugglers. He was unable to pay the going rate of about £2,000 for a space on a dinghy to come to the UK, so instead he agreed to steer the boat in exchange for free passage. Smugglers don’t drive boats themselves: they either offer the job to someone like Bah, who can’t afford to pay for their passage; force a passenger to steer; or leave it to the group to share the task between them.

      When Bah saw how unseaworthy and overcrowded the boat was, he refused to pilot it, and in court, the judge accepted there was a degree of coercion by the smugglers. Bah said smugglers with a knife and a gun assaulted him, and other survivors corroborated his account of being beaten after refusing to board the boat.

      Once the dinghy was afloat, survivors have said the situation became increasingly terrifying. Out at sea, under a pitch black sky, the dinghy began taking in water up to knee level. It was when the passengers saw a fishing vessel, Arcturus, that catastrophe struck, with some standing up, hoping that at last they were going to be saved from what they believed was certain drowning.

      At Bah’s trial, witnesses gave evidence about his efforts to save lives by manoeuvring the stricken dinghy towards the fishing trawler, so that people could be rescued.

      One witness said that if it hadn’t been for Bah, everyone on board would have drowned. “He was trying his best,” he said. Another survivor called him an “angel” for his efforts to save lives, holding a rope so others could be hoisted to safety on the fishing vessel and putting the welfare of others first. The judge acknowledged that Bah was one of the last to leave the dinghy and tried to help others after he did so, including his friend Ba, “who tragically died before your eyes”.

      The dinghy was described by the judge as a “death trap”; he also recognised that the primary responsibility for what happened that night rests with the criminal gangs who exploit and endanger those who wish to come to the UK. He noted that Bah was “significantly less culpable” than the gangs and did not coerce other passengers or organise the trip.

      “Everything that has happened to Ibrahima since he was forced to drive the boat in 2022 has been bad luck,” says Hassanatou. “In fact, Ibrahima’s whole journey has been suffering on top of suffering.”

      Had Bah made the journey just a few months earlier, he would not be in this courtroom today. His conviction was made possible by recent changes in the law – part of the Conservative government’s clampdown on small boats. In June 2022, the Nationality and Borders Act (NABA) expanded the scope of criminal offences relating to irregular arrival to the UK. The offence of “illegal arrival” was introduced, with a maximum sentence of four years. This criminalises the act of arriving in the UK to claim asylum – and effectively makes claiming asylum impossible since, by law, you have to be physically in the country to make a claim.

      At the same time, the pre-existing offence of “facilitation” – making it possible for others to claim asylum by piloting a dinghy, for example – was expanded, with the maximum sentence increased from 14 years to life imprisonment. Hundreds of people, including children and victims of torture and smuggling, have subsequently been jailed for the first offence and a handful for the second.

      The reasons Bah and thousands of others are forced into this particularly deadly form of Russian roulette on the Channel is due to government policy not to provide safe and legal routes for those who are fleeing persecution. Last year, the government went further than NABA with the Illegal Migration Act, making any asylum claim by someone arriving by an “irregular” means, such as on a small boat, inadmissible. It is hard to overstate the significance of this change. The right to claim asylum was enshrined in the 1951 Geneva Convention after the horrors of the second world war – and has saved many lives. The UK is still signed up to that convention, but the Illegal Migration Act now makes it almost impossible to exercise that essential right, and has been strongly criticised by the UN.

      None of these legal changes are stopping the boats. Although the number of Channel crossings fell by 36% last year, much of that reduction was due to 90% fewer crossings by Albanians (there had been a spike in the numbers of Albanians coming over in 2022). Those fleeing conflict zones are still crossing in large numbers, and according to a report by the NGO Alarm Phone, measures introduced to stop the boats are likely to have increased the number of Channel drownings.

      Most asylum seekers do not seek sanctuary in the UK but instead head to the nearest safe country. Those who do come here often have family in the UK, or speak English. The decisions people make before stepping into a precarious dinghy on a beach in northern France are not a result of nuanced calculations based on the latest law to pass through parliament. “I come or I die,” one Syrian asylum seeker told me recently, when I asked about his decision to make a high-risk boat crossing after experiencing torture in his home country.

      Some lawyers who have followed Bah’s case and the broader implications of the new legislation are worried about these developments. “There is now no legal way to claim asylum,” one lawyer says.

      “The use of manslaughter in these circumstances is completely novel and demonstrates how pernicious the new laws are. It is the most vulnerable who end up piloting the boats and asylum seekers have no knowledge that the law has changed.”

      Bah’s case has also caused consternation among campaigners. “The conviction of Ibrahima Bah demonstrates a violent escalation in the prosecution of people for the way in which they arrive in the UK,” reads a joint statement from Humans for Rights Network and Refugee Legal Support, two of the organisations supporting Bah. They also point out that Bah had already spent 14 months in prison without knowing how long he would remain there, after a previous trial against him last year collapsed when the jury failed to reach a verdict.

      “He too is a survivor of the shipwreck he experienced in December 2022,” the statement continues. “Imprisonment has severely impacted his mental health and will continue to do so while he is incarcerated. Ibrahima navigated a horrific journey to the UK in the hope of finding safety here through the only means available to him and yet he has been punished for the deaths of others seeking the same thing, sanctuary.”

      The organisation Captain Support is helping 175 people who face prosecution as a result of the new laws to find legal representation. A letter-writing campaign calling for Bah to be freed has been launched.

      Hassanatou says she is struggling to comprehend the UK’s harsh laws towards people like her little brother, and she fears his age will make it particularly difficult for him to cope behind bars. He will be expected to serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody, first in a young offenders’ institute and then in an adult jail.

      In his sentencing remarks the judge said to Bah: “This is also a tragedy for you. Your dream of starting a new life in the UK is in tatters.”

      https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/12/ibrahima-bah-teenage-asylum-seeker-manslaughter

  • Ventimiglia: migranti in ostaggio tra confini militarizzati e nuovi cpr

    La Francia si blinda e Ventimiglia rischia di essere al centro di un nuovo scontro europeo sulla gestione dei flussi migratori.

    Sono ormai giorni che, in nome dell’ “emergenza migranti”, le autorità francesi mantengono un massiccio dispiegamento di mezzi antiterrorismo in frontiera, effettuando controlli sempre più stringenti anche in val Roya, nelle zone collinari a cavallo tra Italia e Francia, sulle principali linee ferroviarie e sui sentieri che connettono i due Paesi a sud-est.

    Una situazione sempre più complessa e gravosa per le persone migranti che cercano di lasciare l’Italia e, al momento, bloccate nella cittadina ligure.
    La partita europea sulla gestione dei flussi migratori continua a esser giocata sulla loro pelle e, in questo quadro, difficile prevedere le conseguenze dirette e indiretta della recente bocciatura dei respingimenti eseguiti dalla Francia sulle frontiere interne da parte della Corte di giustizia dell’Unione Europea.

    A complicare il quadro, l’inizio dei lavori per la realizzazione di un Centro di Identificazione per Migranti sul versante francese della frontiera di #Ponte_San_Ludovico e l’annuncio del Ministro Pientedosi circa la possibile realizzazione, proprio a Ventimiglia, di uno dei nuovi Centri di Permanenza per il Rimpatrio previsti dal #Decreto_Legge_Sud.

    https://www.osservatoriorepressione.info/processano-riace-vogliono-carceri-innocenti

    Interview audio avec Gregorio de #Progetto_20k:
    https://www.radiondadurto.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Gregorio-progetto-20k-xxmiglia.mp3


    #CPR #détention_administrative #Centro_di_permanenza_per_rimpatri #centre_d'identification #migrations #asile #réfugiés #frontières #Alpes_Maritimes #Alpes

    voir aussi ce fil de discussion sur la militarisation de la frontière italo-française à #Vintimille (automne 2023):
    https://seenthis.net/messages/1018121

    • Je poste ici des citations tirées de ce texte d’un texte de Fulvio Vassallo Paleologo, en mettant en avant les parties consacrées à la construction de nouveaux centres d’identification (et détention/rétention) dans les zones de frontière prévus dans les nouveaux décrets italiens :

      Oltre le sigle, la detenzione amministrativa si diffonde nelle procedure in frontiera e cancella il diritto di asilo ed i diritti di difesa

      Il governo Meloni con un ennesimo decreto sicurezza, ma se ne attende un’altro per colpire i minori stranieri non accompagnati,” al fine di rendere più veloci i rimpatri”, cerca di raddoppiare i CPR (https://www.openpolis.it/aumentano-i-fondi-per-la-detenzione-dei-migranti) e di creare di nuovi centri di detenzione amministrativa vicino ai luoghi di frontiera (https://pagellapolitica.it/articoli/meloni-errori-centri-rimpatri-blocco-navale), meglio in località isolate, per le procedure accelerate destinate ai richiedenti asilo provenienti da paesi di origine “sicuri”. La legge 50 del 2023 (già definita impropriamente “#Decreto_Cutro”: https://www.a-dif.org/2023/05/06/il-decreto-cutro-in-gazzetta-ufficiale-con-la-firma-del-viminale) prevede che il richiedente asilo, qualora sia proveniente da un Paese di origine sicuro, e sia entrato irregolarmente, possa essere trattenuto per 30 giorni, durante la procedura accelerata di esame della domanda di asilo presentata alla frontiera, al solo scopo di accertare il diritto ad entrare nel territorio dello Stato.

      (...)

      Di fronte al fallimento delle politiche migratorie del governo Meloni, dopo l’annuncio, da parte dell’ennesimo Commissario all’emergenza, di un piano nazionale per la detenzione amministrativa (https://www.laverita.info/valenti-sbarchi-governo-2663754145.html), al fine di applicare “procedure accelerate in frontiera” in centri chiusi, dei richiedenti asilo, se provengono da paesi di origine definiti “sicuri”. si richiamano una serie di decreti ministeriali (https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2023/03/25/23A01952/sg) che hanno formato una apposita lista che non tiene conto della situazione attuale in gran parte dell’Africa, soprattutto nella fascia subsahariana, dopo lo scoppio della guerra civile in Sudan e il rovesciamento in Niger del governo sostenuto dai paesi occidentali. Non si hanno ancora notizie certe, invece, dei nuovi centri per i rimpatri (CPR) che si era annunciato sarebbero stati attivati in ogni regione italiana (https://altreconomia.it/ors-ekene-engel-badia-grande-le-regine-dellaffare-milionario-dei-cpr). Le resistenze delle amministrazioni locali, anche di destra, hanno evidentemente rallentato questo progetto dai costi enormi, per l’impianto e la gestione.

      I rimpatri con accompagnamento forzato nei primi sette mesi dell’anno sono stati soltanto 2.561 (+28,05%) rispetto ai 2.000 dello scorso anno. Nulla rispetto ad oltre 100.000 arrivi ed a oltre 70.000 richieste di asilo, conteggiati proprio il 15 agosto, quando il Viminale dà i suoi numeri, esibendo quando conviene le percentuali e lasciando nell’ombra i dati assoluti. Ed oggi i numeri sono ancora più elevati, si tratta non solo di numeri ma di persone, uomini, donne e bambini lasciati allo sbando dopo lo sbarco, che cercano soltanto di lasciare il nostro paese prima possibile. Per questo il primo CPR targato Piantedosi (https://roma.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/23_settembre_20/nuovi-cpr-dalla-valle-d-aosta-alla-calabria-dove-saranno-e-chi-dovra-a) che si aprirà a breve potrebbe essere ubicato a Ventimiglia, vicino al confine tra Italia e Francia, mentre Svizzera ed Austria hanno già annunciato un inasprimento dei controlli di frontiera.

      La prima struttura detentiva entrata in attività lo scorso primo settembre (https://www.regione.sicilia.it/istituzioni/servizi-informativi/decreti-e-direttive/ampliamento-hotspot-pozzallo-l-attivazione-centro-incremento-accogli), per dare applicazione, ancora chiamata “sperimentazione”, alle procedure accelerate in frontiera previste dal Decreto “Cutro”, è ubicata nell’area industriale tra i comuni confinanti di Pozzallo e Modica. dove da anni esiste un centro Hotspot, nella zona portuale, che opera spesso in modalità di “centro chiuso”, nel quale già da tempo è stata periodicamente limitata la libertà personale degli “ospiti”. Si tratta di una nuova struttura da 84 posti nella quale vengono rinchiusi per un mese coloro che provengono da paesi di origine definiti “sicuri”, prima del diniego sulla richiesta di protezione che si dà come scontato e del successivo tentativo di rimpatrio con accompagnamento forzato, sempre che i paesi di origine accettino la riammissione dei loro cittadini giunti irregolarmente in Italia. Le informazioni provenienti da fonti ufficiali non dicono molto, ma la natura detentiva della struttura e i suoi costi sono facilmente reperibili on line.

      (...)

      L’ACNUR dopo una generale considerazione positiva delle procedure accelerate in frontiera (https://www.questionegiustizia.it/articolo/le-nuove-procedure-accelerate-lo-svilimento-del-diritto-di-asilo_), soprattuto nei casi in cui appare maggiormente probabile l’esito positivo della domanda di protezione, “Raccomanda, tuttavia, di incanalare in procedura di frontiera (con trattenimento) solo le domande di protezione internazionale che, in una fase iniziale di raccolta delle informazioni e registrazione, appaiano manifestamente infondate.
      In particolare, la domanda proposta dal richiedente proveniente da un Paese di origine sicuro non deve essere incanalata in tale iter quando lo stesso abbia invocato gravi motivi per ritenere che, nelle sue specifiche circostanze, il Paese non sia sicuro. Si sottolinea, a tal fine, la centralità di una fase iniziale di screening, volta a far emergere elementi utili alla categorizzazione delle domande (triaging) e alla conseguente individuazione della procedura più appropriata per ciascun caso”.

      https://seenthis.net/messages/1018938

      #décret_Cutro #decreto_Sud #rétention #détention_administrative #Italie #France #frontières #pays_d'origine_sure #pays_sûrs #frontière_sud-alpine #procédure_accélérée #procédures_accélérées #tri #catégorisation

    • Le nuove procedure accelerate : lo svilimento del diritto di asilo

      –-> un texte juridique qui date du 3 novembre 2019, mais qui explique différents éléments des procédures à la frontière

      Numerose sono le deroghe alle procedure ordinarie, sia amministrative sia giurisdizionali, applicabili alle domande di protezione internazionale nelle articolate ipotesi introdotte dal dl 113/2018. L’analisi delle nuove disposizioni rivela profili di incompatibilità sia con la cd. direttiva procedure sia con il diritto di asilo costituzionale

      Premessa

      Il dl 113/18 (cd. Decreto Salvini 1, convertito in l. 132/18) ha profondamente inciso nella configurazione del diritto di asilo in Italia, anche tramite la riforma delle procedure accelerate.

      L’istituto è poco conosciuto e la riforma del dl113/18 su questo aspetto decisamente sottovalutata dagli analisti. Eppure, si tratta di un complesso di norme congegnate in modo tale da svuotare di significato il diritto di asilo, mantenendone l’impalcatura ma di fatto rendendo estremamente difficile il suo reale esercizio.

      Il dl113/18 in gran parte utilizza i margini lasciati aperti dal legislatore europeo con la direttiva procedure (direttiva 2013/32/UE)[1], e in parte va oltre, introducendo norme in contrasto con il diritto europeo la cui legittimità dovrà essere valutata in un prossimo futuro dalla Corte di Giustizia UE e dalla Corte costituzionale[2]. Al contempo, per cogliere il significato pratico di questa parte di riforma, è necessario considerare anche la modifica di alcuni altri istituti, quale la detenzione a fini identificativi, anch’essa introdotta dal dl113/18 e la nuova configurazione della domanda reiterata.

      Secondo la direttiva procedure[3] e la normativa italiana, essere sottoposti ad una procedura accelerata significa subire una contrazione significativa del proprio diritto di difesa, e non solo. Come è noto, in caso di diniego a seguito di una procedura accelerata, il termine per l’impugnazione è (quasi sempre) dimezzato e il ricorso perde il suo effetto sospensivo automatico (in differente misura, come si dirà in seguito). Ma non basta. In caso di procedure accelerate, l’esame della domanda di asilo viene svolto in tempi molto rapidi (di norma sette o quattordici giorni prorogabili alle condizioni di cui all’art. 28-bis comma 3 del d.lgs. 25/2008) e in molte circostanze ciò accade al momento dell’arrivo in Italia, ossia nei luoghi di frontiera e in condizioni di trattenimento. Il richiedente asilo, in questa fase, si trova presumibilmente in una situazione di isolamento sociale, non avendo contatti con le organizzazioni e con gli operatori che svolgono attività di informazione e preparazione all’intervista presso la Commissione territoriale. Eccezion fatta per la possibile presenza in zona di frontiera dell’Unhcr, che su incarico del Ministero dell’Interno fornisce informative generali al momento dell’arrivo, che in nessun modo possono considerarsi realmente propedeutiche alla preparazione del richiedente asilo all’intervista in Commissione. Si tratta di una evoluzione del c.d. approccio hotspot, indebitamente introdotto di fatto e non di diritto dal Ministero dell’interno nell’autunno del 2015 su insistenza della Commissione UE, che ne richiese a gran voce il suo utilizzo con l’agenda UE sulle migrazioni del maggio 2015[4]. L’approccio hotspot viene introdotto come una tecnica di fatto per distinguere i richiedenti asilo dai c.d. presunti migranti economici, mantenendo una postazione di garanzia generale affidata alle Nazioni Unite e ad alcune Ong, su incarico e finanziamento ministeriale, che potessero formalmente garantire il diritto ad essere informati, alle forze di polizia di i cittadini stranieri, immediatamente dopo lo sbarco, quali richiedenti asilo o come migranti economici irregolari e sottoponibili a un respingimento differito o ad una espulsione[5]. Il dl113/18 completa il quadro. Introduce per la prima volta le procedure di frontiera, la nozione di paesi di origine sicuri e il trattenimento a fini identificativi in frontiera, amplia le ipotesi di manifesta infondatezza e riporta il tutto nell’ambito delle procedure accelerate.

      1. Il trattenimento a scopo identificativo del richiedente asilo

      In tale direzione, l’art.3 del dl 113/18 anzitutto introduce, per la prima volta in Italia, la figura del trattenimento a scopo identificativo del richiedente asilo (art. 6 comma 3-bis, d.lgs. 142/15), che potrà essere trattenuto in una struttura di cui all’art. 10 ter d.lgs 286/98 (i c.d. hotspot e la prima accoglienza, ossia i cd. hub) fino a 30 giorni e successivamente fino a 180 gg in un Cpr, ogniqualvolta si renda necessario verificarne o determinarne l’identità o la cittadinanza: dicitura pericolosamente ampia che di fatto potrebbe investire la totalità dei nuovi arrivi in Italia[6]. Il richiedente asilo, quindi, al suo arrivo in Italia può essere trattenuto in una struttura di frontiera o di primissima accoglienza per un tempo sufficiente per essere sentito dalla Commissione territoriale e per ricevere la notifica dell’eventuale diniego. Potrà in seguito essere poi trattenuto in un Cpr per un lasso di tempo di altri 5 mesi, che saranno di norma sufficienti ad arrivare ad un diniego con procedura accelerata con eventuale rigetto della richiesta di sospensiva contenuta nel ricorso. Il richiedente quindi resterebbe in una condizione di grande isolamento, dovrebbe preparare la Commissione in tempi strettissimi e senza un reale sostegno. Inoltre, lo stesso richiedente asilo si troverebbe a disposizione delle Forze di polizia in caso di diniego e per un eventuale rimpatrio forzato.

      In ogni caso, il dl113/18 chiarisce che tutti i richiedenti asilo trattenuti anche solo a fini identificativi saranno sottoposti a procedura accelerata (ai sensi dell’art. 28-bis comma 1 che richiama l’art. 28 comma 1 lett. c) e dunque saranno sentiti dalla Commissione entro 7 giorni dall’invio degli atti da parte della Questura (che provvede “immediatamente” dopo la domanda di asilo). I richiedenti asilo trattenuti riceveranno la risposta nei successivi due giorni e in caso di diniego avranno il diritto di restare in Italia per la presentazione del ricorso (entro 15 giorni) e – in caso di richiesta di sospensiva – fino a quando il Tribunale non avrà respinto tale richiesta (in via definitiva, ossia dopo le eventuali repliche del difensore ai sensi dell’art. 35-bis comma 4 d.lgs. 25/08). La decisione del giudice viene adottata inaudita altera parte, sulla base delle motivazioni trasfuse nel ricorso dal difensore, che ha avuto solo 15 giorni per apprestare la difesa con il suo assistito trattenuto (in un c.d. hotspot o in un Cpr) sin dal suo arrivo in Italia, con presumibile carenza di strumenti comunicativi e limitata cognizione degli elementi rilevanti ai fini del riconoscimento della protezione internazionale in Italia.

      Il trattenimento a scopo identificativo appare in chiaro contrasto con gli artt. 13 e 3 della Costituzione italiana, che delineano una disciplina rigorosa della privazione della libertà solo come extrema ratio e in condizioni di parità di trattamento tra cittadini stranieri e italiani. Tuttavia, la Consulta non ha ancora avuto modo di valutarne la legittimità, in quanto, non essendo ancora mai stati adottati decreti di trattenimento a fini identificativi, la questione di legittimità costituzionale non è stata sollevata. Tuttavia, stante le denunce pubbliche e i ricorsi alla Corte EDU[7], appare molto probabile che il Ministero degli Interni stia ancora ricorrendo al trattenimento di fatto sine titulo dei cittadini stranieri appena giunti in Italia, secondo l’ormai noto schema dell’approccio hotspot: la persona straniera viene trattenuta senza alcun provvedimento nell’hotspot per il tempo necessario a sottoporlo al c.d. foglio notizie e al foto-segnalamento. Con il foglio notizie, come ormai di dominio pubblico[8], il cittadino straniero viene guidato ad autodefinirsi o come richiedente o come migrante economico irregolare e in quest’ultimo caso sottoposto a respingimento differito previo eventuale trattenimento in Cpr.

      2. Le procedure di frontiera

      L’art. 9 del dl 113/18 introduce, anche in questo caso per la prima volta in Italia, la procedura di frontiera, aggiungendo due nuovi commi all’art. 28-bis del d.lgs 25/2008, la norma che si occupa delle procedure accelerate. Più esattamente, il comma 1-ter, secondo cui la procedura accelerata – già vista per i casi di domanda di asilo presentata da richiedenti asilo trattenuti – si applica anche al richiedente che “presenti la domanda di protezione internazionale direttamente alla frontiera o nelle zone di transito (…) dopo essere stato fermato per avere eluso o tentato di eludere i relativi controlli (…)” e “nei casi di cui all’art. 28, comma 1, lettera c-ter” (ossia nei casi di cittadino proveniente da paese di origine sicuro) . In tali casi la procedura, “può essere svolta direttamente alla frontiera o nelle zone di transito”. Mentre, il comma 1-quater specifica che “(…) le zone di frontiera o di transito sono individuate con decreto del Ministro dell’interno. Con il medesimo decreto possono essere istituite fino a cinque ulteriori sezioni delle Commissioni territoriali (…) per l’esame delle domande di cui al medesimo comma 1-ter.”. Quindi, ai sensi della nuova norma, chi presenta la domanda in frontiera o nelle zone di transito viene sottoposto a procedura accelerata (7 gg + 2 gg) ogni qualvolta sia stato fermato per aver eluso o tentato di eludere i controlli di frontiera oppure provenga da uno Stato dichiarato dall’Italia come paese di origine sicuro (come meglio si dirà nel prosieguo). In entrambi i casi, si tratta di una domanda presentata in frontiera o zone di transito.

      Il ricorso avverso il rigetto della Commissione anche in questo caso non ha effetto sospensivo automatico (art. 35-bis comma 3 lett. d), e può essere presentato entro 30 giorni (e non 15) dalla relativa notifica, stante la nuova formulazione dell’art. 35-bis comma 2.

      Diviene, anzitutto, fondamentale interpretare correttamente la nozione di elusione delle frontiere. Se la si intende come violazione delle norme di ingresso, la quasi totalità dei richiedenti asilo rientrerà nel suo ambito (essendo per lo più privi di passaporto o di visto di ingresso)[9] . Viceversa, si ritiene che debba interpretarsi secondo l’accezione principale del verbo eludere, ossia “Sfuggire, evitare con astuzia o destrezza”[10], limitando quindi l’applicazione della legge ai soli casi in cui il richiedente non si presenti spontaneamente ai controlli di frontiera (o perfino richiedendo il soccorso) ma venga bloccato quando è in atto un tentativo strutturato di superarli furtivamente.

      In secondo luogo, appare decisiva una corretta delimitazione della nozione di frontiera e zona di transito, per evitare una applicazione indebita della nuova forma di procedura accelerata. Per frontiera deve intendersi necessariamente il luogo di prossimità fisica con il confine territoriale con un territorio non europeo. Tipicamente Lampedusa, ma anche altre parti del sud Italia in caso di sbarco diretto dal mare al porto interessato (meno di frequente, ma sono registrati molti casi in Sicilia, Calabria, Puglia, etc.). Per zone di transito, anche più semplicemente, si devono intendere gli aeroporti e i porti internazionali, dove per convenzione esistono dei passaggi dal vettore aereo o marino al territorio italiano che rappresentano di fatto una frontiera virtuale, perché immettono la persona proveniente da paese extra Schengen in territorio italiano. Non possono essere considerate frontiere o zone di transito i confini con i paesi europei e tanto meno i luoghi non immediatamente prossimi, dove le persone soccorse o bloccate vengono condotte per ragioni logistiche. Dovrà, quindi, in gran parte ritenersi illegittimo il decreto ministeriale[11] emanato nelle scorse settimane ai sensi dell’art. 28-bis comma 1-quater che individua le zone di frontiera in numerose città del centro sud che non sono affatto interessate da arrivi diretti (se non eventualmente negli aeroporti) da zone extra Schengen, ma al contrario sono sedi di accoglienze o Cpr in cui vengono condotti i richiedenti asilo giunti in frontiere molto distanti[12]. Il decreto, a titolo esemplificativo, individua come zona di frontiera la città di Messina, che di certo non è interessata da arrivi diretti di cittadini non comunitari, ma al contrario è la sede di un cd. hotspot dove vengono condotti i cittadini stranieri giunti a Lampedusa[13]. L’intenzione del legislatore europeo di intendere in senso proprio le zone di frontiera come quelle che fisicamente confinano con una zona extra Schengen si evince tra l’altro dall’art. 43, par. 3, direttiva 2013/32 UE (Procedure di frontiera) che recita significativamente “Nel caso in cui gli arrivi in cui è coinvolto un gran numero di cittadini di paesi terzi o di apolidi che presentano domande di protezione internazionale alla frontiera o in una zona di transito, rendano all’atto pratico impossibile applicare ivi le disposizioni di cui al paragrafo 1, dette procedure si possono applicare anche nei luoghi e per il periodo in cui i cittadini di paesi terzi o gli apolidi in questione sono normalmente accolti nelle immediate vicinanze della frontiera o della zona di transito”. Il legislatore UE considera, pertanto, eccezionale l’ipotesi di utilizzo, ai fini delle procedure di frontiera, di un luogo diverso da quello dell’arrivo; anche in questo caso (eccezionale afflusso) prevede, comunque, che si tratti di un luogo collocato nelle immediate vicinanze, cosa che non può dirsi, a scopo esemplificativo, per il cd. hotspot di Messina rispetto alle persone che sbarcano a Lampedusa.

      La procedura di frontiera, dunque, consiste in una procedura accelerata che viene applicata da Commissioni ad hoc in zona di frontiera a chi vi è giunto direttamente da un paese extra Schengen con l’intenzione di sottrarsi dolosamente ai controlli di frontiera[14] (o proviene da un paese di origine sicuro). Questa appare l’interpretazione più consona dei commi 1-ter e 1-quater introdotti dal dl 113/2019, che tuttavia anche in questa lettura appaiono contrari alla direttiva 2013/32/UE. Quest’ultima, infatti, nel combinato disposto degli artt. 43 e 31, par. 8, delineano un sistema di procedure accelerate e procedure di frontiera con l’indicazione di una serie di ipotesi tassative non suscettibili di ampliamenti[15]. Il legislatore europeo è ben consapevole che tali procedure contraggono in modo radicale i diritti dei richiedenti asilo e ne evidenza in modo chiaro il carattere eccezionale, non derogabile. Viceversa, il legislatore italiano con il dl 113/18 sancisce che le procedure di frontiera siano applicate ai richiedenti fermati in frontiera che eludono o cercano di eludere i valichi, ossia in un caso non incluso nella lista tassativa delle ipotesi di procedure accelerate e di frontiera di cui all’art. 31, par. 8, direttiva 2013/32/UE. Sarà dunque possibile disapplicare la norma nazionale posto che quest’ultima disposizione della direttiva procedure è suscettibile di produrre effetti diretti. A tal fine è possibile, sebbene non sia necessario, sollevare una questione pregiudiziale all’interno di un procedimento art. 35-bis d.lgs 25/08 e attendere una sentenza interpretativa della Corte di Giustizia.

      3. I Paesi di origine sicuri

      Un’altra novità del dl 113/2018 (introdotta in sede di conversione), con enormi potenzialità, è rappresentata dall’art. 7-bis (trasfuso nell’art. 2-bis al d.lgs 25/08) che introduce per la prima volta il concetto di Paesi di origine sicuri.

      Il 4 ottobre 2019 il Ministro degli Affari Esteri e il Ministro della Giustizia hanno presentato in conferenza stampa il decreto contenente una lista di 13 paesi di origine sicuri.

      Attraverso l’introduzione dell’art. 2-bis al decreto 25/2008 (cd. Decreto procedure), la norma ha previsto infatti la possibilità per il Ministro degli affari esteri, di concerto con il Ministro della giustizia e con il Ministro dell’interno, di adottare con decreto interministeriale un elenco di paesi di origine sicuri in base ai criteri stabiliti nei commi successivi del medesimo articolo.

      L’introduzione di tale concetto ha potenzialità rivoluzionarie dell’attuale sistema di tutela, comportando un estremo svilimento dell’asilo che passa attraverso lo slittamento della protezione da un piano individuale a un piano collettivo e attuando, attraverso la previsione – come si vedrà, piuttosto confusa – di una procedura estremamente restrittiva delle garanzie del richiedente protezione, uno svuotamento di fatto della possibilità di accedere alla protezione.

      Per quanto riguarda criteri e modalità di valutazione, si prevede (art. 2-bis cc. 2, 3 e 4) che uno stato possa essere considerato paese di origine sicuro ove sia possibile dimostrare, in via generale e costante, che, sulla base del suo ordinamento, dell’applicazione della legge in un sistema democratico e della situazione politica generale, non sussistano atti di persecuzione, tortura, trattamenti inumani o degradanti, una situazione di violenza indiscriminata. Per effettuare tale valutazione si tiene conto della misura in cui è offerta protezione contro persecuzioni e maltrattamenti mediante le disposizioni legislative e la loro applicazione, il rispetto dei diritti e delle libertà stabiliti nei principali strumenti internazionali di tutela dei diritti umani, il rispetto del principio di non-refoulement, e un sistema di ricorsi effettivi contro le violazioni. Gli strumenti di cui si dota l’esecutivo per la valutazione di tali criteri sono le informazioni fornite dalla Commissione nazionale per il diritto di asilo, da Easo, Unhcr, Consiglio di Europa e da altre organizzazioni internazionali competenti.

      Il decreto recentemente presentato dai Ministri, tuttavia, si limita a riportare una lista di 13 paesi considerati sicuri, attraverso un riferimento a fonti (non pubbliche) del Ministero degli affari esteri e della Commissione nazionale utilizzate per l’individuazione di tali Stati. Alcuna informazione è contenuta nel Decreto relativamente ai criteri sopra elencati. Non viene inoltre utilizzata la possibilità, contenuta all’art. 2-bis, di escludere determinate parti del territorio o determinate categorie di persone dalla valutazione di sicurezza complessiva che viene fatta del paese.

      Gli stati contenuti in tale lista sono: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia-Erzegovina, Capo Verde, Ghana, Kosovo, Macedonia del Nord, Marocco, Montenegro, Senegal, Serbia, Tunisia e Ucraina.

      È utile rilevare che, trattandosi di una lista determinata da un atto amministrativo (ossia il decreto interministeriale), questa avrà un valore non vincolante per il giudice che in sede di valutazione del ricorso potrà disapplicare il decreto .

      Il paese di origine si considera sicuro per il richiedente che non abbia “invocato gravi motivi per ritenere che quel Paese non è sicuro per la situazione particolare in cui lo stesso richiedente si trova” (art. 2-bis). Questa previsione comporta una radicale modifica nel regime probatorio: la sicurezza del paese di origine per il richiedente asilo si presume, e questi è tenuto a invocare i motivi che rendono il paese insicuro per lui, o, secondo quanto stabilito all’articolo 9 c. 2-bis, addirittura, a dimostrare la sussistenza di tali motivi.

      Ciò che qui interessa sono però le conseguenze connesse alla provenienza di un richiedente asilo da un Paese di origine dichiarato sicuro dal sopracitato decreto interministeriale. Il nuovo articolo 28 d.lgs 25/08 lo inserisce fra le ipotesi di esame prioritario (con scarse conseguenze pratiche), ma soprattutto il nuovo art 28-ter, comma 1 lett. b), lo inserisce nell’elenco delle ipotesi in cui la domanda di asilo può essere considerata manifestamente infondata (concetto su cui si tornerà nel prosieguo). A sua volta, l’art. 28-bis d.lgs 25/08 lo annovera tra le ipotesi di procedura accelerata. Più esattamente, il comma 1-bis stabilisce che, in questi casi (richiedente proveniente da Paese di origine sicuro), “la questura provvede senza ritardo alla trasmissione della documentazione necessaria alla Commissione territoriale che adotta la decisione entro cinque giorni”. Dal tenore letterale, sembrerebbe affermarsi che in queste ipotesi la Commissione operi una valutazione sulla base di quanto dichiarato dal richiedente nella domanda di asilo (modello C3) senza procedere all’audizione.

      Tuttavia, questa interpretazione sarebbe da considerarsi illegittima per chiara contrarietà (tra l’altro) alla direttiva 2013/32/UE, che tassativamente consente di adottare una decisione senza un esame completo della domanda nei soli casi di inammissibilità di cui all’art 33 par. 2, che a sua volta annovera tra le possibilità tassative quella del richiedente proveniente da Paese terzo sicuro di cui all’art. 38, concetto del tutto differente da quello del Paese di origine sicuro di cui agli artt. 36 e 37. Il Paese terzo sicuro è, infatti, una nozione giuridica relativa ai paesi di transito del richiedente asilo e prodromica a un giudizio di ammissibilità che non è stato recepito nel nostro ordinamento. Il concetto di Paese di origine sicuro è, invece, attinente al paese di provenienza del richiedente ed è disciplinato dalla direttiva ai fini di una procedura accelerata, con ordinaria audizione del richiedente.

      Si tratta probabilmente di un errore grossolano del legislatore del dl 113/18, salvo si voglia attribuire un significato compatibile con il diritto UE: quello per cui il nuovo art. 28-bis, comma 1-bis sopra citato, attribuisce alla Commissione – all’interno della procedura accelerata – un termine di 5 giorni invece che di 2 giorni (come al comma 1 sempre dell’art. 28-bis) per adottare la decisione dopo aver effettuato l’audizione del richiedente, che andrebbe convocato presumibilmente nel termine di 7 giorni dalla trasmissione degli atti da parte della questura (come per le ipotesi già analizzata di cui al primo comma dell’art. 28-bis). In definitiva, la specifica procedura accelerata prevista dal comma 1-bis dell’art. 28-bis del dl 25/08 (come modificato dal dl 113/08) o è da considerarsi radicalmente illegittima per contrarietà alla direttiva procedure oppure deve interpretarsi nel senso di prevedere un termine di 7 giorni per la convocazione del richiedente asilo con una nazionalità tra quelle inserite nella lista dei Paesi di origine sicuri e un termine di 5 giorni (invece che 2) per la adozione della decisone da parte della Commissione.

      Inoltre, in caso di diniego della domanda presentata da richiedente che proviene da un Paese di origine sicuro, il termine per la proposizione del ricorso sarà di 15 giorni solo nella ipotesi in cui la domanda di protezione venga dichiarata manifestamente infondata ai sensi dell’art. 28-ter d.lgs 25/08 (che come si dirà più avanti prevede numerose ipotesi, tra cui anche quella del richiedente proveniente da Paese di origine sicuro). Questo poiché l’art. 35-bis, comma 2, nel dimezzare i termini ordinari, non richiama l’art. 28-bis comma 1-bis (quello specifico sui Paesi di origine sicuri) ma il comma 2, che disciplina le ipotesi in cui la Commissione può emanare un diniego con espressa dicitura di manifesta infondatezza ai sensi dell’art. 28 ter (combinato disposto con l’art. 32 comma 1 lett. b-bis), che tra le ipotesi prevede anche il caso di richiedente proveniente da Paese di origine sicuro (ma si tratta evidentemente di una possibilità e non di un automatismo, in quanto anche in questi la domanda potrebbe considerarsi infondata ma non anche manifestamente infondata)[16].

      In termini identici deve risolversi il dubbio interpretativo relativo all’efficacia sospensiva. L’art. 35-bis, comma 3, stabilisce che non è riconosciuta un’efficacia automaticamente sospensiva nei casi espressamente richiamati, tra cui non annovera direttamente quello del Paese di origine sicuro di cui all’art. 28-bis comma 1-bis. Tuttavia, tra le ipotesi contemplate si rinviene quella del diniego per manifesta infondatezza ai sensi del combinato disposto dell’art. 32, comma 1 lett b-bis), e dell’art. 28-ter. Come per il dimezzamento dei termini, dunque, il ricorso avverso il rigetto di una domanda di asilo presentata da un richiedente proveniente da un Paese di origine sicuro non avrà effetto automaticamente sospensivo nella misura in cui il provvedimento della Commissione espressamente rigetti la domanda per manifesta infondatezza.

      Per i casi di diniego di richiedenti provenienti da paesi di origine sicuri, inoltre, il legislatore del dl 113/18 ha contratto ulteriormente il diritto di difesa, stabilendo che il normale obbligo motivazionale in fatto e in diritto previsto in caso di diniego da parte della Commissione Territoriale, sia sostituito da una motivazione che dà “atto esclusivamente che il richiedente non ha dimostrato la sussistenza di gravi motivi per ritenere non sicuro il Paese designato di origine sicuro in relazione alla situazione particolare del richiedente stesso”. Sembrerebbe, quindi, vincolare o quanto meno consentire alla Commissione di rigettare una domanda di asilo con una stereotipata motivazione, priva degli ordinari elementi valutativi e giustificativi. Così intesa, appare evidente la contrarietà della norma agli ordinari parametri costituzionali in tema di motivazione e razionalità degli atti della pubblica amministrazione e agli obblighi motivazionali in fatto e in diritto a cui sono tenuti gli Stati membri in caso di rigetto della domanda di asilo ai sensi dell’art. 11, par. 2, della direttiva 2013/32/UE. D’altro canto, difficilmente della è immaginabile una lettura costituzionalmente orientata che modifichi l’obbligo motivazionale della Commissione in modo compatibile con la Costituzione e con la Direttiva procedure.

      Infine, come accennato nel precedente paragrafo, la provenienza da un paese di origine sicuro è rilevante anche in un’altra ipotesi, ossia quando il richiedente presenta la domanda di asilo in frontiera o in una zona di transito. Se la domanda di asilo è presentata in uno di questi due luoghi, da un richiedente che provenga da un paese di origine dichiarato sicuro, la Commissione territoriale potrà applicare una procedura accelerata e potrà (inoltre ma non necessariamente) svolgerla in frontiera. Si tratta del già esaminato comma 1 ter dell’art. 28-bis (procedure accelerate), che recita. “La procedura di cui al comma 1 [7 gg + 2 gg] si applica anche nel caso in cui il richiedente presenti la domanda di protezione internazionale direttamente alla frontiera o nelle zone di transito di cui al comma 1-quater (…) nei casi di cui all’articolo 28, comma 1, lettera c-ter). In tali casi la procedura può essere svolta direttamente alla frontiera o nelle zone di transito”. In queste ipotesi, il ricorso avverso l’eventuale diniego non avrà effetti sospensivi automatici (art. 35-bis comma 3 lett. d “La proposizione del ricorso sospende l’efficacia esecutiva del provvedimento impugnato, tranne che nelle ipotesi in cui il ricorso viene proposto: …avverso il provvedimento adottato nei confronti dei soggetti di cui all’articolo 28-bis, commi 1-ter …)”[17]. Il termine per l’impugnazione rimarrebbe quello ordinario di 30 giorni. Appare evidente come l’applicazione congiunta delle nuove norme relative alle procedure in frontiera e ai paesi di origine sicuri (tanto più se lasciata a una interpretazione estensiva, come sembra implicare il decreto sulle zone di frontiera o di transito) può condurre a una procedura accelerata svolta in zona di frontiera (in gran fretta e in condizioni di semi-isolamento) di tutti i cittadini che provengono da uno dei paesi dichiarati sicuri (si pensi a tutti i cittadini tunisini che approdano nelle acque siciliane). Con la conseguente massiccia e sistematica contrazione dei diritti di difesa.

      4. La manifesta infondatezza

      Un’altra norma introdotta dal dl 113/18 (art. 7-bis, comma 1 lett. f), in sede di conversione) che potrebbe avere nella pratica un effetto vastissimo è l’art. 28-ter D.lgs 25/08, che prevede una complessa serie di casi di manifesta infondatezza. Precedentemente l’unica ipotesi di manifesta infondatezza era prevista dall’art. 28-bis, tra le ipotesi in cui si poteva applicare una procedura accelerata e di conseguenza giungere ad un eventuale rigetto per manifesta infondatezza. Si trattava dell’ipotesi in cui il richiedente aveva sollevato “esclusivamente questioni che non hanno alcuna attinenza con i presupposti per il riconoscimento della protezione internazionale”. Era già avvertita come norma insidiosa, tanto è vero che la Commissione Nazionale nella circolare del 30.07.2015[18] aveva precisato come, per giungere a un rigetto per manifesta infondatezza, fosse necessario che la decisione collegiale della Commissione territoriale fosse stata adottata all’unanimità, che non riguardasse categorie vulnerabili (di cui all’art. 17 d.lgs 142/15) e che non fosse stata espletata una valutazione sull’attendibilità del richiedente, in quanto relativa a questioni non attinenti alla protezione internazionale dove non si pone neppure un problema di credibilità.

      Inoltre, la Corte di appello di Napoli,[19] nel sistema previgente la riforma 2018, aveva precisato che poteva giungersi a una decisione di manifesta infondatezza solo nella misura in cui fosse stata espletata (con il rispetto dei termini e delle garanzie) una procedura accelerata, mentre non era possibile nel caso di una decisone adottata a seguito di una procedura ordinaria. Ciò in ragione del fatto che l’art. 32 d.lgs 25/08, comma 1 lett.b-bis), nel disciplinare il caso in cui la Commissione poteva adottare una decisione per manifesta infondatezza, faceva espresso richiamo all’art. 28-bis, comma 2, ossia alla procedura accelerata in caso di possibile manifesta infondatezza. La sentenza della Corte di Appello di Napoli aveva posto fine a un dibattito complesso che aveva coinvolto molti attori. Tuttavia, la l. 132/2018, in sede di conversione, a fronte di un confronto serrato tra istituzioni e società civile, è intervenuta con l’art. 7, comma 1 lett. g), che modifica puntualmente il richiamo effettuato dal sopra menzionato art. 32 d.lgs 25/08. Infatti, quest’ultimo, nel prescrivere che il rigetto della Commissione territoriale può avere come contenuto anche una dichiarazione di manifesta infondatezza, non richiama più l’art. 28-bis, che disciplina le ipotesi di procedura accelerata, ma richiama il nuovo art. 28-ter, che introduce una gamma molto più articolata di ipotesi di manifesta infondatezza. Potrebbe dunque sostenersi che, a seguito della l. 132/2018, la Commissione territoriale possa adottare una decisione di manifesta infondatezza anche nel caso in cui abbia espletato una procedura ordinaria e non solo una procedura accelerata.

      Il nuovo art. 28-ter d.lgs 25/08 introduce, come accennato, nuove e rilevanti ipotesi di manifesta infondatezza che si aggiungono a quella appena sopra illustrata che viene confermata.

      La prima nuova ipotesi è quella del comma 1 lett. b), del richiedente che “(…) proviene da un Paese designato di origine sicuro”. Ipotesi già illustrata.

      Al comma 1 lett. c), viceversa si introduce il caso del richiedente che ha “(…) rilasciato dichiarazioni palesemente incoerenti e contraddittorie o palesemente false, che contraddicono informazioni verificate sul Paese di origine”. In questa ipotesi, sarà possibile da parte della Commissione effettuare una valutazione di credibilità, ma il giudizio sarà operato sulla base della evidenza, in quanto si richiede che l’incoerenza e la contraddittorietà del richiedente siano palesi.

      Alla lettera d), la manifesta infondatezza viene sancita per il caso del richiedente che “(…) ha indotto in errore le autorità presentando informazioni o documenti falsi o omettendo informazioni o documenti riguardanti la sua identità o cittadinanza che avrebbero potuto influenzare la decisione negativamente, ovvero ha dolosamente distrutto o fatto sparire un documento di identità o di viaggio che avrebbe permesso di accertarne l’identità o la cittadinanza”. Evidentemente, deve trattarsi di comportamenti posti in essere dal richiedente con la specifica intenzione di trarre in inganno la Commissione: non dovranno rilevare, dunque, i comportamenti finalizzati ad entrare nel territorio italiano (come tipicamente la distruzione del passaporto in zona di transito) o dichiarazioni non veritiere rese al momento della compilazione della domanda di asilo e determinati da mancanza di informazioni, possibili fraintendimenti linguistici o iniziali timori del richiedente appena giunto sul territorio.

      La successiva lett. e) introduce l’ipotesi potenzialmente più insidiosa, che potrebbe investire una gamma molto ampia di soggetti, prevedendo la manifesta infondatezza nel caso del richiedente che “(…) è entrato illegalmente nel territorio nazionale, o vi ha prolungato illegalmente il soggiorno, e senza giustificato motivo non ha presentato la domanda tempestivamente rispetto alle circostanze del suo ingresso”. Moltissimi cittadini stranieri vivono sul territorio italiano privi di un permesso di soggiorno e molto spesso non presentano tempestivamente la domanda di asilo per ragioni non sempre facilmente comprensibili: mancanza di informazioni, timori del tutto infondati, etc. Sarà dunque necessario interpretare la locuzione “senza giustificato motivo” in maniera da tener conto anche della complessità interculturale e della più generale diversità di approccio che possono determinare le scelte dei cittadini stranieri che presentano la domanda di asilo anche molto tempo dopo il loro arrivo in Italia. Ulteriore perplessità suscita l’utilizzo del termine tempestivamente il quale, non essendo riferito ad un arco temporale ben determinato, si presta a dar luogo a numerose e differenziate interpretazioni applicative.

      La lett. f) aggiunge alla lista delle ipotesi quella del richiedente che “(…) ha rifiutato di adempiere all’obbligo del rilievo dattiloscopico a norma del regolamento (UE) n. 603/2013 del Parlamento europeo e del Consiglio, del 26 giugno 2013”. Infine, la lettera g) è relativa al richiedente “ (…) che si trova nelle condizioni di cui all’articolo 6, commi 2, lettere a), b) e c), e 3, del decreto legislativo 18 agosto 2015, n. 142”, ossia in condizioni di trattenimento, salvo che nel caso sia determinato dal mero rischio di fuga.

      Le nuove ipotesi di manifesta infondatezza che sono state introdotte con l’art. 28-ter trovano corrispondenza nella Direttiva procedure, che disciplina l’istituto nel combinato disposto dell’art. 32 e dell’art. 31, par. 8. Rimane la necessità di un’interpretazione rigorosa di alcuni requisiti, soprattutto relativi alla lett. e) per evitare un’applicazione distorta dell’istituto, che costituisce un’ipotesi derogatoria dell’ordinaria procedura e genera una contrazione importante dei diritti del richiedente asilo. Infatti, il richiedente che versa in una di queste condizioni potrà essere soggetto ad una procedura accelerata in forza del richiamo dell’art. 28-bis, comma 2 lett. a), d.lgs 25/08 (14 gg per la convocazione e 4 gg per la decisione) e qualora la Commissione confermi l’esistenza dei requisiti richiesti dalla norma sarà possibile un rigetto per manifesta infondatezza ai sensi dell’art. 32, comma 1 lett. b-bis). In tal caso, il ricorso avverso il diniego soggiace al termine per la sua proposizione di 15 giorni (ai sensi dell’art. 35-bis comma 2 d.lgs 25/08) e non avrà un effetto sospensivo automatico (ai sensi dell’art. 35-bis comma 3 lett. c d.lgs 25/08). La Direttiva procedure, tuttavia, stabilisce espressamente nell’art. 46, par. 6 lett. a) ultimo inciso, che non può escludersi l’effetto automaticamente sospensivo in caso di ricorso avverso un rigetto per manifesta infondatezza, qualora quest’ultima sia stata determinata dall’ingresso o dalla permanenza irregolare del richiedente sul territorio dello Stato membro avendo presentato la domanda di asilo in ritardo senza giustificato motivo[20].

      5. La domanda reiterata

      La riforma dell’istituto della domanda reiterata, operata dall’art. 9 del dl 113/18 che ha modificato gli artt. 7, 28, 29 e 29-bis del d.lgs 25/08, è probabilmente quella che assume un peso maggiore nell’effettivo esercizio del diritto di accedere alla procedura di asilo. Un intervento legislativo molto incisivo, strutturato e in gran parte contrario alla direttiva 2013/32/UE.

      In questa sede non sarà possibile una disamina completa, ma ci si limiterà a quei profili utili a completare il quadro dell’operazione portata a termine con la riforma delle procedure accelerate.

      L’art. 29, comma 1 lett. b), disciplina l’ipotesi preesistente di domanda reiterata, ossia quella del richiedente che, dopo aver ricevuto un rigetto definitivo della sua domanda di asilo, ha presentato una seconda domanda di asilo “identica” (…) , “senza addurre nuovi elementi in merito alle sue condizioni personali o alla situazione del suo Paese di origine”. Questa seconda domanda di asilo può essere (come già in precedenza previsto) sottoposta a un giudizio di ammissibilità da parte della Commissione. Ossia un giudizio condotto sulla base del modello C3 e degli altri eventuali documenti prodotti dal richiedente al momento della presentazione della domanda. L’individuazione dei casi da sottoporre al giudizio di ammissibilità è affidata al Presidente della Commissione territoriale (art. 28. comma 1-bis, d.lgs 25/08) mentre la sua valutazione è di competenza della Commissione territoriale in composizione collegiale (art. 29, comma 1, d.lgs 25/08). Il Presidente, dunque, procede a un “esame preliminare” (art. 29, comma 1-bis) senza alcuna audizione del richiedente e la Commissione adotta l’eventuale decisione di inammissibilità. Prima della riforma del dl 113/18, il Presidente aveva l’obbligo di avvisare (ai sensi dell’art. 29 comma 1-bis) il richiedente che si stava svolgendo un esame preliminare ad una dichiarazione di inammissibilità e quest’ultimo, entro 3 giorni, aveva il diritto di inviare una memoria per integrare o meglio illustrare i nuovi elementi posti alla base della sua seconda domanda di asilo. Questa garanzia del richiedente è stata abrogata, in linea con le facoltà concesse a ogni Stato membro dalla Direttiva 2013/32/UE all’art. 42 comma 2 lett. b). Ovviamente, se dall’esame preliminare e cartaceo della domanda di asilo dovesse risultare che “(…) sono emersi o sono stati addotti dal richiedente elementi o risultanze nuovi che aumentano in modo significativo la probabilità che al richiedente possa essere attribuita la qualifica di beneficiario di protezione internazionale” il richiedente sarà convocato per una nuova e ordinaria audizione (art. 40, par. 3, direttiva 2013/32/UE). È evidente che ciò che giuridicamente rileva è l’esistenza nella nuova domanda di asilo (in pratica nel modello C3) che siano stati addotti nuovi elementi e non anche che questi appaiano già fondati ad una prima lettura. Al contempo, devono considerarsi nuovi anche gli elementi che precedentemente non erano stati addotti per una qualsiasi ragione[21] dal richiedente asilo. Infine, tali elementi possono essere relativi alla storia personale del richiedente (ed essere anche intesi come elementi probatori) o alla condizione socio-politico del suo paese di origine.

      La procedura prevista per la dichiarazione di inammissibilità è accelerata ai sensi dell’art. 28-bis, comma 1-bis, d.lgs 25/08, secondo cui in questi casi “(…) la questura provvede senza ritardo alla trasmissione della documentazione necessaria alla Commissione territoriale che adotta la decisione entro cinque giorni”.

      La decisione di inammissibilità è impugnabile innanzi al Tribunale civile entro 30 giorni dalla notifica (l’art. 35-bis, comma 2, che stabilisce i casi di riduzione a 15 gg del termine di impugnazione, infatti, non richiama il comma 1-bis dell’art. 28-bis). Il ricorso avverso la decisione di inammissibilità non ne sospende automaticamente gli effetti, ma sarà necessario come negli altri casi già esaminati presentare apposita istanza cautelare. Tuttavia, il legislatore del dl 113/18 ha apportato un’importante modifica relativa al diritto del richiedente di attendere in Italia la decisione del Tribunale civile in merito alla propria richiesta di sospensiva. Infatti, il nuovo art. 35-bis, comma 5, d.lgs 25/08 stabilisce che, nel caso di questa ipotesi di inammissibilità, il richiedente ha diritto di permanere in Italia fino al deposito del ricorso (o allo spirare del termine), ma non anche di attendere che il giudice adotti una decisione sulla domanda cautelare di sospensione degli effetti che il richiedente ha avanzato con il ricorso medesimo. Questa previsione, tuttavia, è da considerarsi illegittima per contrarietà alla direttiva 2013/32/UE, art. 41, che espressamente indica i casi in cui è possibile derogare al diritto di rimanere sul territorio del Paese membro in attesa della decisione definitiva del Giudice sull’istanza di sospensiva. I casi previsti dall’art. 41 sono solo due: il primo è quello del richiedente che presenta una terza (o quarta, etc.) domanda di asilo (art. 41, lett. b) e il secondo è relativo al richiedente che ha presentato una seconda domanda di asilo “al solo scopo di ritardare o impedire l’esecuzione” di un provvedimento che ne comporterebbe “l’imminente” rimpatrio forzato. Sull’esatto significato di queste due ipotesi si ritornerà a breve, per il momento interessa evidenziare che la limitazione del diritto di rimanere in Italia dopo il deposito del ricorso avverso l’inammissibilità e in attesa della decisone del giudice sulla istanza di sospensiva, sancita dal nuovo art. 35-bis, comma 5, d.lgs 25/08, è illegittima, in quanto la Direttiva procedure nell’art. 41 permette una tale limitazione esclusivamente in altri casi, del tutto differenti, che, infatti (come vedremo a breve), hanno una indipendente disciplina anche nell’ordinamento giuridico italiano.

      Più precisamente, l’art. 46 della Direttiva (Diritto a un ricorso effettivo) al par. 5 detta la regola generale per cui il richiedente ha diritto di attendere sul territorio dello stato membro la decisione del giudice sul merito del ricorso presentato[22]. Il paragrafo 6 stabilisce le eccezioni, chiarendo che in alcuni casi, il diritto a rimanere sul territorio dello Stato membro è limitato e sussiste solo fino alla decisione del giudice sulla richiesta di sospensiva[23]. Tra queste eccezioni, è inclusa quella dell’art. 33 par. 2 lett. d): la domanda è una domanda reiterata, qualora non siano emersi o non siano stati presentati dal richiedente elementi o risultanze nuovi ai fini dell’esame volto ad accertare se al richiedente possa essere attribuita la qualifica di beneficiario di protezione internazionale ai sensi della direttiva 2011/95/UE. Il paragrafo 8 dell’art. 46 ribadisce il diritto in modo inequivocabile: “Gli Stati membri autorizzano il richiedente a rimanere nel territorio in attesa dell’esito della procedura volta a decidere se questi possa rimanere nel territorio, di cui ai paragrafi 6 e 7”.

      L’art. 35, comma 5, è in definitiva da considerarsi illegittimo e non sembra suscettibile di una lettura costituzionalmente orientata. Si prospetta dunque la disapplicazione da parte del giudice della norma in contrasto con le disposizioni sopra richiamate della direttiva procedure, idonee a produrre effetti diretti, eventualmente previo rinvio pregiudiziale alla Corte di Giustizia.

      5.1. La domanda reiterata in fase di esecuzione di un imminente allontanamento

      Esistono viceversa, come accennato, due ipotesi in cui la Direttiva prevede una eccezione al diritto sopra illustrato di attendere la decisone del giudice sulla richiesta di sospensiva. Queste eccezioni sono previste dall’art. 41 della Direttiva procedure[24]. Si tratta dei due casi sopra menzionati, ovverosia quella del richiedente che presenta una terza (o quarta, etc.) domanda di asilo (art. 41 lett. b) e quella del richiedente che ha presentato una seconda domanda di asilo “al solo scopo di ritardare o impedire l’esecuzione di un provvedimento che ne comporterebbe l’imminente allontanamento”. I tali casi, l’art. 41 par. 2 lett. c) espressamente attribuisce agli stati membri la facoltà di escludere il paragrafo 8 dell’art. 46 (appena soprariportato), che attribuisce il diritto a rimanere sul territorio dello stato membro fino alla decisione del giudice sulla richiesta di sospensiva. Il legislatore del dl 113/18 ha introdotto per queste due ipotesi una disciplina molto rigida. Il nuovo art. 29-bis (Domanda reiterata in fase di esecuzione di un provvedimento di allontanamento) recita: “Nel caso in cui lo straniero abbia presentato una prima domanda reiterata nella fase di esecuzione di un provvedimento che ne comporterebbe l’imminente allontanamento dal territorio nazionale, la domanda è considerata inammissibile in quanto presentata al solo scopo di ritardare o impedire l’esecuzione del provvedimento stesso. In tale caso non si procede all’esame della domanda ai sensi dell’articolo 29”. In maniera speculare, il nuovo art. 7 del d.lgs 25/08 (sempre modificato dal dl 113/18), rubricato Diritto di rimanere nel territorio dello Stato durante l’esame della domanda stabilisce che il richiedente è autorizzato a rimanere nel territorio italiano fino alla decisione della Commissione territoriale salvo che: lett. d) [abbia] presentato una prima domanda reiterata al solo scopo di ritardare o impedire l’esecuzione di una decisione che ne comporterebbe l’imminente allontanamento dal territorio nazionale.

      Bisogna quindi chiedersi, anzitutto, quale sia il significato della locuzione fase di esecuzione di un imminente allontanamento. Ma soprattutto, chi sia designato dalla norma a dichiarare inammissibile la domanda reiterata (ossia una seconda domanda di asilo) in fase di imminente esecuzione e con quale procedura, per valutare così la compatibilità o meno con la Direttive procedure. Si tratta di una operazione ermeneutica complessa, ma che si rende assolutamente necessaria, anche in ragione dell’enorme importanza pratica rivestita da questo istituto. Una importanza, che ancor meglio si può apprezzare dalla lettura della Circolare del Ministero dell’Interno (Commissione Nazionale) del 2 novembre 2019[25] che attribuisce alla Questura il compito di dichiarare inammissibile la domanda di asilo ai sensi dell’art. 29-bis e qualifica tale inammissibilità come automatica (non soggetta a prova contraria): “È stato, inoltre, previsto che nel caso in cui lo straniero presenti una prima domanda reiterata nella fase di esecuzione di un provvedimento che ne comporterebbe l’allontanamento imminente dal territorio nazionale, la stessa è considerata inammissibile in quanto presentata al solo scopo di ritardare o impedire l’esecuzione del provvedimento. Opera, dunque, in tale circostanza, iure et de iure, una presunzione di strumentalità correlata alla concomitanza di due condizioni riferite l’una alla preesistenza di una decisione definitiva sulla domanda precedente e l’altra alla circostanza che sia iniziata l’esecuzione del provvedimento espulsivo. La sussistenza di tali presupposti esclude, pertanto, l’esame della domanda. In tali casi, come concordato con il Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza, la Questura competente comunicherà all’interessato l’inammissibilità della domanda sancita ex lege”. Sulla base di questa circolare, in molte questure italiane, è di fatto precluso l’esercizio del diritto di asilo a chi ha già presentato in passato una prima domanda di asilo. Infatti, molti di questi ultimi hanno già un decreto di espulsione (o di respingimento differito o di un ordine di allontanamento) nel momento i cui si presentano alle forze di polizia per la presentazione della seconda domanda di asilo. La Questura dunque provvede a dichiarare automaticamente la inammissibilità senza sottoporre il caso alla Commissione e senza neppure valutare l’esistenza o meno di nuovi elementi addotti. Dunque, la Questura procede all’esecuzione immediata dell’espulsione. Il cittadino straniero che ha provato a presentare una seconda domanda si ritrova così immediatamente in stato di trattenimento, teso al rimpatrio forzato per una decisione (vincolata) della Questura. Senonché, la direttiva 2013/32/UE stabilisce un principio opposto, secondo cui è sempre necessario che l’autorità accertante (in Italia la Commissione territoriale) proceda all’esame preliminare di una domanda reiterata (anche in fase di esecuzione di un imminente allontanamento), per valutare se sono stati sollevati nuovi elementi al fine di dichiararne la inammissibilità. Secondo la direttiva 2013/32/UE non c’è modo di attribuire in via automatica ad una domanda reiterata la qualifica di domanda inammissibile. La direttiva si limita a prevedere che in casi di imminente allontanamento dal Paese membro possa essere limitato il diritto del cittadino straniero a restare sul territorio dello stato durante la fase giudiziaria di impugnazione della dichiarazione di inammissibilità. La direttiva non ricollega alla imminenza dell’allontanamento alcuna conseguenza in termini di esame preliminare che l’autorità competente (in Italia, la Commissione) deve svolgere per accertarsi che esistano o meno elementi nuovi attinenti alla domanda di asilo.

      Più precisamente, la direttiva sopra richiamata afferma al considerando 36 che: “Qualora il richiedente esprima l’intenzione di presentare una domanda reiterata senza addurre prove o argomenti nuovi, sarebbe sproporzionato imporre agli Stati membri l’obbligo di esperire una nuova procedura di esame completa”. Ciò che si ammette che gli Stati membri possano escludere è l’esame completo (ossia la nuova audizione del richiedente asilo) e non quello preliminare, infatti, l’art. 33 recita: “2. Gli Stati membri possono giudicare una domanda di protezione internazionale inammissibile soltanto se: (...) d) la domanda è una domanda reiterata, qualora non siano emersi o non siano stati presentati dal richiedente elementi o risultanze nuovi ai fini dell’esame volto ad accertare se al richiedente possa essere attribuita la qualifica di beneficiario di protezione internazionale ai sensi della direttiva 2011/95/UE”. La domanda è inammissibile solo qualora non vi siano nuovi elementi, la cui emersione è possibile solo ad un esame preliminare. Prima di allora la domanda non può essere giudicata inammissibile. L’art. 40, inoltre, ribadisce che: “2. Per decidere dell’ammissibilità di una domanda di protezione internazionale ai sensi dell’articolo 33, paragrafo 2, lettera d), una domanda di protezione internazionale reiterata è anzitutto sottoposta a esame preliminare per accertare se siano emersi o siano stati addotti dal richiedente elementi o risultanze nuovi rilevanti per l’esame dell’eventuale qualifica di beneficiario di protezione internazionale a norma della direttiva 2011/95/UE […]. 5. Se una domanda reiterata non è sottoposta a ulteriore esame ai sensi del presente articolo, essa è considerata inammissibile ai sensi dell’articolo 33, paragrafo 2, lettera d)”. Solo se una domanda reiterata non è sottoposta a ulteriore esame perché, ad un esame preliminare, non siano emersi elementi nuovi, essa può essere giudicata inammissibile ai sensi dell’articolo 33, paragrafo 2, lettera d). L’art. 41 stabilisce, inoltre, che: “1. Gli Stati membri possono ammettere una deroga al diritto di rimanere nel territorio qualora una persona: a) abbia presentato una prima domanda reiterata, che non è ulteriormente esaminata ai sensi dell’articolo 40, paragrafo 5, al solo scopo di ritardare o impedire l’esecuzione di una decisione che ne comporterebbe l’imminente allontanamento dallo Stato membro in questione”. L’imminente allontanamento rileva dunque ai soli fini di attribuire agli Stati membri la facoltà di circoscrivere il diritto di rimanere in Italia del richiedente asilo che a seguito di un esame preliminare abbia ricevuto una dichiarazione di inammissibilità e decida di avvalersi del diritto di proporre ricorso o riesame avverso tale decisione. L’art. 42 espressamente prevede, altresì, che: “1. Gli Stati membri provvedono affinché i richiedenti la cui domanda è oggetto di un esame preliminare a norma dell’articolo 40 godano delle garanzie di cui all’articolo 12, paragrafo 1. 2. Gli Stati membri possono stabilire nel diritto nazionale norme che disciplinino l’esame preliminare di cui all’articolo 40. Queste disposizioni possono, in particolare: a) obbligare il richiedente a indicare i fatti e a produrre le prove che giustificano una nuova procedura; b) fare in modo che l’esame preliminare si basi unicamente su osservazioni scritte e non comporti alcun colloquio personale, a esclusione dei casi di cui all’articolo 40, paragrafo 6. Queste disposizioni non rendono impossibile l’accesso del richiedente a una nuova procedura, né impediscono di fatto o limitano seriamente tale accesso. 3. Gli Stati membri provvedono affinché il richiedente sia opportunamente informato dell’esito dell’esame preliminare e, ove sia deciso di non esaminare ulteriormente la domanda, dei motivi di tale decisione e delle possibilità di presentare ricorso o chiedere il riesame della decisione”. Lo Stato membro, ai sensi dei paragrafi 1 e 2, può quindi disciplinare ma non eliminare l’esame preliminare (prevedendo una dichiarazione di inammissibilità sancita ex lege). Precisando inoltre al paragrafo 3 che il richiedente deve essere informato dell’esito dell’esame preliminare al fine di apprestare le proprie difese.

      In definitiva, l’art. 29-bis, così come interpretato dal Ministero con la circolare sopra menzionata, sarebbe da considerare sicuramente contrario alla normativa europea e quindi destinato ad essere espunto dall’ordinamento giuridico italiano. Tuttavia, la norma può anche essere interpretata diversamente, in modo da attribuire alla Commissione il compito di analizzare la domanda di asilo anche in questo caso[26], tramite un esame preliminare (identico a quello già visto in relazione alla ordinaria domanda reiterata)[27]. L’art. 29-bis avrebbe dunque il solo effetto di non riconoscere il diritto a un ricorso effettivo. Ma in tal caso bisognerà chiedersi se la sopra illustrata deroga consentita dall’art. 41 all’art. 46 par. 8 (ossia al diritto di attendere una decisione del giudice sull’istanza di sospensiva) possa giustificare anche l’esclusione da tutte le garanzie dell’art. 46 e quindi, in definitiva, consentire il rimpatrio forzato del richiedente asilo immediatamente dopo la notifica della decisione di inammissibilità o se viceversa deve essere conservato il diritto di rimanere in Italia fino alla presentazione del ricorso (che sostanzialmente è la soluzione illegittima che il legislatore del dl 113/18 ha riservato alla domanda reiterata ordinaria).

      In ogni caso, per evitare un uso eccessivamente ampio di questo strumento (come sembra stia accadendo) devono correttamente interpretarsi i concetti di esecuzione/imminente/ allontanamento. Per imminente allontanamento deve intendersi esclusivamente la condizione di chi si trovi nelle ipotesi in cui il processo espulsivo è in stato avanzato, tanto che la Pubblica Amministrazione non solo sia certa di poter coattivamente costringere il cittadino straniero al rimpatrio forzato (quindi che abbia già disposto il suo trattenimento), ma che al contempo abbia già portato a compimento il complesso iter organizzativo necessario in questi casi: fissazione di un appuntamento con l’autorità consolare per il previo riconoscimento e acquisizione del lasciapassare, individuazione certa del vettore e dello specifico volo verso il paese di origine con relativo ordine di spesa ed emanazione dell’ordine di servizio per le forze dell’ordine deputate nel caso specifico ad effettuare l’accompagnamento all’interno del territorio italiano ed eventualmente durante la scorta internazionale. L’art. 29-bis quindi non troverebbe applicazione in presenza di un mero decreto di espulsione a carico del cittadino straniero, ma esclusivamente nei casi di presentazione della domanda reiterata in una fase di reale imminenza del rimpatrio, ossia solo quando questo sia effettivamente in corso, a fronte di una già avvenuta individuazione del volo, del personale coinvolto e della specifica tempistica effettiva di rimpatrio.

      Non può nascondersi, infatti, che molti cittadini stranieri non hanno di fatto la possibilità di esercitare appieno il diritto a richiedere la protezione internazionale, tanto più in presenza di un crescente utilizzo delle procedure accelerate e dell’approccio hotspot. Le prime, di fatto, mettono molti richiedenti nella condizione di affrontare l’audizione in Commissione e successivamente il ricorso avverso il diniego con pochissimi strumenti a causa della tempistica e delle condizioni di isolamento. Allo stesso tempo, l’approccio hotspot conduce moltissimi cittadini stranieri ad auto-dichiararsi al loro arrivo migranti economici, subendo così un decreto di respingimento differito o di espulsione che li conduce in stato di trattenimento e quindi ad affrontare ancora una volta la prima domanda di asilo (sempre che riescano nei Cpr a formalizzarla) in tempi strettissimi e con pochissimi strumenti. Ecco che dunque l’estrema rigidità con cui è stata disciplinata dal legislatore del dl 113/18 la domanda reiterata, oltre che per molti versi illegittima, appare pericolosamente nei fatti appartenere a una più ampia operazione di svuotamento del diritto di asilo.

      Relativamente alla domanda reiterata, infine, sarà necessario nel tempo interpretare correttamente anche l’ipotesi prevista dal nuovo art. 7 comma 2 lett. e) del d.lgs 25/08 come modificato dall’art. 9 del dl 113/08, secondo cui, il richiedente perde il diritto di attendere in Italia la decisione della Commissione territoriale nel caso in cui manifesti “la volontà di presentare un’altra domanda reiterata a seguito di una decisione definitiva che considera inammissibile una prima domanda reiterata ai sensi dell’articolo 29, comma 1, o dopo una decisione definitiva che respinge la prima domanda reiterata ai sensi dell’articolo 32, comma 1, lettere b) e b-bis)”. Si tratta del caso in cui il richiedente manifesti la volontà di presentare una terza (quarta, ecc.) domanda di asilo. In questo caso, conformemente alla Direttiva procedura (come sopra esposto) si disciplina diversamente la condizione del richiedente, che esprime la volontà, ancor prima di formalizzarla. Dal tenore delle norme della Direttiva, si evince chiaramente che in tal caso al richiedente non venga assicurato il diritto ad attendere che la Commissione si esprima, ma rimangono dubbi alcuni profili. In particolare, se deve comunque essergli riconosciuto il diritto di formalizzare la domanda di asilo prima del rimpatrio forzato (e quindi attendere nel proprio paese di asilo una eventuale decisone della Commissione) e se la convalida del suo trattenimento e dell’esecuzione del rimpatrio forzato debba considerarsi di competenza del Tribunale civile (come per tutti i casi di richiedenti asilo) o del giudice di pace (come per i casi dei cittadini stranieri non richiedenti asilo).

      6. Il cd. procedimento immediato di cui all’art. 32 comma 1-bis d.lgs 25/08

      L’art. 10 del dl 113/18 ha, infine, introdotto un nuovo istituto al comma 1.bis dell’art. 32 del d.lgs 25/08, secondo cui: “Quando il richiedente è sottoposto a procedimento penale per uno dei reati di cui agli articoli 12, comma 1, lettera c), e 16, comma 1, lettera d-bis), del decreto legislativo 19 novembre 2007, n. 251, e successive modificazioni, e ricorrono le condizioni di cui all’articolo 6, comma 2, lettere a), b) e c), del decreto legislativo 18 agosto 2015, n. 142, ovvero è stato condannato anche con sentenza non definitiva per uno dei predetti reati, il questore, salvo che la domanda sia già stata rigettata dalla Commissione territoriale competente, ne dà tempestiva comunicazione alla Commissione territoriale competente, che provvede nell’immediatezza all’audizione dell’interessato e adotta contestuale decisione, valutando l’accoglimento della domanda, la sospensione del procedimento o il rigetto della domanda. Salvo quanto previsto dal comma 3, in caso di rigetto della domanda, il richiedente ha in ogni caso l’obbligo di lasciare il territorio nazionale, anche in pendenza di ricorso avverso la decisione della Commissione. A tal fine si provvede ai sensi dell’articolo 13, commi 3, 4 e 5, del decreto legislativo 25 luglio 1998, n. 286”. In sostanza, nel caso in cui il richiedente asilo sia sottoposto a procedimento penale o sia stato condannato per taluni reati (tra cui alcuni di media gravità) viene sottoposto immediatamente all’audizione della Commissione territoriale, con una sorta di procedura accelerata. In caso di diniego[28] (anche in forza all’art. 35-bis comma 4 d.lgs 25/08) perde il diritto ad attendere in Italia non solo l’esito del ricorso ma anche quello della eventuale domanda cautelare di sospensione degli effetti del diniego stesso. Al pari di quanto sopra illustrato per il caso di inammissibilità della domanda reiterata “ordinaria” ex art. 29 comma 1 lett.b). Avrebbe dunque solo il diritto di rimanere in Italia per il tempo necessario a depositare il ricorso, ossia 30 giorni dalla notifica del diniego. Inoltre, nel caso in cui dovesse già trovarsi (al momento dell’apertura del procedimento penale) in sede di ricorso cesserebbero gli effetti della sospensione automatica, aprendo così la via al rimpatrio forzato immediato.

      Brevemente, si tratta di una disposizione che va evidentemente incontro all’esigenza mediatica, più volte espressa da alcune forze politiche, di procedere in tempi rapidi al rimpatrio forzato di richiedenti asilo che vengono accusati di aver commessi dei reati. Tuttavia, come si evince chiaramente anche dalle norme già analizzate della Direttiva procedure, si tratta di una disposizione del tutto illegittima in quanto totalmente estranea alle ipotesi (tassative) che la Direttiva stessa ha previsto in deroga alla ordinaria procedura di asilo. E’ una norma destinata ad essere espunta dall’ordinamento giuridico italiano, seppur è immaginabile che troverà applicazione fino a quando il complesso iter giurisdizionale non ne decreterà la illegittimità.

      Oltre alle ipotesi di procedura accelerata già analizzate e che sono state introdotte o riformate dal legislatore del dl 113/18, è opportuno ricordare che l’art. 28-bis d.lgs 25/08 ne prevede un’altra che non è stato oggetto di modifiche sostanziali. Questo articolo al comma 2 lett. c) stabilisce una procedura accelerata (14 gg per l’audizione e 4 per la decisione, prorogabili ai sensi del comma 3 dell’art. 28-bis) nei casi in cui il richiedente ha presentato “(…) la domanda dopo essere stato fermato in condizioni di soggiorno irregolare, al solo scopo di ritardare o impedire l’adozione o l’esecuzione di un provvedimento di espulsione o respingimento”. Ai sensi dell’art. 35-bis comma 2 d.lgs 25/08 il termine per proporre ricorso avverso il diniego della Commissione territoriale è ridotto a 15 giorni e non è previsto l’effetto sospensivo automatico del ricorso stesso (art. 35-bis comma 3). La previsione appare conforme alla Direttiva procedure.

      7. Considerazioni conclusive

      In conclusione, le norme introdotte in tema di procedure accelerate dal decreto 113/18 e dalla relativa legge di conversione destano fortissima preoccupazione per la potenziale capacità di svuotare, di fatto, il diritto di asilo, soprattutto se operate in concomitanza con talune prassi illegittime (come quelle connesse al c.d approccio hotpot) e in presenza di importanti carenze strutturali del sistema italiano (privo in frontiera e nei Cpr di reali servizi di supporto e di vigilanza). La riforma in parte sfrutta al massimo i margini lasciati aperti dalla direttiva procedure 2013/32/UE e in parte sconfina nella aperta illegittimità, anche se può leggersi in quest’ultima una forte propensione ad anticipare con grande zelo le nuove politiche legislative che da anni vengono promosse dalla Commissione Europea, che già a partire dal maggio del 2015 (con la prima agenda sulle immigrazioni) sostiene uno stravolgimento del Ceas (il sistema europeo comune di asilo), non da ultimo anche con le proposte di riforma dell’aprile 2016[29]. Una complessa riforma, bloccata nel 2019 dalla fine del mandato europeo, che immagina un sistema che conservi un’impeccabile impalcatura di principi generali in cui l’Unione Europea riesca a specchiare la propria superiorità giuridica e culturale, ma che allo stesso tempo si munisca di strumenti che possano ridurre drasticamente il numero delle persone che riescono a raggiungere l’Europa per avanzare la domanda di asilo (c.d. esternalizzazione) e riescano ad incanalare questi ultimi in una serie di procedure di eccezione (che di fatto sostituiscono la regola) con cui si riducono drasticamente di fatto le possibilità di ottenere una protezione internazionale, condannando per lo più i cittadini stranieri giunti sul territorio dell’UE ad una condizione di subalterna irregolarità. Un ritorno ad una concezione elitaria del diritto di asilo, dove a fronte di ampie dichiarazioni di principio si aprono canali reali di protezione internazionale solo per pochi altamente scolarizzati o con un ruolo politicamente strategico a cui chiedere un atto di abiura nei confronti del proprio paese di origine.

      [*] Qualifiche: Avv. Salvatore Fachile, socio Asgi Foro di Roma; Avv. Loredana Leo, socia Asgi Foro di Roma; dott.ssa Adelaide Massimi, socia Asgi - progetto “In Limine”.

      [1] Direttiva 2013/32/UE del Parlamento Europeo e del Consiglio del 26 giugno 2013 recante procedure comuni ai fini del riconoscimento e della revoca dello status di protezione internazionale (rifusione);

      [2] Per una più ampia disamina relativa ai profili di illegittimità costituzionale delle norme introdotte dal dl 113/2018, si veda l’analisi pubblicata da Asgi nell’ottobre del 2018: https://www.asgi.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/ASGI_DL_113_15102018_manifestioni_illegittimita_costituzione.pdf.

      [3] Si veda la Direttiva 2013/32/UE, in particolare l’articolo 31 par. 8 (che individua le ipotesi in cui possono essere applicate procedure accelerate e/o in frontiera) e il par. 9 che stabilisce che “gli Stati membri stabiliscono termini per l’adozione di una decisione nella procedura di primo grado di cui al par. 8. I termini sono ragionevoli”. Si veda, inoltre, l’art. 46 parr. 6, 7 e 8 circa l’effetto sospensivo della presentazione del ricorso;

      [4] Agenda Europea sulla migrazione, Bruxelles, 13.5.2015 COM(2015) 240 final https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52015DC0240&from=EN;

      [5] Per un’analisi più approfondita dell’approccio hotspot si veda: https://www.asgi.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2018-Lampedusa_scenari-_di_frontiera_versione-corretta.pdf; e https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2018/04/detention-and

      [6] Non sembra che ad oggi sia mai stata utilizzata questa nuova forma di detenzione, che appare chiaramente in contrasto con l’art. 13 della Costituzione italiana. Nell’ambito del progetto In Limine, Asgi ha chiesto e ottenuto informazioni in tal senso dal Ministero dell’Interno e dalle Prefetture competenti, che, in base alla Circolare ministeriale del 27 dicembre, sono incaricate di individuare gli appositi locali adibiti al trattenimento dei richiedenti asilo. Ad oggi alcuna Prefettura ha infatti individuato gli “appositi locali” in cui eseguire il trattenimento. Si veda: https://inlimine.asgi.it/il-trattenimento-dei-richiedenti-asilo-negli-hotspot-tra-previsioni-le.

      [7] Si veda a tal proposito il lavoro svolto da Asgi, Cild, ActionAid e IndieWatch nell’ambito del progetto In Limine per quanto riguarda i ricorsi presentati alla Corte Edu: http://www.indiewatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Lampedusa_web.pdf; il lavoro di monitoraggio e denuncia delle pratiche di trattenimento arbitrario: https://inlimine.asgi.it/il-trattenimento-dei-richiedenti-asilo-negli-hotspot-tra-previsioni-le; https://inlimine.asgi.it/da-un-confinamento-allaltro-il-trattenimento-illegittimo-nellhotspot-d; e il lavoro svolto in relazione alla procedura di supervisione della sentenza Khlaifia in collaborazione con A Buon Diritto: https://inlimine.asgi.it/lattualita-del-caso-khlaifia; https://inlimine.asgi.it/hotspot-litalia-continua-a-violare-il-diritto-alla-liberta-personale-d; https://www.asgi.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Khlaifia_-hotspot-Lampedusa_Progetto-In-limine_ITA-giugno-2018.pdf; https://hudoc.exec.coe.int/eng#{%22EXECIdentifier%22:[%22DH-DD(2019)906E%22]}.

      [8]A tal proposito si vedano i numerosi approfondimenti condotti circa l’utilizzo del foglio notizie e le problematiche legate alle modalità di compilazione dello stesso e le denunce presentate dalla società civile: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2018/04/detention-and; https://www.meltingpot.org/Determinazione-della-condizione-giuridica-in-hotspot.html; https://www.asylumineurope.org/reports/country/italy/asylum-procedure/access-procedure-and-registration/hotspots; http://www.garantenazionaleprivatiliberta.it/gnpl/resources/cms/documents/6f1e672a7da965c06482090d4dca4f9c.pdf; https://www.asgi.it/notizie/hotspot-violazioni-denuncia-associazioni-lampedusa-catania.

      [9] Questa lettura era stata già in passato sistematicamente sostenuta dalle Forze di polizia nell’ambito di una norma che richiama l’identica nozione allo scopo di determinare quali categorie di soggetti fossero obbligati ad essere accolti nei cd. CARA. Il Tribunale di Roma con l’ordinanza dd 13.04.2010 aveva già chiarito sul punto che: “le fattispecie per le quali è disposta l’ ‘ospitalità’ presso il centro Cara sono disciplinati per legge e non sono suscettibili di interpretazione estensiva perché di fatto incidono sul diritto alla libera circolazione del richiedente asilo (l’allontanamento dal centro senza giustificato motivo comporta, tra l’altro, che la Commissione territoriale possa decidere senza la previa audizione del richiedente, cfr. art 21 del d.lgs 25/08) e debbono poter essere esaminati e verificati dal giudice in sede di ricorso avverso il provvedimento amministrativo e di preliminare istanza di sospensione del provvedimento impugnato”. V. anche Trib. di Roma sent. n. 733 del 10.12.2012.

      [10] Dal Devoto-Oli, Dizionario della Lingua italiana, Le Monnier, 2011.

      [11] Decreto 5 agosto 2019, Individuazione delle zone di frontiera o di transito ai fini dell’attuazione della procedura accelerata di esame della richiesta di protezione internazionale, pubblicato in CU Serie Generale n. 210 del 07.09.2019.

      [12] A tal proposito si veda inoltre il commento di Asgi al dm del 5 agosto del 2019: https://www.asgi.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019_scheda_ASGI_decreto_zone_frontiera.pdf

      [13] Si veda, sul punto, la nota condivisa di Asgi, ActionAid, Arci, Borderline Sicilia, IndieWatch, MEDU, SeaWatch sulla situazione dei migranti sbarcati dalla Sea Watch 3 in condizione di detenzione arbitraria a Messina, Sa un confinamento all’altro. Il trattenimento illegittimo nell’hotspot di Messina dei migranti sbarcati dalla SeaWatch, 10.07.2019, https://inlimine.asgi.it/da-un-confinamento-allaltro-il-trattenimento-illegittimo-nellhotspot-d.

      [14] Si noti come il modello di procedura di frontiera disegnato dalla “Direttiva procedure” prevede un terzo elemento caratterizzante questa fattispecie, ossia la possibilità di detenere per un tempo massimo di 4 settimane il richiedente asilo in frontiera o zona di transito allo scopo di condurre la procedura di frontiera medesima. Tuttavia, il legislatore italiano ha preferito immaginare una forma di detenzione amministrativa simile ma differente, ossia quella sopra analizzata del trattenimento a scopo identificativo nei cd. hotspot e negli hub. Una procedura che nei fatti potrebbe molto somigliare alla detenzione in frontiera ma che giuridicamente si incardina su altre motivazioni, ossia sull’esigenza di identificazione, che probabilmente è apparsa al legislatore del dl 113/08 più vicina ai canoni costituzionali (rispetto a una detenzione basata esclusivamente sull’arrivo in frontiera).

      [15] Le ipotesi di procedura accelerata previste dall’art. 31 c. 8 della direttiva 2013/32 sono le seguenti:

      “a) nel presentare domanda ed esporre i fatti il richiedente ha sollevato soltanto questioni che non hanno alcuna pertinenza per esaminare se attribuirgli la qualifica di beneficiario di protezione internazionale a norma della direttiva 2011/95/UE; oppure
      il richiedente proviene da un paese di origine sicuro a norma della presente direttiva; o
      il richiedente ha indotto in errore le autorità presentando informazioni o documenti falsi od omettendo informazioni pertinenti o documenti relativi alla sua identità e/o alla sua cittadinanza che avrebbero potuto influenzare la decisione negativamente; o
      è probabile che, in mala fede, il richiedente abbia distrutto o comunque fatto sparire un documento d’identità o di viaggio che avrebbe permesso di accertarne l’identità o la cittadinanza; o
      il richiedente ha rilasciato dichiarazioni palesemente incoerenti e contraddittorie, palesemente false o evidentemente improbabili che contraddicono informazioni sufficientemente verificate sul paese di origine, rendendo così chiaramente non convincente la sua asserzione di avere diritto alla qualifica di beneficiario di protezione internazionale ai sensi della direttiva 2011/95/UE; o
      il richiedente ha presentato una domanda reiterata di protezione internazionale inammissibile ai sensi dell’art. 40, paragrafo 5; o
      il richiedente presenta la domanda al solo scopo di ritardare o impedire l’esecuzione di una decisione anteriore o imminente che ne comporterebbe l’allontanamento; o
      il richiedente è entrato illegalmente nel territorio dello Stato membro o vi ha prolungato illegalmente il soggiorno e, senza un valido motivo, non si è presentato alle autorità o non ha presentato la domanda di protezione internazionale quanto prima possibile rispetto alle circostanze del suo ingresso; oIT l. 180/78 Gazzetta ufficiale dell’Unione europea;
      il richiedente rifiuta di adempiere all’obbligo del rilievo dattiloscopico a norma del regolamento (UE) n. 603/2013 del Parlamento europeo e del Consiglio, del 26 giugno 2013, che istituisce «Eurodac» per il confronto delle impronte digitali per l’efficace applicazione del regolamento (UE) n. 604/2013 che stabilisce i criteri e i meccanismi di determinazione dello Stato membro competente per l’esame di una domanda di protezione internazionale presentata in uno degli Stati membri da un cittadino di un paese terzo o da un apolide e sulle richieste di confronto con i dati Eurodac presentate dalle autorità di contrasto degli Stati membri e da Europol a fini di contrasto ( 1 ); o
      il richiedente può, per gravi ragioni, essere considerato un pericolo per la sicurezza nazionale o l’ordine pubblico dello Stato membro o il richiedente è stato espulso con efficacia esecutiva per gravi motivi di sicurezza o di ordine pubblico a norma del diritto nazionale.”

      [16] Inoltre, da una attenta lettura dell’art. 35-bis comma 2 (che stabilisce i casi di dimezzamento del termine di impugnazione) si potrebbe dedurre che i termini sono dimezzati solo nel caso in cui la manifesta infondatezza (anche eventualmente per provenienza da paese di origine sicuro) sia dichiarata a seguito di una procedura accelerata e non anche di una procedura ordinaria. Infatti l’art. 35-bis comma 2 richiama l’art. 28-bis, ossia quello delle procedure accelerate (e non invece l’art. 28-ter o l’art. 32 comma 1 b-bis, che disciplinano in generale la manifesta infondatezza derivante sia da procedura ordinaria che accelerata). Sarebbe dunque la natura accelerata della procedura (coniugata con la motivazione di manifesta infondatezza del diniego) a comportare la contrazione del termine per l’impugnazione. Sul punto si dovrà necessariamente ritornare in separata sede, per una lettura più analitica delle norme e degli spunti giurisprudenziali.

      [17] Una corretta lettura dovrebbe portare a ritenere che la mancanza di effetto sospensivo sia esclusivamente ricollegata all’adozione di una procedura accelerata. Nel caso in cui non venga adottata una tale procedura (con il correlativo rispetto della tempistica prevista) si dovrà ritenere che il ricorso avverso il diniego abbia effetto sospensivo automatico (salvo ovviamente che il diniego rechi la dicitura di manifesta infondatezza, che comporterebbe il ricadere in una diversa ipotesi in cui il ricorso viene privato del suo ordinario effetto sospensivo automatico). Il punto non può che essere affrontato con maggiore analiticità in una differente sede.

      [18] Ministero dell’Interno – Commissione nazionale per il diritto di asilo, Circolare prot. 00003718 del 30.07.2015 avente ad oggetto “Ottimizzazione delle procedure relative all’esame delle domande di protezione internazionale. Casi di manifesta infondatezza dell’istanza”.

      [19] Corte d’Appello di Napoli, sent. n. 2963 del 27.06.2017.

      [20] Direttiva procedure art. 46 par. 5. Fatto salvo il par. 6, gli Stati membri autorizzano i richiedenti a rimanere nel loro territorio fino alla scadenza del termine entro il quale possono esercitare il loro diritto a un ricorso effettivo oppure, se tale diritto è stato esercitato entro il termine previsto, in attesa dell’esito del ricorso. Par. 6. Qualora sia stata adottata una decisione: a) di ritenere una domanda manifestamente infondata conformemente all’art. 32, par. 2, o infondata dopo l’esame conformemente all’articolo 31, par. 8, a eccezione dei casi in cui tali decisioni si basano sulle circostanze di cui all’articolo 31, par. 8, lettera h).

      [21] Infatti, il legislatore non si è avvalso della clausola di cui al par. 4 art. 40 Direttiva procedure, secondo cui: “Gli Stati membri possono stabilire che la domanda sia sottoposta a ulteriore esame solo se il richiedente, senza alcuna colpa, non è riuscito a far valere, nel procedimento precedente, la situazione esposta nei parr. 2 e 3 del presente articolo, in particolare esercitando il suo diritto a un ricorso effettivo a norma dell’articolo 46.”

      [22] Par. 5 art. 46 direttiva 2013/32/UE: “Fatto salvo il paragrafo 6, gli Stati membri autorizzano i richiedenti a rimanere nel loro territorio fino alla scadenza del termine entro il quale possono esercitare il loro diritto a un ricorso effettivo oppure, se tale diritto è stato esercitato entro il termine previsto, in attesa dell’esito del ricorso”.

      [23] Par. 6 art. 46 direttiva 2013/32/UE: “Qualora sia stata adottata una decisione: (…) b) di ritenere inammissibile una domanda a norma dell’articolo 33, paragrafo 2, lettere a), b) o d); (…) un giudice è competente a decidere, su istanza del richiedente o d’ufficio, se autorizzare o meno la permanenza del richiedente nel territorio dello Stato membro, se tale decisione mira a far cessare il diritto del richiedente di rimanere nello Stato membro e, ove il diritto nazionale non preveda in simili casi il diritto di rimanere nello Stato membro in attesa dell’esito del ricorso”.

      [24] “Gli Stati membri possono ammettere una deroga al diritto di rimanere nel territorio qualora una persona: a) abbia presentato una prima domanda reiterata, che non è ulteriormente esaminata ai sensi dell’articolo 40, paragrafo 5, al solo scopo di ritardare o impedire l’esecuzione di una decisione che ne comporterebbe l’imminente allontanamento dallo Stato membro in questione; o b) manifesti la volontà di presentare un’altra domanda reiterata nello stesso Stato membro a seguito di una decisione definitiva che considera inammissibile una prima domanda reiterata ai sensi dell’articolo 40, paragrafo 5, o dopo una decisione definitiva che respinge tale domanda in quanto infondata”.

      [25] Ministero dell’Interno – Commissione Nazionale per il Diritto d’asilo, Circolare prot. n. 0000001 del 02.01.2019 avente ad oggetto Decreto-legge del 4 ottobre 2018, n. 113, recante ‘Disposizioni urgenti in materia di protezione internazionale e immigrazione, sicurezza pubblica, nonché misure per la funzionalità del Ministero dell’interno e l’organizzazione e il funzionamento dell’Agenzia nazionale per l’amministrazione e la destinazione dei beni sequestrati e confiscati alla criminalità organizzata’, convertito, con modificazioni, dalla legge 1 dicembre 2018, n. 132;

      [26] Più precisamente, anzitutto bisogna rilevare che la direttiva 2013/32/UE sin dai considerando (in particolare n. 16) prevede che: “È indispensabile che le decisioni in merito a tutte le domande di protezione internazionale siano adottate sulla base dei fatti e, in primo grado, da autorità il cui organico dispone di conoscenze adeguate o ha ricevuto la formazione necessaria in materia di protezione internazionale”. Tale autorità è quella che nel prosieguo della direttiva è definita “autorità accertante”. In Italia, tale ruolo è assolto dalle Commissioni territoriali nominate dal Ministero dell’interno. La direttiva ammette che in luogo dell’autorità accertante alcune specifiche funzioni in materia siano svolte da altra autorità, purché adeguatamente formata. L’art. 4 della Direttiva “Autorità responsabili”, infatti, prevede che: “1. Per tutti i procedimenti gli Stati membri designano un’autorità che sarà competente per l’esame adeguato delle domande a norma della presente direttiva. (…) 2. Gli Stati membri possono prevedere che sia competente un’autorità diversa da quella di cui al paragrafo 1 al fine di: a) trattare i casi a norma del regolamento (UE) n. 604/2013 [c.d. Regolamento Dublino, ndr]; e b) accordare o rifiutare il permesso di ingresso nell’ambito della procedura di cui all’articolo 43, secondo le condizioni di cui a detto articolo e in base al parere motivato dell’autorità accertante [c.d. Procedure di frontiera, ndr].”. Inoltre, ai sensi dell’art. 34 “Norme speciali in ordine al colloquio sull’ammissibilità”: “[…] 2. Gli Stati membri possono disporre che il personale di autorità diverse da quella accertante conduca il colloquio personale sull’ammissibilità della domanda di protezione internazionale. In tal caso gli Stati membri provvedono a che tale personale riceva preliminarmente la necessaria formazione (…)”.

      Le competenze che possono essere attribuite ad autorità diversa da quella accertante possono riguardare, quindi, l’applicazione del cd. Regolamento Dublino e le procedure di frontiera (entrambe estranee al caso in esame), nonché la possibilità di condurre anche nei procedimenti sulle domande reiterate il colloquio del richiedente, ma non anche di assumere la decisione sulla domanda. Si consideri tuttavia che il colloquio con il richiedente costituisce una misura differente rispetto all’esame preliminare teso a valutare l’esistenza di elementi nuovi: si tratta di un eventuale fase del procedimento di inammissibilità a garanzia del richiedente che tuttavia nel caso di domande reiterate può essere escluso dal legislatore di ciascun Paese membro. Così come infatti ha deciso di fare il legislatore italiano che ha semplicemente escluso la fase del colloquio del richiedente nei casi di domanda reiterata. Per cui in Italia non è previsto il colloquio, ossia l’unica fase nel procedimento di valutazione della prima domanda reiterata che poteva essere affidata ad una autorità diversa (ossia alla Questura). Infatti ai sensi dell’art. 34 paragrafo 1 “Prima che l’autorità accertante decida sull’ammissibilità di una domanda di protezione internazionale, gli Stati membri consentono al richiedente di esprimersi in ordine all’applicazione dei motivi di cui all’articolo 33 alla sua situazione particolare. A tal fine, gli Stati membri organizzano un colloquio personale sull’ammissibilità della domanda. Gli Stati membri possono derogare soltanto ai sensi dell’articolo 42, in caso di una domanda reiterata”. La Direttiva quindi rende obbligatorio l’esame preliminare (valutazione cartacea sulla base della domanda scritta del richiedente) ma facoltativo il colloquio (unica fase affidabile ad una autorità diversa). In attuazione della Direttiva, l’art. 29 del D.lgs. n. 25/2008 “casi di inammissibilità della domanda” esclude il colloquio in caso di domanda reiterata, prevedendo espressamente che il Presidente delle Commissione Territoriale conduca un esame preliminare sulla domanda. A sua volta, l’art. 29-bis del Dl.lgs. n.25/2008, recita: “Nel caso in cui lo straniero abbia presentato una prima domanda reiterata nella fase di esecuzione di un provvedimento che ne comporterebbe l’imminente allontanamento dal territorio nazionale, la domanda è considerata inammissibile in quanto presentata al solo scopo di ritardare o impedire l’esecuzione del provvedimento stesso. In tale caso non si procede all’esame della domanda ai sensi dell’articolo 29”, nulla aggiungendo in merito alla competenza a giudicare inammissibile la domanda reiterata. Dunque si potrebbe interpretare l’art. 29-bis in modo differente da quanto proposto dal Ministero con la circolare del 2.01.2019 e con il decreto di inammissibilità qui impugnato.

      [27] Il Tribunale di Roma ha avuto modo di esprimersi in differenti occasioni annullando il decreto di inammissibilità emanato dalla Questura per difetto di competenza, ribadendo che si tratta di una prerogativa della Commissione, cfr. Trib. di Roma, decreto dd. 03.04.2019. Si veda, sul punto, G. Savio, Accesso alla procedura di asilo e poteri “di fatto” delle Questure, in Questione Giustizia, www.questionegiustizia.it/articolo/accesso-alla-procedura-di-asilo-e-poteri-di-fatto-delle-questure_29-05-2019.php;

      [28] Si dovrà comunque valutare anche l’esistenza di una necessità di riconoscere ai sensi dell’art. 32 comma 3 una protezione speciale, ossia il ricorrere delle condizioni di non refoulement di cui all’art. 19 comma 1 e 1.1 del D.lgs 286/98.

      [29] Sul punto si veda: Asgi, I nuovi orientamenti politico-normativi dell’Unione Europea – La prospettiva di nuove e radicali chiusure al diritto di asilo, settembre 2017, https://www.asgi.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017_9_Articolo_politiche-_UE_ok.pdf;

      https://www.questionegiustizia.it/articolo/le-nuove-procedure-accelerate-lo-svilimento-del-diritto-di-asilo_
      #procédures_de_frontière

    • Nuovi Cpr, Piantedosi: «Pensiamo a un centro per migranti a Ventimiglia»

      Al via il monitoraggio in 12 regioni per individuare le nuove strutture che saranno controllare (all’esterno) dalle forze dell’ordine. Si pensa ad ex caserme e aree industriali, comunque lontane dai centri abitati.

      Entro due mesi il ministero della Difesa dovrà avere la lista dei nuovi Centri di permanenza per i rimpatri decisi dal Consiglio del ministri lo scorso 18 settembre per fare fronte all’emergenza migranti, soprattutto di quelli irregolari. Un’operazione complessa, già iniziata da qualche settimana comunque dopo che il ministro dell’Interno #Matteo_Piantedosi ha espresso l’indicazione di aprire una struttura in ogni regione. Attualmente ci sono nove Cpr attivi, mentre quello di Torino è stato chiuso per i danneggiamenti causati da chi si trovava all’interno e deve essere ristrutturato. Ne mancano quindi 12 all’appello. Il ministro stesso nel pomeriggio ha annunciato in diretta tv (al programma «Cinque Minuti» su Rai 1), durante un’intervista. «Ventimiglia ha sempre sofferto, soffre dei transiti di migranti. Noi stiamo collaborando con la Francia per il controllo di quella frontiera ed è uno di qui luoghi a cui stiamo dedicando attenzione per la realizzazione di una di quelle strutture che abbiamo in animo di dedicare proprio per contenere il fenomeno».
      Chi sarà trattenuto nei Cpr?

      Innanzitutto in queste strutture vengono accompagnati gli stranieri irregolari considerati una minaccia per l’ordine e la sicurezza pubblica, quelli condannati, anche con sentenza non definitiva, per gravi reati e i cittadini che provengono da Paesi terzi con i quali risultino vigenti accordi in materia di cooperazione o altre intese in materia di rimpatri. Secondo la direttive il trattenimento in un Cpr è utile per evitare la dispersione sul territorio nazionale di persone che sono irregolari per quanto riguarda il soggiorno in Italia quando non sia possibile eseguirne con immediatezza il rimpatrio (per la necessità di accertarne l’identità, trattandosi spesso di stranieri privi di documenti di riconoscimento, di acquisire il lasciapassare delle autorità consolari del Paese di origine o semplicemente di organizzare le operazioni di allontanamento). Anche coloro che hanno richiesto asilo in Italia possono ritrovarsi in un Cpr ma soltanto se nei guai con la legge oppure se persone considerate pericolose o ancora se bisogna ancora analizzare gli elementi su cui si basa la domanda di protezione internazionale, che non potrebbero essere acquisiti senza il trattenimento e se c’è al tempo stesso il rischio di fuga.

      Dove si trovano i Cpr e dove saranno costruiti gli altri 12?

      Attualmente i Centri sono a Bari, Brindisi, Caltanissetta, Roma, Torino (chiuso, come detto), Palazzo San Gervasio (Potenza), Trapani, Gorizia, Macomer (Nuoro) e Milano. A oggi ci sono 1.338 posti su una capienza effettiva di 619 posti. Il più grande è quello romano a Ponte Galeria, uno dei primi ex Cie d’Italia con 117 posti utilizzabili. Gli altri dovranno essere costruiti Calabria, Molise, Campania, Marche, Abruzzo, Toscana, Emilia Romagna, Veneto, Liguria, Trentino Alto Adige e Valle d’Aosta in strutture che saranno individuate dalla Difesa e poi adattate dal Genio militare. Si pensa ad ex caserme ma anche a complessi in aree industriali che rispondono alle esigenze descritte dal governo: lontano da centri abitati, controllabili e perimetrabili. La vigilanza sarà affidata a polizia e carabinieri e comunque non all’Esercito che si limiterà all’organizzazione logistica.

      Quanto tempo i clandestini rimarranno nei Cpr?

      Al massimo 18 mesi, come stabilito nel corso dell’ultimo Cdm, partendo da sei mesi prorogabili ogni tre mesi, come consentito dalla normativa europea per gli stranieri che non hanno fatto domanda di asilo, per i quali sussistano esigenze specifiche (se lo straniero non collabora al suo allontanamento o per i ritardi nell’ottenimento della necessaria documentazione da parte dei Paesi terzi). Attualmente nei Cpr si rimane per 90 giorni con una proroga fino a 45. E comunque i richiedenti asilo non possono essere trattenuti per più di un anno. Nel caso il migrante irregolare dovesse invece collaborare subito alla sua identificazione certa e dovesse anche accettare il rimpatrio, allora il suo trattenimento sarebbe molto più breve. In ogni circostanza è il questore a disporre l’accompagnamento al Cpr del soggetto e a inviare entro 48 ore la comunicazione al giudice di pace che deve convalidare il provvedimento. Il magistrato è chiamato anche a decidere sulle eventuali proroghe.
      Chi gestisce un Cpr?

      Ogni struttura è di competenza del prefetto, massima autorità provinciale dello Stato, che con i bandi affida a soggetti privati la gestione dei servizi interni al Cpr, sia sul fronte logistico-organizzativo sia su quello dei rapporti con chi è trattenuto. Le forze dell’ordine pattugliano l’esterno e possono entrare solo su richiesta dei gestori in caso di necessità ed emergenza. Ogni straniero trattenuto può invece presentare istanze e reclami al Garante nazionale e a quelli regionali delle persone detenute o private della libertà personale. La prima autorità può peraltro inviare raccomandazioni ai prefetti e ai gestori su specifici aspetti del trattenimento.
      Da quanto tempo esistono i Cpr?

      I Centri di permanenza per i rimpatri sono stati istituiti nel 1998 dalla legge sull’immigrazione Turco-Napolitano (art. 12 della legge 40/1998) per adempiere agli obblighi previsti dalla normativa europea. All’inizio furono chiamati Cpt (Centri di permanenza temporanea), poi Cie (Centri di identificazione ed espulsione) dalla legge Bossi-Fini (L.189/2002). Oggi Cpr con la legge Minniti-Orlando (L. 46/2017).

      https://roma.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/23_settembre_20/nuovi-cpr-dalla-valle-d-aosta-alla-calabria-dove-saranno-e-chi-dovra-a

  • Boris Johnson annonce avoir signé un accord avec Kigali pour envoyer des demandeurs d’asile au #Rwanda

    Ce projet, susceptible de s’appliquer à toutes les personnes entrées illégalement sur le territoire, a suscité des réactions scandalisées des organisations de défense des droits humains.

    Le premier ministre britannique, Boris Johnson, a décidé de durcir la politique migratoire du Royaume-Uni, en prenant une décision pour le moins controversée. Le Royaume-Uni a annoncé, jeudi 14 avril, avoir pour projet d’envoyer au Rwanda des demandeurs d’asile arrivés illégalement, espérant ainsi dissuader les traversées clandestines de la Manche, qui sont en pleine augmentation.

    Ce projet, susceptible de s’appliquer à toutes les personnes entrées illégalement sur le territoire, d’où qu’elles viennent (Iran, Syrie, Erythrée…), a suscité des réactions scandalisées. Des organisations de défense des droits humains ont dénoncé son « inhumanité ». L’opposition a jugé que le premier ministre tentait de détourner l’attention après l’amende qu’il a reçue pour une fête d’anniversaire en plein confinement. Le Haut-Commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés (HCR) a, de son côté, fait part de « sa forte opposition » :

    « Les personnes fuyant la guerre, les conflits et les persécutions méritent compassion et empathie. Elles ne devraient pas être échangées comme des marchandises et transférées à l’étranger pour être traitées. »
    Un projet chiffré à 144 millions d’euros

    Alors que M. Johnson avait promis de contrôler l’immigration, un des sujets-clés dans la campagne du Brexit, le nombre de traversées illégales de la Manche a triplé en 2021, année marquée notamment par la mort de vingt-sept personnes dans un naufrage à la fin de novembre. Londres reproche régulièrement à Paris de ne pas en faire assez pour empêcher les traversées.

    « A partir d’aujourd’hui (…), toute personne entrant illégalement au Royaume-Uni ainsi que celles qui sont arrivées illégalement depuis le 1er janvier pourront désormais être transférées au Rwanda », a annoncé le dirigeant conservateur dans un discours dans le Kent (sud-est de l’Angleterre). Le Rwanda pourra accueillir « des dizaines de milliers de personnes dans les années à venir », a-t-il ajouté, décrivant ce pays d’Afrique de l’Est comme l’un des « plus sûrs du monde, mondialement reconnu pour son bilan d’accueil et d’intégration des migrants ».

    En vertu de l’accord annoncé jeudi, Londres financera dans un premier temps le dispositif à hauteur de 144 millions d’euros. Le gouvernement rwandais a précisé qu’il proposerait la possibilité « de s’installer de manière permanente au Rwanda [à ces personnes si elles] le souhaitent ».

    Désireux de regagner en popularité avant des élections locales le mois prochain, M. Johnson et son gouvernement cherchent depuis des mois à conclure des accords avec des pays tiers où envoyer les clandestins en attendant de traiter leur dossier.
    Le contrôle de la Manche confié à la marine

    « Notre compassion est peut-être infinie, mais notre capacité à aider des gens ne l’est pas », a déclaré M. Johnson, qui anticipe des recours en justice contre le dispositif. « Ceux qui essaient de couper la file d’attente ou d’abuser de notre système n’auront pas de voie automatique pour s’installer dans notre pays mais seront renvoyés de manière rapide et humaine dans un pays tiers sûr ou leur pays d’origine », a-t-il ajouté.

    Les migrants arrivant au Royaume-Uni ne seront plus hébergés dans des hôtels, mais dans des centres d’accueil, à l’image de ceux qui existent en Grèce, avec un premier centre « ouvrant bientôt », a annoncé M. Johnson.

    Dans le cadre de ce plan, qui vient compléter une vaste loi sur l’immigration actuellement au Parlement et déjà critiqué par l’Organisation des Nations unies (ONU), le gouvernement confie dès jeudi le contrôle des traversées illégales de la Manche à la marine, équipée de matériel supplémentaire. En revanche, il a renoncé à son projet de repousser les embarcations entrant dans les eaux britanniques, mesure décriée côté français.
    Les ONG scandalisées

    En envoyant des demandeurs d’asile à plus de 6 000 kilomètres du Royaume-Uni, Londres veut décourager les candidats à l’immigration, toujours plus nombreux : 28 500 personnes ont effectué ces périlleuses traversées en 2021, contre 8 466 en 2020, selon des chiffres du ministère de l’intérieur.

    Amnesty International a critiqué « une idée scandaleusement mal conçue » qui « fera souffrir tout en gaspillant d’énormes sommes d’argent public », soulignant aussi le « bilan lamentable en matière de droits humains » du Rwanda.

    Daniel Sohege, directeur de l’organisation de défense des droits humains Stand For All, a déclaré à l’Agence France-Presse que l’initiative du gouvernement était « inhumaine, irréalisable et très coûteuse », recommandant plutôt d’ouvrir des voies d’entrée au Royaume-Uni « plus sûres » car celles qui existent sont « très limitées ».

    https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2022/04/14/londres-a-signe-un-accord-avec-kigali-pour-envoyer-des-demandeurs-d-asile-au

    #Angleterre #UK #asile #migrations #réfugiés
    #offshore_asylum_processing

    –-

    ajouté à la métaliste sur les différentes tentatives de différentes pays européens d’#externalisation non seulement des contrôles frontaliers, mais aussi de la #procédure_d'asile dans des #pays_tiers
    https://seenthis.net/messages/900122

    et ajouté à la métaliste sur la mise en place de l’#externalisation des #procédures_d'asile au #Rwanda par l’#Angleterre (2022) :
    https://seenthis.net/messages/900122

    • UN Refugee Agency opposes UK plan to export asylum

      Following public announcements made today, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, expressed strong opposition and concerns about the United Kingdom’s plan to export its asylum obligations and urged the UK to refrain from transferring asylum seekers and refugees to Rwanda for asylum processing.

      “UNHCR remains firmly opposed to arrangements that seek to transfer refugees and asylum seekers to third countries in the absence of sufficient safeguards and standards. Such arrangements simply shift asylum responsibilities, evade international obligations, and are contrary to the letter and spirit of the Refugee Convention,” said UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs.

      “People fleeing war, conflict and persecution deserve compassion and empathy. They should not be traded like commodities and transferred abroad for processing.”

      UNHCR urged both countries to re-think the plans. It also warned that instead of deterring refugees from resorting to perilous journeys, these externalization arrangements will only magnify risks, causing refugees to seek alternative routes, and exacerbating pressures on frontline states.

      While Rwanda has generously provided a safe haven to refugees fleeing conflict and persecution for decades, the majority live in camps with limited access to economic opportunities. UNHCR believes that wealthier nations must show solidarity in supporting Rwanda and the refugees it already hosts, and not the other way around.

      The UK has an obligation to ensure access to asylum for those seeking protection. Those who are determined to be refugees can be integrated, while those who are not and have no other legal basis to stay, can be returned in safety and dignity to their country of origin.

      Instead, the UK is adopting arrangements that abdicate responsibility to others and thus threaten the international refugee protection regime, which has stood the test of time, and saved millions of lives over the decades.

      The UK has supported UNHCR’s work many times in the past and is providing important contributions that help protect refugees and support countries in conflicts such as Ukraine. However, financial support abroad for certain refugee crises cannot replace the responsibility of States and the obligation to receive asylum seekers and protect refugees on their own territory – irrespective of race, nationality and mode of arrival.

      While UNHCR recognizes the challenges posed by forced displacement, developed countries are host to only a fraction of the world’s refugees and are well resourced to manage claims for asylum in a humane, fair and efficient manner.

      https://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2022/4/62585e814/un-refugee-agency-opposes-uk-plan-export-asylum.html

    • The Border is a Colonial Wound: The Rwanda Deal and State Trafficking in People

      The border is a “colonial wound” that is designed for #bordering and #ordering#b/ordering – of the racialised and illegalised people by any means. The UK’s Nationality and Borders Bill and its subsequent offshore detention deal to deport people desperately seeking refugee to Rwanda is enactment of this exclusive b/ordering regime. One does not need to read between the lines to understand the objectives of the UK’s so-called “#Arrangement” with Rwanda as set out in article 2.1 and 2.2 of the #Memorandum_of_Understanding:

      2.1 The objective of this Arrangement is to create a mechanism for the relocation of asylum seekers whose claims are not being considered by the United Kingdom, to Rwanda, which will process their claims and settle or remove (as appropriate) individuals after their claim is decided…

      2.2 For the avoidance of doubt, the commitments set out… do not create or confer any right on any individual, nor shall compliance with this Arrangement be justiciable in any court of law by third-parties or individuals.

      These b/ordering arrangements pushes refugees and people seeking asylum into spaces of exception and extra-legality through a discriminatory policing at national (e.g., the Nationality and Borders Bill) and bilateral (e.g., the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Rwanda) levels. It does so in newly designated detention spaces like Manston, like the mandatory dispersal to Local Authorities announced at the same time as the Rwanda deal, and expansion of the securitised detention estate. Without doubt, these b/ordering arrangements have already become sources of ambivalence, anxiety and uncertainty. They are a source of terror to those who wish to seek asylum and are already arrayed in a precarious state. And if you had seen our direct messages as the announcement was leaked to the press and the fear expressed you can be in no doubt that the aim of terrorising people already placed in highly vulnerable immigration statuses is having a chilling effect.

      John Vine, the UK’s First Independent Chief Inspector of Borders cand Immigration, speaking on Sky News after the Prime Minister’s announcement of the Migration and Economic Partnership Deal with Rwanda, underscored the costs, not only economically, which have been calculated as far exceeding the cost of placing people in the Ritz, but the costs to the human body and the body politic. Deportation can only be affected by using often violent restraint and against the will of the individual. Jimmy Mbenga is the name every activist in the anti-deportation sector holds close when thinking of the ways restrains are effected on the deportees body, with the danger of asphyxiation. Nicolas Proctor’s as inspector of the Australian detention estate, where such off shoring mechanisms have been long in use, writes of the exponential rise in suicide and self harm under such conditions of deportation and detention. The deal is the official instigation of necropolitics, long written of by Achille Mbembe, but now instituted in ‘deals’ and ‘schemes’ and very likely indeed, unless prevented by the House of Lords, to be enacted into law.

      Indeed, the goal of the new national and bilateral arrangements is to create “discounted bodies” or ‘bodies at the limits of life, trapped in uninhabitable worlds and inhospitable places’. In this case, uninhabitability and inhospitality are designed and deliberate. The intention is simply to hold life in a permanent ‘state of injury’ outside any realms of protection and political intelligibility. Whether it be rendering people inadmissible through the legislation or “processing” them in offshore containment spaces, they all amount to necropolitical experimentation.

      Behrouz Boochani’s multi award winning book No Friend But The Mountains documents the destituting of human beings in such centres as the UK has now chosen to replicate. Even more so, his extraordinary film, Chauka, Please Tell Us The Time,

      ‘After a year or two years I found out that the journalism language is not powerful enough to tell the suffering and to tell the history of this prison, and what Australian government is doing in this island’, said Boochani.

      A chauka is a small bird native to Manus Island and is also the name of the high-security prison within the camp. The chauka is a symbol of the island and allows locals to tell the time from the chauka’s regular singing.In a sinister twist, it is pronounced the same as the English word “choker.”

      On April 15, the U.K. joined Australia in becoming a state that traffics people, destituting the bodies and lives of those who claim their right of asylum, and instituting a reign of necropolitics.

      This decision is against the spirit and letter of the Refugee Convention and the legal opinion of UNHCR UK has already expressed grave concerns about the U.K’s obligations as a state as a signatory of the 1951 Convention. In fact, the UNHCR has condemned the deal; ‘People seeking safety and protection, who have few alternatives, should not be penalized’.

      That this is likely to be contested in law and through the courts and will be the site of a great deal of opposition is not in doubt; or that it will eventually be overturned, as with Israel’s failed Rwanda deal and Australia’s failed Manus and Nauru project. But until then, we all have hard work to do.

      https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2022/04/border-colonial
      #discriminations #extra-légalité #coût #violence #santé_mentale #suicides #nécropolitique #inhospitalité #inhabitabilité

    • Rwanda genocide orphans to be booted out of home to make way for UK asylum seekers

      Orphans of Rwanda’s civil war say they have nowhere to go after being turfed out of a hostel under Priti Patel’s cruel Rwanda refugee scheme

      Orphans of the Rwandan genocide will lose their home to make way for refugees being booted out of Britain by Home Secretary Priti Patel.

      Some 22 residents are being turfed out of Hope House hostel to make room for asylum seekers sent to the African country under the proposed scheme.

      As more migrants landed in Dover yesterday, Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael said the evictions were “cruel and heartless”.

      Orphans of Rwanda’s civil war say they have nowhere to go after being turfed out of a hostel under Patel’s cruel Rwanda refugee scheme.

      A shelter for traumatised victims of the 1994 conflict is being emptied to make way for asylum seekers being sent from the UK under the controversial Tory plan.

      Although now in their late 20s, the 22 survivors have no money or family and some face lifelong mental health battles. They were given a fortnight’s notice to ship out of the hostel – ironically named Hope House – in capital city Kigali.

      Tonight one vulnerable woman who has lived at the shelter for eight years said: “I barely know any other home. I was only told about moving out a few days ago. I have not figured out where I will go.”

      https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/rwanda-genocide-orphans-booted-out-26728311

    • Le Royaume-Uni signe un accord avec Kigali pour envoyer des demandeurs d’asile au Rwanda

      Le Rwanda a signé un accord controversé avec Londres pour accueillir sur son sol des migrants et demandeurs d’asile de diverses nationalités acheminés du Royaume-Uni, a annoncé jeudi Kigali à l’occasion d’une visite de la ministre anglaise de l’Intérieur, Priti Patel. Le Haut Commissariat de l’ONU pour les réfugiés (HCR) a fait part de « sa forte opposition » au projet britannique.

      Le Royaume-Uni a annoncé, jeudi 14 avril, un projet controversé d’envoyer au Rwanda les demandeurs d’asiles arrivés illégalement sur son territoire et confié la surveillance de la Manche à la Royal Navy, espérant dissuader les traversées de clandestins qui ne cessent d’augmenter.

      Alors que le Premier ministre Boris Johnson avait promis de contrôler l’immigration, un des sujets clés de la campagne du Brexit, le nombre de traversées illégales, très dangereuses, a triplé en 2021 et continue d’augmenter. Londres reproche régulièrement à Paris de ne pas en faire assez pour les empêcher.

      « À partir d’aujourd’hui (...), toute personne entrant illégalement au Royaume-Uni ainsi que ceux qui sont arrivés illégalement depuis le 1er janvier pourront désormais être relocalisés au Rwanda », a annoncé le dirigeant conservateur lors d’un discours dans un aéroport du Kent (sud-est de l’Angleterre).

      Le Rwanda pourra accueillir « des dizaines de milliers de personnes dans les années à venir », a-t-il ajouté, affirmant que ce pays d’Afrique de l’Est est « l’un des pays les plus sûrs au monde, mondialement reconnu pour son bilan d’accueil et d’intégration des migrants ».

      Ce projet, susceptible donc de s’appliquer à tous les clandestins d’où qu’ils viennent (Iran, Syrie, Érythrée...), a suscité des réactions scandalisées des organisations de défense des droits humains, qui dénoncent son « inhumanité ». L’opposition a jugé que le Premier ministre tentait de détourner l’attention après avoir reçu une amende pour une fête d’anniversaire en plein confinement.
      Un accord à 144 millions d’euros

      Désireux de regagner en popularité avant des élections locales en mai, Boris Johnson et son gouvernement cherchent depuis des mois à conclure des accords avec des pays tiers où envoyer les migrants en attendant de traiter leur dossier.

      Une telle mesure est déjà appliquée par l’Australie avec des îles éloignées du Pacifique, une politique très critiquée. Par ailleurs, le Danemark avait également envisagé d’envoyer ses demandeurs d’asile vers des pays africains.

      En vertu de l’accord annoncé jeudi, Londres financera dans un premier temps le dispositif à hauteur de 120 millions de livres sterling (144 millions d’euros). Le gouvernement rwandais a précisé qu’il proposerait aux personnes accueillies la possibilité « de s’installer de manière permanente au Rwanda » si elles « le souhaitent ».

      « Notre compassion est peut-être infinie mais notre capacité à aider des gens ne l’est pas », a déclaré Boris Johnson. Le chef du gouvernement britannique a ajouté que « ceux qui essayent de couper la file d’attente ou abuser de notre système n’auront pas de voie automatique pour s’installer dans notre pays mais seront renvoyés de manière rapide, humaine, dans un pays tiers sûr ou leur pays d’origine ».

      Les migrants arrivant au Royaume-Uni ne seront plus hébergés dans des hôtels mais dans des centres d’accueil à l’image de ceux existant en Grèce, avec un premier centre « ouvrant bientôt », a annoncé Boris Johnson.
      Migrants échangés « comme des marchandises »

      Dans le cadre de ce plan, qui vient compléter une vaste loi sur l’immigration actuellement au Parlement et déjà critiqué par l’ONU, le gouvernement confie dès jeudi le contrôle des traversées illégales de la Manche à la Marine, équipée de matériel supplémentaire. Il a renoncé en revanche à son projet de repousser les embarcations entrant dans les eaux britanniques, mesure décriée côté français.

      En envoyant des demandeurs d’asile à plus de 6 000 kilomètres du Royaume-Uni, le gouvernement veut décourager les candidats au départ vers le Royaume-Uni, toujours plus nombreux : 28 500 personnes ont effectué ces périlleuses traversées en 2021, contre 8 466 en 2020... et seulement 299 en 2018, selon des chiffres du ministère de l’Intérieur.

      Amnesty International a critiqué une « idée scandaleusement mal conçue » qui « fera souffrir tout en gaspillant d’énormes sommes d’argent public », soulignant aussi le « bilan lamentable en matière de droits humains » de la nation africaine.

      Pour le directeur général de Refugee Action, Tim Naor Hilton, c’est une « manière lâche, barbare et inhumaine de traiter les personnes fuyant la persécution et la guerre ».

      Le Haut Commissariat de l’ONU pour les réfugiés (HCR) a fait également part de « sa forte opposition » au projet britannique. « Les personnes fuyant la guerre, les conflits et les persécutions méritent compassion et empathie. Elles ne devraient pas être échangées comme des marchandises et transférées à l’étranger pour voir leur dossiers traités », a déclaré le HCR dans un communiqué.

      Même dans les rangs conservateurs, les critiques ont fusé, le député Tobias Ellwood estimant sur la BBC qu’il s’agit d’une « énorme tentative de détourner l’attention » des déboires de Boris Johnson dans le « Partygate », ces fêtes organisées dans les cercles du pouvoir pendant les confinements.

      https://www.france24.com/fr/europe/20220414-le-royaume-uni-signe-un-accord-avec-kigali-pour-envoyer-des-deman

    • Le Rwanda déjà engagé dans des projets d’accueil de migrants avec d’autres pays

      Le Rwanda serait-il en train de devenir un sous-traitant de la prise en charge des demandeurs d’asile pour les pays européens ? Le pays vient de signer jeudi 15 avril un accord très controversé avec le Royaume-Uni, qui souhaite y déporter ses migrants clandestins. Pour Kigali, ce n’est pas exactement une première, puisque le Rwanda est déjà engagé depuis plusieurs années dans divers projets d’accueil et de réinstallation de migrants.

      Dès 2014, un accord très opaque avec #Israël crée la polémique. Il prévoit déjà l’envoi de demandeurs d’asiles vers l’#Ouganda et le Rwanda. Mais une fois arrivés en Afrique centrale, beaucoup de ces migrants sont vite repartis. Kigali parle aujourd’hui d’un projet pilote rapidement abandonné, explique notre correspondante à Kigali, Laure Broulard.

      En 2019, Rwanda accepte d’accueillir des réfugiés évacués de #Libye par le HCR, le temps que leur demande d’asile soit examiné par des pays occidentaux. Quelques centaines d’entre eux sont actuellement logés dans un centre d’accueil dans l’Est du pays.

      Plus récemment, Kigali a également reçu des Afghans fuyant les talibans, notamment les élèves et le personnel d’un internat pour jeunes filles. Enfin, le pays est en discussions avec le #Danemark, qui souhaite y externaliser ses demandes d’asile. « Nous sommes disposés à explorer des décisions difficiles avec des partenaires de bonne foi pour pouvoir trouver une solution durable à ces questions de migration illégale », explique le ministre des Affaires étrangères rwandais, Vincent Biruta.

      Autant d’initiatives qui permettent au Rwanda de Paul Kagame, critiqué pour sa répression de la liberté d’expression et de l’opposition, de se faire connaître comme un pays « sûr », accueillant et comme un partenaire intéressant. Dans le cas de l’accord avec le Royaume-Uni, c’est aussi une #opportunité_économique, puisque Londres a déjà promis un investissement de près de 145 millions d’euros pour soutenir le #développement du pays.

      Londres s’attend à des recours en justice

      Mais les réactions d’indignation se multiplient. L’ONU parle d’un projet « irréaliste, immoral et discriminatoire ». Le gouvernement de Boris Johnson pense que son partenariat avec le Rwanda, pour y envoyer les demandeurs d’asile arrivés illégalement au Royaume-Uni, pourra débuter dans les prochaines semaines. Londres s’attend à des recours en justice, mais l’opposition pourrait même venir du sein même du ministère de l’Intérieur, explique notre correspondante à Londres, Emeline Vin.

      Pour faire approuver le partenariat migratoire entre le Royaume-Uni et le Rwanda, Priti Patel a utilisé une #directive_ministérielle, un mécanisme qui lui permet de passer outre l’opposition de son directeur de cabinet. C’est seulement le deuxième recours par le ministère de l’Intérieur depuis 30 ans.

      Officiellement, il s’agit de contourner les réserves des fonctionnaires, non affiliés politiquement, sur le financement. Le ministère n’a pas de chiffrage précis et certains officiels pensent que « relocaliser », vers le Rwanda, des migrants arrivés illégalement en Grande-Bretagne pour y demander l’asile, risque de coûter plus cher à long terme.

      Mais pour les syndicats, cela montre surtout le caractère ultra-polémique du projet, un élu le qualifiant de « purement inhumain ». Selon un autre, Priti Patel est passée en force, car elle savait qu’elle n’avait pas le soutien de ses équipes. Or, un #fonctionnaire n’a que le choix d’appliquer les politiques de son ministère ou de quitter son poste. Le gouvernement a présenté le programme à la veille du weekend pascal, qui dure du vendredi au lundi ici, mais s’attend à des recours en justice. 160 ONG l’ont déjà appelé à renoncer.

      https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20220416-le-rwanda-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-engag%C3%A9-dans-des-projets-d-accueil-de-migr
      #sous-traitance #réfugiés_afghans #Afghanistan #passage_en_force

    • Arrangement Royaume-Uni/Rwanda : externaliser l’asile en Afrique, arme de dissuasion massive en Europe

      Par une mesure urgente de suspension du 14 juin 2022, la Cour européenne des droits de l’Homme vient rappeler au Royaume-Uni qu’il est toujours soumis au respect du droit international de l’asile. Que ce soit au Royaume-Uni ou dans les Etats membres de l’Union européenne, l’heure n’est plus à l’accueil et la course au renvoi des personnes exilées bat son plein.

      L’externalisation de l’asile au Rwanda était l’une des principales mesures du « plan immigration » du Royaume-Uni, présentée le 14 avril 2022, et censée dissuader les traversées « irrégulières » de la Manche. Mais les recours des plaignant.e.s – majoritairement originaires de Syrie, Irak et Iran – et de leurs soutiens, auront finalement payé : le 14 juin, par des mesures provisoires, la Cour européenne des droits de l’Homme a empêché in extremis le départ du premier vol de demandeur.se.s d’asile « transféré.e.s » du Royaume-Uni au Rwanda [1], sauvant ce qu’il reste du principe de non-refoulement. Mais au vu de la détermination britannique, ce n’est sans doute que partie remise…

      Car les velléités « d’accueillir » les exilé.e.s au plus loin du territoire européen sont profondes et anciennes [2]. Dès 1986, le Danemark proposait un système de gestion des demandes d’asile dans des centres de traitement régionaux, administrés par les Nations Unies, dans lesquels auraient été systématiquement placé.e.s les demandeur.se.s d’asile ayant franchi la frontière « irrégulièrement ». En 2003, s’inspirant de la décriée « Solution pacifique » australienne [3], Blair évoquait des « centres de transit » hors Europe pour y envoyer les demandeurs et demandeuses d’asile avant qu’ils et elles n’atteignent le sol européen.
      En 2022, c’est devenu une réalité pour le Royaume-Uni de Johnson : les exilé.e.s pourront voir leur demande de protection jugée irrecevable s’ils ou elles sont arrivé.e.s sur le sol britannique en dehors des postes frontières habilités, après un voyage "dangereux", ou en provenance d’un pays tiers sûr, et pourront être envoyé.e.s au Rwanda, où ils et elles pourront déposer une demande d’asile. Si la décision est positive, le Rwanda deviendrait alors pays d’accueil et de protection pendant cinq ans, dans le cadre du protocole d’accord entre les deux pays, en échange de 120 millions de livres versées par le Royaume-Uni [4]
      Avec cet arrangement, le Royaume-Uni fait un pas de plus dans la violation du principe de non-refoulement, pierre angulaire du droit d’asile.
      Il n’est pas, loin s’en faut, le seul État à avancer dans cette direction. Depuis plusieurs années, les États européens ont choisi leur « accueil », normalisant les refoulements aux frontières de l’Europe et multipliant les accords formels ou non avec les pays du Sud global, sous le regard placide des institutions européennes et/ou avec leur participation.

      Un cap a été franchi en la matière en 2016 avec la Déclaration UE/Turquie, permettant le renvoi vers la Turquie des exilé.e.s arrivé.e.s sur les îles grecques, y compris celles et ceux pour qui la Turquie était considérée comme un pays tiers sûr. En 2018, la Commission européenne propose d’instaurer dans les pays d’Afrique du Nord des « plateformes de débarquement régionales » pour « sauver des vies » et trier les exilé.e.s en amont des eaux et du territoire européens [5], mais doit abandonner le projet face au refus de la Tunisie, du Maroc et de l’Algérie de jouer le jeu.
      Mais en février 2020, dans une décision favorable aux autorités espagnoles – qui avaient procédé en 2017 à des refoulements à la frontière terrestre avec le Maroc –, la Cour européenne des droits de l’Homme entérine – au mépris de la Convention de Genève (art. 31) – l’impossibilité de déposer une demande d’asile en cas de « franchissement illégal d’une frontière » [6] . En octobre 2021, la Pologne légalise à sa frontière les refoulements de celles et ceux qui l’auraient traversée « illégalement », n’hésitant pas à cette occasion à remettre en cause la primauté du droit européen sur le droit national [7].

      Ici, de nouveau sous le prétexte fallacieux de « sauver des vies » en leur évitant les risques d’une traversée périlleuse, le Royaume-Uni valide la « relocalisation » vers le Rwanda d’exilé.e.s déjà présent.e.s sur le sol européen, et dont les demandes de protection ont été jugées irrecevables sans examen au fond. Ce faisant, le Royaume-Uni part du principe que le Rwanda – qui accueille depuis 2019 le programme d’urgence du HCR visant à évacuer les personnes les plus vulnérables des centres de détention libyens pour les placer dans des centres de transit d’urgence (dans le cadre du mécanisme de transit d’urgence - ETM) – est un pays tiers « sûr », tant pour ses ressortissant.e.s que pour les personnes étrangères qui y sont renvoyées. Ce, malgré les vives critiques de l’opposition politique sur les atteintes aux droits in situ, notamment à la liberté d’expression et des personnes LGBTI+ [8].

      Le Brexit aura sans doute permis au Royaume-Uni de s’affranchir en partie du socle européen de la protection internationale et de se défausser de ses responsabilités en matière d’accueil.
      Mais l’asile est attaqué de toutes parts, y compris par les États membres de l’Union. Ainsi, le Danemark a-t-il également conclu en avril 2021 un Protocole d’entente avec le Rwanda, et adopté en juin 2021 une loi lui permettant d’externaliser l’examen de la demande d’asile, en transférant les demandeur⋅euse⋅s qui seraient déjà arrivé⋅e⋅s sur son territoire vers des centres situés hors UE, moyennant finances [9]

      En pratique, l’externalisation de l’asile revient, pour les États, à piétiner leurs obligations en matière d’accueil et de protection internationale, et à vider de son sens les principaux instruments de protection internationaux (Convention de Genève et Convention européenne des droits de l’Homme) – auxquels le Royaume-Uni est toujours soumis, comme vient de lui rappeler la Cour européenne des droits de l’Homme.
      Cette logique de marchandage propre à l’externalisation permet aussi à des régimes autoritaires non-européens de se renflouer économiquement et d’être réhabilités au niveau diplomatique en tant que partenaires légitimes auprès de l’UE, ici le Rwanda vivement critiqué sur la restriction des libertés de ses ressortissant.e.s.

      L’externalisation de l’asile est contraire à la lettre et à l’esprit de la Convention de Genève, et sape le régime mondial d’accueil des réfugié.e.s. Elle est contraire à la liberté de chacun.e de choisir librement le pays d’accueil dans lequel il ou elle souhaite demander une protection et s’établir, et est en outre aux antipodes de la solidarité : le Royaume-Uni et le Danemark comptent parmi les pays les plus riches du monde et accueillent beaucoup moins d’exilé.e.s que de nombreux autres États bien plus pauvres, notamment en Afrique. Selon le Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés, [10].

      La politique cruelle et éhontée consistant à renvoyer depuis le Nord les demandeurs et demandeuses d’asile vers un pays du Sud situé à des milliers de kilomètres doit être condamnée et combattue avec détermination, au nom de l’accueil de tou.te.s, et pour que vive le droit d’asile.

      https://migreurop.org/article3108

    • Le président rwandais instrumentalise les droits des réfugiés

      Le Royaume-Uni devrait annuler l’accord sur les demandeurs d’asile

      Cette semaine, le président rwandais Paul Kagame a lancé un avertissement sans ambages aux réfugiés fuyant la recrudescence de la violence en République démocratique du Congo : « Nous ne pouvons pas continuer à accueillir des réfugiés pour lesquels, plus tard, nous serons tenus responsables d’une manière ou d’une autre, ou attaqués. »

      La déclaration du président illustre crûment la politisation des droits des réfugiés opérée par le gouvernement rwandais. Elle intervient à un moment où le Rwanda vient de conclure un accord peu scrupuleux d’un montant de 120 millions de livres (environ 145 millions de dollars) avec le Royaume-Uni pour accueillir des demandeurs d’asile arrivés au Royaume-Uni par des voies « irrégulières ». Outre avoir tenté d’édulcorer le bilan du Rwanda en matière de droits humains, les autorités britanniques ont cherché à justifier leur politique en affirmant que le Rwanda a une solide expérience en ce qui concerne l’accueil de réfugiés – dont environ 76 000 sont issus de la RD Congo voisine. En réalité, le gouvernement britannique ignore délibérément les faits.

      Comme il le faisait déjà il y a dix ans, le Rwanda soutient la rébellion du M23 dans l’est de la RD Congo. La reprise des hostilités par le M23, l’armée congolaise et divers autres groupes armés a contraint plus de 520 000 personnes à fuir leurs foyers, selon les Nations Unies. De récentes enquêtes menées par le groupe d’experts des Nations Unies sur le Congo, ainsi que des recherches de Human Rights Watch, ont identifié des preuves selon lesquelles le Rwanda ne se contente pas seulement de fournir un soutien logistique au M23, mais intervient également directement sur le sol congolais avec ses propres troupes pour renforcer les rangs du groupe armé ou combattre à ses côtés.

      Les propos de Paul Kagame font peut-être référence aux meurtres d’au moins 12 réfugiés congolais dans le camp de réfugiés de Kiziba, au Rwanda, en février 2018, lorsque la police a tiré à balles réelles sur des réfugiés qui protestaient devant le bureau de l’agence des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés (UNHCR) du district de Karongi, dans la province de l’Ouest.

      Ses dernières déclarations témoignent du refus des autorités de prendre leurs responsabilités et d’assurer que justice soit rendue pour les abus perpétrés par les forces de sécurité rwandaises, y compris à l’encontre de réfugiés. L’enquête de la commission nationale des droits humains sur les meurtres de 2018 a étouffé l’affaire et personne n’a été tenu pour responsable à ce jour. Au lieu de cela, la police rwandaise a arrêté plus de 60 réfugiés et les a accusés de participer à des manifestations illégales, de se livrer à des violences contre les autorités publiques et à des actes de rébellion, puis de désobéir aux forces de l’ordre. Certains ont également été accusés de « propagation d’informations mensongères en vue de provoquer l’hostilité de l’opinion internationale vis-à-vis de l’État rwandais ».

      Les dernières attaques de Paul Kagame contre les droits humains, cette fois contre ceux des réfugiés, ne font que s’ajouter à la liste des preuves attestant que le Rwanda n’est pas un partenaire international fiable et de bonne foi, et que le projet du Royaume-Uni d’envoyer des demandeurs d’asile au Rwanda est fondé sur des contre-vérités et une politique cynique.

      https://www.hrw.org/fr/news/2023/01/11/le-president-rwandais-instrumentalise-les-droits-des-refugies

      #Paul_Kagame #Kagame #responsabilité

  • Frontex, Civil Society Organsations, and Human Rights at EU Borders: A Complex Relationship

    On March 26th 2020, the EU celebrated the 25th anniversary of the abolition of border checks among the first seven European Member States that implemented the Schengen Agreement. Needless to say, celebrations this year did not seem particularly relevant, nor particularly fitting the climate of uncertainty and fear looming over Europe. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed the closure of EU internal and external borders in an effort to stop the spreading of the virus from one country to the other. However, the closure of EU borders, while halting regular crossings, deterred only briefly irregular crossings towards the EU, exacerbated the unsafe, unhealthy and too often inhumane conditions of people waiting at the doors of the EU to flee from poverty, climate change and persecution, among others (e.g., on the Balkan route and in Libya).

    Ensuring the protection and promotion of human rights of people trying to cross the EU borders has been at the core of the advocacy activity of many civil society organisations (CSOs), including NGOs, especially since the last decade. In the last decade, indeed, the arrival of migrants and refugees on EU shores (i.e., in 2011 and 2015) that became known as “migration and refugee crisis” was perceived as an “invasion” (de Haas, 2008) and thus triggered the creation of virtual and real fences. These EU fences have had one major outcome identified by CSOs and scholars: deaths and inhuman treatment of people attempting to cross the European borders. In order to increase the effectiveness of their advocacy activity, some of these CSOs have expanded their presence and advocacy efforts at the EU level, while many other CSOs continue to remain outside EU headquarters and to advocate for human and migrants’ rights from below. Both categories, however, have been facing harsh criticism and even criminalisation for their activities — for example, search and rescue at sea and at land borders — at national and local levels, something that has been widely addressed by the authors of Border Criminologies blog (see here: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2018/04/pushing-migrants, here: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2018/04/pushing-0 and here: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2019/04/humanitarian).

    Against this background, there is one peculiar experience of cooperation between the European Border and Coast Guard agency (EBCG) – most commonly known as Frontex – and CSOs concerned for the protection and promotion of human rights at the EU borders: the #Frontex_Consultative_Forum_on_fundamental_rights (CF). Frontex is the most controversial EU actor in the field of border control and migration management: since its inception in 2004, Frontex has been not only strongly blamed by migrant rights’ advocates and human rights’ activists, but it has also been repeatedly questioned by members of the European Parliament and by the European Ombudsman regarding the respect of fundamental rights at the external borders of the EU, all the while growing exponentially in terms of funds, competences and human resources. For these reasons, in 2011 Frontex had to establish a Consultative Forum on fundamental rights, whose role is to assist the EU agency with independent advice on fundamental rights issues. The CF became operational in 2012 with nine CSO members together with four international organizations (i.e., UNHCR, OSCE/ODIHR, Council of Europe, and IOM) and two other EU agencies, namely European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). In January 2020, the composition of the CF was reduced to fourteen members, with CSOs that currently count six members: Amnesty International EIO, Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe, International Commission of Jurists, Jesuit Refugee Service Europe, Red Cross EU Office, and Save the Children. In this last composition of the CF several relevant organisations have disappeared, such as the AIRE centre, Caritas Europa, ECRE and PICUM. The mixed nature and the small composition of this CF is peculiar to Frontex, as other EU agencies’ consultative fora (i.e., EASO Consultative forum) are significantly more numerous and include mainly CSOs.

    The opportunity for CSOs to lobby Frontex from within the CF is unique for several reasons. First, the ability of CF members to request information from Frontex on fundamental rights related issues and to visit and observe Frontex operations first hand. Indeed, since 2014, CF members have started to travel to the borders of the EU and to observe Frontex operations first visiting air borders operations (i.e., airports), then also land and sea borders and the highly contested return operations. However, the CF has repeatedly lamented issues with access to information, which should be effective as per art. 108 of the EBCG regulation (2019/1896); in the CF annual report of 2017 this is clearly stated: “the Forum continues to face serious and further limitations particularly in relation to relevant operational reference and guiding documents”. Second, the close relationship between CF members and Frontex officers, Heads of Unit and even Management Board members, which is developed also through the organisation not only of formal meetings and exchanges between the CF and Frontex staff, but also focus groups on specific issues, such as the discussion on the observation of return operations. Finally, the CF as a whole has to publish a publicly available annual report on its activities and observations on Frontex activity, which is usually detailed and highly informative, and the two CF chairs can present the work and findings of the Forum to the European Parliament (i.e., to the LIBE committee).

    However, the choice of CSOs to cooperate with Frontex is constrained by a number of internal and external factors. CSOs that gained access to Frontex CF share a high level of professionalization and expertise, they also generally have an established network at the EU level, both with other CSOs and with institutional actors, and considerable financial and human resources; in addition, the majority of these organizations have an EU office with its own staff (usually small) based in Brussels. These CSOs have also the possibility to contest Frontex and to monitor its operations from outside, often being where Frontex operations and activities take place. However, while the general criteria for the selection of CSOs for the CF is public, the actual selection made by Frontex is not transparent in terms of which organisations are left out and why. Moreover, there is a clear pattern of keeping in the same members from the very beginning – five out of six members have been CF members for more than one mandate.

    In conclusion, questions regarding Frontex human rights’ accountability have not subsided and the attention of CSOs and other interested parties is still high. In a webinar organised during the pandemic (April 21st, 2020) by the The Greens/EFA in the European Parliament titled “Under Surveillance: Monitoring at the border”, both panels questioned the accountability and transparency of the EU agency and stressed the need for a stronger monitoring system to be enforced. A recent development in this sense is the establishment, in cooperation with FRA, of fundamental rights monitors whose task will be to monitor Frontex operations at EU borders. Notwithstanding the need for a more defined judicial accountability of Frontex and a more effective monitoring and complaints mechanism, CSOs’ advocacy and monitoring activity remains crucial to ensure that both European citizens and EU institutions are alerted and aware on how the first fully European border and coast guard force enforces its duty to protect and promote fundamental rights during its operations.

    https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2020/10/frontex-civil

    #frontex #droits_fondamentaux #frontières #asile #migrations #réfugiés #droits_humains #contrôles_frontaliers

    ping @isskein @karine4 @_kg_

  • Migrations : l’agence européenne #Frontex mise en cause pour des #refoulements en mer

    Des investigations menées par plusieurs médias dénoncent les pratiques illégales des #gardes-frontières_grecs impliquant parfois l’agence européenne de surveillance des frontières.

    Une enquête de plusieurs médias, dont le magazine allemand Spiegel, affirme que Frontex, l’agence européenne de surveillance des frontières, est impliquée dans plusieurs incidents de refoulement en mer de bateaux de demandeurs d’asile traversant la mer Egée entre la Turquie et la Grèce.

    Les investigations menées « montrent pour la première fois que les responsables de Frontex sont conscients des pratiques illégales des gardes-frontières grecs – et sont en partie impliqués dans les refoulements eux-mêmes », écrit le Spiegel dans un article disponible en ligne samedi 24 octobre.
    Les journalistes assurent avoir documenté six cas survenus depuis avril en mer Egée dans lesquels des équipes de Frontex ont au minimum assisté sans réagir à des refoulements vers la Turquie de bateaux de réfugiés se trouvant dans les eaux grecques, une pratique illégale. Dans un cas, en juin, une vidéo montre un navire de Frontex bloquant un bateau de réfugiés, puis, dans une autre scène enregistrée, passant devant le bateau de réfugiés à grande vitesse avant de quitter les lieux.

    Des dizaines de vidéos, d’images satellites, de récits comparés

    Outre le Spiegel, les recherches ont été menées par un magazine de la chaîne allemande ARD, le collectif de journalistes Lighthouse Reports, la plate-forme d’investigations Bellingcat et la chaîne de télévision japonaise TV Asahi. Les auteurs expliquent avoir comparé des « dizaines » de vidéos, d’images satellites, de récits de témoins oculaires, dont des réfugiés et des employés de Frontex. L’agence européenne de surveillance des frontières a engagé plus de 600 agents en Grèce, une des portes d’entrée de l’Union européenne, ainsi que des bateaux, des drones et des avions, selon l’article.

    Frontex n’a pas commenté les cas précis soulevés par la recherche, explique le Spiegel, mais a déclaré que ses agents étaient liés par un code de conduite en matière de droits de l’homme et respectaient l’interdiction des refoulements. Sans mentionner l’article, Frontex a annoncé vendredi soir sur son compte Twitter avoir été « en contact avec les autorités grecques à propos d’incidents en mer ces derniers mois » et qu’Athènes avait ouvert une « enquête interne ». Frontex agit « dans le respect des droits fondamentaux et de la loi internationale », souligne l’agence sur Twitter.
    Le gouvernement conservateur grec a toujours rejeté les allégations de refoulements illégaux à ses frontières dont font régulièrement état plusieurs organisations non gouvernementales.

    https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2020/10/24/migrations-l-agence-europeenne-frontex-mise-en-cause-pour-des-refoulements-e
    #asile #migrations #réfugiés #frontières #push-backs #refoulements #Mer_Egée #Grèce #Turquie

    ping @isskein @karine4

    • Frontex at Fault : European Border Force Complicit in ‘Illegal’ Pushbacks

      Vessels from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, have been complicit in maritime “pushback” operations to drive away refugees and migrants attempting to enter the European Union via Greek waters, a joint investigation by Bellingcat, Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, ARD and TV Asahi has found.

      Open source data suggests Frontex assets were actively involved in one pushback incident at the Greek-Turkish maritime border in the Aegean Sea, were present at another and have been in the vicinity of four more since March.

      Although Frontex assets were not at the immediate scene of those latter four incidents, the signature of a pushback is distinctive, and would likely have been visible on radar, with visual tools common on such vessels or to the naked eye.

      The Greek Coast Guard (HCG) has long been accused of illegal pushbacks.

      These are described by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), a legal and educational non-profit, as incidents where refugees and migrants are forced back over a border without consideration of individual circumstances and without any possibility to apply for asylum or to put forward arguments against the measures taken.

      In the Aegean Sea, pushbacks generally occur in two ways. The first type is the most common: Dinghies travelling from Turkey to Greece are blocked from landing on Greek soil by the HCG. This could mean either physically blocking the dinghy until it runs out of fuel, or disabling the engine. After the engine no longer works the dinghy can then either be pushed back into Turkish territorial water with waves, or towed if the wind is not favourable.

      The second type of pushback is employed when people have managed to land on Greek soil. In this case they are detained, placed in a liferaft with no means of propulsion, towed into the middle of the Aegean Sea and then abandoned.

      Pushbacks will often result in standoffs between the HCG and Turkish Coast Guard (TCG), both of which will standby, refusing to aid dinghies in distress and carrying out unsafe manoeuvres around them.

      The role of Frontex assets in such incidents, however, has never been recorded before.

      Dana Schmalz, an international law expert at the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg said the incidents highlighted in this investigation were likely “illegal” and “violate the prohibition of refoulement and maritime law.” The prohibition of refoulement refers to rules banning the forcible return of refugees or asylum seekers and is described by the UN Refugee Agency as a “rule of customary international law.”

      Schmalz added that if Frontex personnel stopped an overcrowded dinghy of the type seen in footage documented during this investigation, they would be obliged to rescue its occupants immediately. “If they don’t do that, even make waves [or] instead drive away and then let the Greeks do the dirty work – then they are involved in the illegal pushback.”

      Despite being presented with numerous examples of the practice, a spokesperson for the Greek Maritime Ministry Greek denied claims of pushbacks, describing allegations of illegal actions relating to the incidents documented in this article as “tendentious.” They added that HCG officers act in compliance with the country’s international obligations.

      Frontex said that the host states it works with have the final say in how operations on its territory or search and rescue zone are carried out. However, it added that Frontex had notified HCG which confirmed an internal inquiry had been launched into each of the reported incidents. Yet Frontex did not say when it notified HCG or when the inquiry had begun.

      On July 24, the director of Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri, told the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) at the European Parliament that the agency had observed and recorded just a single incident which may have been a pushback in the Aegean.

      Our investigation — which looked at the presence of Frontex assets in the Aegean Sea and observed their movements over many months — appears to contradict that assertion.

      This was despite the difficulty in tracking many Frontex assets because their transponder information was either not registered, not turned on, or was out of range. As such, we were only able to view a snapshot of Frontex operations.

      Frontex, an agency of the European Union, is tasked with border control of the Schengen Area. Its activities in the Aegean are called Operation Poseidon.
      How we Recorded Pushbacks: Identification of Assets

      There were two main steps to establishing that Frontex had participated in pushback operations. The first was to identify what assets had been deployed in Operation Poseidon. The second was to establish whether these assets had participated in pushback operations.

      The first step was carried out using open sources. These included social media posts, vessel tracking sites and information published by Frontex itself. We were also able to establish the number of personnel and assets present in the operational area thanks to questions asked in the European Parliament.

      According to this response, Operation Poseidon has 185 personnel, one offshore patrol vessel (OPV), eight coastal patrol boats (CPB), one coastal patrol vessel (CPV), four thermal vision vehicles (TVV) and three patrol cars.

      There is also a “Rapid Border Intervention”, which contains additional assets on top of those dedicated to Operation Poseidon. This includes 74 personnel, two CPBs, two CPVs, one helicopter and three TVVs.

      In total we used open sources to identify 22 assets, including vessels, helicopters and planes, which operated in the Aegean during 2020. Although this is more than the total given in the answer to parliamentary questions above, some of these assets were rotating in or out of theater.
      Tracking Assets

      Some assets featured regularly on the open source record. For example, Romanian and Bulgarian vessels regularly transit through the Bosphorus strait, where there is an active ship-spotting community. As such it was possible to identify their operational rotations, including vessels heading to and returning from deployments roughly every three months. However, other assets were more difficult to track, and their presence on the open source record consisted of a single image or video.


      https://twitter.com/YorukIsik/status/1262417193083510784

      In order to track these assets and identify if they had participated in pushbacks, we required far more data than was available on social media. As such, we turned to AIS and transponder data, publicly available information about the location of particular ships or aircraft, available through sites such as Marine Traffic or Flight Radar 24.

      Many of the assets we identified either did not have their information publicly listed, or appeared to only turn on their transponders under certain circumstances, such as when in port. This made them extremely difficult to track. However, some assets did have their transponders on. We began to collect this data, buying additional, more granular data from ship and flight tracking companies on dates when pushbacks had been reported.

      We combined this tracking data with our own database of reported pushbacks, which we obtained through both public reports and information collected by NGOs such as Consolidated Rescue Group (CRG), Monitoring Rescue Cell (MRC) and Alarm Phone, who track these events. These included the coordinates of reported pushback events, frequently sent by the occupants of the dinghies. By overlaying these datasets we identified multiple pushback incidents in which Frontex assets were in the vicinity. Once we had identified these priority incidents we could then examine the specifics of what had happened.
      Incidents

      Using this data we identified six pushback incidents since March in which Frontex assets were either in the vicinity or participated directly. We have separated these into four “proximity incidents,” where Frontex assets were within five kilometers of the incident, and two “confirmed incidents,” where we can be certain that Frontex were present at the site of pushbacks themselves.
      Proximity Incidents

      April 28-29: In an incident we have previously reported, a group of refugees and migrants made landfall on Samos. They claim they were then detained, placed in a life-raft without any means of propulsion and towed into the middle of the Mycale Strait. A surveillance plane overflew the area twice while this pushback took place.

      June 4: Two dinghies were reported to have been pushed back from Northern Lesbos. Portuguese vessel Nortada appears to have been present around 15 kilometers from the first incident and just over one kilometer away from the second.

      June 5: A dinghy was reported to have been pushed back from Northern Lesbos. Portuguese vessel Nortada was approximately two to three kilometers away.

      August 19: A dinghy was reported to have been pushed back from Northern Lesbos. Portuguese vessel Molivos was five kilometers away and appears to have changed course and headed towards the pushback before its transponder either lost signal or was turned off.

      In these cases, Frontex assets were recorded as being within a certain range, rather than participating directly. Their exact knowledge of what was happening at these distances is difficult to confirm. Operation Poseidon’s mission includes a significant number of tasks requiring surveillance, and its assets are able to use both radar and visual tools, such as low-light or infrared cameras, to observe the environment around them.

      For example, we know that the Molivos is equipped with an FLIR camera similar to this one seen on another Portuguese Frontex vessel. This model is capable of x36 magnification, with low light and infrared cameras.

      The boats that migrants use to make this crossing are very basic, inflatable rubber dinghies several meters long with a single outboard motor. Due to their construction, it is unlikely that these boats would be visible on radar. However, pushbacks don’t just involve a single dinghy. By their definition they must involve at least one other vessel. From images and videos of pushbacks we have reviewed, it is clear that they often involve multiple ships from both the Greek and Turkish coast guards.

      As stated above, ships from both Greece and Turkey will frequently attempt to push the dinghies across the sea border using waves. These vessels manoeuvre in a circular pattern at a relatively high speed close to the dinghy. This manoeuvre is not only dangerous because of the risk of collision, the waves it generates also represent a threat to the overcrowded and often fragile dinghies.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8BdEHtBWp4&feature=emb_logo

      As such, although a dinghy itself may not show up on radar, the signature of a pushback would. Multiple large and small vessels from both TCG and HCG, some of which are carrying out unusual manoeuvres in order to create waves, would be very difficult to miss. Indeed you can even see this kind of event from space.

      There’s also the matter of visual range. The same factors that make a pushback visible on radar will also make it visible to the eye or other visual systems such as surveillance cameras. Even at a range of a few kilometers in calm seas and good conditions, a dinghy would likely be visible, although exact details such as the nature of its passengers might not be. The other aspects of pushbacks which we have already described would also certainly be visible.

      The case of the April 28-29 pushback is a good illustration of surveillance assets passing very close to the results of a pushback.
      April 28

      In an incident previously covered by Bellingcat, a group of 22 migrants who landed on Samos were detained by Greek law enforcement. They were then placed on a life raft without any means of propulsion, and towed into the middle of the Mycale Strait by the Greek coast guard. In response to our request for comment at the time, the Greek government denied these people had ever reached Greek territory, despite witness statements, images, and videos showing this had in fact happened.

      As the life raft was floating in the strait, a private sureveillance plane passed over the area twice at 5,000 feet, once at 02:41 AM and once at 03:18 AM. This plane, G-WKTH, belongs to DEA Aviation, which provides aerial surveillance services to Frontex. In a promotional video from Frontex, it is claimed these feeds are live-streamed back to the Frontex HQ in Warsaw

      The plane is reportedly equipped with an MX-15 camera, which has both low-light and infrared sensors. Considering this plane is specifically employed for aerial surveillance, it would be surprising if it did not identify the life raft full of people and, according to one member of this group, the presence of Greek and later Turkish vessels.

      Indeed, the Frontex executive director’s response to the LIBE committee of the European Parliament indicates this may have been the incident Frontex reported as having seen. In this reply a “Serious Incident Report (‘SIR’) was created based on a sighting of an incident by aerial surveillance where people were transferred on a rubber boat from a vessel and later on rescued by Turkish authorities.
      Active incidents

      In two cases on June 8 and August 15, it seems certain that Frontex was aware of pushbacks as they took place. Indeed, on June 8, it appears that a Frontex vessel participated in a pushback, physically blocking a dinghy from reaching Greek territory.

      We will first address the incident on August 15, where a Frontext vessel was present at the scene of a pushback, before examining the June 8, where a Frontex asset appears to have participated in a pushback.
      August 15

      On the morning of August 15 there were reports of a confrontation between the Greek and Turkish coast guards. As well as multiple photos posted to social media by locals, this was also reported as a pushback by CRG, MRC, Alarm Phone and Aegean Boat Report.

      CRG and MRC also posted videos from people on this dinghy, with CRG’s video showing an engine without a starter cord, claiming it had been taken by the Greek Coast Guard. In the videos, the dinghy is surrounded by vessels from both the Greek and Turkish coast guards. We have previously noted that disabling the motor of dinghies is a tactic that has reportedly been used by the Greek Coast Guard.

      Most of the images of this incident are taken from a distance, making identification of the vessels difficult. However, we were also sent an image of this confrontation that is very clear. In this image we can clearly see the presence of MAI1102, a Romanian border forces vessel which had just arrived in theater.

      The metadata of this image is consistent with the date and time of this incident. Indeed, the ships can be seen arrayed in almost exactly the same manner in a video filmed by the people on the boat.

      Although it is not possible to be certain of exactly how far away MAI1102 is from this pushback, we can see that it is certainly within visual range of the confrontation and the dinghy itself.
      June 8

      On the morning of June 8 a pushback was reported to have taken place, again off the north-east coast of Lesbos. The Turkish coast guard reported it rescued 47 migrants after a pushback by the Greek Coast Guard that day. Footage published by Anadolu Agency appeared to show the Romanian Frontex vessel MAI1103 blocking a dinghy.

      We investigated this incident further, obtaining other videos from the TCG, as well as tracking data of vessels that appeared to be in the vicinity at the time, such as the NATO ship, Berlin. Using these sources we were able to reconstruct what happened.

      After initially trying to cross under the cover of darkness, the dinghy was intercepted and physically blocked from proceeding by MAI1103 early in the morning.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoNJXY3pa_U&feature=emb_logo

      We can see the exact time and a set of coordinates in one of the videos we obtained.

      We plotted the coordinates visible on the screen as they changed. It became clear these were not the location of the vessel with the camera, but rather the location of the dinghy and MAI1103.

      We can visually confirm the general location by comparing a panoramic view that is visible in one of the videos against the appearance of the landscape from the coordinates which appear on the camera feed.

      We can now start to build a picture of what happened that morning.

      We can see that the dinghy was extremely close to MAI1103, and is being physically blocked by the ship. Indeed the two vessels are close enough that it appears that personnel on MAI1103 are communicating with people in the dinghy.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qD_I--2LPA&feature=emb_logo

      At one point MAI1103 makes a pass close to the dinghy at enough speed to generate waves, a maneuver that previously only HCG and TCG have been seen making. It is especially dangerous due to the overloaded and unseaworthy nature of the dinghies.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iUm1_e2R6A&feature=emb_logo

      Eventually HCG vessels arrive and MAI1103 leaves, resulting in a standoff between the TCG and HCG. This lasted several hours and gradually moved to the north-west, observed by the NATO ship Berlin.

      During this period the dinghy was approached at least twice by a rigid-hulled inflatable boat 060 (RHIB) from the HCG.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WODSvxnmoc&feature=emb_logo

      In what appears to be the final segment of video taken at about 09:30 AM we see the TCG radar screen, which can be exactly matched with the Turkish coast. This radar screen matches perfectly with the location and heading of the Berlin at this time, as we can see by overlaying a plot of the Berlin’s course with the radar screen.

      As well as matching the movement of vessels to AIS data, we can further verify that these videos are from the same incident by examining the passengers in the dinghy. We can see that in the earliest videos, showing the MAI1103 with the dinghy, there is clearly a person wearing a white hood, alongside someone who appears to be wearing a reddish top. The presence of these passengers helps to verify that all these videos are indeed from the same incident on June 8.

      In the final stage of the pushback at 10:30 AM it is possible to see the Portuguese Frontex vessel Nortada within 5 km with both AIS data and on the TCG radar screen. The Nortada had been in that vicinity since at least 09:11 AM that morning. Although it may not have been able to pick up this dinghy on its radar, it would have certainly been within visual range of the larger ships surrounding it. After the pushback, the Nortada continued its patrol off North Lesbos.

      Conclusion

      Over the course of this investigation we collected a huge amount of information on Frontex activities in the Aegean Sea. Most of Frontex’s assets were impossible to track because their transponder information was either not registered, not turned on, or was out of range. As such, we were only able to view a snapshot of Frontex operations.

      Despite this limited view, we still managed to identify multiple instances in which Frontex was either present at pushbacks, or close enough to be able to understand what was taking place. In at least one incident it appears that a Frontex vessel actively participated in a pushback. It is possible that there are other incidents we have not been able to capture.

      In a statement provided in response to this investigation, Frontex stated that it applies “the highest standards of border control to its operations” and that its officers are bound by a code of conduct that looks to prevent refoulement and to uphold human rights.

      The statement continued that Frontex’s executive director had notified the HGC regarding all reported incidents and that Greek authorities confirmed that an internal inquiry had been launched.

      A spokesperson for the Greek Maritime Ministry said the actions of HCG officers were “carried out in full compliance with the country’s international obligations, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue.”

      The spokesperson added that thousands of migrants had been rescued throughout the refugee crisis of recent years by the HCG, that allegations of illegality were “tendentious” and that the “operation practices of the Greek authorities have never included such [illegal] actions.”

      https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/10/23/frontex-at-fault-european-border-force-complicit-in-illegal-pushbacks

      #forensic_architecture #architecture_forensique

    • EU Border Agency Frontex Complicit in Greek Refugee Pushback Campaign

      Greek border guards have been forcing large numbers of refugees back to sea in pushback operations that violate international law. #DER_SPIEGEL and its reporting partners have learned that the European Union is also complicit in the highly controversial practice.

      Jouma al-Badi thought he was safe when he first set foot on European soil on April 28. Together with 21 other refugees, he had been taken in a rubber dinghy from Turkey to the Greek island of Samos. The young Syrian planned to apply for political asylum. He documented his arrival in videos. Local residents also remember the refugees.

      Greek security forces captured the migrants. Under international law, it is their duty to give the new arrivals a hearing and field their applications for asylum. Instead, according to al-Badi, the officers dragged them back out to sea and released them on an inflatable rubber raft. Videos obtained by DER SPIEGEL also show him on the raft.

      For an entire night and a morning, Greek border guards kept pushing the men and women away as their raft floated around in circles. The Turkish coast guard filmed the maneuver.

      An aircraft used by the European border protection agency Frontex also passed over the refugees. The crew of the surveillance plane, with the registration identifier "G-WKTH,” were part of a European Union operation in Greece. The plane twice flew over the Strait of Mykali, where al-Badi and the other migrants were located. According to flight data that has been viewed by DER SPIEGEL, the first flight happened at 2:41 a.m. and the second at 3:18 a.m.

      The plane’s crew has a standard MX-15 camera on board with an infrared sensor and a sensor for poor lighting conditions. Even at night, the sensors are capable of detecting small objects on the water. According to a Frontex promotional video, the camera images are streamed live to Frontex headquarters in Warsaw, Poland. But Frontex didn’t send any help.

      The waves struck the Syrian in the face. He eventually ran out of strength and thought he was going to die.

      The Greek government denies it conducted pushbacks of refugees to Turkey, even though DER SPIEGEL and other media have fully documented several of these operations, known as pushbacks. Greek border guards are growing increasingly ruthless. As in the case of al-Badi, they are now pushing even refugees who have reached the Greek isles back to sea in operations that are illegal under international law.

      Frontex officials have publicly claimed that they know nothing about pushbacks by Greek border guards. The agency has 600 employees deployed in Greece as well as ships, drones and aircraft.

      Together with Lighthouse Reports, Bellingcat, "Report Mainz” — a program on ARD, the German public broadcaster — and Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi, DER SPIEGEL spent several months reporting in the Aegean Sea region. The reporters tracked the positions of Frontex units and compared them with position data from pushbacks recorded by NGOs and migrants. They interviewed witnesses, refugees and Frontex staff. They viewed internal documents and dozens of videos and satellite photos.

      Their research proves for the first time that Frontex officials know about the Greek border guards’ illegal practices – and that the agency itself is at times involved in the pushbacks. Breaking the law has become an everyday occurrence at Europe’s borders, and the EU is allowing it to happen.

      Samira Mohammad could already see Lesbos when the men with the masks arrived. The Syrian woman, who does not want to provide her real name, is 45 years old. That morning of August 15, she was sitting in a rubber dinghy with dozens of other people. She recalls how Greek border guards tried in vain to stop the arrivals and how they steered toward the boat repeatedly and pushed it back toward Turkey multiple times. She says the Turkish coast guard held them off. Locals even have a name for the cynical game: "Greek water polo.”

      Mohammad claims the Greek officials took their gasoline and destroyed the engine. And that masked Greek border guards then boarded the dinghy. Several refugees claim that they forced the migrants to tie the shaky rubber dinghy to a speedboat at gunpoint. The border guards then towed the boat toward Turkey. Videos corroborate the statements made by the refugees, and the destroyed engine is clearly visible.

      Mohammad said she was scared to death during those moments. Her entire family had been onboard, including her pregnant daughter-in-law, who was later hospitalized with severe bleeding.

      The maneuver off the coast of Lesbos lasted hours, and the Turkish Navy didn’t rescue the refugees until noon.

      A Romanian Frontex boat was also on site that morning. The MAI 1102 was located only a few hundred meters away from the refugee boat. The boat can be clearly identified in a photo. A German navy ship on a NATO mission that observed the incident reported it to the German government. It also stated that Frontex people had been present. This is documented in an internal paper that has been obtained by DER SPIEGEL. Nevertheless, this pushback has never been revealed publicly before now.

      On June 8, Frontex officials went one step further, with the MAI 1103, a ship also flying the Romanian flag. It directly blocked a refugee boat. The incident can be seen in several videos recorded by the Turkish coast guard and verified by DER SPIEGEL. It shows officials standing on the deck, where they are obviously communicating with the refugees floating in the water in front of them.

      Later, the MAI 1103 passes the refugees traveling at high speed, with waves beating against the boat. The Romanian officials then withdrew and the Greek coast guard took over the operation.

      "These pushbacks violate the ban on collective expulsions and international maritime law,” says Dana Schmalz, an expert on international law at the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg. She notes that if Frontex officials stopped a completely overcrowded inflatable boat, they would be required to rescue the people immediately. "If they don’t do that and even make waves instead, only to drive away and let the Greeks do the dirty work, then they are still involved in the illegal pushback,” she says.

      Reporting by DER SPIEGEL and its partners found that a Frontex surveillance plane or Portuguese or Romanian Frontex ships were near at least six pushbacks in the area since April. The number of undetected cases could actually be much higher.

      The vast majority of Frontex vessels patrol the Aegean Sea with their AIS transponders switched off or untraceable in order to prevent giving away their positions. Their presence can only be verified with difficulty through videos and photos.

      When contacted for comment by DER SPIEGEL, Frontex did not deny the individual incidents, instead stating that the officials protected the fundamental rights of migrants and respected their right to non-refoulement. It further stated that the incidents that had been reported were forwarded to the Greek coast guard, which opened an investigation into the matter. The Greek government gave a blanket denial to the allegations, saying that it complies with the law and does not carry out illegal deportations.

      Under Frontex’s statutes, police officers are required to file so-called Serious Incident Reports to document violations of the law. But people familiar with the situation say that fewer and fewer of these reports are getting filed. The sources said the Frontex border guards, who are sent to Greece from all over Europe, frown upon such reports because they cause trouble for the host country.

      https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/eu-border-agency-frontex-complicit-in-greek-refugee-pushback-campaign-a-4b6c

      –---

      en allemand :
      https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/fluechtlinge-frontex-in-griechenland-in-illegale-pushbacks-verwickelt-a-0000

    • Bruxelles veut des explications de Frontex, accusée de procéder à des refoulements illégaux de migrants

      La #Commission_européenne a sollicité une réunion extraordinaire urgente du conseil d’administration de Frontex, l’agence européenne pour la protection des frontières, mise en cause pour des refoulements illégaux de migrants en mer Égée. Un article d’Euroefe.

      « Après s’être coordonnés avec la présidente de la Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, mes services ont demandé, au nom de la Commission, la convocation d’une réunion extraordinaire du conseil d’administration de Frontex le 10 novembre pour discuter des incidents présumés de refoulement en Grèce et de la protection des droits fondamentaux », a écrit Ylva Johansson, la commissaire chargée des migrations, dans un tweet.

      D’après des enquêtes menées par différents médias, Frontex aurait procédé à des refoulements illégaux de migrants en mer Égée, à la frontière entre la Turquie et la Grèce. Et ce à au moins six reprises.

      L’hebdomadaire allemand Der Spiegel a révélé le 23 octobre qu’il avait enquêté sur ces incidents en collaboration avec les médias numériques néerlandais Lighthouse Reports et britannique Bellingcat, ainsi qu’avec deux chaînes de télévision, l’Allemande ARD et la Japonaise Asahi.

      Ces médias disposent de films montrant comment, depuis le mois d’avril, des agents de Frontex ont procédé à ce que l’on appelle des « pushbacks » (refoulements) de migrants pour les empêcher d’atteindre le sol européen, une pratique illégale.

      Une vidéo montre comment un bateau de l’agence européenne bloque le passage d’une embarcation occupée par des migrants, avant de les dépasser à grande vitesse, provoquant ainsi de grosses vagues. Par la suite, les garde-côtes grecs obligent la barque à faire demi-tour vers la Turquie.

      De son côté, Frontex a nié les accusations et assuré au Spiegel que ses agents protégeaient les droits fondamentaux des migrants et respectaient le droit au non-refoulement.

      Le gouvernement grec a également nié catégoriquement ces accusations.

      https://www.euractiv.fr/section/migrations/news/bruxelles-veut-des-explications-de-frontex-accusee-de-proceder-a-des-refoulements-illegaux-de-migrants/?_ga=2.223583131.1633915392.1603989521-379746837.1590938192

    • Greek coast guard performed huge pushback involving 197 people and 7 life rafts!

      A boat carrying 197 people tried to cross from Turkey to Italy on Tuesday, but got in to bad weather and sat course towards Crete. Close to the south shore of Crete they had engine problems and the Greek Coast Guard was alerted 09.00.
      The coast guard divided the people on two coast guard vessels, 121 men and boys on one vessel and 76 people, families on the other. Reports from the refugees clearly states that some of them where abuse while onboard the HCG vessel, footage and video testimony has been provided. Most of their phones was confiscated by the Greek coast guard, but a few managed to hide their phones, and was able to send out distress messages.
      The first group containing the 121 males was forced in to 3 life rafts before first light on Wednesday the 21th just north of Rhodes, and found and picked up by Turkish coast guard 08.50 south of Marmaris.
      The second group with the families, 76 people, was put in 4 life rafts around noon north west of Simi, drifting for hours and not picked up by Turkish coast guard before 17.30 south west of Datça.
      This shows that the Greek coast guard is determined to prevent anyone to reach Greek soil, no matter the consequences or potential harm they may inflict on innocent people fleeing war and persecution.
      This is by far the largest pushback Aegean Boat Report has been able to document, but I guess nothing is a surprise anymore. No measures have been taken by the EU to try to stop this illegal practice by the Greek government, even do they have received overwhelming amounts of evidence.

      https://www.facebook.com/AegeanBoatReport/posts/951612422028529

    • Έστειλαν πίσω 200 πρόσφυγες γιατί ήταν… τζιχαντιστές

      Τεκμηριωμένη καταγγελία για τη μεγαλύτερη ώς τώρα καταγεγραμμένη επαναπροώθηση προσφύγων από το Λιμενικό προς την Τουρκία με μεγάλη και κρυφή επιχείρηση του Λιμενικού εν μέσω σφοδρής κακοκαιρίας νότια της Κρήτης ● Έντεχνη προσπάθεια οι 200 άνθρωποι, μεταξύ αυτών και γυναικόπαιδα, να εμφανιστούν ως… ισλαμιστές τρομοκράτες.

      Ακόμα μια καταγγελία για βίαιες επαναπροωθήσεις προσφύγων από το Λιμενικό έρχεται στο φως τις τελευταίες ημέρες, την ίδια στιγμή που η κυβέρνηση πανηγυρίζει για τη μείωση των προσφυγικών ροών προς τα νησιά, χωρίς όμως να εξηγεί πώς έχει επιτευχθεί η μείωση αυτή.

      Η υπόθεση αφορά πλοιάριο με περίπου 200 ανθρώπους που έφτασαν στα ανοιχτά της Κρήτης, προερχόμενοι από Τουρκία και με τελικό προορισμό την Ιταλία. Στη συγκεκριμένη περίπτωση υπάρχει μια περίεργη αλληλουχία γεγονότων και « ειδήσεων » τόσο στα κρητικά όσο και τα κεντρικά ΜΜΕ. Το πρωί της Τρίτης 20 Οκτωβρίου σε όλα τα ηλεκτρονικά ΜΜΕ της Κρήτης μεταδίδεται η είδηση για « κινητοποίηση του Λιμενικού » για σκάφος με 200 μετανάστες στη θαλάσσια περιοχή νότια της νήσου Χρυσής (Γαϊδουρονήσι), στην Ιεράπετρα. Το προηγούμενο βράδυ η Κρήτη είχε χτυπηθεί σφοδρά από την κακοκαιρία και το πρωί τα βλέμματα όλων ήταν στις εκτεταμένες καταστροφές που προκάλεσε το χαλάζι σε καλλιέργειες και υποδομές, κυρίως στην ανατολική πλευρά του νησιού. Την ίδια κακοκαιρία προφανώς αντιμετώπισαν και οι 200 επιβαίνοντες στο σκάφος, μεταξύ των οποίων υπήρχαν γυναίκες και παιδιά.

      Στις πρώτες αναφορές και σε ερωτήσεις δημοσιογράφων προς το Λιμεναρχείο Ιεράπετρας γινόταν λόγος για « αδυναμία του Λιμενικού να εντοπίσει το πλοιάριο », ωστόσο δινόταν η πληροφορία πως τα σκάφη θα έμεναν στα ανοιχτά λόγω της κακοκαιρίας και για την περίπτωση που χρειαστεί, να παράσχουν βοήθεια αν εντοπίσουν τους πρόσφυγες. Λίγες ώρες αργότερα η είδηση εξαφανίστηκε από τα ΜΜΕ και δημιουργήθηκε η εντύπωση πως τα σκάφη του Λιμενικού δεν βρήκαν ποτέ το πλοιάριο με τους πρόσφυγες.
      Τους βρήκαν ;

      Ωστόσο τα πράγματα φαίνεται πως έγιναν διαφορετικά. Τέσσερις μέρες μετά, η οργάνωση Aegean Boat Report, η οποία και στο παρελθόν έχει αποκαλύψει παράνομες επιχειρήσεις επαναπροώθησης λέμβων με μετανάστες προς την Τουρκία από τις ελληνικές αρχές και τη Frontex, καταγγέλλει πως το Λιμενικό όχι μόνο βρήκε τους πρόσφυγες στα ανοιχτά της Κρήτης αλλά προχώρησε και με συνοπτικές διαδικασίες στην επαναπροώθησή τους στην Τουρκία. Η οργάνωση καταγγέλλει πως η ελληνική Ακτοφυλακή εντόπισε τους πρόσφυγες στις 9 το πρωί της Τρίτης (όπως δηλαδή μετέδιδαν αρχικά και τα κρητικά ΜΜΕ). Στη συνέχεια, πάντα σύμφωνα με την καταγγελία, οι άνδρες του Λιμενικού επιβίβασαν τους 197 πρόσφυγες σε δύο επιχειρησιακά σκάφη χωρίζοντάς τους σε δύο ομάδες. Στην πρώτη ομάδα μπήκαν 121 άνδρες και αγόρια, ενώ στη δεύτερη μπήκαν οικογένειες με γυναίκες και παιδιά, συνολικά 76 άτομα. Και οι δύο ομάδες, πάντα σύμφωνα με την καταγγελία, μεταφέρθηκαν στη θαλάσσια περιοχή βόρεια της Ρόδου, όπου και εξαναγκάστηκαν με τη βία να επιβιβαστούν σε συνολικά επτά θαλάσσιες σωστικές σχεδίες αφού προηγουμένως τους είχαν αφαιρεθεί όλα τα κινητά τηλέφωνα. Και οι επτά σχεδίες « σπρώχτηκαν » προς τις ακτές της Τουρκίας, εν μέσω κακοκαιρίας και κατά παράβαση των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων και του δίκαιου της θάλασσας.

      Στιγμιότυπα από την επαναπροώθηση των προσφύγων (Φωτογραφίες από την οργάνωση Aegean Boat Report).


      Οι τρεις πρώτες σχεδίες, με 121 άτομα, εξωθήθηκαν τα ξημερώματα της Τετάρτης 21/10 προς την περιοχή της Μαρμαρίδας, όπου και εντοπίστηκαν από το τουρκικό Λιμενικό που τους περισυνέλεξε. Το δεύτερο γκρουπ, όπου βρίσκονταν οι γυναίκες και τα παιδιά, εξαναγκάστηκε να επιβιβαστεί σε τέσσερις σωστικές σχεδίες και επαναπροωθήθηκε προς την Τουρκία από τη θαλάσσια περιοχή δυτικά της Σύμης, το μεσημέρι της Τετάρτης. Τους περισυνέλεξε το τουρκικό Λιμενικό το απόγευμα της ίδιας μέρας στην περιοχή νοτιοδυτικά της πόλης Ντάκτα. Οπως αναφέρουν μάλιστα κάποιοι από τους επιβαίνοντες, χτυπήθηκαν από τους Ελληνες λιμενικούς, ενώ υπάρχει και σχετικό φωτογραφικό υλικό που τραβήχτηκε μετά την περισυλλογή τους από τις τουρκικές αρχές. Σε μία από τις φωτογραφίες φαίνεται ένας άνθρωπος με μώλωπες στην κοιλιά και με γύψο σε σημεία και των δύο χεριών του.


      Πρωτοσέλιδο

      Την ίδια μέρα, πάντως, που έγινε η καταγγελία από την Aegean Boat Report (το Σάββατο) η εφημερίδα « ΤΑ ΝΕΑ » κυκλοφορούσε με τίτλο « Προετοιμαστείτε για Τζιχαντιστές », αναφερόμενη στο μήνυμα που, σύμφωνα με πληροφορίες της εφημερίδας, έστειλε σε Ελλάδα και Κύπρο ο Αιγύπτιος πρόεδρος Αλ Σίσι κατά την τριμερή συνάντηση που πραγματοποιήθηκε στη Λευκωσία. Το μήνυμα υποτίθεται πως αφορούσε τις πληροφορίες που έχει η Αίγυπτος για τις κινήσεις του Ερντογάν και το πώς χρησιμοποιεί τον ισλαμιστικό παράγοντα. Σε κάποια κρητικά ΜΜΕ οι δύο υποθέσεις δεν άργησαν να συνδεθούν με αναφορές για το… περίεργο σκάφος στο οποίο, σύμφωνα με τα δημοσιεύματα, επέβαιναν « άτομα εμφανιζόμενα ως μετανάστες » και το οποίο, σύμφωνα με τις διοχετευμένες πληροφορίες, έχει κινητοποιήσει όχι μόνο το Λιμενικό αλλά και τον Στρατό, την ΕΥΠ ακόμα και ξένες μυστικές υπηρεσίες !

      Όπως αποκαλύπτεται, πάντως, οι επικίνδυνοι « τζιχαντιστές », τόσο οι άνδρες όσο και τα γυναικόπαιδα, είχαν ήδη από την Τετάρτη επαναπροωθηθεί παράνομα στην Τουρκία. Η Οργάνωση Aegean Boat Report αναφέρει πως αυτή είναι η μεγαλύτερη περίπτωση « pushback » που καταφέρνει να καταγράψει και τονίζει πως η Ευρωπαϊκή Ενωση δεν έχει επιβάλει ακόμα καμία κύρωση στην Ελλάδα για τις παράνομες επαναπροωθήσεις, παρά τα ακλόνητα στοιχεία που έχουν τεθεί στη διάθεση των ευρωπαϊκών αρχών.

      https://www.efsyn.gr/efkriti/koinonia/265835_esteilan-piso-200-prosfyges-giati-itan-tzihantistes

    • Greece’s coast guard accused of mass migrant pushbacks

      An NGO, the #Aegean_Boat_Report (ABR), has accused the Greek coast guard of pushing back 197 migrants at sea last week.

      Greek coast guards have been accused by the NGO Aegean Boat Report (ABR) of performing illegal pushbacks involving 197 people and seven life rafts off the coast of the island of Crete in the Southern Aegean.

      A boat carrying 197 people was on its way trying to cross from Turkey to Italy on October 20 but ran into bad weather and changed course towards Crete, the NGO said.

      Close to the south shore of Crete, the vessel reported engine problems and, according to the Norwegian organization, the Greek coast guard was alerted at 9 am.

      ’’The Greek coast guard divided the people into two groups onto two coast guard vessels, 121 men and boys on one vessel, and 76 people, mostly families, on the other.

      Abuse on board

      Reports from the refugees clearly state that some of them were abused while onboard the Hellenic coast guard vessel, with footage and video testimony being provided,’’ said ABR via a media statement.

      According to ABR, the first group with the 121 men and boys were forced into three life rafts in the early hours of Wednesday, October 21 just north of Rhodes, before being found and picked up by the Turkish coast guard at 8:50 am south of Marmaris.

      The second group of 76 people, made up of families, were put into four life rafts at around noon north-west of the islands of Simi, drifting for hours and not picked up by Turkish coast guards before 5:30 pm south-west of Data.

      ’Largest pushback’ ABR has documented

      ’’This shows that the Greek coast guard is determined to prevent anyone from reaching Greek soil, no matter the consequences or potential harm they may inflict on innocent people fleeing war and persecution’’, added ABR.

      ’’This is by far the largest pushback Aegean Boat Report has been able to document, but I guess nothing is a surprise anymore. No measures have been taken by the EU to try to stop this illegal practice by the Greek government, even if they have received overwhelming amounts of evidence.’’

      29 NGOs and humanitarian groups sent an open letter to Parliament Last week’s incidents were reported after an appeal was launched by several prominent NGOs and humanitarian groups earlier this month on the topic of illegal pushbacks.

      A total of 29 organizations sent an open letter to Parliament urging it to investigate reports of illegal pushbacks at the country’s land and sea borders with neighboring Turkey.

      The letter called on the Greek Parliament to ’’immediately conduct an effective, transparent and impartial investigation into allegations that personnel from the Coast Guard, the Greek Police and the Greek Army, sometimes in close cooperation with masked men in uniform, have engaged in such actions, which are not only illegal but also endanger the lives and safety of displaced people."

      Tensions on migration in Greece

      Tensions on the migrant issue in Greece continue to run high following September’s fires which destroyed the controversial Moria open camp on Lesbos, and widespread lockdowns at refugee camps across the country following outbreaks of coronavirus cases.

      The reports of pushbacks taking place have prompted action from humanitarian rights groups, with the joint-appeal calling for disciplinary and criminal sanctions, as deemed appropriate, “on anyone in uniform who are found to have participated in such illegal activities, but also for their superiors who are responsible for the administration of these bodies.”

      “The investigation should establish the identity and relationship of the masked men and other unidentified officers to law enforcement, and take steps to hold them to account.”

      State pushes ahead with migrant camps

      Meanwhile, in related developments, the government is pressing ahead with plans to create more secure and strictly controlled ’’closed’’ migrant reception centers on the Aegean islands.

      With the COVID-19 pandemic creating further challenges and complications for the operation of existing camps, most of which are under lockdown due to positive cases of the virus, the state is aiming to build new ’’permanent’’ structures, starting with one on Lesbos.

      The situation on Lesbos is the primary concern right now, as the current temporary facility which was hastily set up in the Kara Tepe area on the coast after Moria was burned down, has already flooded twice with the first rainfalls of the season.

      Lesbos Mayor Stratis Kytelis met with government officials in Athens last week to discuss the location of a new permanent facility on the island, although the plans are being met with resistance from local community groups.Greece’s health authorities, meanwhile, are also conducting regular COVID-19 tests at migrant camps on the Aegean islands to ensure that any outbreak is quickly contained.

      https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/28139/greece-s-coast-guard-accused-of-mass-migrant-pushbacks

    • Frontex sous pression après des accusations de refoulement de migrants aux portes de la Grèce

      C’est une première : mardi 10 novembre, le conseil d’administration de l’Agence européenne des garde-frontières et de garde-côtes Frontex devra examiner des accusations de refoulements illégaux (ou « pushbacks ») de migrants en mer Egée. Elles ont été portées contre Frontex par un groupe de médias. En octobre, le site d’investigation Bellingcat et le magazine Der Spiegel notamment, avaient rapporté, images et témoignages à l’appui, six épisodes au cours desquels des embarcations avaient été bloquées, contrairement aux règles internationales sur le non-refoulement.

      Celles-ci stipulent que des personnes ne peuvent être renvoyées vers un pays, avant un examen de leur situation, si leur existence est en danger en raison de leur race, leur religion, leur nationalité ou leur appartenance à un groupe social ou politique.

      Il aura apparemment fallu une intervention ferme de la Commission européenne pour que la direction de Frontex, devenue le premier corps en uniforme et la plus importante agence de l’Union avec un budget de quelque 500 millions d’euros, accepte de convoquer un conseil extraordinaire. Dans un premier temps, elle s’était contentée d’affirmer, le 24 octobre, qu’elle respectait la loi internationale et était en contact avec la Grèce, qui devait ouvrir « une enquête interne ».
      Enquête interne

      « Si l’agence est impliquée dans de telles actions, c’est totalement inacceptable », déclarait pour sa part la commissaire à la migration, Ylva Johansson, le 26 octobre. Le lendemain, Frontex promettait une enquête interne et, même si elle n’exerce pas une tutelle directe sur l’agence, la Commission obtenait la convocation d’une réunion. A charge pour Fabrice Leggeri, le directeur français, de fournir des explications détaillées.

      « La Grèce ne participe pas à des refoulements, a affirmé de son côté le ministre grec des migrations, Notis Mitarachi. Nous gardons nos frontières en respectant le droit international et nous continuons à sauver des centaines de migrants tous les jours en Méditerranée », a-t-il précisé.

      Athènes fait face depuis des mois à de nombreuses accusations de refoulement en mer Egée et à la frontière terrestre avec la Turquie, dans l’Evros. Le 14 août déjà, le New York Times avait affirmé que les gardes-côtes grecs avaient abandonné en « pleine mer » des canots remplis de migrants. Interviewé par CNN, le premier ministre conservateur Kyriakos Mitsotakis avait démenti : « Cela n’est jamais arrivé. Nous sommes les victimes d’une vaste campagne de désinformation », suggérant que les journalistes avaient interrogé principalement des sources turques voulant décrédibiliser les autorités grecques.

      Depuis l’envoi par la Turquie de milliers de réfugiés à la frontière terrestre de l’Evros, en mars, Athènes a toujours assuré vouloir « protéger ses frontières » qui sont aussi celles de l’Europe et faire face à « une menace ». Le gouvernement a renforcé le contrôle des frontières en embauchant notamment du personnel supplémentaire. Entre avril et juillet, les arrivées à Lesbos ont diminué de 85 % par rapport à l’année dernière, selon le ministère des migrations.
      Des « abus sont trop nombreux pour être ignorés »

      Pour de nombreuses ONG présentes sur le terrain, cette diminution spectaculaire est le résultat de « pushbacks ». Selon Human Rights Watch, « les preuves et les rapports décrivant les abus sont trop nombreux pour être ignorés ». L’organisation dit avoir interrogé des victimes et des témoins qui décrivent comment les garde-côtes grecs, la police, et des hommes masqués et vêtus d’habits sombres ont effectué depuis les îles de Rhodes, de Samos et Simi, des refoulements illégaux de personnes sur de petits canots gonflables.

      A la fin août, le Haut-Commissariat aux réfugiés (HCR) de l’ONU se disait « inquiet de l’augmentation des publications depuis mars 2020 attestant de refoulements illégaux ». « Le HCR a reçu des rapports et des témoignages de personnes abandonnées en pleine mer pendant un long moment, souvent sur des rafiots surpeuplés », précisait le communiqué.

      L’Observatoire grec des accords d’Helsinki a déjà déposé une plainte auprès de la Cour suprême grecque pour le refoulement de plus de 1 300 personnes en s’appuyant sur les témoignages recueillis par plusieurs ONG. En septembre, 29 organisations de défense des droits de l’homme ont par ailleurs adressé une lettre au premier ministre et au parlement grecs pour réclamer une enquête. Leur courrier est encore sans réponse alors que 35 membres d’ONG font, eux, l’objet d’une investigation : ils sont suspectés d’avoir renseigné des migrants sur les positions des gardes-côtes ainsi que des passeurs sur des lieux d’accostage. Ces humanitaires travaillent pour des organisations qui ont dénoncé avec le plus de véhémence les refoulements vers la Turquie par les gardes-côtes grecs.

      Frontex, qui a engagé en Grèce quelque six cents agents dotés de divers moyens de surveillance, a déjà fait l’objet d’autres accusations mais affirme à chaque fois respecter un code de conduite qui prohibe strictement les refoulements. La communication très cadenassée de l’agence ne détaille toutefois pas comment les contrôles sont vraiment exercés. L’action du service interne chargé de contrôler le respect des droits fondamentaux reste également nébuleuse. Une situation déplorée par le HCR, membre du forum consultatif chargé de conseiller l’agence européenne dans son action.

      https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2020/11/05/frontex-sous-pression-apres-des-accusations-de-refoulement-de-migrants-aux-p

    • EU: Probe Frontex Complicity in Border Abuses. Ensure Independent and Effective Investigation

      The top governing body of the European Union Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) should urgently establish an independent inquiry into allegations of its involvement in unlawful operations to stop migrants from reaching the European Union (EU), Human Rights Watch said today.

      The agency’s board will hold an extraordinary meeting on November 10, 2020. Frontex should also address serious and persistent violations by border and law enforcement officers of the countries where it operates.

      “The fact that Frontex may have become complicit in abuses at Greece’s borders is extremely serious,” said Eva Cossé, Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Management Board of Frontex should quickly open an inquiry into Frontex involvement in – or actions to disregard or cover up – abuses against people seeking protection from conflicts and persecution.”

      On October 23, a group of media outlets published a detailed investigative report alleging Frontex involvement in pushback operations at the Greek-Turkish maritime border, in the Aegean Sea. The reports said that asylum seekers and migrants were prevented from reaching EU soil or were forced out of EU waters. Such pushbacks violate international law, Human Rights Watch said.

      EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said on October 28 that she had asked, in coordination with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, “to convene an urgent extraordinary Frontex Management Board meeting on 10 November, to discuss alleged push-back incidents in Greece and fundamental rights protection.”

      Frontex’s mandate obliges officers and the officers of member states deployed to respect fundamental rights, but the agency has been under heavy criticism for the shortcomings of its internal monitoring and accountability mechanisms. On October 27, Frontex announced an internal inquiry into the incidents reported by the media.

      In recent years, nongovernmental groups and media outlets have consistently reported the unlawful return, including through pushbacks, of groups and individuals from Greece to Turkey, by Greek law enforcement officers or unidentified masked men who appear to be working in tandem with border enforcement officials.

      Since Frontex deployed officers along the full length of the Turkey-Greece land border in March, Human Rights Watch has documented that Greek law enforcement officers routinely summarily returned asylum seekers and migrants through the land border with Turkey. Human Rights Watch found that officers in some cases used violence and often confiscated and destroyed migrants’ belongings.

      Greek authorities have said that police officers wearing dark blue uniforms work at police stations. Border patrol police officers wear military camouflage uniforms. Frontex guards wear their national uniforms, with a blue armband with the EU flag.

      In July, Human Rights Watch documented collective expulsions, through the Evros river land border, of asylum seekers rounded up from deep inside Greece.

      In a June 19 response to questions posed by Human Rights Watch, Frontex wrote that no abuses against migrants by Greek border guards or by police or border guards of other EU member states deployed under Frontex had been reported to Frontex. It said that Frontex does not have the authority to investigate allegations of abuse by EU member states’ police or border guards deployed in Greece. It said that such investigations are conducted by the competent national authorities.

      In June, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it was deeply concerned about persistent reports of pushbacks and collective expulsions of migrants, in some cases violent, at Greece’s border with Turkey. In August, the UN Refugee Agency flagged concerns over the increasing number of credible reports of pushbacks at Greece’s land and sea borders.

      In May 2019, Frontex told Human Rights Watch that it had not detected any human rights violations or pushbacks during its operational presence at Croatia’s border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite consistent evidence of brutal pushbacks, reports from international and regional organizations, and the confirmation by Croatian officials that such abuses were taking place.

      Under the Frontex mandate, its executive director has the authority to, and should, withdraw financing, and suspend or terminate its activities if there are serious violations of fundamental rights related to its activities. The executive director is also expected to take into account information provided by relevant international organizations.

      On July 6, during a debate at the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on fundamental rights at the Greek border, Johansson said that pushbacks by Greek border guards should be investigated. In its new Pact on Migration and Asylum, presented on September 23, the European Commission recommended to member states to set up an independent monitoring mechanism, amid increased allegations of abuse at the EU’s external borders.

      Members of the Frontex Management Board should set up an independent, prompt, effective, transparent, and impartial investigation into allegations that officers deployed by Frontex were involved in unlawful operations of pushbacks of asylum seekers. Any officer found to have engaged in such illegal acts, as well as their commanding officers and officials who have command responsibility over such forces, should be subject to disciplinary and criminal sanctions, as applicable.

      The investigation should also identify whether Frontex failed to report or otherwise address allegations of serious fundamental rights violations committed by law enforcement or border officers of the member state hosting operations.

      “An EU agency with a clear mandate to act in compliance with fundamental rights has the responsibility to do everything possible to prevent such severe violations,” Cossé said. “If Frontex not only turned a blind eye to abuses committed under its sight, or worse, directly took part in them, it becomes every EU member state’s responsibility.”

      https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/11/09/eu-probe-frontex-complicity-border-abuses

    • Frontex calls for committee to consider questions related to sea surveillance

      Today, Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri has called for the creation of an evaluation committee to consider legal questions related to the Agency’s surveillance of external sea borders and accommodating the concerns raised by Member States about “hybrid threats” affecting their national security at external borders where the European Border and Coast Guard Agency will deploy its standing corps.

      Under the Frontex proposal, the committee would be coordinated by the European Commission with the participation of Member States on a volunteer basis. It would address various questions, in particular those related to Regulation 2014/656 in the light of the current operational situation.

      Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri also expressed the Agency’s continued commitment to highest standards of protection of fundamental rights.

      “Any allegation of misconduct or infringement of international treaties or fundamental rights in the framework of joint operations coordinated by Frontex is treated with grave concern and carefully investigated,” said Fabrice Leggeri.

      “I am committed to reinforce the office of the Fundamental Rights Officer and to gradually increase its budget,” he added.

      Leggeri also proposed that the Frontex Fundamental Rights Officer to play a bigger role in raising awareness of the operational officers on the legal requirements that they need to apply on everyday basis in the field.

      “This could apply not only to the Frontex-deployed staff, but also to the staff of the International Coordination Centres, who often play an essential part in deciding to react to complicated events,” Leggeri said.

      https://frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/news-release/frontex-calls-for-committee-to-consider-questions-related-to-sea-surv

    • #Ombudsman opens inquiry to assess European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) ‘#Complaints_Mechanism’

      European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has opened an inquiry to look into how the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) deals with alleged breaches of fundamental rights. In particular, the investigation will assess the effectiveness and transparency of Frontex’s Complaints Mechanism for those who believe their rights have been violated in the context of Frontex border operations, as well as the role and independence of Frontex’s ‘Fundamental Rights Officer’.

      In 2013, as part of a previous inquiry, the Ombudsman recommended that Frontex set up an individual complaints mechanism, and that its Fundamental Rights Officer be in charge of the mechanism. Since then, such a mechanism was put in place and further developed, with a view to providing safeguards for fundamental rights in the context of Frontex’s expanding mandate, as well as ensuring increased accountability and redress for those impacted by its actions.

      This inquiry focuses on whether the Complaints Mechanism and the Fundamental Rights Officer are truly empowered to deal with the issues faced by migrants and asylum seekers who feel their rights have been violated under Frontex operations.

      In opening the inquiry, the Ombudsman has sent a set of detailed questions to Frontex on the Complaints Mechanism and the Fundamental Rights Officer. She has also informed members of the European Network of Ombudsmen (ENO), with a view to their possible participation in the inquiry, as part of the ENO’s parallel work. This is important, given the role of national authorities in Frontex operations, and the fact that some national ombudsmen are responsible for following up on complaints related to this.

      Among other things, the questions set out by the Ombudsman look at: how and when Frontex will be updating the mechanism to reflect its expanded mandate; what happens to complainants who are faced with forced return while their complaint is still being processed; what appeal possibilities are open to complainants; how Frontex monitors complaints against national authorities; how those who have been affected by Frontex operations but are in non-EU countries can complain about alleged breaches of fundamental rights, including the issue of language; and the role of the Fundamental Rights Officer in this process.

      https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/news-document/en/134739

    • Frontex: Cover-Up and Diversion. Outcomes of and Responses to the Frontex Management Board meeting on 10th November

      An extraordinary meeting took place on Tuesday 10th November, between the EU Commission and Frontex, regarding alleged Frontex involvement in illegal pushbacks in Greece.

      Why did the meeting take place?

      This meeting was called due to an overwhelming amount of evidence suggesting the involvement or complicity of Frontex in pushbacks. Reports by Spiegel, Report Mainz, Bellingcat and other international media, including Josoor and other members of the BVMN, had led to this meeting taking place. These investigations show Frontex involvement in at least six pushbacks through, for example, blocking boats and making waves to deter boats from getting any closer to the shore. According to Frontex insiders, mission reports were routinely altered into something more positive, excluding explicit mentions of pushbacks, before being sent to Frontex headquarters in Warsaw, Poland.

      We, at the Border Violence Monitoring Network, took advantage of the opportunity presented by the meeting on 10th November by sending a letter of concern to the Executive Director of Frontex and the FRO. This letter included evidence from testimonies, collected by BVMN partners, including Josoor, from people-on-the-move who claim that Frontex personnel were involved or complicit in pushbacks operations at the borders between Greek and Turkey, and Albania and Greece. The letter questioned Frontex’s knowledge and understanding of these allegations, and demanded an investigation into these claims. The letter was also addressed to the EU commissioner of Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and her officer and we hoped this was presented as evidence at the management board meeting on 10th November

      What were the outcomes?

      Johansson remarked on twitter after the meeting:

      “Today’s @Frontex extraordinary management board was a good start to what I want to be a transparent process. The @EU_Commission has asked the Frontex Executive Director to reply to Qs ahead of the next scheduled board meeting (end November).”

      Leggeri, the Executive Director of Frontex, has been ordered by the EU Commission to answer questions concerning these accusations by the end of November. Frontex is yet to comment in detail on the allegations and reported incidents have been forwarded to the Greek coastguard, where also the Greek authorities have refused to comment and denied involvement. Both Frontex and the Greek authorities have launched internal investigations in response to these allegations. Unsurprisingly, after just 48 hours of their investigations, Frontex announced that they were innocent.

      The meeting also included a discussion on whether Frontex should withdraw from missions, such as the one in the Aegean Sea in the event of serious and persistent human rights violations. Such a directive can be found already in Frontex’s regulations. Officials of a few member states vetoed the application of this rule, and Greek representatives in particular were concerned that this could expose the Greek government.

      In the end, a compromise was met. A Frontex statement outlined that a ‘Commission of Inquiry’ will now be made to deal with legal questions concerning operations at sea borders. This will be coordinated by the EU Commission.

      “Any allegation of misconduct or violation of international agreements or fundamental rights within joint operations coordinated by Frontex will be treated with grave concern and investigated closely,” Leggeri said.

      Also, Frontex seeks to strengthen the role of the Fundamental Rights Officer, but experts agree that the internal mechanisms at Frontex are insufficient and therefore see this move as insufficient. As of yesterday, Frontex is advertising for the vacancy of the FRO.

      Members of EU Parliament reactions:

      Tineke Strik (from Netherlands, Green) commented, according to Spiegel, “The announcement did not mention the human rights violations at the border. A committee does not replace a truly independent and transparent investigation. Strik stated “Citizens need to know what has happened and how human rights violations are to be prevented in the future”

      Dietmar Köster (from Germany, SPD) stated, quoted from Tagesschau, "It is a unique cover-up attempt to divert attention from one’s own responsibility and failure to observe human rights”. Köster further stated that Leggeri’s statements showed the arrogance and ignorance of Frontex. “Basic and human rights apply to all. The European Border Management Agency is not exempt from their observance, it is not above the law.”

      An successful outcome: an independent inquiry:

      On the morning of Thursday 12th November, the European Ombudsman tweeted that they would open an inquiry into Frontex, assessing the effectiveness and transparency of their ‘Complaints Mechanism’ and the role and independence of the ‘Fundamental Rights Officer’ (FRO). The latter is especially important as the current ad interim FRO, Annegret Kohler, appointed in 2018, and re-appointed in September 2020, was selected from the Executive Director’s former cabinet, where she was an advisor to the Executive Director. This raises questions about independence and objectivity of the FRO and the FRO’s team to carry out their duties and avoid potential conflicts of interest. Josoor welcomes this investigation.

      https://www.josoor.net/post/frontex-cover-up-and-diversion

    • EU erhöht Druck auf Frontex-Chef

      Die EU-Grenzschutzagentur gerät durch Recherchen des ARD-Magazins Report Mainz und weiterer Medien in Bedrängnis. Heute musste die Frontex-Führung der EU-Kommission zum Thema illegale Pushbacks Rede und Antwort stehen.

      Die Europäische Kommission erwartet Antworten vom Frontex-Chef. Bis Ende November muss sich Fabrice Leggeri zur Verwicklung seiner Grenzschutzagentur in illegale Pushbacks von Flüchtlingen äußern. Das ist das Ergebnis einer Dringlichkeitssitzung des Frontex Management Boards. Das Treffen sei ein guter Anfang gewesen, sie wolle den Prozess transparent gestalten, twitterte die zuständige EU-Kommissarin Ylva Johansson. Leggeri solle bis zur nächsten Zusammenkunft des Management Boards auf die Fragen der Kommission antworten.
      Recherchen bringen Frontex in Bedrängnis

      Johansson hatte das Treffen einberufen, um über eine gemeinsame Recherche des ARD-Magazins Report Mainz, des „Spiegel“ und der Medienorganisationen Bellingcat, Lighthouse Reports und tv Asahi zu diskutieren. Die Medien hatten aufgedeckt, dass Frontex-Einheiten in der Ägäis in illegale Zurückweisungen von Flüchtlingen verwickelt sind.

      Seit April waren Frontex-Beamte nachweislich bei mindestens sechs sogenannten Pushbacks in der Nähe. Auf einem Video ist zu sehen, wie ein Frontex-Schiff ein überladenes Flüchtlingsboot zunächst blockiert, die Insassen aber nicht rettet. Stattdessen fahren die Frontex-Beamten mit hohem Tempo an dem Flüchtlingsboot vorbei und verlassen dann den Ort des Geschehens. Vertrauliche Gespräche mit Frontex-Beamten legten zudem nahe, dass diese ihre Berichte schönen, bevor sie an die Zentrale in Warschau geschickt werden.

      Keine Äußerung von Frontex und Griechenland

      Frontex ist auf die Vorwürfe bis heute nicht im Detail eingegangen. Alle gemeldeten Vorfälle seien an die griechische Küstenwache weitergeleitet worden, diese habe eine interne Untersuchung eingeleitet, teilte die Genzschutzagentur in einem Statement mit. Nach der Antwort der griechischen Behörden seien seine Zweifel ausgeräumt, sagte Leggeri zudem in einem Interview.

      Auch die griechischen Behörden hatten sich zu den Pushbacks nicht im Detail äußern wollen. Sie bestreiten die Vorwürfe pauschal, obwohl die ARD, der „Spiegel“ und andere Medien die Pushbacks mehrfach dokumentiert haben. Nach Angaben von Teilnehmern im „Spiegel“ sahen sich vor allem die griechischen Mitglieder des Management Boards bei dem Treffen Fragen ausgesetzt. Diskutiert wurde unter anderem ein Statement, welches betonen sollte, dass Frontex sich bei schwerwiegenden und anhaltenden Menschenrechtsverletzungen von Missionen wie der in der Ägäis zurückziehen muss.

      Griechen haben Angst vor Bloßstellung

      Ein solche Vorschrift findet sich schon jetzt in den Frontex-Regularien. Beamte einiger weniger Mitgliedsstaaten legten ihr Veto dagegen ein, dass die Anwendung dieser Regel nun in den Raum gestellt werden soll. Besonders die griechischen Teilnehmer fürchteten, dass das Statement die griechische Regierung bloßstellen könnte.

      Am Ende einigte man sich auf einen Kompromiss. Es soll ein Komitee geschaffen werden, das sich mit rechtlichen Fragen zu Einsätzen an der Seegrenzen beschäftigt, heißt es in einem Frontex-Statement. Die Kommission solle dem Vorschlag zufolge die Arbeit des Komitees koordinieren, Mitgliedsstaaten könnten sich auf freiwilliger Basis beteiligen. Im Komitee sollen auch die Sorgen einige Mitgliedsstaaten vor „hybriden Bedrohungen“ eine Rolle spielen. Vor allem Griechenland hatte immer wieder davor gewarnt, dass türkische Geheimdienste sich unter die Migranten auf den Inseln mischen könnten.

      Außerdem will Frontex nach eigener Aussage den sogenannten Fundamental Rights Officer stärken. Der Beamte ist bei Frontex dafür zuständig, dass die Grenzschützer die Grundrechte von Schutzsuchenden achten. Allerdings halten Beobachter alle bestehenden internen Überwachungsmechanismen bei Frontex für unzureichend.
      Kritik aus Europaparlament

      Nach den Enthüllungen der ARD und ihrer Recherchepartner hatten mehrere Europaparlamentarier von Leggeri eine vollständige Untersuchung der Vorwürfe gefordert. Die Grünen-EU-Abgeordnete Tineke Strik kritisierte das Frontex-Statement. Die Ankündigung erwähne die Menschenrechtsverletzungen an der Grenze nicht, sagte sie. Ein Komitee ersetze keine wirklich unabhängige und transparente Untersuchung. „Die Bürger müssen erfahren, was geschehen ist und wie Menschenrechtsverletzungen in Zukunft verhindert werden sollen“, so Strik.

      „Das Ganze ist eine große Nebelkerze“, sagte Europaparlamentarier Dietmar Köster von der SPD. „Es ist ein einzigartiger Vertuschungsversuch, von der eigenen Verantwortung und dem Versagen bei der Einhaltung von Menschenrechten abzulenken“,

      https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/report-mainz/frontex-pushbacks-103.html

    • EU-Grenzpolizei Frontex: Keine Untersuchung zu Verstößen gegen Menschenrechte

      Im März war die EU-Grenzpolizei Frontex in einen versuchten Verstoß gegen Menschenrechte verwickelt. Wie von uns veröffentlichte Akten zeigen, untersuchte Frontex den Vorfall aber nicht, sondern kehrte ihn unter den Teppich.

      Als ARD, Spiegel und Bellingcat vor drei Wochen aufdeckten, dass die Europäische Grenzpolizei Frontex an illegalen Pushbacks an EU-Grenzen beteiligt ist, versprach der Frontex-Direktor Fabrice Leggeri schnell Aufklärung. Die EU-Agentur werde die Vorwürfe untersuchen, nach denen Frontex Geflüchtete völkerrechtswidrig aus der EU abgeschoben hatte.

      „Jeder Vorwurf des Fehlverhaltens oder der Verletzung internationaler Verträge oder Grundrechte im Rahmen gemeinsamer Operationen, die von Frontex koordiniert werden, wird mit großer Besorgnis behandelt und sorgfältig untersucht.“

      Frontex-Direktor Fabrice Leggeri (Übersetzung von FragDenStaat)

      Ein interner E-Mail-Verlauf von Frontex, den wir per Informationsfreiheitsanfrage erhalten haben, zeigt jetzt jedoch, dass die EU-Agentur in vergleichbaren Fällen offenbar kein Interesse daran hat, Verstöße gegen Menschenrechte zu untersuchen. EU Observer hatte zunächst darüber berichtet.
      Dänemark widersetzt sich Frontex-Befehlen

      Bereits am 2. März diesen Jahres hatte Frontex in der Nähe der griechischen Insel Kos versucht, ein Boot mit 33 geflüchteten Menschen, die griechische Gewässer erreicht hatten, in die Türkei abzuschieben. Das griechische Frontex-Kommando befahl einem Schiff der Dänischen Marine mit dem Namen „Stela Polaris“, die Geflüchteten nicht an Land zu bringen, sondern wieder in ein Gummiboot zu setzen und aufs offene Meer Richtung Türkei zu schleppen. Der dänische Befehlshaber des Schiffes widersetzte sich dem rechtswidrigen Befehl jedoch und erreichte durch seine dänischen Vorgesetzten, dass er aufgehoben wurde.

      Frontex hatte den Vorgang bisher nie öffentlich zugegeben. Der dazugehörige E-Mail-Verkehr aus der Frontex-Zentrale in Warschau, den wir veröffentlichen, zeigt, dass Pushbacks die Entscheidungsträger um Direktor Fabrice Leggeri kaum interessierten. Erst aus der Presse erfuhr das Hauptquartier überhaupt davon, dass Frontex in einen versuchten Verstoß gegen die Menschenrechte verwickelt war.

      Einen Bericht – intern Serious Incident Report genannt – gab es trotz der Schwere des Vorfalls nicht. Die Frontex-Pressesprecherin forderte deswegen in Erwartung von Presseanfragen am Morgen des 6. März, vier Tage nach dem Vorfall, bei ihren Kolleg:innen einen Bericht zu den Vorfällen an. Am Nachmittag wurde sie informiert, dass es in der Tat einen versuchten Pushback gegeben hatte.

      Menschenrechte geprüft in vier Stunden

      Bemerkenswert ist, wie die Frontex-Zentrale anschließend mit den Informationen umging: Es schloss die Akten. Bereits vier Stunden nach der Meldung über Vorfall kamen die Frontex-Mitarbeiter:innen zu der Einschätzung, der versuchte Pushback sei ein „Einzelfall“. Er wurde noch nicht einmal beim täglichen Treffen der Befehlshabenden in der Frontex-Mission besprochen.

      Weitere Informationen zu dem Vorfall finden sich in den Akten laut Frontex nicht. Die Frontex-Mitarbeiter:innen überprüften nicht die Kommando-Strukturen und prüften nicht, warum es keinen internen Bericht zu dem rechtswidrigen Befehl gab. Sie unternahmen auch sonst keine Versuche, um sicherzustellen, dass Pushbacks durch das Frontex-Kommando nicht mehr vorkommen würden. Im Sommer schließlich gab Frontex-Direktor gegenüber dem Europäischen Parlament zu Protokoll, der versuchte Pushback sei ein „Missverständnis“ gewesen.

      Einige Monate später fanden Journalist:innen Beweise dafür, dass es sich offenbar nicht um einen Einzelfall handelt und Frontex mindestens im Juni an weiteren Pushbacks beteiligt war. Die EU-Agentur hatte offenbar kein Interesse daran, Verstöße gegen Menschenrechte zu unterbinden.

      https://fragdenstaat.de/blog/2020/11/18/frontex-pushbacks-denmark

    • Council of Europe’s anti-torture Committee calls on Greece to reform its immigration detention system and stop pushbacks

      In a report published today on a rapid reaction ad hoc visit to Greece in March 2020, the Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee (CPT) once again urges the Greek authorities to change their approach towards immigration detention and to ensure that migrants deprived of their liberty are treated both with dignity and humanity.

      The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today the report on its ad hoc visit to Greece, which took place from 13 to 17 March 2020, together with the response of the Greek authorities.

      In the report, the CPT acknowledges the significant challenges faced by the Greek authorities in dealing with large numbers of migrants entering the country and that it requires a coordinated European approach. However, this cannot absolve the the Hellenic Republic from their human rights obligations and the duty of care owed to all migrants that the Greek authorities detain.

      The CPT found that the conditions of detention in which migrants were held in certain facilities in the Evros region and on the island of Samos could amount to inhuman and degrading treatment. The report again underlines the structural deficiencies in Greece’s immigration detention policy. Migrants continue to be held in detention centres composed of large barred cells crammed with beds, with poor lighting and ventilation, dilapidated and broken toilets and washrooms, insufficient personal hygiene products and cleaning materials, inadequate food and no access to outdoor daily exercise. Extreme overcrowding in several of the facilities further aggravated the situation. In addition, migrants were not provided with clear information about their situation.

      The CPT once again found that families with children, unaccompanied and separated children and other vulnerable persons (with a physical or mental health illness, or pregnant women) were being detained in such appalling conditions with no appropriate support. The CPT calls upon the Greek authorities to end the detention of unaccompanied children and of children with their parents in police establishments. Instead, they should be transferred to suitable reception facilities catering to their specific needs.

      The report also highlights that the CPT again received consistent and credible allegations of migrants being pushed back across the Evros River border to Turkey. The Greek authorities should act to prevent such pushbacks. The CPT furthermore raises concerns over acts by the Greek Coast Guard to prevent boats carrying migrants from reaching any Greek island and it questions the role and engagement of FRONTEX in such operations.

      The CPT calls upon the Greek authorities to take vigorous steps to stamp out ill-treatment of detained migrants by the police. The report refers to a number of allegations by migrants that they had been ill treated by members of the Hellenic Police and/or Coast Guard either upon apprehension or after being brought to a place of detention. The ill treatment alleged consisted primarily of slaps to the head and kicks and truncheon blows to the body.

      In their response, the Hellenic Police provide information on the steps being taken to improve the conditions of detention for detained migrants. They also state that the alleged practice of pushbacks to the border is unsubstantiated and completely wrong. As regards unaccompanied minors, reference is made to a new strategy to end their detention and to their transfer from reception centres on the islands to safe accommodation facilities on the mainland.

      https://search.coe.int/directorate_of_communications/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectId=0900001680a06bcf

    • Annex to the reply of Fabrice Leggeri to the LIBE Committee

      https://www.tinekestrik.eu/sites/default/files/2020-11/Answers%20to%20the%20questions%20from%20the%20LIBE%20Commitee.pdf

      –---

      Thread sur twitter:

      It looks like Frontex are NOT denying that they may be involved in #pushbacks after all. FL partly evades (’...always committed...’) and partly seems to blame the ’uniqueness’ of operational areas & ’complex geography’ of the Greek and Turkish border for FX being involved in pushbacks.

      –---

      The earlier letter sent to the EP President might offer some clues. I’m not a legal expert, but FL seems to suggest that Art. 6 of Reg. 656/2014 (on interception at sea) needs to be clarified so as to define what constitutes a #pushback. Interesting.
      https://www.tinekestrik.eu/sites/default/files/2020-11/Letter%20to%20EP_Frontex%20maritime%20operations%20at%20EU%20external%20

      –—

      Yet not all pushbacks happen at sea. While the request for interpretation above might mean that FX is looking for a way out re: #pushbacks at the Aegean, what about those at the
      Greek-Turkish land border? I think there’s less concern with #pushbacks at #Evros, though. No videos...

      –---

      Back to the Annex: We know SIRs weren’t submitted as they should. The real question is why. It might be down to officers on the ground lacking in training (they shouldn’t, but...) or not wanting to get their colleagues in trouble (the spirit of camaraderie...).

      –---

      BUT: Today’s Spiegel article refers to a ’Frontex official in charge’ advising a Swedish officer not to submit a SIR. FX management were aware few SIRs being submitted for years. Is it a practice dictated from the top? To avoid having evidence of violations?

      https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/pushbacks-in-der-aegaeis-wie-frontex-menschenrechtsverletzungen-vertuscht-a-

      –—

      Suspension/non-launch of operations has never happened. The ED didn’t take into account reports by NGOs or human rights bodies when considering the 2016 recommendation to suspend operations in Hungary. He relied on the very low number of SIRs to reject it.
      https://respondmigration.com/wp-blog/fundamental-rights-accountability-transparency-european-governance

      –—

      Same with the 2019 & 2020 recommendations of the FRO to consider suspension of operations in #Evros. As for taking into account media reports ... well, I’d say the reply to the LIBE committee reads like the media accounts are being dismissed.

      https://twitter.com/lk2015r/status/1331662031095787521

    • E.U. Border Agency Accused of Covering Up Migrant Pushback in Greece

      Frontex is under fire for letting Greece illegally repel migrants as the agency expands to play a more central role at the bloc’s external borders.

      Mounting evidence indicates that the European Union’s border agency has been complicit in Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back migrants to Turkey, according to documents obtained by The New York Times and interviews with officials.

      In at least one case, Frontex, as the E.U. border agency is known, is accused of having helped cover up the violations, when a crew said it was discouraged by agency officials from reporting that they had seen the Greek authorities setting a boatload of migrants adrift in Turkish waters.

      The case is currently being investigated by Frontex. But it has fueled suspicions that the agency, newly boosted in its role as upholder of the rule of law at E.U. borders, is not just sporadically aware of such abuses, but that it plays a role in concealing them.

      “We are seeing an erosion of the rule of law at the E.U. borders which is willful,” said Gerald Knaus, a migration expert. “This is deeply worrying because it is eroding the refugee convention on the continent on which it was created.”

      Throughout this year, The New York Times and others have reported on growing operations by the Greek Coast Guard to repel migrants from Greek waters back to Turkey, reports the Greek authorities deny amount to breaches of international laws.

      But revelations that Frontex has witnessed pushbacks have thrown the agency into a governance crisis that threatens to further blight the European Union’s liberal values, once again calling into question the bloc’s commitment to upholding its own laws on refugees.

      The cases have also highlighted a conundrum at the core of E.U. ambitions to tighten external borders by pooling resources and involving the bloc in the sensitive, zealously shielded work of sovereign border guards.

      Frontex is the European Union’s best-funded agency, with a budget of over $500 million, and will soon deploy the first uniformed officers in the bloc’s history. It has been built up specifically to help in migrant-rescue operations as the burden of policing Europe’s borders has fallen most heavily on its peripheral states, like Greece.

      It was also intended as a deterrent to the kind of mass arrival of refugees that sowed political crises across Europe after 2015, and fanned nationalist and populist movements.

      Yet Frontex is not empowered to stop national border guards from committing violations, and it is not clear how it can play a role as standard-bearer of E.U. laws when informing on national forces risks the working relationships on which its operations depend.

      Refugee arrivals to the European Union peaked five years ago and have dropped drastically since, but thousands of asylum seekers, many fleeing the wars in Afghanistan and Syria, still attempt the crossing. Unlike in the past, Greeks and their government have turned hostile to the new arrivals, exhausted by years in which asylum seekers have been bottled up in overrun camps on Greek islands.

      There is also a growing belief in the Greek and several other European governments that aggression at the borders and poor conditions at migrant camps will make the attempt to reach Europe less attractive for asylum seekers.

      Earlier this year, an analysis by The Times showed that the Greek government had secretly expelled more than 1,000 asylum seekers, often by sailing them to the edge of Greek territorial waters and abandoning them in flimsy inflatable life rafts in violation of international laws.

      The Greek Coast Guard has rescued thousands of asylum seekers over the years but has become much more aggressive this year, especially as Turkey used migrants to provoke Greece by encouraging them to cross the border.

      The Greek government has denied it is doing anything illegal in repelling migrant boats from its national waters, characterizing the operations as robust border guarding. But Mr. Knaus said “the denials are not serious,” and the practices are effectively happening in the open — under the eyes of E.U. border patrols.

      The documents obtained by The Times describe, in Coast Guard vernacular littered with acronyms, codes, time-stamps and coordinates, a seemingly incessant Ping-Pong of migrant dinghies between Greek and Turkish waters, with Frontex crews on vessels or aircraft in observer status.

      Four officials with direct knowledge of Frontex operations said that agency officials have been discouraging crews from filing reports on pushback incidents, and, in some cases, have stopped initial alerts of violations from being filed as “serious incident reports,” at times after consulting with the Greek authorities.

      They all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were concerned about losing their jobs, or were not authorized to brief the press.

      The Frontex spokesman, Chris Borowski, said the agency took the reporting of violations very seriously. “Pushbacks are illegal under international law,” Mr. Borowski said.

      In the latest case to come to light, a Swedish Coast Guard crew on deployment under Frontex witnessed a pushback to Turkish waters of a boat full of migrants by the Greek authorities on Oct. 30 off the Greek island of Chios.

      The Swedish crew was later advised by a Frontex officer to not report it, documents reviewed by The Times show. The Swedish representative to the management board of Frontex described the incident, and the suppression of the attempt to report it, at a meeting on Nov. 10 — the first known case of an E.U. member state reporting active interference by Frontex officials.

      The Swedish government did not comment. A spokesman for Frontex said the agency wouldn’t comment because of an “ongoing procedure.”

      Frontex has been working in Greece for more than a decade, providing sea, land and aerial surveillance and rescue capabilities and deploying crews from other member states under its command.

      The details now emerging push the agency deeper into a governance crisis which began in October when a consortium of news organizations, including the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel, reported a number of occasions when Frontex crews witnessed pushbacks in Greece.

      The European Commission, which is part of the Frontex oversight system but does not control the agency, pushed for a special inquiry into these allegations and, at an emergency agency board meeting on Nov. 10, asked its leadership to answer detailed questions in writing.

      The answers arrived with a four-day delay, just 15 hours before the start of another meeting to discuss the problems on Wednesday. Yet another emergency meeting has been called in December, mounting pressure on the agency.

      Frontex has promised internal investigations but also quickly dismissed allegations, saying for example, in a letter seen by The Times, that it would look into the Swedish case, but that it had so far found no evidence that it happened.

      How these investigations shake out will matter a great deal for the future of Frontex, which was once little more than a back-office operation in Warsaw but now finds itself on the front lines of the nettlesome issue of migration that has the potency to make or break governments.

      Apart from helping member states with asylum-seeker arrivals, Frontex’s role as an E.U. agency by law is to respect fundamental rights, and bring up human-rights standards across national E.U. border agencies, which often don’t have a strong culture of upholding them.

      But claims that Frontex does not take fundamental rights seriously enough are growing. This year, only one million euros in its budget of 460 million euros — about $548 million — was allocated to rights monitoring.

      The agency was supposed to hire 40 fundamental-rights officers by Dec. 5 but the jobs have not yet been advertised. The agency is currently hiring for their boss, after years of staffing issues around that position. A Frontex spokesman said the delays stemmed from the coronavirus pandemic.

      Documents seen by The Times laid out how in one episode the Greek authorities were consulted before a report was made, and were able to suppress it. On Aug. 10, a German crew deployed by Frontex reported that a Greek Coast Guard vessel “took up border control measures prohibiting the landing to Samos.”

      The expression refers to maneuvering and making waves around a dinghy to repel it. The event was not recorded as a “serious incident,” because, the document said, the Greek Coast Guard argued the activities “do not provide any ground” to initiate such a report.

      Another incident, which a Frontex aerial crew observed and reported in detail to its headquarters, took place on the evening of April 18 to 19 off the coast of Lesbos, and lasted more than five hours.

      A dinghy was detected by the Greek authorities and approximately 20 migrants were rescued and put on board a Greek Coast Guard vessel shortly after midnight, their empty dinghy towed by the Coast Guard toward the island.

      But instead of being taken to shore, at 2:45 a.m., the migrants were put back on their dinghy and tugged to Turkish waters by the Greek Coast Guard, the Frontex aerial crew reported.

      As events unfolded, the Greek command center twice asked the Frontex aircraft to change its flight path, directing it away from the incident.

      “At 03:21 Frontex Surveillance Aircraft communicates that the rubber boat has no engine and it is adrift. Greek assets are departing the area leaving the rubber boat adrift,” the document said.

      The internal Frontex report detailing this incident and categorizing it as a fundamental-rights violation was “dismissed,” the document shows.

      https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/26/world/europe/frontex-migrants-pushback-greece.html

    • La Grèce fortement soupçonnée de refouler les migrants

      L’agence européenne Frontex, potentiellement impliquée dans les refoulements, mène une enquête interne et doit fournir des explications à la Commission européenne fin novembre. Une plainte a été déposée le 17 novembre auprès du comité des droits de l’homme de l’ONU.

      L’étau se resserre autour de la Grèce, de plus en plus fréquemment accusée de refouler les migrants vers la Turquie, aussi bien en mer qu’à terre. Le soupçon n’est pas nouveau, comme l’atteste le terrible récit de Fadi Faj. Ce jeune Syrien de 25 ans est arrivé en 2015 avec l’immense vague de demandeurs d’asile en Allemagne. Berlin lui octroie alors le statut de réfugié et un permis de séjour avec lequel il se rend en Grèce en novembre 2016, à la recherche de son jeune frère de 11 ans dont il a perdu la trace lors de sa traversée de la frontière greco-turque à Evros.

      Fadi Faj est alors arrêté par la police grecque qui lui confisque ses papiers et l’expulse vers la Turquie avec une cinquantaine d’autres demandeurs d’asile. Devenu un sans-papier, il sera à treize reprises repoussé de part et d’autre de la frontière par les forces grecques ou turques. Ayant enfin mis un pied à terre en Grèce en décembre 2017, il y vivra encore deux ans dans le dénuement avant d’obtenir un visa pour regagner l’Allemagne qui lui délivrera un nouveau permis de séjour en mai 2020.

      Une plainte auprès du Comité des droits de l’homme de l’ONU

      Ce récit glaçant fait l’objet d’une plainte à l’encontre de la Grèce déposée le 17 novembre auprès du Comité des droits de l’homme de l’ONU, par le Global Legal Action Network (Réseau mondial d’action juridique) basé en Irlande et l’ONG grecque HumanRights 360.

      Entre-temps, les cas du même type se sont multipliés. Surtout depuis le printemps dernier, après que le président turc Erdogan a menacé d’ouvrir les frontières et incité les migrants à se diriger vers la Grèce. « J’ai vu de mes yeux vu deux refoulements en mer depuis ma maison sur la côte nord de Lesbos », dénonce ainsi Christina Chatzidaki, une habitante de l’île qui jouxte les côtes turques, et y dirige l’association Siniparxi (Coexistence).

      Alarm phone qui reçoit les appels de détresse des embarcations en mer se déclarait en mai dernier « très préoccupé par la récente augmentation des rapports d’attaques sur les bateaux de migrants ». L’ONG avait alors engrangé les témoignages de survivants de 18 bateaux. « Ils ont fait état d’actions dangereuses, telles que le fait de tourner autour de leurs bateaux et de provoquer des vagues, des menaces avec des armes à feu, le vol de leur essence, la destruction de moteurs et, également, le remorquage de bateaux vers les eaux turques où ils ont été laissés à la dérive », précise l’ONG.
      Intimer la Commission d’agir

      Les dénonciations de pratiques qui violent les droits humains, et contreviennent au droit de la mer et au droit européen n’ont pas cessé par la suite. Le porte-parole du Haut-Commissariat aux réfugiés (HCR) déclarait le 12 juin dernier : « le HCR a continuellement fait état de ses préoccupations auprès du gouvernement grec et a demandé des enquêtes urgentes sur une série d’incidents présumés ». Il soulignait alors la corrélation entre la forte baisse du nombre d’arrivées de migrants en Grèce et l’augmentation du nombre de refoulements signalés. En 2019, 60 000 personnes avaient débarqué en Grèce par la mer et 15 000 par la terre. En 2020, jusqu’au 22 novembre, ils ne sont plus, respectivement, que 9 400 et 5 400.

      Jusqu’à présent la Grèce a nié ces allégations. « Nous protégeons nos frontières en accord avec les lois internationales et européennes » a encore affirmé le ministre grec de l’immigration Notis Mitarakis le 13 novembre dernier au site Infomigrants. Deux mois auparavant, le 22 septembre, les ONG Oxfam et WeMove adressaient une plainte auprès de la Commission européenne pour l’intimer de mener « une enquête sur les violations systématiques du droit européen concernant le traitement des demandeurs d’asile en Grèce ».
      La possible implication de Frontex

      Enfin, le site d’investigation Bellingcat et le magazine allemand Der Spiegel apportèrent en octobre un coup de grâce supplémentaire, en dénonçant, images à l’appui, le laisser-faire, voire l’implication, de l’agence européenne de surveillance aux frontières Frontex - qui a déployé plus de 600 agents en Grèce - dans six cas documentés de pratique illégale de refoulement.

      Un soupçon repris par le comité contre la torture du Conseil de l’Europe. Dans son rapport publié le 19 novembre, le comité a indiqué « avoir de nouveau reçu des allégations cohérentes et crédibles de migrants repoussés vers la Turquie ».

      Il s’est déclaré « inquiet des actes commis par les garde-côtes grecs pour empêcher les bateaux transportant des migrants d’atteindre les îles grecques » et « s’interroge sur le rôle et l’implication de Frontex dans de telles opérations ».

      Face à une telle avalanche, l’Union européenne pouvait difficilement continuer à se voiler la face. La suédoise Ylva Johansson, commissaire européenne aux affaires intérieures a réclamé des explications pour fin novembre à l’agence Frontex, laquelle a indiqué avoir ouvert une enquête interne.

      https://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Grece-fortement-soupconnee-refouler-migrants-2020-11-24-1201126401

    • Refoulements de demandeurs d’asile : le directeur de Frontex interrogé par les députés

      La supposée implication d’agents de Frontex dans les refoulements de demandeurs d’asile à la frontière grecque sera au cœur du débat en commission des libertés civiles mardi.

      Les députés seront en attente de réponses de la part du directeur exécutif de l’Agence européenne de garde-frontières et de garde-côtes, Fabrice Leggeri, concernant les incidents révélés récemment par les médias au cours desquels des garde-côtes grecs (avec la connaissance présumée et même l’implication d’agents de Frontex) ont arrêté des migrants qui tentaient d’atteindre les côtes de l’UE et les ont renvoyés dans les eaux turques. Les députés devraient s’enquérir des résultats de l’enquête interne menée par l’Agence européenne de gestion des frontières et de la réunion du conseil d’administration convoquée à la demande de la Commission européenne.

      En octobre dernier, avant les révélations des médias, le forum consultatif de Frontex (qui réunit notamment des représentants du Bureau européen d’appui en matière d’asile (EASO), de l’Agence des droits fondamentaux de l’UE (FRA), du HCR, du Conseil de l’Europe et de l’OIM) avait exprimé son inquiétude dans son rapport annuel. Le forum pointait du doigt l’absence de véritable système de contrôle permettant de prévenir et de traiter les violations potentielles des droits fondamentaux dans les activités de l’Agence.

      Le 6 juillet, au cours d’une précédente réunion de la commission des libertés civiles, Fabrice Leggeri avait assuré aux eurodéputés que Frontex n’était pas impliquée dans les refoulements et avait qualifié l’incident avec l’équipe danoise à bord de l’un des navires de l’Agence de ‘‘malentendu’’.

      DATE : mardi 1er décembre de 13h50 à 14h45

      LIEU : Parlement européen à Bruxelles, bâtiment Antall, salle 4Q2 et à distance

      https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/fr/press-room/20201126IPR92509

    • EU border chief urged to quit over migrant pushback claims

      European Union lawmakers lashed out Tuesday at the head of Frontex over allegations that the border and coast guard agency helped illegally stop migrants or refugees entering Europe, calling for his resignation and demanding an independent inquiry.

      The lawmakers grilled Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri over an investigation in October by media outlets Bellingcat, Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, ARD and TV Asahi, which said that video and other publicly available data suggest Frontex “assets were actively involved in one pushback incident at the Greek-Turkish maritime border in the Aegean Sea.”

      The report said personnel from the agency, which monitors and polices migrant movements around Europe’s borders, were present at another incident and “have been in the vicinity of four more since March.” Frontex launched an internal probe after the news broke.

      “In his handling of these allegations, Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri has completely lost our trust and it is time for him to resign,” senior Socialist lawmaker Kati Piri said in a statement after the parliamentary civil liberties committee hearing. “There are still far too many unanswered questions on the involvement of Frontex in illegal practices.”

      Pushbacks are considered contrary to international refugee protection agreements, which say people shouldn’t be expelled or returned to a country where their life and safety might be in danger due to their race, religion, nationality or being members of a social or political group.

      Frontex’s board met to discuss the allegations late last month. The board said afterwards that the European Commission had ordered it to “hold a further extraordinary meeting within the next two weeks in order to consider in more detail the replies provided by the agency.” That meeting is scheduled to take place on Dec. 9.

      “Migrants and refugees are very vulnerable to pushbacks by border guards,” Greens lawmaker Tineke Strik said. “We must be able to rely on an EU agency which prevents human rights violations from happening and not inflict them. But Frontex seems to be a partner in crime of those who deliberately violate those human rights.”

      Strik raised doubts about whether the internal Frontex probe would produce results and urged the assembly’s political groups to consider launching their own inquiry.

      Leggeri said that no evidence of any Frontex involvement in pushbacks had been found so far. He said EU member countries have control over operations in their waters, not Frontex, and he called for the rules governing surveillance of Europe’s external borders to be clarified.

      “We have not found evidence that there were active, direct or indirect participation of Frontex staff or officers deployed by Frontex in pushbacks,” he told the lawmakers. When it comes to operations, Leggeri said, “only the host member state authorities can decide what has to be done.”

      Leggeri also said that Frontex staff were under extreme pressure around the time of the alleged incidents in March and April. He said that Turkish F-16 fighter jets had “surrounded” a Danish plane working for Frontex, while vessels were harassed by the Turkish coast guard and shots fired at personnel at land borders.

      He called for EU “guidance” on how to handle such situations.

      The allegations are extremely embarrassing for the European Commission. In September it unveiled sweeping new reforms to the EU’s asylum system, which proved dismally inadequate when over 1 million migrants arrived in 2015, many of them Syrian refugees entering the Greek islands via Turkey.

      Part of the EU’s migration reforms includes a system of independent monitoring involving rights experts to ensure that there are no pushbacks at Europe’s borders. Migrant entries have dropped to a relative trickle in recent years, although many migrants still languish on some Greek islands waiting for their asylum claims to be processed or to be sent back.

      EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she still has confidence in Frontex’s managing board but remains deeply concerned about the allegations.

      During a visit to Morocco, Johansson said that the report “concerns me a lot. If it’s true, it’s totally unacceptable. A European agency has to comply to EU law and fundamental rights with no excuse.”

      Johansson said she has “full confidence in the process that (has) gone on in the management board and the sub-group they are setting up” to continue the investigation, but, she noted that “there were a lot of questions put to the director. And he has not answered these questions.”

      https://www.ekathimerini.com/259789/article/ekathimerini/news/eu-border-chief-urged-to-quit-over-migrant-pushback-claims

    • Frontex is taking us to court

      The EU border police Frontex is under fire for its involvement in human rights violations at the EU’s borders. Now, they want to silence those exposing their wrongdoing.

      For many years, we have been fighting to make Frontex, the EU’s border police, more transparent and accountable. We have made public over a thousand of their documents, including those that show the agency has been complicit in human rights violations and violence against migrants at the EU’s borders.

      Frontex is currently under fire for its involvement in illegal pushbacks in the Aegean and for having concealed evidence about these illegal acts. Confronted with such serious accusations, the EU border agency has now chosen to go after those who investigate them: they are taking us to court.

      Frontex has filed a case against us before the General Court of the European Union in order to force us to pay them a large amount of money. Last year, we lost our lawsuit for information about Frontex and now, the agency is demanding from us excessive legal fees. The message is clear: they want to make sure that we never take them to court again.
      Details must remain secret

      For the time being, we will not be able to disclose further details related to the case due to the court’s rules on keeping all information secret while proceedings are ongoing. Back in January, the agency justified their excessive legal fees on their decision to hire expensive private lawyers.

      Frontex, which has a billion-euro budget, making it the best resourced EU agency, employs a well-staffed internal legal department. Both the decision to hire private lawyers and to then claim these costs from civil society are highly unusual in court cases against the EU authorities.
      What happens if Frontex wins?

      If Frontex succeeds, in the future only corporations and the rich will be able to afford legal action against EU authorities. Activists, journalists, NGOs and individuals will not be able to defend human rights before the EU court. Frontex bringing a case like this directly against civil society, let alone winning, discourages others from holding them accountable in the future. It’s this chilling effect that we believe they’re hoping for.

      In the spring, more than 87,000 people petitioned Frontex to withdraw their legal bill. 44 civil society organizations also called on Frontex to retract its demand. Frontex has nonetheless chosen to ignore their voices.

      In recent years, Frontex has experienced an enormous increase of power and resources. Not only is it about to receive € 11 billion under the next EU budget, but it can also now hire its own border guards and buy its own equipment, including aircrafts, ships, drones and weapons.

      Investigating Frontex and holding it accountable is now more important than ever. As recent publications have revealed, the EU border force has been involved in numerous human rights violations at the EU borders.
      What you can do

      Our freedom of information work is financed by individual donations. We will fight in court for a judgement that gives Frontex as little money as possible. If you want to support us in this, we would be very happy to receive a donation. We will use every extra euro for new investigations and legal action against Frontex.

      https://fragdenstaat.de/en/blog/2020/12/02/frontex-costs-court-transparency

    • S&Ds call for Frontex Director to resign

      The S&D Group in the European Parliament today called for the Executive Director of Frontex to resign following months of allegations on the agency’s involvement in illegal practices and violations of fundamental rights.

      In today’s hearing of the civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee (LIBE), Director Fabrice Leggeri failed to answer questions relating to the agency’s involvement in pushbacks at the EU’s external borders aimed at preventing asylum-seekers from entering the EU.

      Following the hearing, S&D MEPs concluded Mr Leggeri’s position at the head of Frontex is not sustainable, especially in light of the important role for Frontex in the new Pact on Migration and Asylum.

      Kati Piri, S&D vice-president for migration and LIBE member taking part in the hearing, said

      “In his handling of these allegations, Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri has completely lost our trust and it is time for him to resign. After months of the S&D Group calling for explanations, Director Leggeri had the chance to set the record straight. But there are still far too many unanswered questions on the involvement of Frontex in illegal practices.

      “Pushbacks are a violation of international law and every single incident must be fully investigated. Do we have the confidence in Frontex to ensure alleged incidents are properly investigated? After today, the answer is no.

      “As long as allegations hang over Frontex, its reputation remains severely damaged and in desperate need of repair. In our view, Director Leggeri is not the right person to fix the damage.”

      Birgit Sippel, S&D LIBE coordinator, added:

      “We have to ask ourselves how we got to the point where we have to rely on journalists and whistle-blowers in Frontex to inform us of instances of fundamental and human rights violations at our borders. This is unacceptable and deeply disturbing, in particular when considering the potentially increased role of Frontex as part of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum.

      “The series of alleged pushbacks and cover-ups from Frontex show that we need a strong and independent border monitoring mechanism to investigate any and all alleged violations of fundamental and human rights and international laws at European borders.

      “Under the 2019 Frontex mandate, the Agency was obliged to have recruited at least 40 Fundamental Rights Monitors by 5 December 2020. It is now clear that Frontex will not even have come close to fulfilling this task, and therefore will not comply with the new mandate. Blaming bureaucratic hurdles for the delay of such an important task is insufficient, while the Commission’s role in this delay requires further examination as well. Mr Leggeri has failed in many of his responsibilities and must bear the consequences of his actions.”

      https://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/newsroom/sds-call-frontex-director-resign

    • E.U. Border Agency Accused of Covering Up Migrant Pushback in Greece

      Frontex is under fire for letting Greece illegally repel migrants as the agency expands to play a more central role at the bloc’s external borders.

      Mounting evidence indicates that the European Union’s border agency has been complicit in Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back migrants to Turkey, according to documents obtained by The New York Times and interviews with officials.

      In at least one case, Frontex, as the E.U. border agency is known, is accused of having helped cover up the violations, when a crew said it was discouraged by agency officials from reporting that they had seen the Greek authorities setting a boatload of migrants adrift in Turkish waters.

      The case is currently being investigated by Frontex. But it has fueled suspicions that the agency, newly boosted in its role as upholder of the rule of law at E.U. borders, is not just sporadically aware of such abuses, but that it plays a role in concealing them.

      “We are seeing an erosion of the rule of law at the E.U. borders which is willful,” said Gerald Knaus, a migration expert. “This is deeply worrying because it is eroding the refugee convention on the continent on which it was created.”

      Throughout this year, The New York Times and others have reported on growing operations by the Greek Coast Guard to repel migrants from Greek waters back to Turkey, reports the Greek authorities deny amount to breaches of international laws.

      But revelations that Frontex has witnessed pushbacks have thrown the agency into a governance crisis that threatens to further blight the European Union’s liberal values, once again calling into question the bloc’s commitment to upholding its own laws on refugees.

      The cases have also highlighted a conundrum at the core of E.U. ambitions to tighten external borders by pooling resources and involving the bloc in the sensitive, zealously shielded work of sovereign border guards.

      Frontex is the European Union’s best-funded agency, with a budget of over $500 million, and will soon deploy the first uniformed officers in the bloc’s history. It has been built up specifically to help in migrant-rescue operations as the burden of policing Europe’s borders has fallen most heavily on its peripheral states, like Greece.

      It was also intended as a deterrent to the kind of mass arrival of refugees that sowed political crises across Europe after 2015, and fanned nationalist and populist movements.

      Yet Frontex is not empowered to stop national border guards from committing violations, and it is not clear how it can play a role as standard-bearer of E.U. laws when informing on national forces risks the working relationships on which its operations depend.

      Refugee arrivals to the European Union peaked five years ago and have dropped drastically since, but thousands of asylum seekers, many fleeing the wars in Afghanistan and Syria, still attempt the crossing. Unlike in the past, Greeks and their government have turned hostile to the new arrivals, exhausted by years in which asylum seekers have been bottled up in overrun camps on Greek islands.

      There is also a growing belief in the Greek and several other European governments that aggression at the borders and poor conditions at migrant camps will make the attempt to reach Europe less attractive for asylum seekers.

      Earlier this year, an analysis by The Times showed that the Greek government had secretly expelled more than 1,000 asylum seekers, often by sailing them to the edge of Greek territorial waters and abandoning them in flimsy inflatable life rafts in violation of international laws.

      The Greek Coast Guard has rescued thousands of asylum seekers over the years but has become much more aggressive this year, especially as Turkey used migrants to provoke Greece by encouraging them to cross the border.

      The Greek government has denied it is doing anything illegal in repelling migrant boats from its national waters, characterizing the operations as robust border guarding. But Mr. Knaus said “the denials are not serious,” and the practices are effectively happening in the open — under the eyes of E.U. border patrols.

      The documents obtained by The Times describe, in Coast Guard vernacular littered with acronyms, codes, time-stamps and coordinates, a seemingly incessant Ping-Pong of migrant dinghies between Greek and Turkish waters, with Frontex crews on vessels or aircraft in observer status.

      Four officials with direct knowledge of Frontex operations said that agency officials have been discouraging crews from filing reports on pushback incidents, and, in some cases, have stopped initial alerts of violations from being filed as “serious incident reports,” at times after consulting with the Greek authorities.

      They all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were concerned about losing their jobs, or were not authorized to brief the press.

      The Frontex spokesman, Chris Borowski, said the agency took the reporting of violations very seriously. “Pushbacks are illegal under international law,” Mr. Borowski said.

      In the latest case to come to light, a Swedish Coast Guard crew on deployment under Frontex witnessed a pushback to Turkish waters of a boat full of migrants by the Greek authorities on Oct. 30 off the Greek island of Chios.

      The Swedish crew was later advised by a Frontex officer to not report it, documents reviewed by The Times show. The Swedish representative to the management board of Frontex described the incident, and the suppression of the attempt to report it, at a meeting on Nov. 10 — the first known case of an E.U. member state reporting active interference by Frontex officials.

      The Swedish government did not comment. A spokesman for Frontex said the agency wouldn’t comment because of an “ongoing procedure.”

      Frontex has been working in Greece for more than a decade, providing sea, land and aerial surveillance and rescue capabilities and deploying crews from other member states under its command.

      The details now emerging push the agency deeper into a governance crisis which began in October when a consortium of news organizations, including the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel, reported a number of occasions when Frontex crews witnessed pushbacks in Greece.

      The European Commission, which is part of the Frontex oversight system but does not control the agency, pushed for a special inquiry into these allegations and, at an emergency agency board meeting on Nov. 10, asked its leadership to answer detailed questions in writing.

      The answers arrived with a four-day delay, just 15 hours before the start of another meeting to discuss the problems on Wednesday. Yet another emergency meeting has been called in December, mounting pressure on the agency.

      Frontex has promised internal investigations but also quickly dismissed allegations, saying for example, in a letter seen by The Times, that it would look into the Swedish case, but that it had so far found no evidence that it happened.

      How these investigations shake out will matter a great deal for the future of Frontex, which was once little more than a back-office operation in Warsaw but now finds itself on the front lines of the nettlesome issue of migration that has the potency to make or break governments.

      Apart from helping member states with asylum-seeker arrivals, Frontex’s role as an E.U. agency by law is to respect fundamental rights, and bring up human-rights standards across national E.U. border agencies, which often don’t have a strong culture of upholding them.

      But claims that Frontex does not take fundamental rights seriously enough are growing. This year, only one million euros in its budget of 460 million euros — about $548 million — was allocated to rights monitoring.

      The agency was supposed to hire 40 fundamental-rights officers by Dec. 5 but the jobs have not yet been advertised. The agency is currently hiring for their boss, after years of staffing issues around that position. A Frontex spokesman said the delays stemmed from the coronavirus pandemic.

      Documents seen by The Times laid out how in one episode the Greek authorities were consulted before a report was made, and were able to suppress it. On Aug. 10, a German crew deployed by Frontex reported that a Greek Coast Guard vessel “took up border control measures prohibiting the landing to Samos.”

      The expression refers to maneuvering and making waves around a dinghy to repel it. The event was not recorded as a “serious incident,” because, the document said, the Greek Coast Guard argued the activities “do not provide any ground” to initiate such a report.

      Another incident, which a Frontex aerial crew observed and reported in detail to its headquarters, took place on the evening of April 18 to 19 off the coast of Lesbos, and lasted more than five hours.

      A dinghy was detected by the Greek authorities and approximately 20 migrants were rescued and put on board a Greek Coast Guard vessel shortly after midnight, their empty dinghy towed by the Coast Guard toward the island.

      But instead of being taken to shore, at 2:45 a.m., the migrants were put back on their dinghy and tugged to Turkish waters by the Greek Coast Guard, the Frontex aerial crew reported.

      As events unfolded, the Greek command center twice asked the Frontex aircraft to change its flight path, directing it away from the incident.

      “At 03:21 Frontex Surveillance Aircraft communicates that the rubber boat has no engine and it is adrift. Greek assets are departing the area leaving the rubber boat adrift,” the document said.

      The internal Frontex report detailing this incident and categorizing it as a fundamental-rights violation was “dismissed,” the document shows.

      https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/26/world/europe/frontex-migrants-pushback-greece.html?smid=tw-share

    • #Seehofer deckte offenbar griechische Verbrechen

      Griechische Grenzschützer setzen Flüchtlinge systematisch auf dem Meer aus. Ein internes Dokument legt nun nahe, dass Innenminister #Horst_Seehofer einen Rechtsbruch kaschierte. SPD-Vize Kühnert stellt ihm ein Ultimatum.

      Die Sprecherin von Bundesinnenminister Horst Seehofer war sichtlich nervös, als sie sich Ende November den Fragen der Journalisten stellen musste. Zwei Tage zuvor hatten der SPIEGEL und das ARD-Magazin »Report Mainz« berichtet, dass die Bundespolizei in der Ägäis in eine illegale Zurückweisung von Flüchtlingen verwickelt war. Wiederholt fragten die Journalisten nach. »Ich weiß nicht, wie Sie zu der Einschätzung kommen, dass es sich hierbei um einen illegalen Pushback gehandelt hat«, sagte die Sprecherin schließlich.

      Dabei lagen dem Bundesinnenministerium zu diesem Zeitpunkt längst Informationen vor, die genau darauf hindeuten.

      Im Auftrag der EU-Grenzschutzagentur Frontex patrouillierten die deutschen Einsatzkräfte am 10. August in der Ägäis, nur wenige Hundert Meter von der griechischen Insel Samos entfernt. Dabei entdeckten sie ein Schlauchboot mit 40 Flüchtlingen an Bord. Auftragsgemäß hielten sie es an, allerdings nahmen sie die Menschen auf dem völlig überfüllten Boot nicht an Bord. Stattdessen warteten sie mehr als eine halbe Stunde, bis die griechische Küstenwache das Schlauchboot übernahm.

      Wenig später fanden sich die Flüchtlinge plötzlich in türkischen Gewässern wieder. So beschreiben es interne Dokumente der EU-Grenzschutzagentur Frontex, die dem SPIEGEL vorliegen. Die türkische Küstenwache musste die 40 Migranten später retten. Fotos zeigen Männer, Frauen und kleine Kinder auf dem überfüllten Schlauchboot. Offensichtlich wurden die Menschen von den griechischen Grenzschützern illegal zurückgedrängt.

      Als die griechischen Beamten in den Hafen zurückkehrten, wunderten sich die deutschen Polizisten. Die Küstenwache hatte keine Migranten an Bord und auch kein Schlauchboot im Schlepptau. Die Deutschen meldeten im Anschluss zwar die Details des Einsatzes – aber keine mögliche Menschenrechtsverletzung.
      Was genau haben die Deutschen von diesem illegalen Pushback mitbekommen?

      Bis heute haben die Bundespolizei und das Innenministerium nicht auf die Fragen des SPIEGEL geantwortet. Dabei finden sich die Antworten auf diese Fragen seit Wochen im Intranet der Bundespolizei, also in einem nur für Mitarbeiter zugänglichen Netzwerk. Anhand der elf SPIEGEL-Fragen legte die Bundespolizei-Führung ihre Sicht der Dinge ausführlich dar – noch am Tag der Veröffentlichung des Berichts. Die Fragen waren also längst beantwortet, nur abgeschickt wurden sie nie. Das Innenministerium erklärt das inzwischen auf Anfrage mit einem »Büroversehen«.

      Die Ausführungen im Intranet der Bundespolizei sind politisch heikel. Auf den ersten Blick entlasten sie die deutschen Einsatzkräfte. Wörtlich heißt es, die Bundespolizisten hätten beobachtet, »dass durch die (…) griechischen Einsatzkräfte Migranten physisch an Bord genommen wurden.« Die deutschen Frontex-Beamten konnten also davon ausgehen, dass die Flüchtlinge zunächst in Sicherheit waren. Schließlich wurden sie vor ihren Augen auf ein Schiff der griechischen Küstenwache geholt und trieben nicht mehr in ihrem überfüllten Schlauchboot.

      Warum hat das Innenministerium dieses Detail trotzdem bis heute verschwiegen? Will man im Ministerium die Griechen nicht als Lügner entlarven? Das Flüchtlingsboot, so hatten die griechischen Behörden erklärt, sei beim Anblick der Küstenwache umgekehrt und zurück in türkische Gewässer gefahren.
      Beobachtungen der Deutschen entlarven die Ausrede der Griechen

      Die Beobachtungen der Bundespolizisten widersprechen dieser Darstellung, die Bundespolizei stellt das in ihrem Bericht selbst fest. Wenn die Geflüchteten bereits an Bord des Schiffes der griechischen Küstenwache waren, können sie unmöglich freiwillig auf ihrem Schlauchboot umgekehrt sein. Sollten die Aussagen der Deutschen zutreffen, und davon ist auszugehen, bleibt keine andere vernünftige Erklärung als ein illegaler Pushback der griechischen Küstenwache.

      Horst Seehofer muss sich deshalb die Frage gefallen lassen, warum sein Haus die Verbrechen der griechischen Behörden deckt. Statt aufzuklären, führt er die Öffentlichkeit offenbar in die Irre. So fügt Seehofer sich in das System des Schweigens.

      Seit Juni hat SPIEGEL in gemeinsamen Recherchen mit der Medienorganisation Lighthouse Reports und »Report Mainz« genau dokumentiert, wie die griechischen Pushbacks ablaufen: Die Küstenwache fängt die Migrantinnen und Migranten meist noch auf dem Wasser ab. Manchmal zerstört sie den Außenbordmotor der Schlauchboote, um diese manövrierunfähig zu machen. Dann werden die Schutzsuchenden mit gefährlichen Manövern Richtung Türkei zurückgedrängt. Die Menschen werden auf den Booten oder auf aufblasbaren Rettungsflößen mit Seilen aufs offene Meer gezogen, vom SPIEGEL ausgewertete Videos belegen das.

      Griechische Grenzschützer bedrohen die Geflüchteten mit Waffen, nicht selten fallen Schüsse. Bisweilen schleppen die Beamten sogar Menschen aufs Meer, die es schon auf die griechischen Inseln geschafft haben.

      Auch Frontex-Einheiten stoppen immer wieder Flüchtlingsboote und übergeben sie anschließend an die griechische Küstenwache. Seit Anfang März wird das so gehandhabt. Die Frontex-Einheiten, darunter deutsche Bundespolizisten, unterstehen in der Ägäis der griechischen Küstenwache. Sie werden so zu Gehilfen der Griechen, die bei ihren illegalen Praktiken nicht mal besonders verdeckt vorgehen.

      »Das Innenministerium scheint sich zum Komplizen der Griechen zu machen«, sagt der menschenrechtspolitische Sprecher der Sozialdemokraten, Frank Schwabe. »Dazu müssen sowohl Frontex als auch Innenminister Seehofer dem Bundestag Rede und Antwort stehen.«

      Das Innenministerium teilte auf Anfrage mit, dass eine abschließende Bewertung des Sachverhaltes aufgrund der vorliegenden Informationen nicht möglich sei. Die Bundespolizei habe sich jedenfalls nicht an illegalen Pushbacks beteiligt. Eine vollständige Aufklärung bleibe abzuwarten und Berichte von griechischen Behörden würden nicht kommentiert.

      Die griechischen Behörden bleiben bei ihrer Version der Ereignisse. Das für die Küstenwache zuständige Ministerium teilte mit, der Fahrer der Schlauchbootes sei in Richtung Türkei zurückgefahren, nachdem er die griechische Küstenwache erblickt habe.
      »Wir müssen davon ausgehen, dass Seehofer die Regelverstöße der griechischen Küstenwache deckt, weil sie ihm politisch in den Kram passen«

      SPD-Vize Kevin Kühnert

      Doch in der Opposition und auch beim eigenen Koalitionspartner ist der Unmut groß. Selbst SPD-Vize Kevin Kühnert schaltet sich nun in die Debatte ein. Durch die schriftlich festgehaltenen Erkenntnisse der eigenen Beamten festige sich der Eindruck, dass es in der Ägäis in der Tat zu Pushbacks komme, sagt er. Deshalb müsse Seehofer nun politisch reagieren. »Frontex muss die mutmaßliche griechische Pushback-Praxis endlich effektiv verhindern und die Zugänge zum Asylverfahren sicherstellen«, so Kühnert. »Sollte dies durch die Bundesregierung kurzfristig nicht durchsetzbar sein, muss das deutsche Kontingent unverzüglich aus der Mission abgezogen werden.«

      Kühnert möchte nun von Seehofer »noch in diesem Jahr dargelegt bekommen, wie und bis wann er auf Frontex einwirken wolle, um die Zusammenarbeit mit der griechischen Küstenwache wieder auf eine rechtskonforme Grundlage zu stellen.« Mit seiner Salamitaktik bei der Preisgabe von Informationen werde der Innenminister auch der Fürsorgepflicht gegenüber seinen eigenen Beamten nicht gerecht, mahnt Kühnert. »Wir müssen davon ausgehen, dass Seehofer die Regelverstöße der griechischen Küstenwache deckt, weil sie ihm politisch in den Kram passen. Alles daran wäre inakzeptabel.«

      Neben Seehofer gerät auch Frontex-Chef Fabrice Leggeri durch die Beobachtungen der deutschen Polizisten in Erklärungsnot. Bis heute beteuert Leggeri, dass sich seine Grenzschützer nicht an Pushbacks beteiligen oder von ihnen wissen. Daran zweifelt aber inzwischen selbst die EU-Kommission.

      Auf deren Drängen schilderte Leggeri schriftlich die Details des Vorfalls vom 10. August. In seinen Antworten verschwieg aber auch Leggeri, dass die griechische Küstenwache laut den Deutschen die Flüchtlinge bereits an Bord geholt hatten – obwohl er wohl davon hätte wissen müssen. Die Bundespolizei jedenfalls hat auch dieses Detail des Einsatzes nach eigener Aussage an Frontex gemeldet.

      Frontex teilte auf Anfrage mit, wegen der laufenden Untersuchung keine Angaben zum Vorfall machen zu können.

      Für Leggeri ist die Angelegenheit besonders misslich, weil sich in seinen Aussagen ein Muster erkennen lässt: Der Frontex-Direktor täuscht die Öffentlichkeit, um die Pushbacks zu vertuschen. Vor den EU-Parlamentariern verteidigte er sich unlängst mit einer Falschaussage, indem er behauptete, dass der SPIEGEL und seine Recherchepartner sich bei ihren Recherchen zu einem Pushback im April geirrt hätten. Am fraglichen Tag habe es gar keinen Frontex-Aufklärungsflug gegeben, sagte Leggeri. Keine zwei Tage später musste er einräumen, dass das nicht stimmte. Weitere Vorfälle, die Experten als klare Pushbacks werten, erwähnte Leggeri entweder gar nicht oder nur auf Nachfrage in internen Schreiben.
      EU-Kommission rechnet mit Leggeri ab

      Inzwischen wirft auch die EU-Kommission Leggeri »irreführende« Aussagen vor. Das geht aus einem Brief der Kommission an ihn hervor. In dem Streit geht es um die Einstellung von Grundrechtsbeobachtern. Eigentlich hätte Frontex bis zum 5. Dezember 40 Mitarbeiter einstellen müssen, die darauf achten soll, dass die Rechte von Migranten an Europas Grenzen gewahrt werden. Bis heute hat Leggeri allerdings nicht einen solchen Mitarbeiter eingestellt.

      Der Frontex-Direktor macht die Kommission für die Verzögerung verantwortlich, die wiederum gibt Leggeri die Schuld. Leggeris Äußerungen zu dem Thema würden die Kommission »bestürzen« und »beunruhigen« heißt es in dem Brief. Das Schreiben liegt dem SPIEGEL vor, es liest sich wie eine Kampfansage.

      Die Verzögerungen bei den Grundrechtsbeobachtern seien skandalös, sagt die Grünenbundestagsabgeordnete Luise Amtsberg. Die Sache zeige, dass die Grenzschutzagentur den Menschenrechtsschutz schlicht nicht ernst genug nehme. »Die Bundesregierung muss endlich klare Konsequenzen aus den völkerrechtswidrigen Handlungen im Rahmen von Frontex-Missionen ziehen.«

      https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/frontex-skandal-horst-seehofer-deckte-offenbar-griechische-verbrechen-a-bd06

    • Push backs and violations of human rights at sea: a #timeline

      The following timeline provides a non-exhaustive compilation of main reports of push backs and other violations of human rights at the Greek-Turkish sea borders since March 2020, following Greece’s decision to impose a one-month suspension of its asylum procedure in response to declarations by Turkey that it would not prevent refugees from crossing its western borders. On 2 March, the Hellenic Armed Forces began live-fire military exercises along the Aegean, from Samothrace to Kastellorizo.

      Timeline dates refer to the date of publication of reports, separately indicating the date of alleged incidents, where available.

      This timeline solely purports to reproduce material made publicly available by media and civil society organisations and does not amount to an assessment by RSA or PRO ASYL of the allegations contained therein.

      https://rsaegean.org/en/push-backs-and-violations-of-human-rights-at-sea-a-timeline
      #chronologie

    • EU: Frontex director accused of misleading parliament over fundamental rights obligations

      Frontex director Fabrice Leggeri has been accused by a senior European Commission official of making statements “in a misleading manner” at a parliamentary hearing in December, when MEPs questioned him over the agency’s alleged role in pushbacks and the new fundamental rights monitoring framework included in 2019 legislation.

      Bang to rights

      In a letter obtained by Statewatch, Monique Pariat (the Director-General of the Commission’s migration and home affairs department), expresses “dismay” at Leggeri’s appearance before the European Parliament’s civil liberties committee (LIBE) on 1 December and rebukes, in no uncertain terms, the account he provided of the agency’s attempts to implement its new fundamental rights obligations.

      Those obligations include a fully functioning and independent fundamental rights office, an accessible complaints mechanism, and a credible serious incident reporting mechanism – the aim of which is to prevent, or at least ensure the reporting and investigation of, human rights abuses witnessed or committed by officials deployed on Frontex operations.

      A key role is foreseen in all this for the fundamental rights officer (FRO), who is supposed to head a team of at least 40 fundamental rights monitors – all of whom the agency was legally obliged to have recruited by 5 December 2020. However, it failed to do so.

      Blame game

      Leggeri told MEPs that although he personally prioritised the swift recruitment of fundamental rights staff, vacancy notices published by the agency in November 2019 were withdrawn on the request of the Commission, and subsequent delays in agreeing the seniority of the posts meant that vacancy notices were only published again in November 2020.

      Pariat does not dispute these points, but underlines that the Commission was obliged to request the withdrawal of the notices, because the Management Board had not approved them, as required by the 2019 Frontex Regulation. Without that approval, the letter says that “the publication of these vacancies was plain and simply unlawful” (emphasis in original).

      She adds that the Frontex Regulation requires the involvement of the FRO in the appointment of their deputy, but there was no such involvement prior to the 2019 vacancy notice publication. The Commission had to intervene to request removal of the vacancy notices, says Pariat, “to prevent serious irregularities which could jeopardise the well-functioning and the reputation of the Agency.”

      Bad reputation

      The agency’s reputation has nevertheless taken a battering in recent months. Frontex has faced numerous accusations that it either knew of or has been involved in pushbacks at Greece’s sea border with Turkey, leading the Socialists & Democrats – the second-largest group in the European Parliament – to call for Leggeri’s resignation. There are numerous other reports of similar violent incidents in the Balkans involving officials deployed on Frontex missions.

      The EU anti-fraud agency, OLAF, has also launched an investigation into the border agency, although the exact reasons for this remain unclear. OLAF’s remit allows it to carry out “administrative investigations for the purpose of fighting fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union.”

      Leggeri has said that the agency will be undertaking a thorough investigation into the allegations of pushbacks, although the working group set up to investigate the affair is made up representatives from the agency’s Management Board and does not include the Fundamental Rights Officer or the agency’s Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights.

      “Active resistance”

      A document cited by Greek newspaper Kathimerini suggests that fundamental rights are not one of Leggeri’s main interests. The document, provided to the paper by someone described as having “knowledge of the inner workings of Frontex,” says Leggeri told agency staff that “reporting pushbacks involving Frontex personnel is not a route to popularity or promotion,” and that the serous incident reporting (SIR) mechanism is “intentionally centralized to be slow, cumbersome and very discreet”.

      According to the paper, the document also says that Leggeri “actively resisted” hiring the 40 fundamental rights officers required by the Frontex Regulation, and told staff at the agency in early 2020 that “it is not a priority.”

      Pariat’s letter suggests that Leggeri himself delayed the procedure for recruiting new fundamental rights staff by five months, because of his “insistence on an arrangement which would not have been compatible with the EBCG [Frontex] Regulation”.

      There was a “surprising reluctance” from the agency to follow the Commission’s advice on implementing the new fundamental rights framework, says Pariat. She argues that “if the Agency had followed the Commission’s timely guidance and suggestions, the main milestones… could have been completed on time.”

      Even though the recruitment procedure is now going ahead, concerns remain. At the LIBE hearing in December, several MEPs questioned whether the staff grade applicable to the 40 posts will confer adequate authority and independence to the fundamental rights officers.

      At the time of publication, Frontex had not responded to a request for comment.

      Documentation

      - European Commission letter to Mr Leggeri, 18 December: Subject: Your letter of 4 December 2020 (ref: CAB/KARO/10563/2020) (pdf): https://www.statewatch.org/media/1708/eu-com-letter-to-frontex-18-12-20.pdf
      – Fabrice Leggeri, Answers to written questions following the LIBE Committee meeting 1 December (pdf) - annex to this letter (pdf): https://www.statewatch.org/media/1709/eu-frontex-written-questions-answers-libe-hearing-1-12-20.pdf

      https://www.statewatch.org/news/2021/january/eu-frontex-director-accused-of-misleading-parliament-over-fundamental-ri

    • Refoulements et gestion contestée : la pression s’intensifie sur le patron de Frontex

      Fabrice Leggeri, directeur exécutif de l’agence européenne de protection des frontières, est sous la pression de la Commission et du Parlement.

      Ce n’est pas un appel à la démission de Fabrice Leggeri, directeur exécutif de Frontex, mais cela y ressemble fort. Rencontrant, lundi 18 janvier, plusieurs médias européens, dont Le Monde, Ylva Johansson, commissaire européenne aux affaires intérieures et à la migration, a été interrogée sur un éventuel départ du patron français de ce qui est désormais l’Agence européenne de garde-frontières et de garde-côtes. « Je ne fais pas de commentaire là-dessus. Des procédures ont été lancées, elles ne sont pas terminées. Mais je pense qu’elles doivent l’être », indiquait la commissaire socialiste suédoise.

      Des propos prudents mais qui cachent mal le fait qu’entre la Commission et Frontex le torchon brûle. Pour preuve, une lettre envoyée au siège de l’agence en décembre 2020 par #Monique_Pariat, chef de la direction générale de la migration et des affaires intérieures à Bruxelles. Un long réquisitoire reprochant à M. Leggeri des retards, des carences dans la gestion et des « hésitations incompréhensibles » à suivre les instructions. Voire un #mensonge au sujet du recrutement des personnels qui devaient être chargés de veiller au respect des droits fondamentaux au sein de l’Agence.

      Les « procédures » visant M. Leggeri et évoquées par Mme Johansson sont multiples. Et elles visent essentiellement la possible implication de Frontex dans des « pushbacks », des refoulements illégaux de migrants aux frontières de l’Union, avant qu’ils aient pu introduire d’éventuelles demandes d’asile. En octobre 2020, plusieurs médias évoquaient, témoignages et images à l’appui, six cas de refoulements en mer Egée. Avec, notamment, les manœuvres dangereuses d’un navire de Frontex, qui aurait pu entraîner le #naufrage d’une embarcation. La direction de l’Agence démentait à l’époque toute infraction.

      Constitution d’un groupe de travail

      L’Office de lutte antifraude de l’Union a lancé une enquête et, le 7 décembre 2020, les bureaux de M. Leggeri et de son directeur de cabinet ont été perquisitionnés. L’investigation porterait, aussi, sur des faits de #harcèlement et des erreurs de gestion.

      Plusieurs groupes politiques du Parlement européen ont, eux, transmis une longue liste de questions au directeur exécutif après qu’il a été entendu, le 1er décembre 2020, par l’Assemblée. M. Leggeri avait indiqué qu’une #enquête_interne n’avait pas prouvé l’implication de membres de Frontex dans des refoulements illégaux. Peu convaincus, les eurodéputés du groupe socialiste ont exigé sa #démission, d’autres groupes ont réclamé des explications complémentaires.

      Au sein de Frontex même, un #groupe_de_travail avait été constitué en novembre, sur insistance de la Commission. Son rapport devrait être examiné lors d’une réunion du conseil d’administration, mercredi 20 et jeudi 21 janvier. Ce conseil est composé de représentants des pays membres de l’Union et de deux membres de la Commission.

      L’un des principaux reproches adressés à M. Leggeri est qu’il aurait tergiversé pour embaucher la quarantaine de personnes qui, en théorie, auraient dû être à pied d’œuvre dès décembre 2020 pour veiller au respect des droits des migrants et demandeurs d’asile. Dans la lettre de Mme Pariat qu’il a reçue en décembre, le directeur se voit reprocher d’avoir agi « de manière trompeuse » en ne livrant pas les explications correctes aux parlementaires quant à l’absence de ces employés. Mme Johansson pense également que certains des propos qu’il avait tenus n’étaient « pas vrais ».

      Action « illégale »

      La commissaire suédoise n’a, jusqu’ici, pas officiellement retiré sa confiance au directeur. Elle endosse cependant les critiques qui lui sont adressées par sa direction générale, qui évoque encore une action « illégale » de M. Leggeri en 2019, avec la publication de deux vacances de postes dirigeants qui n’avaient pas été approuvées par le conseil d’administration.

      Au Parlement, où la plénière débattait, mardi, du pacte migratoire proposé récemment par la Commission, la tension monte également. Mme Johansson a insisté sur la nécessité pour les pays de l’Union, les candidats à l’adhésion et « les agences européennes aussi » d’adhérer pleinement au respect des #droits_fondamentaux. Et plusieurs députés ont à nouveau mis en cause Frontex, l’élue socialiste bulgare #Elena_Yoncheva jugeant qu’en matière de « pushbacks » l’agence fait désormais « partie du problème, pas de la solution ».

      Une situation embarrassante pour toute l’Union : dotée maintenant d’uniformes, d’armes et d’un budget passé au total à 5,6 milliards d’euros pour la période 2021-2027, l’agence des garde-frontières peut difficilement voir la #légitimité de son principal dirigeant remise en question au plus haut niveau. A ce stade, celui-ci n’a pas réagi officiellement aux accusations qui le visent. Il pourrait le faire prochainement, selon un membre de son entourage.

      https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/01/20/refoulements-et-gestion-contestee-la-pression-s-intensifie-sur-le-patron-de-

    • Le garde-frontière Frontex en pleine tourmente

      Les refoulements aux frontières européennes fragilisent la position du directeur de Frontex, l’agence européenne de garde-frontières. La Commission reproche à Fabrice Leggeri d’avoir ralenti l’embauche d’officiers de contrôle des droits fondamentaux. Son agence est soumise à plusieurs #enquêtes, dont une de l’#office_européen_anti-fraude. Des députés demandent sa #démission.

      Bruxelles (Belgique).– Fabrice Leggeri, le directeur de Frontex, est cerné de toutes parts. Sa position, à la tête de l’agence européenne de garde-côtes et de garde-frontières, est fragilisée suite à de récents scandales concernant des refoulements de demandeurs d’asile vers la Turquie, auxquels aurait participé Frontex. Des députés appellent à sa démission. La médiatrice européenne, #Emily_O’Reilly, a ouvert une #enquête le 11 novembre dernier pour évaluer le fonctionnement du mécanisme de #plainte_interne à Frontex. Même l’office européen de lutte anti-fraude investigue et scrute la gestion de l’agence.

      Le dernier coup de boutoir vient de la #Commission_européenne. Dans une lettre du 18 décembre, la directrice générale chargée des migrations et des affaires intérieures, Monique Pariat, adressait des mots durs à Fabrice Leggeri au sujet d’irrégularités et de retards dans les procédures de recrutement d’un officier des droits fondamentaux, de son adjoint et de 40 contrôleurs des droits fondamentaux, qui devaient faire partie de l’agence le 5 décembre 2020 au plus tard et qui ne sont toujours pas embauchés : « C’est la responsabilité de la Commission […] d’intervenir pour empêcher que des irrégularités sérieuses viennent compromettre le bon fonctionnement et la réputation de l’agence. »

      La réputation de Frontex a pourtant déjà été écornée à de multiples reprises dans le passé, sans que l’exécutif bruxellois s’en émeuve. « Pendant longtemps la Commission a protégé Fabrice Leggeri, commente #Birgit_Sippel, eurodéputée allemande du groupe des socialistes et démocrates. Il semble que le vent tourne, notamment sous la pression du #Parlement_européen. »

      C’est le 23 octobre 2020 que le vent a tourné. Une série de médias européens, dont Der Spiegel et Bellingcat, publiaient alors une enquête fouillée suggérant que l’agence européenne avait, entre mars et août 2020, soit assisté à des refoulements de demandeurs d’asile en mer Égée par des garde-côtes grecs, sans les avoir rapportés, soit participé activement au renvoi de canots vers les côtes turques, alors que les refoulements sont strictement prohibés par le droit international. Le 8 juin, un navire de l’opération « #Poséidon » de Frontex, battant pavillon roumain, aurait même bloqué un canot de migrants avant de contribuer à le repousser.

      Fabrice Leggeri est venu s’expliquer devant le Parlement européen le 1er décembre. Selon lui, l’enquête interne menée par ses services concluait à « l’absence de preuves » de refoulement dans les cas mentionnés par la presse. Il insistait sur le fait que les activités de contrôle aux frontières avaient toujours lieu « à la demande et sous le commandement des autorités nationales », Frontex intervenant en coordination des opérations maritimes, en mobilisant des avions, des navires et des garde-frontières originaires des 27 États membres.

      Ces déclarations élusives ont hérissé de nombreux députés européens. « La façon dont il a répondu à nos questions montre que Fabrice Leggeri ne prend pas vraiment au sérieux ces allégations. Frontex a besoin de changements structurels, et je pense qu’il n’est pas la bonne personne pour les mener », avance Tineke Strik, eurodéputée néerlandaise des Verts.

      De la #gauche_unitaire_européenne (#GUE) au groupe centriste de #Renew, les critiques pleuvent à l’encontre de Fabrice Leggeri, mais l’attitude à adopter crée des divisions. La centriste néerlandaise, #Sophie_In’t_Veld, du groupe Renew, milite pour qu’une commission d’enquête parlementaire soit mise sur pied, « car on parle d’actes criminels ». Avant de réclamer la démission du directeur – qui ne peut être décidée que par le conseil d’administration de Frontex composé des États membres et de la Commission – la députée pense « qu’il faut d’abord faire toute la lumière sur les faits ».

      Au sein du groupe des socialistes et démocrates, des députés veulent aller plus vite. « Pourquoi perdre un an avec une #commission_d’enquête ?, s’interroge #Birgit_Sippel. Les rapports décrivant les violations des droits humains aux frontières sont là. Pour l’instant, Fabrice Leggeri se cache et échappe à ses responsabilités. » Des députés de la GUE comme des #Verts réclament à la fois une commission d’enquête et la #démission du directeur. Quant à la droite, le Parti populaire européen n’a pas encore de position sur ces thèmes, mais voit d’un mauvais œil cette idée de commission d’enquête.

      Le mastodonte sans contrôle

      Pour Yves Pascouau, directeur du programme Europe à l’association Res-Publica, par ailleurs spécialiste des questions migratoires européenne (et élu de la majorité nantaise), « l’augmentation des moyens et des pouvoirs de Frontex ne peut pas se faire sans une augmentation de ses responsabilités ».

      Frontex, au fil des ans, est devenu un mastodonte. En 2012, son budget était de 89,5 millions d’euros. Il est en 2020 de 460 millions. 5,6 milliards d’euros ont été dégagés pour la période 2021-2027. Il s’agit de la plus grosse agence de l’UE qui sera dotée, d’ici 2027, de 10 000 garde-côtes véritablement européens, avec leurs propres uniformes. « Cela permettra d’augmenter la transparence et la responsabilité de Frontex », veut croire une source européenne.

      Aujourd’hui, Frontex se déploie sous commandement des autorités nationales. Mais les agents qui agissent en son nom ne sont pas exempts de responsabilités. Ils ont l’obligation d’envoyer un rapport aux dirigeants de Frontex à chaque incident sérieux auquel ils assistent, y compris lorsque des violations des droits humains sont observées.

      Le Forum consultatif de Frontex, qui réunit des institutions européennes, des organisations internationales et ONG, s’interroge inlassablement sur « l’effectivité » de ce système. En 2018, seuls 3 incidents sérieux relatifs à des violations de droits humains furent comptabilisés par l’agence, et 9 en 2019, sans que l’on sache quel a été le suivi de ces dossiers.

      Quant à l’embauche des milliers de garde-frontières, elle doit être contrebalancée par davantage de contrôles des activités de Frontex. L’officier des droits fondamentaux, son adjoint et sa petite équipe d’au minimum 40 contrôleurs sont considérés comme la clef de voûte de ce système de surveillance du respect des #droits_humains.

      Dans la lettre adressée à Fabrice Leggeri, Monique Pariat regrette qu’au 18 décembre, aucun de ces recrutements n’ait été effectué. Elle pointe la « réticence surprenante de Frontex » à suivre les lignes directrices de la Commission, « ce qui a encore davantage entravé et retardé cet important processus ». La directrice générale dénonce encore la démarche « illégale » du directeur général qui avait publié, en 2019, une première annonce pour le poste d’officier des droits fondamentaux, sans l’accord du conseil d’administration de Frontex qui sera pourtant le supérieur hiérarchique direct de ce futur employé.

      Elle l’accuse encore d’avoir présenté les faits aux eurodéputés « de manière trompeuse ». L’attaque est frontale. Au-delà de l’enjeu institutionnel, Giorgos Kosmopoulos, du bureau européen d’Amnesty International, estime que « l’embauche de contrôleurs des droits fondamentaux n’est pas une mauvaise chose à condition qu’ils aient véritablement les moyens de mener des enquêtes, d’aller sur le terrain ». Et sur le terrain, justement, les refoulements aux frontières de l’Europe sont documentés et très nombreux. En #Grèce, en #Croatie, en #Hongrie.

      En mars 2020, le comité européen pour la prévention de la torture rapportait des allégations « crédibles et consistantes » de refoulements et détentions arbitraires, souvent accompagnées de violences, à la frontière gréco-turque. « On ne parle pas de cas isolés, ajoute Giorgos Kosmopoulos. La pratique est si répandue et généralisée qu’il est impossible que Frontex ne soit pas au courant, vu son implication sur le terrain. »

      Le directeur de Frontex, s’il estime qu’il existe « des violations graves […] des droits fondamentaux » doit mettre un terme à l’activité litigieuse à laquelle participe son agence. « Le directeur doit vérifier la situation sur le terrain et le cas échéant il doit retirer ses équipes pour qu’elles ne soient pas liées à des violations de droits humains, mais ce n’est jamais arrivé », conclut Giorgos Kosmopoulos.

      Dans ce contexte, Tineke Strik pense qu’une démission de Fabrice Leggeri, certes bienvenue, « ne résoudra pas tout. Les problèmes sont structurels. Il faudra lancer une enquête approfondie sur le fonctionnement de Frontex ».

      https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/210121/le-garde-frontiere-frontex-en-pleine-tourmente?onglet=full

    • Validating Border Violence on the Aegean: Frontex’s Internal Records

      The Aegean Sea, separating Turkey from Greece’s ‘hotspot’ islands, is a site of longstanding and increasingly visible border violence: the systematic use of inflatable life rafts by the Hellenic Coast Guard to push people back to Turkey has been widely documented since March last year. This maritime borderzone also stages the operational theatre of Frontex Joint Operation Poseidon, under which patrol boats, helicopters and surveillance planes have been deployed to patrol the extensive breadth of water.

      Frontex repeatedly denied any involvement in these pushbacks (see here and here), stressing its commitment to the protection, promotion and fulfilment of fundamental rights. This ‘modus operandi’ in which fundamental rights become a rhetorical defence could no longer hold after investigative reporters showed visual evidence of Frontex’s complicit role in pushbacks, prompting further media scrutiny and pressure by the European Parliament and Commission.

      In November, Efsyn, a Greek media outlet, published an eighteen-page long Frontex internal document addressed to the agency’s Management Board. The document aimed at answering questions by Member States and the Commission about the on-going pushbacks in the Aegean. The document, which fuelled Frontex’s recent internal inquiry, lists a series of so-called ‘incidents’ and, at times, offers detailed accounts of the previously denied pushbacks. However, these were not recorded as such.

      A closer look at the document reveals numerous ‘#JORA_incidents’ classified as ‘prevention of departure’, as this transcript from August 19, 2020, illustrates:

      frontex

      The #Joint_Operations_Reporting_Application (#JORA) is the main information system that collects and stores all ‘border related incidents’ from Frontex joint operations. Such incidents range from Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, interceptions, Serious Incident Reports to, as the one above, so-called preventions of departure. The leaked document contains twenty of the latter, all following a similar pattern: Firstly, the location of the rubber boat is recorded in Turkish territorial waters; second, Frontex assets are “excused from the scene” after detection; and, finally, a rehearsed ending: the boat “altered course on her own initiative/will and headed towards the Turkish coasts” or, alternately, the Turkish Coast Guard “took over responsibility”.

      Importantly, these JORA incidents coexist with the regular documenting of border violence. Descriptions of boats of asylum-seekers returning to Turkey of their own volition jar with regular testimonies describing the coercive methods employed to push them back. Alarm Phone, Aegean Boat Report and Border Violence Monitoring Network document human rights violations occurring at the same border, on the same dates and, often, at the same time as the JORA incidents.

      On the same day as the JORA incident above:

      Logging the border

      JORA incidents, together with information collected via Eurosur, form the backbone of Europe’s external borders and migration situational picture, Frontex’s narrative of the border. Yet, what is and is not accounted for in JORA and how, has not received much attention. Contrary to the few Serious Incident Reports related to violations of fundamental rights, which are dealt with by the Fundamental Rights Officer and presented to the Management Board, other incidents recorded in JORA don’t reach the public domain. Once inserted and validated, they become a dot on a map at the Frontex Situation Centre in Warsaw. They are devised to feed into risk analyses, maps and weekly analytical overviews.

      This ‘business-as-usual’ mode of reporting is mostly done by a few officers from the host Member State— in Greece, by the Hellenic Coast Guard and Police—who insert incidents into a standardised template through a set of rigid, mandatory fields. Reporting is not done by the officers on the patrol boats but mostly those who sit at coordination centres. Once inserted in the system, incidents are sent to the International Coordination Centre and the Frontex Situation Centre where they are cross-checked with reports from both Hellenic Coast Guard and Frontex deployed officers for validation. This validation process does not statically move in one direction; incidents can go back and forth in the validation chain. The final validation is done by a “specialized team of experts” at Frontex headquarters as the leaked document explains. Yet, incidents can be re-initiated and modified even after finalisation (see work by Pollozek).

      The design of the system allows for the rehearsed recording of formulaic bordering practices that, if closely examined, resemble its coexistent violent forms. Shading into the routine, the JORA records circulate regularly from the islands to Piraeus and Warsaw. While the full JORA archive is inaccessible to the public, the reviewed incidents give us insight into how a particular doctrine of border enforcement is being sustained by the agency and to what effects.

      Normalising violence, eroding rights

      The effects of these records arguably extend beyond the tactical level of border policing. Through their production, a narrative arc is formed by the recorded incidents, generating a specific mode of understanding. Data must be made intelligible to the JORA system and officials along the chain before it can be validated. As a result, even acts of violence such as pushbacks can get translated into mundane logs and thus, brought within the remit of everyday border enforcement and legality.

      The leaked document asserts that the “the notion of ‘prevention of departure”, according to which these ‘incidents’ are classified, should be interpreted “in conjunction with the provisions of Regulation 656/2014, in particular Articles 6 and 7”. While the precise legal meaning of this category in this context remains unclear, its ramifications for the right to leave a country are concerning.

      Regulation 656/2014 indeed provides legal basis (in certain factual circumstances) for the interception of boats carrying asylum-seekers. Yet, it clearly stipulates that the actions that official entities may lawfully take to enforce the border must be compliant with their obligations under EU and international law, including, inter alia, international human rights and refugee law. Moreover, it states: “This Regulation should not affect the responsibilities of search and rescue authorities, including for ensuring that coordination and cooperation is conducted in such a way that the persons rescued can be delivered to a place of safety.”

      The records, however, present an account of border enforcement that exists in isolation from human rights and humanitarian commitments. The dangerous conditions in which border enforcement takes place and the vulnerability of asylum seekers to these conditions are rendered irrelevant and thereby, banalised. Rubber boats carrying illegalized migrants are generally considered seaworthy, not recognised as in distress, regardless of how many people they carry or the fluctuating weather conditions in the Aegean. In none of the incidents contained in the leaked document was a SAR triggered by the Hellenic Coast Guard or Frontex. In this sense, JORA acts as a mediator that transforms, translates, distorts and modifies the meaning of these ‘incidents’. Through the designation of bureaucratic categories (e.g. prevention of departure), JORA codifies and transforms situations that should trigger humanitarian and human rights obligations into legitimate practices of border control. In the process, the duty to render assistance at sea is distorted, and the obligation to facilitate access to asylum is obscured.

      In the context of on-going internal discussions about the legality of interceptions at sea, Frontex’s internal records reveal the practices deemed acceptable by the agency and their interpretation of international legal obligations. The records provide insight into a vision of border enforcement, crystallised at the boundaries of the global north, that perpetuates the violent securitisation of borders to the detriment of human mobility, dignity and safety. They carve out a space where border control activities are shielded from scrutiny, erasing human rights from the operational script.

      Any comments about this post? Get in touch with us! Send us an email, or post a comment here or on Facebook. You can also tweet us.

      https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2021/01/validating-border

    • Five migrant pushback claims under scrutiny

      The board of directors of the European border agency Frontex, which met on Wednesday and Thursday, has decided to further investigate five of 13 reported cases of illegal migrants pushbacks last year, with the alleged help of Frontex guards, from Greece into Turkish territorial waters in the eastern Aegean.

      The board deemed that Frontex did not provide the necessary information and clarifications for the five cases under investigation.

      In view of this, the team investigating the claims has been given additional time to complete its work and present its final conclusions to a new extraordinary board meeting scheduled for February 26.

      With regard to the other eight cases, the board said that there is no evidence to confirm any violations. It also accepted that some of these incidents unfolded in Turkish territorial waters, and in others the migrant boats turned back on their own accord.

      https://www.ekathimerini.com/261560/article/ekathimerini/news/five-migrant-pushback-claims-under-scrutiny

    • L’agence européenne Frontex fragilisée par les accusations d’expulsions illégales

      L’agence de surveillance des frontières de l’UE, qui a annoncé qu’elle suspendait ses opérations en Hongrie, est accusée d’avoir participé au « pushback », qui consiste à repousser les migrants sans leur laisser la possibilité de déposer une demande d’asile.
      Accusations d’implication dans des « pushbacks » – des refoulements illégaux de migrants et demandeurs d’asile aux frontières –, enquêtes de l’Office de lutte antifraude de l’Union européenne (UE) et de la Commission de Bruxelles, mise en cause de son directeur, Fabrice Leggeri : l’Agence européenne de garde-frontières et de garde-côtes, Frontex, chargée de surveiller les frontières extérieures de l’UE, traverse de grosses turbulences. Mercredi 27 janvier, elle a même été contrainte d’annoncer qu’elle allait arrêter ses opérations en Hongrie, une première dans l’histoire de cette institution, fondée en 2004.
      « Nos efforts communs pour protéger les frontières extérieures ne peuvent réussir que si nous veillons à ce que notre coopération et nos activités soient pleinement conformes aux lois de l’UE », a expliqué un porte-parole, en critiquant implicitement les pratiques illégales de la police hongroise, auxquelles l’agence européenne participait pourtant depuis la crise des réfugiés de 2015.
      En cause, la pratique du « pushback », systématisée par le premier ministre ultranationaliste, Viktor Orban, et développée ailleurs dans l’Union. Le fait de repousser les migrants arrivés sur le sol européen sans leur laisser la possibilité de déposer une demande d’asile n’a pas été partout aussi clairement assumé qu’en Hongrie, mais la Grèce, la Croatie, l’Italie ou la Slovénie, notamment, ont été mises an cause pour s’être livrées, elles aussi, à cette pratique illégale. Un « Livre noir », épais de 1 500 pages et présenté récemment par un réseau d’ONG, a recensé pas moins de 900 cas de ce type, concernant près de 13 000 personnes.
      Expulsions inhumaines
      Depuis une loi adoptée en 2016, la Hongrie considère, elle, que tous les migrants arrivant sur son sol peuvent être immédiatement renvoyés vers la Serbie voisine. Lorsqu’ils sont arrêtés, après avoir réussi à franchir la clôture que M. Orban a fait construire tout le long de la frontière, ou même à Budapest, les migrants se voient systématiquement refuser de déposer une demande d’asile et sont expulsés sans autre forme de procès, dans des conditions parfois inhumaines.
      Présents à la frontière hongroise depuis 2015, les agents de Frontex ont participé à cette politique, malgré les critiques des organisations non gouvernementales. « La Hongrie est le seul pays à avoir légalisé les “pushbacks” et à les pratiquer aussi ouvertement. La police hongroise publie même des chiffres tous les jours sur le nombre de personnes renvoyées en Serbie », dénonce Andras Lederer, du Comité Helsinki hongrois, une ONG spécialisée dans l’aide aux migrants. Il estime que la Hongrie a pratiqué 50 000 refoulements depuis 2016. A l’issue d’une longue bataille juridique, la Cour de justice de l’Union européenne a estimé, le 17 décembre 2020, que les pratiques hongroises enfreignent les directives régissant le droit d’asile.
      Malgré cet arrêt, le gouvernement de Budapest a refusé de modifier sa législation et a continué ces pratiques. « La Hongrie ne va pas céder devant la pression des forces pro-immigration », affirmait encore le porte-parole du gouvernement, Zoltan Kovacs, jeudi 28 janvier. « Bruxelles veut nous prendre le peu d’aide qu’on avait », a-t-il ajouté en réaction au retrait de Frontex, devenu inéluctable après l’arrêt de la Cour de Luxembourg. Pour M. Lederer, ce retrait est en revanche « bienvenu » : « La Hongrie ne pourra plus se cacher derrière la présence de Frontex pour continuer cette pratique. »
      Violences aux frontières de l’Union
      Avec un contingent censé atteindre 10 000 hommes, un budget pluriannuel passé à 5,6 milliards d’euros et son rôle de gardienne stricte des frontières, en association avec les forces nationales, l’agence dirigée par M. Leggeri est l’une des pièces essentielles de la politique migratoire de l’UE et du « pacte » proposé en 2020 pour la Commission. Sa mise en cause, alors même qu’elle est loin de tourner à plein régime, est de mauvais augure.
      Jeudi 28 janvier, alors que les vingt-sept ministres de l’intérieur, réunis en visioconférence, évoquaient – en présence du directeur de Frontex – le dossier de la migration, l’Agence des Nations unies pour les réfugiés évoquait un droit d’asile « menacé » en Europe et disait recevoir « de nombreux rapports » sur les violences exercées aux frontières de l’Union.
      D’où l’attention toute particulière que porte la commissaire aux affaires intérieures, Ylva Johansson, au dossier des « pushbacks ». La responsable suédoise se satisfait-elle des explications de la direction de Frontex, dont le conseil d’administration affirmait, le 21 janvier, qu’il n’avait pas trouvé de preuves de violation des droits de l’homme dans les cas qu’il a examinés ? « Sur la base des informations fournies », il n’aurait « pu établir de preuves ». Il a toutefois précisé que ses conclusions ne concernaient que certains incidents en Grèce et que des clarifications étaient nécessaires. Cinq cas problématiques de possibles refoulements impliquant Frontex sont encore examinés.
      Jeudi, devant les ministres, Mme Johansson a réclamé « toutes les analyses nécessaires » pour, dit-elle, rétablir la confiance dans l’agence. Elle a aussi évoqué un projet de réforme, incluant la nomination de trois sous-directeurs et la mise en place – enfin – d’un système de surveillance des droits humains.
      Le débat « recule »
      Au-delà du sort de Frontex, la question est de savoir si une définition d’une véritable politique migratoire européenne, avec une refonte des règles de l’asile et une solidarité accrue entre les pays, a une chance de se réaliser. Confirmant que le débat sur le « pacte » élaboré par la Commission « n’a pas beaucoup avancé », le secrétaire d’Etat belge à la migration, Sammy Mahdi, déclarait, jeudi, au quotidien La Libre Belgique qu’il fallait le rendre « rationnel ». Pour sortir les discussions de l’ornière, pour vérifier que la proposition de la Commission est opérationnelle et, enfin, pour que chacun annonce vraiment ses intentions, M. Mahdi propose « une simulation » : sur la base des chiffres de l’année 2019, chaque pays préciserait ce qu’il pourrait accomplir concernant l’accueil, la solidarité, le financement des infrastructures d’accueil aux frontières, etc.
      Un communiqué du secrétaire d’Etat évoquait une possible évolution de la Hongrie et de ses partenaires du groupe de Visegrad, à condition que soit satisfaite leur revendication (très floue) d’une solidarité « flexible ». Un participant à la réunion de jeudi faisait preuve de moins de conviction : « Faire avancer le débat ? Mais il recule ! » Vétéran des conseils européens sur la migration, le ministre luxembourgeois Jean Asselborn n’est pas loin de confirmer : « Nous sommes sans doute tous d’accord sur les contrôles aux frontières extérieures ou sur les retours. Mais pas sur la manière de respecter les droits humains des demandeurs d’asile, sur les relocalisations obligatoires ou sur l’impératif de solidarité » entre les pays européens. Les Etats prêts à respecter ces principes se compteraient, en effet, désormais sur les doigts d’une main.

      https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/01/29/l-agence-europeenne-frontex-fragilisee-par-les-accusations-d-expulsions-ille

    • Refoulement de migrants : « Frontex se retranche toujours derrière ses États hôtes » (Migreurop)

      L’agence de surveillance des frontières de l’UE, a annoncé qu’elle suspendait ses opérations en Hongrie après une décision de la Cour de justice européenne critiquant le système d’asile de ce pays. L’Office européen de lutte antifraude enquête de son côté sur la gouvernance de l’agence par son directeur exécutif, Fabrice Leggeri dont plusieurs eurodéputés demandent la démission. Frontex a-t-elle participé à des opérations de « pushback », initiées par la Hongrie, qui consistent à repousser des migrants arrivés sur le sol européen sans leur laisser la possibilité de déposer une demande d’asile ? Le décryptage de Brijitte Espuche, co-coordinatrice du réseau Migreurop.

      https://www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/invit%C3%A9-international/20210129-refoulement-de-migrants-frontex-se-retranche-toujours-derri%C3%A8re-ses

    • Frontex: Management Board pushes back against secrecy proposals in preliminary report

      Statewatch is publishing the preliminary report of the working group set up by the agency’s Management Board following allegations of involvement in pushbacks from Turkey to Greece. Amongst other things, the report indicates that Frontex has proposed labelling Serious Incident Reports as EU Classified Information, which would reduce transparency and, in turn, accountability.

      https://www.statewatch.org/news/2021/february/frontex-management-board-pushes-back-against-secrecy-proposals-in-prelim

    • Scandals Plunge Europe’s Border Agency into Turmoil

      Accusations of workplace harassment, mismanagement and financial irregularities have led to chaos at Europe’s border agency. The allegations weigh heavily on Frontex head Fabrice Leggeri.

      The men and women who are part of Europe’s new elite border force meet every morning at 9 a.m. for a video conference that is viewed on screens in countries like Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria and Albania. The Frontex officials usually discuss migration movements and human trafficking, But since the beginning of January, the internal meetings have focused primarily on low morale within the team.

      "Do something at last, or soon no one will work here anymore,” one border guard warned in one of the calls. The policemen and women who regularly complain about their woes are the European Union’s first dedicated border guards. They’re part of Frontex’s standing corps.

      For months now, Frontex, the EU’s border protection agency, and its head Fabrice Leggeri, have been embroiled in a series of scandals. Frontex has been accused of being involved in illegal repatriations of refugees at Europe’s external borders, workplace harassment and a possible case of fraud linked to the agency. Now the crisis has also reached the standing corps, the border management agency’s prestige project.

      Frontex plans to deploy up to 10,000 border guards to the EU’s external borders in the coming years. The civil servants were promised brand new equipment and EU jobs with lavish salaries and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen personally pushed for the creation of the standing corps. The stars of the EU flag sparkle on the sleeves of the new dark blue uniforms worn by the reserves.

      The job may sound glamorous on paper, but it is anything but in the countries where the reserve guards have been deployed, like Greece, Croatia and Albania. Several officers have told DER SPIEGEL of a shortage of agency vehicles, such that expensive SUVs must be rented instead — with officers allegedly even having to pay for gas themselves in some cases. They claim that expenses weren’t reimbursed for bureaucratic reasons, and that parts of the new uniforms were missing and had to be bought by the border guards themselves.

      The officers should be out hunting down criminals and catching smugglers, but Category 1 officers, who are directly employed by Frontex, so far haven’t been allowed to carry weapons because the agency failed to provide the legal basis for doing so in time. The result is that the border guards, supposedly members of an elite European force, have to be escorted on every one of their patrols by national security forces.

      When contacted by DER SPIEGEL, Frontex also said that the pandemic has created additional challenges for deploying the force, but things are back on track again. Yet the agency’s own officers don’t see it that way. It’s a "Potemkin reserve,” scoffs one. "It’s not worth it,” says another officer, who is thinking about quitting.

      The establishment of the standing corps is one of the EU’s most important migration policy projects. The purpose is to control irregular immigration. But now the European Commission and the member states must stand by and watch as it becomes the focus of ridicule.

      The fiasco over the standing corps has become emblematic of an agency that has been falling short of public expectations for years, and of an agency head who is accumulating more and more power but doesn’t seem to know how to use it correctly.

      Under Leggeri, Frontex has stumbled from one scandal to the next. Last autumn, DER SPIEGEL, together with international media partners, first reported that Frontex forces in the Aegean Sea were involved in illegal repatriations of refugees, which are called pushbacks. The Frontex Management Board is investigating the allegations and the EU Ombudsman has opened an inquiry. Leggeri himself is apparently obstructing the investigations.

      In January, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) announced it had launched an investigation into Frontex. Leggeri claims that the investigators are looking into the pushback reports and that he cannot provide any further comment. But DER SPIEGEL has found in its reporting that the accusations go much further. The investigation involves a possible case of fraud involving a service provider, allegations of workplace harassment and whether information was withheld from the agency’s fundamental rights officer, whose job is to monitor Frontex’s adherence to basic human rights laid out in EU charters, conventions and international law. Internal documents suggest that Leggeri’s entire leadership style is under scrutiny.

      What happened? How could the authority charged with protecting the EU’s external borders descend into such chaos? And what does it all mean for the EU’s migration policy?

      DER SPIEGEL, the media organization Lighthouse Reports and the French newspaper Libération interviewed nearly a dozen current and former Frontex officials in the reporting of this story. Most insisted that their names not be mentioned in the story for fear that they could lose their jobs. Leggeri, for his part, rejected an interview request.

      When combined with internal documents that DER SPIEGEL and its partners were able to view, the insiders’ reports paint a picture of an agency in turmoil.

      France Télécom: How Leggeri seized power at Frontex

      The headquarters of Frontex are located in an office complex in Warsaw’s Wola district, not far from the city center. For years, only a few officials worked here compiling reports on migration routes. Actual border guards were borrowed from national police forces.

      But the agency has grown from a budget of just over 6 million euros in 2005 to 460 million euros in 2020. By 2027, Europe’s taxpayers will have provided 5.6 billion euros in funding to the agency.

      Frontex now has its own border guards, called the standing corps, in addition to aircraft and drones that will soon be complemented by unmanned airships that will provide surveillance as they circle over the Aegean Sea. Frontex’s rise has had a lot to do with Leggeri, the man who has done more than anyone else to shape the agency.

      Leggeri, 52, was born in Mulhouse, in France’s Alsace region, and speaks fluent German. He studied at the École Nationale d’Administration in Strasbourg, a university that has long produced the French elite. Starting in 2013, he worked at the Interior Ministry in Paris in the department for irregular immigration. At the time, the government advocated for Frontex’s expansion, and two years later, Leggeri was named head of the agency.

      Colleagues describe Leggeri as a technocrat. At a Christmas party once, the team gathered around and he began talking with great pathos about the achievements of the "Frontex family.” But Leggeri was reading from his notepad. "It seemed like the whole things was out of his league,” recalled one audience member.

      During the course of Frontex’s expansion, Leggeri tailored the agency to precisely fit his needs. He expanded his cabinet, filling many important posts with fellow French compatriots.

      Frontex workers say Leggeri is on rarely seen in the hallways, and that all important decisions are made by a small inner circle. They describe him as being a control freak, with some former staffers even going so far as to call him a "dictator.” Leggeri "runs the agency like it’s a sub-prefecture,” says someone who has worked with him for a long time. "You may be able to run a French ministry that way, but not an international organization.”

      Frontex staffers have taken to calling Leggeri’s cabinet "France Télécom” when the bosses aren’t around. It’s a reference to the scandal at the French telecommunications authority, which involved systematic bullying and harassment so bad that it drove a number of employees to commit suicide.

      The resentment felt by many Frontex staffers is largely directed at one of Leggeri’s closest confidants: Thibauld de La Haye Jousselin. The Frenchman comes from an aristocratic family from southern France. He once worked for Bernard Carayon, a member of the French parliament, who used to be part of a far-right student union. De La Haye Jousselin is a reserve officer in the French army and has a thing for the military and uniforms. “De La Haye Jousselin is clearly on the right politically,” says someone who has known him for years. Now, he serves Leggeri as the head of his cabinet.

      Insiders say that de La Haye Jousselin leads with an iron fist, and that he is quick to lose his temper. Employees claim he insults people and engages in disrespectful behavior. The agency stated that Frontex has not received any official complaints about de La Haye Jousselin and also claimed that no cabinet member has been hired solely on the basis of their nationality. De La Haye Jousselin dismissed the accusations as "false and baseless.”

      But the behavior of Leggeri and his cabinet chief has consequences. Dissent seems to be frowned upon. And this is likely one of the reasons internal control mechanisms at the agency are becoming less effective.

      Inmaculada Arnáez has more than 20 years of experience in human rights issues. The Spanish lawyer has worked for the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and she has been with Frontex since 2012. As the fundamental rights officer, she is supposed to operate independently of the executive director in her job as the agency’s internal watchdog. But when Leggeri took the helm in 2015, she quickly became aware of how little concern the new leader apparently had for human rights.

      Former Frontex employees report that Arnáez was left out in the cold. "We felt like Leggeri just bypassed her.” They claim that human rights had never been his priority.

      The final break between Leggeri and Arnáez came when the European Parliament granted the fundamental rights commissioner more powers in 2019. Arnáez was to be assisted by 40 human rights observers, which would have enabled her office to conduct its own investigations at Europe’s external borders. Apparently that was unthinkable for Leggeri.

      On Nov. 19, 2019, just as Arnáez was returning from an extended illness, the Frontex chief publicly advertised her position. In doing so, Leggeri had also bypassed the Frontex Management Board, since such a job posting requires the board’s approval. He had informed Arnáez only a short time before. In a written assessment obtained by DER SPIEGEL, the European Commission states that Leggeri’s move had been "plain and simply unlawful” and "could be considered as an attempt to discredit or weaken” Arnáez.

      The Commission forced Leggeri to withdraw the job posting. But the Frontex chief didn’t give up. He claimed Arnáez had to be replaced because she doesn’t have enough management experience to lead 40 employees.

      It seems likely, though, that the Frontex chief was mainly bothered by Arnáez because of her advocacy for human rights. Arnáez has repeatedly warned Leggeri against breaking the law. Colleagues say that she believed in the power of her reports. She regularly informed Leggeri about human rights violations in the Aegean Sea and recommended that he abandon the mission in Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán legalized pushbacks in 2016.

      Leggeri ignored the fundamental rights officer’s reports and continued the operation in the Aegean Sea. He only withdrew his officers from Hungary a few weeks ago after a ruling by the European Court of Justice forced him to do so. When contacted for comment, Leggeri stated that he had always valued working together with Arnáez. He added that management experience is needed in the post because of the sharp increase in the budget.

      Leggeri still hasn’t hired the 40 human rights monitors to this day. When grilled by the European Parliament, Leggeri blamed the European Commission for the delays. European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, who is responsible for the portfolio that includes Frontex, then accused him of having misled parliament.

      Arnáez has been on medical leave again since last March. The Frontex Management Board replaced her on an interim basis with Annegret Kohler, a German national who had previously worked in Leggeri’s cabinet. "It’s a clear conflict of interest,” says a Frontex official.
      The Pushback Affair: How Frontex Covered Up Human Rights Violations

      The walls of the Frontex Situation Centre are covered in monitors, with surveillance planes and satellites transmitting real-time images from border regions. From their desks, Frontex officers can closely monitor events taking place on the edges of Europe. “You can see how many people are sitting in a refugee boat,” says someone who knows the room well.

      A collection of images that appeared on screens here on the night of April 18-19, 2020, continue to occupy members of European Parliament until today. They come from a Frontex surveillance plane flying over the Aegean, according to several internal Frontex reports that DER SPIEGEL has obtained.

      Shortly before midnight, Greek border patrol officers intercepted a rubber dinghy just north of the island of Lesbos and transferred the 20 to 30 refugees onboard their ship. According to prevailing law, they should have then brought the asylum-seekers to Lesbos, where they could apply for asylum. Instead, though, they put the refugees back into the dinghy and then towed them back toward Turkey.

      Greek officials in the coordination center in Piraeus ordered the Frontex pilots to change course away from the dinghy. The Frontex team leader asked if there was a particular reason for the change in course. “Negative,” came the response from the Greeks.

      At 3:15 a.m., the Frontex plane began running low on fuel. The pilot took one last image, which showed the refugees alone at sea, a few hundred meters from the Turkish coast. No Turkish units were in the area, the pilot reported. The dinghy, he reported, had no motor and the Greek Coast Guard had sailed off. The refugees, including four children, were only rescued the next morning at 6:52 a.m. by the Turkish Navy.

      The Greek Coast Guard has been systematically conducting pushbacks for several months. They stop refugee boats in Greek territorial waters and sometimes destroy their motors before then towing them back toward Turkey. “Aggressive surveillance,” is the official term the government in Athens has come up with to describe the practice. In fact, it is illegal.

      Frontex regulations require Leggeri to suspend missions when he learns of rights violations of a serious nature or that are likely to persist. His forces, after all, are supposed to protect human rights. But Leggeri insists that he has no reliable information about pushbacks in his possession – despite the fact that DER SPIEGEL and its reporting partners have exhaustively documented how Frontex units were nearby during at least seven illegal pushback operations.

      During their operations, Frontex personnel are under the command of Greek border officials. Already last March, a Greek liaison officer ordered a Danish Frontex unit to abandon a group of intercepted refugees at sea, according to internal emails that DER SPIEGEL has reviewed. Nevertheless, Frontex decided nothing was wrong and closed the matter within a day. Later, in testimony he delivered before the European Parliament, Leggeri claimed the incident had merely been a misunderstanding.

      The pushback that took place off Lesbos in the night of April 18-19 was exhaustively documented by Frontex officers themselves. There is a strong belief “that presented facts support an allegation of possible violation of Fundamental Rights or international protection obligations such as the principle of non-refoulement,” reads an internal Frontex report that DER SPIEGEL has obtained.

      The case was apparently so sensitive that Leggeri took personal control over the investigation and did not, as was standard procedure, delegate it to his Fundamental Rights Officer. On May 8, he wrote to Ioannis Plakiotakis, the Greek minister of maritime affairs, a letter that DER SPIEGEL has obtained. In it, Leggeri voiced his concern and requested an internal investigation. The observance of human rights, particularly the principle of non-refoulement, is an “ultimate requirement” of the Frontex mission, he wrote.

      The answer from the Greek government is a smorgasbord of attempts to explain it away. Migration flows in the Aegean represent a “hybrid nature threat,” the response reads. Because of the corona crisis, it continues, it is more important than ever to prevent illegal border crossings and none of the migrants had requested asylum. According to an initial assessment by Greek officials, the letter claims, none of those on board were in particular need of protection.

      Legal experts see the Greek response as worthless. “The Greek Coast Guard without a doubt committed a human rights violation in the case,” says Dana Schmalz, an international law expert with the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg. From her perspective, it is a clear case of an illegal pushback. It is impossible, she says, to determine if someone needs protection or if they are faced with danger back in Turkey on board a rickety dinghy. Individual proceedings conducted on land are necessary to make such a determination, she says. Furthermore, she continues, the Greek Coast Guard put the migrants’ lives in danger by abandoning them at sea in a dinghy without a motor.

      But Leggeri was satisfied with the report. The verdict: There was no pushback, there were no human rights violations. The head of Frontex silently buried the incident. “There have been several occasions when Leggeri has not provided us with adequate information,” says Tineke Strik, a member of European Parliament from the Netherlands.

      When reached for comment, Frontex said the Greek government had not ascertained any human rights violations. The agency has to rely on national authorities to investigate such incidents, Frontex insisted, since it is not authorized to undertake such investigations itself.

      Frontex officials are actually required to report incidents where they suspect that human rights violations may have occurred, so-called “Serious Incident Reports.” But such reports are hardly ever written. For years, Frontex officials have followed the example of their boss Leggeri: When in doubt, keep quiet.

      Insiders describe the rules as a kind of omertà, a code of silence. Hardly anyone is willing to risk their career or cause problems for their host country. In one case, an official even tried to prevent a Swedish colleague from submitting a Serious Incident Report, the head of Swedish border control told the Frontex Management Board.

      A German federal police officer is one of the few willing to dissent, though he has asked that we not publish his real name. On Nov. 28, 2020, his first day on a Frontex mission on the Greek island of Samos, an article from DER SPIEGEL popped up on his mobile phone. The story was about the Uckermark, the ship on which he was scheduled to serve that very evening. The article reported that the Germans had stopped a refugee boat on August 10 and handed it over to the Greek Coast Guard, which then proceeded to abandon the refugees at sea.

      The federal policeman went to his commanding officer and said he couldn’t participate in such operations and essentially said he didn’t want to be an accessory to any legal transgressions. Later, he sent an explanation around to his comrades via WhatsApp: “I have decided for me personally that I cannot tolerate the measures taken by the Greeks and certainly cannot support them.”

      His commanding officer responded a few minutes later: “The fact is that our actions are legal! Covered by the Frontex mandate.” He apparently was referring to the requirement to obey orders from the Greek Coast Guard.

      The German Federal Police does not contradict the man’s account, but when contacted, the force denied having taken part in any legal violations. The policeman himself, however, had a different view of the situation. He refused to take part in the mission, preferring instead to stay on land. He says he will never again volunteer to take part in a Frontex mission.

      Dodgy Business: How Leggeri Landed in the Sights of the European Anti-Fraud Office

      The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) always gets involved when there are suspicions that EU financial interests have been violated. And recently, OLAF opened an investigation into Frontex. On Dec. 7, OLAF officials searched Frontex headquarters in Warsaw, including the offices belonging to Leggeri and to Head of Cabinet Thibauld de La Haye Jousselin.

      Leggeri has yet to comment publicly on the investigation. According to members of the German parliament, the Bundestag, Leggeri testified before the Committee on Internal Affairs in January in Berlin and said that the inquiry had to do with the pushback accusations and that he couldn’t say any more. That, though, is at best only half true.

      DER SPIEGEL has learned that the investigation has a much broader scope than that. For weeks, OLAF officials have been summoning witnesses and interrogating Frontex staff members.

      One focus of the investigation is apparently a possible case of fraud. A Polish IT company sold the agency a business software solution that cost hundreds of thousands of euros, in part for the training of border guards. Frontex employees complained to their superiors, however, that the software didn’t work well. But the agency nevertheless paid most of the negotiated purchase price. According to documentation DER SPEIGEL has seen, employees informed management in 2018 that the inconsistencies in the case could amount to fraud.

      Leggeri, too, learned of the allegations, and an internal investigation was undertaken. “But according to EU regulations, the Frontex director is required to immediately report potential cases of fraud to OLAF,” says Valentina Azarova of the Manchester International Law Centre. Frontex declined to comment on the OLAF investigation. The Polish software company in question insisted that it has thus far correctly fulfilled all of its contractual obligations to Frontex. And the company is still getting contracts from the European border agency, some of them worth millions.

      The OLAF investigators are also apparently interested in suspicions of workplace harassment at Frontex. They hope to find out if Leggeri or his head of cabinet have yelled at or otherwise harassed agency employees. They are also investigating whether staff members were ordered to withhold information from Fundamental Rights Officer Arnáez and her successor – and if so, by whom.

      OLAF emphasizes that the presumption of innocence still applies, despite the inquiry, explaining that the existence of the investigation offers no proof that anything untoward took place. But there are apparently serious indications of personal misconduct on the part of Leggeri. The collection of questions being asked by investigators indicate significant doubts about his leadership style.

      In Brussels, some refer to Leggeri as “Fabrice Teflon,” with the Frontex boss having thus far survived despite accusations of mismanagement and allegations that his agency was involved in pushbacks. Now, though, the pressure has been cranked up.

      European Commissioner Johansson has more or less made it clear that she no longer considers Leggeri to be tenable in his position. “It has been difficult to keep track of the missteps,” says a high-ranking Commission official. “The priority must be on the long-term reputation of the agency. But it has been hard to reconcile recent actions with that aim.”

      It is not, however, up to the European Commission to decide Leggeri’s fate. That is a decision that must be made by the Frontex Management Board. The board is essentially made up of representatives from those countries that are part of the Schengen Area, with the Commission having just two deputies on the board. EU member states have always thrown their support behind Leggeri in the past. And many of them are likely pleased by the occasionally ruthless methods employed by Frontex to prevent asylum-seekers from crossing into the EU, believes Giulia Laganà, a migration expert with the Open Society European Policy Institute.

      The question is whether the Management Board will continue to back Leggeri once the accusations of workplace harassment and even potential fraud are made public. The European Parliament has already announced its intention to conduct a four-month inquiry into the agency, with the investigation’s mandate having been kept intentionally broad. Leggeri’s leadership style and the workplace atmosphere at Frontex are to be included in the inquiry.

      Even Leggeri’s own staff members in Warsaw have begun wondering how long their boss will continue to cling to his post. “OLAF is onto us, morale is down,” says one official. “I wonder why he doesn’t just leave.”

      https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/missteps-and-mismanagement-at-frontex-scandals-plunge-europe-s-border-agency

    • Frontex, l’Agence européenne de garde-frontières, à nouveau mise en cause pour ses liens avec des lobbyistes

      Premier corps armé en uniforme de l’Union européenne, l’organisme n’aurait pas déclaré ses liens avec des lobbyistes de l’industrie de la surveillance et de l’armement.

      De nouvelles accusations contre Frontex ont été lancées, vendredi 5 février, par la chaîne publique allemande ZDF, laquelle a, avec la collaboration de l’ONG Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), mené une enquête sur les liens entre l’Agence européenne de garde-frontières et l’industrie de la surveillance et de l’armement.

      Des dizaines de documents, auxquels Le Monde a également eu accès, démontrent des infractions aux règles des institutions européennes sur le lobbying, un défaut de transparence et une absence quasi complète de préoccupation pour le respect des droits humains. Ce dernier point était déjà au cœur d’un débat récent sur le rôle du corps européen dans des « pushbacks », des refoulements illégaux de migrants, en Grèce et en Hongrie notamment.

      Dotée d’un budget en forte hausse (6 millions d’euros lors de sa création en 2005, 460 millions en 2020, 5,6 milliards prévus pour 2021-2027) et d’un effectif qui devrait atteindre 10 000 personnes à terme, Frontex, premier corps armé en uniforme de l’Union européenne (UE), effectue actuellement des missions de sauvetage et de surveillance, en appui des forces nationales. Elle lutte aussi contre divers trafics et participe aux expulsions des migrants irréguliers.

      Mais l’agence est, en réalité, en train de devenir un véritable corps de police appelé à se doter de nombreux équipements : armes, radars, drones, systèmes de vérification des documents et de reconnaissance faciale, véhicules, avions, etc.
      Profiter des opportunités

      Devient-elle, du même coup, une sorte d’acteur du secteur de la sécurité et de l’armement ? Et échappe-t-elle au contrôle démocratique, celui du Parlement européen notamment, qui, en 2019, exigeait de l’institution dirigée par le Français Fabrice Leggeri la mise au point d’un « registre transparence », conforme aux pratiques des autres institutions de l’UE ? Ce sont les questions posées par les investigateurs de la ZDF et de CEO, qui ont examiné les dernières années de fonctionnement de l’institution installée à Varsovie.

      Le registre, qui était réclamé par les eurodéputés, devait notamment recenser l’ensemble des réunions tenues avec des représentants des entreprises. Il est « en préparation », dit-on chez Frontex. Et il ne devrait pas satisfaire les attentes : en 2018 et 2019, indiquent des documents de CEO, 91 des 125 lobbyistes reçus par Frontex (soit 72 %) n’étaient pas inscrits au registre européen de la transparence, comme le veulent pourtant les règles fixées pour les institutions de l’UE.

      Idem pour 58 % des entreprises consultées. Sur une application créée pour centraliser les demandes de contacts, aucune demande ne leur est d’ailleurs formulée quant à leur inscription dans ce registre. Etonnamment, le service de presse de Frontex affirme de son côté que l’agence « ne rencontre pas de lobbyistes ».

      Il semble évident, pourtant, que le secteur de la défense entend profiter des opportunités offertes par le développement des missions et des moyens de l’agence. Le programme Horizon 2020 avait déjà affecté 118 millions d’euros au développement de la recherche en lien avec le projet de « Sécurité aux frontières extérieures » de l’UE. Un fonds avait, lui, été doté de 2,8 milliards d’euros pour la période 2018-2020. Et la nécessité d’équiper Frontex a évidemment aiguisé un peu plus les appétits des acteurs du marché mondial du « border control », qui enfle de 8 % chaque année et frôle désormais les 20 milliards d’euros.
      « Surveillance agressive »

      L’agence dirigée par M. Leggeri est-elle sortie de son rôle en s’arrogeant un statut d’intermédiaire de fait entre l’industrie et des institutions européennes soucieuses de conjurer à tout prix le risque de nouveaux flux migratoires ? Serait-elle, même, devenue un acteur qui entend stimuler cette industrie, voire lui confier les rênes d’une politique à vocation essentiellement sécuritaire ?

      Avec son objectif de « faciliter la coopération entre les autorités de contrôle aux frontières, la recherche et l’industrie », Frontex a, en tout cas, multiplié les congrès, les rencontres et les « ateliers » où grands patrons, hauts fonctionnaires, mais aussi délégués des Etats membres échangent beaucoup. Sur des questions de technologie, de sécurité, de « surveillance agressive », mais rarement de droits humains.

      Déjà mise en cause pour avoir tardé à mettre en place un service interne chargé de la surveillance du respect des droits fondamentaux des migrants, l’agence n’aurait, en effet, presque jamais consulté le « Forum des droits fondamentaux » constitué à cette fin. Une organisation qui était membre du forum indique d’ailleurs n’avoir aucun souvenir d’un quelconque échange sur la question des droits et des libertés dans le cadre du lancement d’appels d’offres.

      « La protection des droits humains est un sujet trop important pour le sacrifier à la défense des intérêts de l’industrie », notent les responsables de l’ONG Corporate Europe Observatory

      Parmi les participants à des réunions, on a noté, en revanche, la présence de représentants de pays très critiqués pour leur politique à l’égard des migrants, comme la Bosnie-Herzégovine ou l’Australie. Des responsables du département américain de la Homeland Security ont été également conviés.

      « Les conclusions de tout cela sont extrêmement préoccupantes », notent les responsables de CEO. Ils déplorent une politique migratoire qui risque de reposer seulement sur une force de police armée et des techniques comme la surveillance biométrique. « La protection des droits humains est un sujet trop important pour le sacrifier à la défense des intérêts de l’industrie », relèvent-ils.

      « Nous vivons une métamorphose du rôle de Frontex. Il faut en prendre la mesure et s’y habituer », affirmait, vendredi, M. Leggeri, interrogé par Europe 1. On ne sait pas si Ylva Johansson, la commissaire européenne aux affaires intérieures, qui demande que la confiance en Frontex soit « entièrement rétablie », approuvera totalement ce propos.

      https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/02/05/nouvelles-accusations-contre-frontex-l-agence-europeenne-des-gardes-frontier

    • PUSHBACK REPORT 2020

      VIOLENCE IS INCREASING – IN #2020 MARE LIBERUM COUNTED AT LEAST 9,000 PEOPLE ILLEGALLY PUSHED BACK

      #Mare_Liberum monitors the current human rights situation in the Aegean Sea using its own ships. As independent observers, we conduct research in order to document and publicise circumstances at the European border. Since March 2020, Mare Liberum has witnessed a dramatic increase in human rights violations in the Aegean, both at sea and on land. Illegal pushbacks, in which those fleeing and migrating people are pushed back across a national border, play an especially crucial role. Over the past year in particular, pushbacks have become an inhumane everyday reality for people on the move. Pushbacks happen almost daily at the Greek-Turkish border and in 2020 alone, we counted 321 pushbacks in the Aegean Sea, with some 9,798 people pushed back.

      Although pushbacks have demonstrably been carried out at the EU’s external border for years, media attention has now increased notably, especially in recent months. News magazines such as Der Spiegel and the research collective Bellingcat have been able to publicly demonstrate how the Hellenic Coast Guard forcibly pushes those seeking protection back to Turkey, thereby violating international, European and national law. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex, as has become all too clear, not only turns a blind eye to illegal repatriation operations, but rather actively and systematically participates.

      Within the framework of the annual report, we seek to adopt a perspective on pushbacks that looks at the long-term development of these practices at the EU’s external border. The comprehensive documentation of pushbacks forms the basis of the report and is an essential part of our monitoring work in the Aegean. Beyond the mere counting of pushbacks, our work also includes the collection of relevant information on the persons affected by pushbacks, practices by the responsible actors and related geographical data. We have gained deeper insights into these issues by conducting interviews with people who have themselves been pushed back at the Greek-Turkish border.

      https://mare-liberum.org/en/pushback-report

    • NEW REPORT ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN THE AEGEAN

      Since March 2020, collective expulsions in the Aegean Sea have been perpetrated with impunity.

      Legal Centre Lesvos’ new report contributes to the growing body of evidence, media coverage, civil society reports and other investigations which have documented how Greek authorities are deliberately and systematically abandoning hundreds of migrants in the middle of the Aegean sea, without means to call for rescue, on unseaworthy, motorless dinghies and liferafts. It is intended to serve as a resource for survivors of collective expulsions and solidarity actors.

      Following the Legal Centre Lesvos’ first report, the present report is based on evidence shared by over fifty survivors of collective expulsions, and underscores the widespread, systematic and violent nature of this attack against migrants. Beyond being egregious violations of international, European and national human rights law, this report argues that the constituent elements of the modus operandi of collective expulsions in the Aegean amount to crimes against humanity within the definition of Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

      Despite overwhelming evidence of collective expulsions in the Aegean, the national and European response has been to turn a blind eye: failing to even attempt to hold the responsible Greek authorities to account, let alone other public and private actors directly or indirectly involved. On the contrary, the European Commission has praised the violent “border and migration management” practices implemented in Greece and underwritten its support with substantial financial and material assistance. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic which prevented Greece carrying out “official” deportations to Turkey, collective expulsions have conveniently served as an unofficial implementation of the “EU-Turkey Deal” and other bilateral “readmission” agreements with Turkey, which form part of fortress Europe’s border externalisation drive.

      There are only so many times legal and civil society actors can list and table such human rights violations and be met with deafening silence and inaction before this itself becomes evidence of Greek and European liability for collective expulsions as an egregious attack on migrants’ lives. Such inaction also reveals how migrants’ lives are increasingly treated as disposable, in a manner that has historically accompanied the commission of atrocity crimes.

      While the systematic violence of pushbacks in the Aegean is scandalous, it is also the logical endpoint of a dehumanising and punitive European border regime that has systematically obstructed access to territory and the right to asylum by prioritising and funding the ‘hotspot’ containment system, accelerated procedures, detention, deportations, border militarisation and externalisation through deals of questionable legality with third countries; as well as by prosecuting migrants and solidarity actors in a manner that successfully obscures Europe’s own violent, imperialist role in many of the reasons people migrate.

      The absence of serious investigations, let alone practical steps to redress violations are a clear sign that collective expulsions form part of a Greek and European migration policy: instrumentalising human suffering in acts of spectacular state violence for the purpose of deterring migration, at any cost.

      In this context, it is important to ask what justice might look like for survivors of crimes against humanity in the Aegean, many of whom experience ongoing psychological trauma and distress as a result of these crimes. Survivors who have been in contact with the Legal Centre Lesvos have spoken about justice in terms of being able to safely reach Europe. Justice for collective expulsions as crimes against humanity must therefore include safe and legal routes to Europe, as well as defunding, demilitarising and dismantling Europe’s violent border regime.

      https://legalcentrelesvos.org/2021/02/01/crimesagainstumanityintheaegean

      #crimes_contre_l'humanité

      pour télécharger le rapport :
      legalcentrelesvos.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Collective-Expulsions-in-the-Aegean-LCL-01.02.2021-1.pdf

    • UE : Frontex accusée d’incarner l’« Europe forteresse »

      Soupçons de refoulements illégaux de migrants et de bafouement des droits fondamentaux, l’agence Frontex est dans la tourmente. Au point de diviser la Commission européenne.

      C’est potentiellement ce que les Anglo-Saxons appellent la « tempête parfaite », la « poly polémique » qui couve chez Frontex, l’Agence européenne de garde-frontières et de garde-côtes.

      Entre les accusations de fermer les yeux ou de participer à des refoulements illégaux de migrants, l’enquête de l’Office anti-fraude sur des allégations de harcèlement et d’inconduite ayant poussé des responsables à quitter l’agence ou l’absence, à ce jour, de recrutement des quarante agents chargés de veiller au respect des droits fondamentaux, Frontex accumule les tuiles.

      Après l’enquête de la médiatrice européenne, qui s’est aussi penchée sur son cas, c’est le Parlement européen qui s’en mêle. Outre la mise en place d’un « groupe d’enquête permanent », les eurodéputés ont aussi refusé, fin de la semaine dernière, d’octroyer « la décharge budgétaire » à l’agence, nous explique l’élue belge Saskia Bricmont (Ecolo). « Chaque année, le Parlement a un pouvoir de contrôle budgétaire. Donner la décharge, cela signifie qu’on considère que Frontex a accompli ses missions, a respecté le cadre légal et a donc droit au budget suivant », explique-t-elle. En commission des libertés civiles, de la justice et des affaires intérieures, les eurodéputés ont donc décidé de reporter de six mois cette décharge, une décision qui doit être validée en plénière mais que « tous les groupes politiques » soutiennent, ajoute l’élue. D’ici là, il est principalement attendu de Frontex qu’elle recrute les agents chargés de défendre en interne les droits fondamentaux.
      Mandat et budget élargis

      Depuis cinq ans, le mandat de l’agence a été élargi considérablement. Ses effectifs multipliés. En 2016, Frontex se félicitait du fait qu’elle emploierait 1500 agents à l’horizon 2020. Elle devrait être à 10.000 d’ici 2027, pour un budget de plus de cinq milliards sur sept ans, contre une enveloppe annuelle de 19 millions il y a quinze ans.

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      Car pour Fabrice Leggeri, le patron de Frontex, les critiques trouvent bien leur source dans ce renforcement des pouvoirs de l’agence. « Pour la première fois, une agence cesse d’être un objet simplement administratif européen, mais a du personnel sur le terrain. C’est une responsabilité d’autant plus grande que nous avons l’usage de la force, sous l’autorité et le contrôle des Etats, et qu’il y a bien sûr des contrepoids, les droits fondamentaux. C’est tout à fait normal que cela suscite des réactions, parce que c’est inhabituel », a-t-il expliqué la semaine dernière lors d’un événement organisé par la Fondation Robert Schuman. « Il peut y avoir des retards de mise en œuvre de certaines choses, tout ne sera certainement pas parfait. Il faut utiliser cette période où il y a beaucoup de questionnements sur l’agence pour expliquer, faire de la pédagogie », a-t-il ajouté.

      A ses côtés, le vice-président de la commission en charge de la Promotion du mode de vie européen, Margaritis Schinas, a évoqué la tentative de « quelques milieux » de bâtir « un narratif qui affaiblit Frontex au moment où nous avons le plus besoin de l’agence. Ça, je ne l’accepterai jamais ». Un ton qui contraste avec celui de sa collègue aux Affaires intérieures, Ylva Johansson, qui a démenti fin janvier les explications données par Leggeri pour justifier le retard de l’embauche des 40 agents pour les droits fondamentaux.

      Selon le quotidien français Le Monde, François Xavier-Bellamy, chef de la délégation Les Républicains au sein du groupe du Parti populaire européen (PPE, conservateurs) du Parlement européen, a écrit à Ylva Johansson en évoquant de sa part une tentative de déstabilisation voire de procès politique envers Fabrice Leggeri.
      Pas en ligne sur le lobbying

      S’ajoutent à tout cela les accusations de relations troubles avec l’industrie de l’armement et de la biométrie (par exemple, la reconnaissance faciale), étudiées de long en large par l’ONG Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) le mois dernier. Cette dernière estime que l’élargissement des compétences de Frontex et son besoin d’équipement neuf (y compris en matière de défense) ont été une aubaine pour ces industries.

      Entre 2017 et 2019, Frontex a rencontré pas moins de 108 entreprises pour discuter d’armes à feu et de munitions, d’équipements de surveillance etc. Contre dix think tanks, 15 universités et seulement une ONG. Dans les procès-verbaux de ces réunions obtenus par CEO grâce à des demandes d’accès aux documents, elle a pu constater que les droits fondamentaux figuraient rarement à l’agenda. « Sans surprise, il y a des chevauchements significatifs entre les entreprises qui font du lobbying à Frontex et celles qui bénéficient le plus des marchés publics » de l’agence, explique l’ONG.

      En outre, l’agence ne publie pas toutes ses rencontres et voit majoritairement (72 %) des représentants du privé qui ne sont pas enregistrés dans le registre de transparence de l’UE. Frontex s’en est défendu en répondant qu’elle ne faisait pas l’objet de lobbying, compte tenu du fait qu’elle n’est pas impliquée dans le processus législatif européen. Alors, acharnement ou véritable scandale ? L’enquête des eurodéputés devrait permettre d’y voir clair. C’est aussi l’avis/l’espoir de Fabrice Leggeri, qui a jusqu’ici résisté aux appels à la démission.

      https://plus.lesoir.be/358143/article/2021-03-01/ue-frontex-accusee-dincarner-leurope-forteresse

    • La droite française au secours de Fabrice Leggeri, patron de Frontex

      Le groupe #LR au Parlement européen critique la « tentative de déstabilisation » à laquelle se livrerait la commissaire Ylva Johansson à l’égard du directeur de l’agence.

      Le torchon brûle entre la commissaire européenne aux affaires intérieures et à la migration, #Ylva_Johansson, et la droite française. Dans une lettre au ton cinglant adressée vendredi 26 février à l’ancienne ministre sociale-démocrate suédoise et lue par Le Monde, #François_Xavier-Bellamy, chef de la délégation #Les_Républicains (LR) au sein du groupe du #Parti_populaire_européen (#PPE, conservateurs) interroge la commissaire. Et il parle de « tentative de déstabilisation », de « divergence de fond », voire de « procès politique » que la commissaire instruirait contre Fabrice Leggeri, le directeur exécutif de l’agence des gardes-frontières et gardes-côtes Frontex.

      Ce responsable français est sur la sellette depuis des mois. Pour des refoulements illégaux de migrants (pushbacks) qu’aurait favorisés l’agence. Pour des retards dans le recrutement d’une quarantaine d’officiers chargés précisément de veiller au respect des droits fondamentaux par les agents de Frontex. Pour d’apparentes réticences à se conformer à des règles administratives en matière budgétaire. Ou encore pour ne pas avoir souscrit à des obligations de transparence en ce qui concerne des réunions avec des lobbys et des responsables de l’industrie de la défense et de la surveillance.

      Le groupe socialiste du Parlement a demandé la démission du numéro un de Frontex

      Ce dernier point n’est pas mentionné dans la lettre de M. Bellamy et l’entourage de Mme Johansson semble, par ailleurs, considérer qu’il n’y a pas de quoi mettre en cause M. Leggeri pour ces contacts, dénoncés notamment par l’ONG #Corporate_Europe_Observatory. Sur les autres questions, en revanche, la commissaire a demandé des explications. Et le groupe socialiste du Parlement a demandé la démission du numéro un de Frontex. En décembre, la responsable de la direction générale des affaires intérieures de la Commission adressait, elle, une longue lettre à M. Leggeri, avec, à la clé, de nombreux griefs.

      Demande de preuves

      Les élus LR volent, eux, au secours du directeur et demandent très fermement des explications à la commissaire. Quelles preuves a-t-elle, interrogent-ils, quand elle accuse M. Leggeri de ne pas se conformer aux directives budgétaires, comme elle l’a fait le 22 février dans la commission de contrôle du Parlement ? Sans éléments incontestables, cela pourrait s’apparenter à une volonté de déstabiliser le patron de l’agence, estiment-ils.

      A propos des refoulements illégaux de migrants, les eurodéputés français endossent les explications livrées jusqu’ici par Frontex : sur treize épisodes douteux, huit ont été jugés conformes par un groupe de travail constitué par la Commission. Cinq autres cas sont encore à l’examen, sur lesquels Mme Johansson a exigé « toutes les explications nécessaires ».

      La Turquie est soupçonnée d’être à l’origine d’informations sur les refoulements illégaux de migrants

      M. Bellamy lui demande à son tour si elle a répondu à un courrier qui lui a été adressé en novembre par M. Leggeri, et dans lequel il réclamait des instructions claires quant à l’attitude à adopter à l’égard de la Turquie. Celle-ci, qui a orienté massivement des migrants vers la Grèce et la Bulgarie en mars 2020, est aussi soupçonnée par certaines sources d’être à l’origine d’informations sur les refoulements illégaux de migrants.
      « Reproches infondés »

      Le groupe LR, qui bénéficie du soutien tacite d’autres élus du PPE, exige, dès lors, de disposer de tous les échanges entre Frontex et la Commission. La lettre se termine par des questions sur l’éventuel désaccord entre la commissaire Johansson et Frontex au sujet des missions mêmes de l’agence.

      Relayant l’idée que la commissaire serait partisane des « frontières ouvertes » – ce qu’elle conteste – les eurodéputés lui demandent s’il y a, de sa part, « un désaccord de fond » sur la stratégie actuelle de la Commission von der Leyen, qui vise à garantir le « mode de vie européen » ? A savoir la maîtrise des frontières, la lutte contre l’immigration clandestine et la contribution à « la sécurité intérieure ».

      « En instruisant un procès politique au moyen de reproches infondés, vous prendriez le risque de violer les principes fondamentaux de l’Etat de droit, de salir des fonctionnaires intègres et loyaux, de fragiliser la cohérence de l’action européenne », conclut la lettre. Contacté dimanche, le cabinet de Mme Johansson a déclaré avoir reçu la lettre mais ne pas souhaiter réagir immédiatement.

      https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/03/01/la-droite-francaise-au-secours-de-fabrice-leggeri-patron-de-frontex_6071549_

    • Un rapport d’enquête interne peu concluant sur le rôle de Frontex dans des refoulements illégaux de migrants

      Le document présenté lundi s’abstient d’impliquer des membres de l’Agence européenne de garde-frontières et garde-côtes dans des incidents en mer Egée.

      Un long rapport, lu par Le Monde et présenté, le 1er mars, par un groupe de travail désigné par le conseil d’administration de Frontex, confirme qu’il ne sera décidément pas simple, voire pas possible, de démontrer que des membres de l’Agence européenne de garde-frontières et garde-côtes ont été impliqués dans des « pushbacks » en mer Egée, des refoulements illégaux de migrants.

      Ce document final, pourtant très attendu, n’apporte aucune conclusion déterminante. D’autant que, sur quatre des cinq incidents encore jugés litigieux (huit ont été classés en janvier), l’enquête se poursuit.

      Sur la base des informations qui lui ont été livrées, le groupe de travail, composé de représentants de diverses institutions européennes et d’Etats membres, formule quelques recommandations qui peuvent être lues comme des critiques implicites du fonctionnement actuel de Frontex. Il prône ainsi une amélioration des rapports et de la surveillance des missions, une utilisation systématique de la vidéo, la recension de toute possible violation des droits humains et la suspension de l’aide apportée aux pays qui ne les respecteraient pas.
      Situations douteuses

      Pour le reste, la liste des « incidents » qui se seraient déroulés entre le 18 avril et le 21 octobre 2020 ne mentionne que les soupçons, parfois lourds mais jugés insuffisants, qui pèsent plutôt, en réalité, sur les gardes-côtes grecs et la marine turque, qui agissent aux limites des eaux territoriales des deux pays. Embarcations chassées, menacées, remorquées : dans certains cas, un navire suédois ou un avion danois mis à la disposition de l’agence ont recensé des situations douteuses, mais le groupe de travail conclut qu’il semble « impossible de les élucider entièrement ». D’autant que ce sont les autorités nationales qui assurent le commandement des opérations.

      Le rapport tient à souligner cependant l’importance de la mission de Frontex, présentée comme la « principale garantie de frontières solides et protégées ». Il y est rappelé aussi que, grâce aux interventions de Frontex, 28 000 personnes ont été sauvées en 2019 et près de 3 000 en 2020, tandis que 10 433 illégaux et 84 trafiquants étaient arrêtés. A propos des incidents considérés comme des « pushbacks » par des journalistes et des ONG, le document invite à considérer qu’aucun décès, aucune disparition et aucune blessure n’y seraient liés.

      Fabrice Leggeri, le directeur exécutif de l’agence, qui doit être entendu jeudi 4 mars par un comité spécial du Parlement européen, pourra se prévaloir de ces conclusions face aux diverses accusations dont il faitl’objet. L’Office de lutte antifraude (OLAF) et la médiatrice de l’Union européenne enquêtent aussi sur la gestion de l’agence, basée à Varsovie, tandis que la commissaire européenne aux affaires intérieures, Ylva Johansson, a réclamé toutes les explications sur l’action en mer Egée.
      Action de la Turquie

      M. Leggeri soulignera sans doute, jeudi, qu’il espère obtenir de la Commission qu’elle lui indique les lignes directrices précises qu’il doit suivre en ce qui concerne, notamment, l’action de la Turquie. Dans les considérations qu’il a formulées à destination du groupe de travail de son conseil d’administration, il rappelle d’ailleurs que les autorités d’Ankara entendent utiliser la migration comme un « levier politique » et il souligne que la Grèce se dit soumise aux « menaces hybrides » du régime turc.

      Soutenu entre autres par la droite française au Parlement, le directeur de Frontex transforme ainsi le débat sur le rôle humanitaire de son agence en une question géostratégique, et il incite la Commission à se positionner par rapport à l’encombrant partenaire avec lequel elle a signé, en 2016, un accord visant à réduire les flux migratoires vers l’Europe.

      Pendant ce temps, la Ligue hellénique des droits de l’homme, l’ONG Legal Centre Lesvos et l’organisation juridique Front-Lex demandent à Frontex « de suspendre immédiatement ou de cesser » ses activités en mer Egée, sous peine d’une action devant la justice européenne. Legal Centre Lesvos aurait documenté, depuis mars 2020, 17 refoulements de plus de 50 migrants entre la Grèce et la Turquie. L’ONG estime aussi que l’agence a enfreint le droit européen et violé la convention de Genève de 1951 relative aux droits des réfugiés.

      Frontex est aussi taxée de complicité dans la « détention sommaire de migrants sur les îles de la mer Egée dans des ports, des bus, des navires, des plages où l’accès aux procédures d’asile leur a été refusé ». Le 12 février, l’ONG allemande Mare Liberum faisait état, pour sa part, d’une « escalade inédite » des refoulements de migrants en mer Egée impliquant Frontex en 2020.

      https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/03/03/un-rapport-d-enquete-interne-peu-concluant-sur-le-role-de-frontex-dans-des-r

    • Le patron de Frontex se défend devant les eurodéputés, Bruxelles maintient la pression

      Le patron de Frontex a souligné jeudi devant des eurodéputés qu’aucune « preuve » d’une implication de l’agence de surveillance des frontières de l’UE dans des refoulements illégaux de migrants n’avait été établie par une enquête, mais Bruxelles a réitéré ses critiques.

      Le patron de Frontex a souligné jeudi devant des eurodéputés qu’aucune « preuve » d’une implication de l’agence de surveillance des frontières de l’UE dans des refoulements illégaux de migrants n’avait été établie par une enquête, mais Bruxelles a réitéré ses critiques.

      Ce rapport interne, qui doit être examiné vendredi par le conseil d’administration de Frontex et consulté mercredi par l’AFP, n’a pas permis de « clarifier complètement » les circonstances de plusieurs incidents au cours desquels des refoulements de migrants auraient eu lieu. Il préconise d’ailleurs d’améliorer le système de signalement et de surveillance des missions de l’agence.

      « Il n’y a pas eu de faits étayés ou prouvés pour aboutir à la conclusion que Frontex aurait participé ou se serait livrée à des violations des droits fondamentaux », a déclaré son directeur exécutif, Fabrice Leggeri, devant un groupe d’eurodéputés qui a ouvert sa propre enquête sur ces incidents.

      L’agence est montrée du doigt depuis la publication en octobre 2020 d’une enquête de plusieurs médias l’accusant d’être impliquée avec les garde-côtes grecs dans des incidents de refoulement de bateaux de migrants à la frontière entre la Grèce et la Turquie.

      Ces accusations ont également entraîné une enquête du gendarme européen antifraude, l’Olaf, ainsi que de la médiatrice de l’UE.

      La Commission européenne, membre du conseil d’administration de Frontex aux côtés des 27 Etats membres, s’est montrée critique sur la gestion de l’agence, fustigeant notamment la lenteur du recrutement des officiers chargés de surveiller le respect des droits fondamentaux et des agents devant constituer le nouveau contingent permanent.

      Créée en 2004, Frontex a vu son mandat renforcé en 2019. Elle doit se doter d’agents en uniforme et armés, employés directement par l’agence, et non plus mis à disposition provisoirement par les Etats membres.

      Le directeur exécutif a notamment dit qu’un officier et 40 « moniteurs » chargés de veiller au respect des droits fondamentaux étaient en cours de recrutement et que 300 officiers du contingent permanent étaient déployés sur le terrain ou allaient l’être la semaine prochaine.

      La commissaire européenne aux Affaires intérieures Ylva Johansson a toutefois souligné que 700 officiers auraient dû être déployés en janvier.

      Elle a aussi estimé que les « clarifications » sur les accusations de refoulements n’avaient que « trop tardé », et que ce délai n’était « pas bon pour la réputation et la confiance » dans Frontex.

      « Une agence de première classe a besoin d’une gouvernance de première classe », a-t-elle poursuivi, se réjouissant toutefois d’« entendre que beaucoup de choses sont en train d’être réglées ».

      Si des eurodéputés à gauche ont demandé la démission de Fabrice Leggeri, la droite française au Parlement européen a quant à elle pris la défense du patron de Frontex.

      Dans une lettre adressée le 26 février à la responsable suédoise, le président de la délégation française du groupe PPE (droite) François-Xavier Bellamy lui a demandé des « justifications solides et vérifiées » à ses « accusations », dénonçant une « tentative de déstabilisation » du chef de Frontex et « un procès politique ».

      https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/fil-dactualites/040321/le-patron-de-frontex-se-defend-devant-les-eurodeputes-bruxelles-maintient-

    • Greece accused of ‘shocking’ illegal pushback against refugees at sea

      Lawsuit filed at European court of human rights says group were abandoned in life rafts after some were beaten.

      A lawsuit filed against the Greek state at the European court of human rights accuses Athens of a shocking level of violence in sophisticated inter-agency operations that form part of an illegal pushback strategy to stop the arrival of refugees and migrants.

      The suit, filed by the NGO Legal Centre Lesvos, centres on an incident in October last year in which a fishing boat set off from Marmaris in Turkey for Italy carrying about 200 people, including 40 children and a pregnant woman. The boat ran into difficulty in a storm off the south coast of Crete, leading the captain to radio for assistance.

      The legal case claims that in an operation of unprecedented size and sophistication, instead of helping the stranded people onboard, a Greek search and rescue vessel and two small patrol boats stalled the smuggler’s boat for five hours until speedboats carrying masked commandos arrived. Several passengers claim they were beaten in the ensuing incident.

      Those onboard were separated into two groups and taken to two large coastguard boats, where armed crews of between 10 and 15 men, most wearing balaclavas, searched them and confiscated belongings including phones, passports and money.

      The passengers were then reportedly forced on to several small life rafts, towed back to Turkish waters and abandoned at sea without food, water, life jackets or any means to call for help. By the time they were picked up by the Turkish coastguard, their ordeal had lasted more than 24 hours.

      “It was like watching a movie. The men from the speedboats jumped onboard screaming and shouting, they all had guns and knives and were wearing black and masks,” said Mahmoud, a witness from Syria whose name has been changed.

      “They began beating people with batons, looking for the captain. They punched me in the face and broke my glasses … I understand they don’t want us, but you could send us back to Turkey without the need for violence. When they cut us loose on the rafts we all thought we were going to die,” he said.

      The lawsuit claims the practice of “pushbacks” has become standard for the Greek coastguard since March 2020, when Turkey, in an effort to pressure the EU, told its 4 million registered refugees that it would no longer stop them trying to reach Europe as per a 2016 deal between Ankara and Brussels.

      Athens reacted by temporarily halting all new asylum applications and allegedly employing increasingly brutal tactics to dissuade people in Turkey from making the journey.

      Exact figures are difficult to verify, but rights groups and journalists have recorded hundreds of alleged pushback incidents over the last 12 months. In most cases, people trying to cross the Aegean have been intercepted and towed back to Turkish waters. They are then cut loose either in their own boats, after the Greek coastguard has disabled their engines, or on overcrowded life rafts.

      On several occasions people claim to have been pushed back after landing on Greek soil, and passengers have been abandoned on an uninhabited Turkish islet at least twice, according to reporting by Der Spiegel, Lighthouse Reports and the New York Times.

      In at least one case, the EU border agency, Frontex, is accused of covering up evidence of a Greek pushback operation.

      These collective expulsions, as they are known, are illegal under international law but not under Greek national law. The Guardian’s requests for comment from Greek officials went unanswered. Greece has denied illegality in the past.

      The incident in October stands out because of the reported level of violence involved and the size and scope of the operation, which would have taken hours to coordinate and involved eight Greek vessels and two dozen crew from different agencies.

      “‘Pushback’ isn’t even really the right term. It’s a decision by the authorities to deliberately abandon people at sea putting their lives at risk, with no means to call for rescue and no chance at all to claim asylum,” said Natasha Ntailiani, a Legal Centre Lesvos lawyer representing some of the survivors before the ECHR.

      “It’s a new and disturbing trend characterised by planned and systematic violence, which has increased over the last year in the Aegean region. Even search and rescue vessels and materials are now being used against migrants, which is a remarkable insight into the lengths the Greek authorities are now willing to go to.”

      Testimony from 11 complainants and dozens of pages of collaborating evidence – including geo-located pictures and video, GPS coordinates, and phone and message logs from the ship’s radio, passengers, the Alarm Phone hotline and the Greek and Turkish coastguards – painted a complete and damning picture of the new tactics, the centre said.

      The suit is the fifth LCL has filed at the ECHR in recent years to allege violations of migrant and refugee rights in Greece. Progress is slow, but the applicants hope the latest case will persuade the court that pushbacks, despite the fact they are now reportedly a systemic and regular feature of Greek border policing, are illegal.

      A decision at the court last year that Spain did not breach the rights of two men it expelled from the Melilla enclave on the basis they had tried to enter illegally “as part of a large group” sets a worrying precedent.

      In light of the judgment, Frontex has since asked the European commission if it can refuse to process individual asylum claims if people are travelling in groups, as is often the case in the Aegean.

      “I didn’t even want to go to Greece. We knew that they were harming refugees when they arrive, but it was shocking to experience the reality, which is that Europe doesn’t care at all about human rights and dignity,” said Yara from Damascus, whose name has also been changed. She said she had been traumatised by her experiences on the day the storm hit the fishing boat.

      “Despite all of that, I will still try again. I can’t build a life in Syria or Turkey,” she said.

      Mahmoud echoed Yara’s thoughts. “I got kicked out of Qatar because of the pandemic. I would rather have stayed there,” he said. “If there was a legal way to get to Europe I would take it, but there isn’t. I don’t want to make that journey again, but I will, because I have to.”

      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/26/greece-accused-of-shocking-pushback-against-refugees-at-sea

    • Grèce : refoulements illégaux en Mer Egée

      En Grèce, les « pushbacks » ou refoulements illégaux de potentiels demandeurs d’asile par les garde-côtes grecs vers les eaux turques, se sont systématisés depuis un an.

      Le gouvernement grec se félicite d’avoir réussi à tenir une de ses promesses électorales : réduire le flux de migrants.

      La pratique est en infraction avec le droit maritime et l’obligation de porter assistance aux personnes en détresse en mer, mais aussi au regard du droit européen et international dont l’article 3 de la Convention des Droits de l’Homme stipule l’interdiction du refoulement des réfugiés.

      Informés, le Haut-Commissariat aux Réfugiés de l’ONU et des commissaires européens se disent “alarmés” mais semblent jusqu’à présent bien impuissants à faire respecter le droit d’asile par Athènes. Documentés et dénoncés par des avocats et des ONG internationales, ces refoulements illégaux révèlent des pratiques cruelles et cyniques. Mais rares sont les voix en Grèce à s’élever la voix contre ces renvois aux frontières de l’Europe.

      https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/102791-000-A/grece-refoulements-illegaux-en-mer-egee
      #Samos

    • Message de Claire Rodier via la mailing-list Migreurop :

      Dans une interview au Guardian, Gil Arias Fernández, ancien directeur adjoint de Frontex a déclaré qu’il était profondément inquiet de l’atteinte à la réputation de l’agence, de sa décision d’armer les agents et de son incapacité à empêcher l’extrême droite d’infiltrer ses rangs, dans un contexte de mouvements anti-migrants en Europe.

      –—

      Frontex turning ‘blind eye’ to human rights violations, says former deputy

      The former deputy head of Europe’s border and coastguard agency has said the state of the beleaguered force “pains” him and that it is vulnerable to the “alarming” rise of populism across the continent.

      In his first interview since leaving office, #Gil_Arias_Fernández, former deputy director at Frontex and once tipped for the top post, said he was deeply worried about the agency’s damaged reputation, its decision to arm officers, and its inability to stop the far-right infiltrating its ranks, amid anti-migrant movements across Europe.

      “Weapons are not needed for Frontex operations,” he said. “They are more of a problem than a help.”

      Frontex is experiencing the most acute crisis in its 16-year history. The agency is being investigated by the European parliament over allegations of illegal pushbacks of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean and its head, Fabrice Leggeri, is facing calls to quit over allegations he misled the EU commission. Leggeri has strongly rejected allegations about the agency’s operations.

      Arias Fernández, 65, now retired, lost out on the top role to Leggeri in 2015. He admits he did not get on with Leggeri when they worked together for a year.

      “From the first moment I saw that he had a perhaps excessive eagerness to change things. Maybe it was to put his personal stamp on things,” said Arias Fernández.

      He said decisions made by one of the EU’s most powerful agencies had led to complicity in human rights violations.

      “Frontex pains me,” he said. “Especially for the staff, because they don’t deserve what they are going through. We saw the agency as an instrument to help the member states and the migrants. These events put a dent in all that effort.

      “I do not believe that the agency has proactively violated the rights of migrants, but there are reasons to believe that it has turned a blind eye.”
      Gil Arias Fernández. ‘Frontex pains me,’ he said. Photograph: Jose Bautista/Courtesy of Fundation for Causa

      In January 2015, after the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, several European politicians suggested the presence of refugees among the terrorists.

      When the media asked Frontex about any link between refugees and the Paris attack, Arias Fernández, a former police commissioner in Spain, told them there was no evidence.

      Arias Fernández believes this cost him the director’s job.

      The political pressure made the job a tough one, Arias Fernández said. “There is a lot of pressure on the part of certain states to put their people in positions of responsibility. Whether the agency is headed by a Frenchman or a Finn may determine whether there is more or less sensitivity to migration problems. The agency is independent, but ‘independent’ should be put in quotation marks because without a fluid relationship with the [European] commission, you have a hard time.

      “Operations have always been conducted unarmed and there have never been any problems. In operations where Libyan tribal clans smuggling migrants shot in the air to frighten the patrols, even there it was not considered appropriate to carry weapons. In this case, weapons are more a problem than a help. The proposal of carrying weapons came from the European Commission, which I do not know to what extent is influenced by lobbyists in Brussels.

      “There is no filter in the recruitment system. You cannot prevent people with extremist ideas from entering, unless they clearly express their position in favour of hate crimes, xenophobia and racism.”

      Arias Fernández pointed to the dearth of human rights training for Frontex officers. “But lack of information should not be used to justify certain things,” he said. “The incidents under investigation were carried out by Greek units following the instructions of their commanders.

      “When there are irregularities like this in operations, it is usually because there are instructions from the authorities responsible for coordinating the operation. The decision to turn back a boat with migrants is not taken by an officer but is an order from above.”
      A rescue boat escorts a dinghy with migrants from Afghanistan as a Frontex ship patrols off Lesbos in Greece. Photograph: Costas Baltas/Reuters

      He said he appreciated borders needed a certain level of security to know who was entering but added that immigration was vitally important for the survival of all European states.

      “I come to this conclusion because there are studies that show that if we do not resort to immigration and other incentives, the EU will have serious problems and the welfare state will be a chimera. We should learn these lessons. In the first half of the pandemic, migrants saved our bacon.

      “In Europe, movements that use populism are growing at an alarming rate, and the fight against immigrants is one of those arguments. States are excessively prudent in not touching this issue. The commission presented the new pact on migration and asylum, which contains no proposals for channelling migration through legal channels. They tried to satisfy all the blocs, Visegrád [Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia], southern states, northern states, and I fear that in the end it satisfies no one.”

      Arias Fernández said the lack of migrants being allowed into Europe would have a severe economic impact amid an ageing workforce: “Who will pay the pensions of the growing number of pensioners?”

      A Frontex spokesman denied the agency ignored migrants’ rights. “The executive director of Frontex has written several letters to the Greek authorities to address incidents that raised his concerns. Two inquiries, including one that was conducted by representatives of national authorities and the European Commission, have found no evidence of violations of human rights in Frontex operations in Greece.”

      The spokesman also denied that officers had always conducted operations while unarmed, saying: “Before this year, Frontex relied exclusively on officers provided by national authorities, who brought their own weapons to the agency’s operational activities. Today, Frontex has its own operational arm, the standing corps, whose core is made up of officers directly employed by the agency who require weapons for self-defence and to protect others.

      “Since Mr Arias left more than half-a-decade ago, Frontex has undergone a massive transformation that included a much bigger focus on cross-border crime, which means a greater chance that our officers may encounter life-threatening situations while patrolling the borders or performing other duties.”

      https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/11/frontex-turning-blind-eye-to-human-rights-violations-says-former-deputy

      #extrême_droite

    • Human Rights in Europe are at a crossroads

      It is not a ‘one-off’. It did not take place six, twelve or eighteen months ago, and now things are better.

      It was just one of 491 incidents since March 2020, in which 14,720 men, women and children have been denied their fundamental human rights by a coastguard armed with assault rifles and behaving like a sea-militia ‘defending’ Greece against innocent, unarmed, and peaceful men, women and children attempting to find safe places to live.

      In the morning of 10 June, a boat carrying 31 people travelled towards Kos. Closing in on Ag. Fokas, on the south east side of the island, the boat was approached by several vessels from the Hellenic coast guard, and forced back towards Turkey.

      If anyone is wondering what a pushback at sea looks like, this is how it’s being carried out. And it is illegal.

      https://videopress.com/v/vPX3Vme3

      This shocking, immoral and illegal practice has become ‘normal’ in the Aegean Sea. Greece carries it out without let or hindrance, while the EU seems unable or unwilling to act.

      Human Rights in Europe are at a crossroads.

      According to the Greek government and Frontex, this isn’t a pushback, but a ‘prevention of entry’.

      There are two major problems with this assessment. First, under international law, no country is allowed to ‘prevent the entry’ of men, women and children not suspected of any crime (as these people are not) and who intend to apply for asylum. Even if the people in this boat had not entered Greek waters, the Greek coastguard would have broken international law, by forcibly preventing people who wish to apply for asylum, from entering Greece.

      But in fact, secondly, these people had in fact already entered Greek water. It cannot be a ‘prevention of entry’ if people have already ‘entered’: it is a pushback. And it is absolutely illegal.

      In the video we can hear one of the officers on the Hellenic coast guard vessel ΛΣ150, say “everyone abide by the rules, because he’s filming”. It’s disturbing that this even needed to be said. First, because what would have happened had this person not had the presence of mind, and technology, to film? What would have happened then? How would the heavily-armed coastguard have responded to these innocent, unarmed people trying to exercise their fundamental human rights? Why did this coastguard, who noticed a person filming, need to advise his colleagues to abide by the law? What did he fear they would do?

      Secondly, the disturbing images we can see in this video are in fact not ‘abiding by the rules’. It appears the coastguard does not understand – or perhaps accept – the rules. This is a video of the Greek coastguard breaking the law, even as one member of the coastguard warns his colleagues not to do something even worse.

      Nor is this an isolated incident.

      It’s how the Hellenic coastguard – and in some cases also Frontex – have been operating for the last 15 months.

      We must demand that Notis Mitarachis, and Fabrice Leggeri, are held to account for their continued, immoral, unacceptable, and illegal activity in the Aegean Sea. We must demand that the EU – or if, as increasingly seems to be the case, the EU is unwilling – the wider international community takes legal action, now, to prevent the Greek coastguard, the Greek government, Frontex and the EU, breaking international law, and shaming the whole of Europe in the process.

      None of this is acceptable. None of it is even beneficial to either Greece or the EU.

      The time to stop this is now. The time to act is now. The EU can and must act. If it refuses, it is time for the international court to prosecute Mitarachis, Nea Dimokratia, Leggeri, Frontex, and the European Commission. Anything else is to further damage, and indeed make a laughing stock of international law, and all our human rights.

      https://aegeanboatreport.com/2021/06/28/human-rights-in-europe-are-at-a-crossroads

    • Communiqué de presse : Frontex a besoin d’une #réorganisation radicale

      Les députés du groupe de travail sur le contrôle de Frontex, sous l’égide de l’eurodéputée écologiste Tineke Strik, ont présenté aujourd’hui en commission des libertés civiles (LIBE) du Parlement européen, le rapport sur le rôle de Frontex dans le #refoulement illégal des réfugiés. Un des principaux enseignements est la nécessité d’ une réorganisation radicale de l’agence pour qu’elle respecte les droits humains.

      L’enquête menée par les eurodéputés confirme que Frontex a manqué à ses responsabilités en matière de protection des droits humains aux frontières de l’UE. L’agence avait connaissance de violations des droits fondamentaux commises dans des pays de l’UE avec lesquels elle coopère, et n’a pas réagi face à ces allégations. La direction de Frontex a sciemment ignoré les rapports des journalistes d’investigation et d’ONG, les avertissements internes du personnel et même les séquences vidéo dans lesquelles ces violations étaient visibles.

      Saskia Bricmont, députée européenne Vert/ALE, membre de la commission LIBE et responsable du rapport sur la décharge budgétaire Frontex, déclare :

      “En ne faisant pas respecter les droits fondamentaux aux frontières de l’UE, Frontex a failli à son devoir. L’agence a besoin d’une réorganisation radicale. Je salue le travail d’enquête mené par mes collègues : il est essentiel d’identifier les lacunes et les fautes afin d’y remédier au plus vite.”

      “Le rapport dévoile que Frontex était non seulement conscient des violations des droits fondamentaux, mais n’a de surcroît pas réagi de manière appropriée face à son obligation de prévenir les violations des droits humains. En dépit des différents signaux d’alerte provenant d’acteurs internes et externes, l’agence a fait preuve d’inactivité manifeste, voire de réticence à agir. Nous sommes particulièrement préoccupés par le respect des normes en matière de droits humains dans les opérations menées en Grèce et en Hongrie. Nous demandons au directeur exécutif de suspendre immédiatement les opérations en Hongrie et d’évaluer les opérations en Grèce.”

      “Il existe des signes clairs de mauvaise gestion : les rapports internes faisant état de violations des droits fondamentaux ont été ignorés, le recrutement des agents spécialisés dans les droits fondamentaux a été retardé et reste incomplet. Nous ne croyons pas en la capacité de l’actuel directeur exécutif, Fabrice Leggeri, à résoudre les problèmes que nous avons exposés. M. Leggeri a induit le Parlement européen en erreur à plusieurs reprises et a encouragé une culture d’impunité, tout en continuant à nier l’existence des refoulements illégaux.”

      “Notre rapport exhorte le Conseil d’administration de Frontex à reconsidérer la position de M. Leggeri et de l’ensemble de la direction générale. Dans un tel contexte, la décharge budgétaire ne doit pas être octroyée à l’agence. Par ailleurs, il est temps que les États membres assument leur responsabilité commune dans la défense des valeurs européennes en matière de gestion des frontières et le respect des droits fondamentaux.”

      https://twitter.com/saskiabricmont/status/1415611092894724097

      Recommandations du #rapport :

      – Frontex ne doit effectuer des opérations conjointes qu’avec des pays qui agissent dans le plein respect des droits fondamentaux. Pour remplir cette obligation, Frontex devrait surveiller l’ensemble de la zone opérationnelle et enquêter sur tous les incidents ou autres indications de non-conformité.

      – Si un refoulement est signalé à Frontex, l’agence ne devrait pas seulement enquêter en s’appuyant sur les réponses des autorités gouvernementales, mais également vérifier les informations fournies.

      – La Commission européenne devrait conditionner le financement européen de la gestion des frontières au respect des droits fondamentaux par l’État membre concerné.

      https://saskiabricmont.eu/frontex-besoin-reorganisation-radicale
      #frontières #asile #migrations #réfugiés

      –—

      Réaction de Frontex :

      Frontex welcomes report by the Scrutiny Working Group

      Frontex welcomes the report by the Scrutiny Working Group and its conclusions which reaffirmed that there is no evidence of the Agency’s involvement in any violation of human rights.

      The agency has been working with the Parliament’s scrutiny group in an open and transparent manner, sharing information and receiving the MEPs during an online visit to Frontex. The agency remains committed to cooperating with the European Parliament.

      “I acknowledge the conclusion of Parliament’s fact-finding scrutiny and its recommendations. Frontex is a bigger, more complex organisation than a couple of years ago, so a system that was designed in the past needs to undergo further transformation. The report underlined the challenges of the Agency’s transformation in a more and more complex security environment,” said Frontex Director Fabrice Leggeri.

      “We are determined to uphold the highest standards of border control within our operations. We will look into the recommendations and see how we can implement them to further strengthen the respect of fundamental rights in all our activities,” he added.

      Frontex has completed two stages of the inquiry into last autumn’s media allegations. Both an internal inquiry and the report by a special working group appointed by the Management Board (with Commission and Member states representatives) have found no evidence of any Frontex involvement in violation of human rights.

      The agency has already taken on board many of the recommendations issued by the working group, upgraded its reporting mechanism and reinforced its operational coordination centres to improve information exchange. It will continue working towards an effective and transparent management of EU external borders in full respect of fundamental rights.

      Recent events at the European Union’s external borders have shown that Frontex is an essential assistance for Member States and the whole EU in situations of increased migratory pressure. Our security environment is increasingly volatile and complex.

      Today, Frontex has officially launched its rapid border intervention at Lithuania’s border with Belarus and deployed standing corps officers and equipment to help secure EU’s common external border.

      https://frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/news/news-release/frontex-welcomes-report-by-the-scrutiny-working-group-0AQJWY
      https://twitter.com/Frontex/status/1415654854412877824

    • EU border agency ‘has failed to protect asylum seekers’ rights’

      Author of European parliament report says Frontex agency’s director should resign or be sacked

      The EU border agency has failed to protect the human rights of asylum seekers, according to a damning European parliament report on the organisation.

      After a four-month investigation by MEPs the report’s author, Tineke Strik, told the Guardian, that Frontex “did not fulfil its human rights obligations and therefore did not address and therefore did not prevent future violations”.

      Strik, a Dutch Green MEP, wants the agency’s director, Fabrice Leggeri, to resign or be fired, but the special cross-party group of eight MEPs, spanning rightwing nationalists to the radical left, that was convened to investigate Frontex has not made that call.

      Speaking before the report was released on Thursday, Strik continued: “We should consider in the end, can we have confidence in this executive director to really implement those recommendations [in her report] and really change it into a human rights sensitive agency? My group [Green MEPs], we don’t have confidence in him any more. We think it would be sound if the management board would draw the same conclusion and start the search for a new executive director.”

      Once an obscure EU agency, Frontex has become a central pillar of EU border management. After more than a 1.2 million people sought asylum in the EU in 2015, European leaders agreed to give the Warsaw-based organisation more staff and money, a point of consensus in the often fraught EU debate on how to manage migration. By 2027, Frontex will have 10,000 border and coastguards, while its budget has already increased more than 19-fold since its creation in 2006.

      But the agency has come under growing scrutiny over its role in alleged pushbacks in the Aegean Sea, with dozens of human rights organisations calling for it to be abolished.

      Last year Frontex was accused of complicity in forcing back asylum seekers in breach of international law, after video footage emerged of one of its ships creating waves that drove back a dingy in the Aegean Sea crammed with people. That footage came through a joint investigation by Lighthouse Reports, Bellingcat, Der Spiegel, ARD and TV Asahi, which said it had found six incidents where the agency was directly involved in a pushback in the Aegean or in close proximity to one.

      The committee said they had not found “conclusive evidence” that the agency was involved in pushbacks but concluded Frontex had failed to investigate such reports promptly. “As a result, Frontex did not prevent these violations, nor reduced the risk of future fundamental rights violations,” said the report.

      Strik said it was “pretty clear that [Frontex] were at least aware of what was going on” in the Aegean Sea. The agency’s investigations were “very superficial”, she said. “They asked for a response from the [Greek] government and when the government denied [pushbacks] the case was closed.”

      She said Frontex’s modus operandi was to rely on the word of the EU member state it was working with. “They end up asking the government, the host member state, and they almost always accept this response. Our conclusion is that Frontex did not fulfil its human rights obligations and therefore did not address and therefore did not prevent future violations.”

      The agency had repeatedly failed to respond to reports of rights violations from inside the organisation and external organisations, the MEPs said.

      The blame is placed largely on Leggeri, a former senior official in France’s interior ministry in charge of illegal migration, who has been the agency’s executive director since 2015. He has been singled out for criticism for shoring up his own power base within the agency, while failing to recruit all 40 fundamental rights monitors as required by EU law.

      MEPs found that Leggeri had appointed 63 staff to his private office, a number that far exceeds the average. By contrast, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has 30 staff in her private office. “We contrast that in the way he acts with the monitors, only delaying and undermining, yet he provides for an amazing number of staff measures for his own cabinet,” Strik said.

      The MEPs concluded that Leggeri had delayed the recruitment of three executive directors required under EU law that might have checked his power.

      “That results in a complete lack of checks and balances within the organisation and of course we blame the executive director for that, but also the management board because the management board is overall responsible for good governance in the organisation,” Strik said.

      EU member states, she said, needed to make sure their representatives on the Frontex management board had the required expertise in fundamental rights and a direct line to ministers.

      “One of the problems,” she said, was that Frontex was conceived as a security rather than a rights organisation. EU member states found the agency reassuring: “[They] talk about threats at the border. They always call for Frontex. Maybe as reassurance for their own population, ‘we have secured your borders and we have made you safe’.”

      She said there was a perception inside and outside the agency that upholding human rights was in conflict with border control. “Some of the actors still perceive that when you start acting on fundamental rights, then you become less effective on border control … [Frontex] needs to do both and it’s possible to do both at the same time, so it’s a non-discussion actually.”

      The Guardian has contacted Frontex for a response to the European parliament’s report. The agency has always denied any involvement or knowledge of illegal pushbacks.

      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/15/eu-border-agency-has-failed-to-protect-asylum-seekers-rights

    • Frontex wusste von Menschenrechtsverletzungen – und tat nichts

      Monatelang haben EU-Parlamentarierinnen und Parlamentarier SPIEGEL-Enthüllungen zu illegalen Pushbacks von Flüchtlingen in der Ägäis untersucht. Der Bericht ist eine Abrechnung mit Frontex-Direktor Leggeri – er soll belastendes Material vernichtet haben.

      Monatelang haben EU-Parlamentarierinnen und Parlamentarier SPIEGEL-Enthüllungen zu illegalen Pushbacks von Flüchtlingen in der Ägäis untersucht. Der Bericht ist eine Abrechnung mit Frontex-Direktor Leggeri – er soll belastendes Material vernichtet haben.

      Der europäischen Grenzschutzagentur Frontex lagen Beweise für mutmaßlich illegale Pushbacks durch griechische Grenzschützer vor, die Agentur hat es jedoch »versäumt, die Grundrechtsverletzungen anzusprechen und zu verhindern«. Das ist das Ergebnis einer monatelangen Untersuchung des Europaparlaments.

      Eine Prüfgruppe unter Beteiligung aller Fraktionen hat untersucht, was Frontex von den illegalen Pushbacks von Flüchtlingsbooten in der Ägäis wusste – und ob Frontex-Chef Fabrice Leggeri angemessen auf die Rechtsbrüche reagiert hat. Der Bericht der Arbeitsgruppe, den der SPIEGEL vorab einsehen konnte, liest sich wie eine Abrechnung mit Leggeri. Er zeichnet das Bild eines Direktors, der sich für die Einhaltung von Menschenrechten an den EU-Außengrenzen kaum interessiert und alles tut, um Verstöße zu vertuschen. Auf 17 Seiten listen die Abgeordneten seine Verfehlungen auf.

      Leggeri ignorierte sämtliche Hinweise

      Frontex habe öffentliche Berichte über Menschenrechtsverletzungen an den EU-Grenzen generell abgetan, heißt es im Report. Auch auf interne Informationen über mutmaßliche Rechtsbrüche habe die Agentur nicht angemessen reagiert. Leggeri ignoriere die Stellungnahmen und Anfragen seiner Grundrechtsbeauftragten und des sogenannten Konsultativforums. Diese sollen eigentlich dafür sorgen, dass die Agentur die Rechte von Asylsuchenden achtet.

      Trotz zahlreicher Berichte über mutmaßliche Rechtsbrüche in der Ägäis habe Leggeri nie umfassend erwogen, den Frontex-Einsatz zu beenden, oder überlegt, wie er die Menschenrechtsverletzungen verhindern könne. »Im Gegenteil, der Exekutivdirektor behauptet weiterhin, dass ihm keine Informationen über Grundrechtsverletzungen bekannt sind«, schreiben die Parlamentarierinnen und Parlamentarier.

      Darüber hinaus habe Leggeri das Parlament lange Zeit nicht angemessen informiert. Bei seinen Auftritten im Ausschuss habe der Frontex-Direktor Informationen über einzelne Pushbacks verschwiegen. In mehreren Fällen seien Grenzbeamte davon abgebracht worden, Rechtsbrüche mittels eines sogenannten »Serious Incident Reports« an die Frontex-Führung zu melden. Selbst die Einstellung von 40 Grundrechtsbeobachtern, die die Grenzbeamten kontrollieren sollen, habe Leggeri erheblich verzögert. Sie seien noch immer nicht vollständig rekrutiert.

      Frontex machte sich bei Menschenrechtsverletzungen zum Komplizen

      Die Untersuchung des Europaparlaments ist eine Reaktion auf Enthüllungen des SPIEGEL. Gemeinsame Recherchen mit den Medienorganisationen Lighthouse Reports, Bellingcat und dem ARD-Magazin »Report Mainz« zeigten, dass Frontex in der Ägäis in illegale Pushbacks verwickelt ist und sich bei griechischen Menschenrechtsverletzungen zum Komplizen gemacht hatte.

      Frontex-Beamte, darunter auch deutsche Bundespolizisten, stoppen in der Ägäis Flüchtlingsboote, bevor sie die griechischen Inseln erreichen, und übergeben sie an die griechische Küstenwache. Die Grenzschützer setzen die Geflüchteten anschließend systematisch auf dem Meer aus – entweder auf aufblasbaren Rettungsflößen oder auf Schlauchbooten, in denen sie den Motor entfernt haben. So stellen sie sicher, dass die Flüchtlinge nicht erneut griechische Gewässer erreichen können. Oft wenden die griechischen Beamten bei den Aktionen Gewalt an, stechen auf die Schlauchboote ein oder schießen ins Wasser. Bei mindestens sieben Fällen waren Frontex-Einheiten bei solchen Pushbacks in der Nähe oder in sie verstrickt.

      Pushbacks im Mittelmeer: Wie Frontex in Verbrechen verstrickt ist

      Griechische Grenzschützer schleppen Flüchtlinge systematisch aufs offene Meer zurück. Recherchen des SPIEGEL und seiner Partner zeigen, wie Frontex in die illegalen Operationen verwickelt ist. Sehen Sie hier den Film.

      In der Nacht vom 18. auf den 19. April zeichnete Frontex aus der Luft auf, wie die griechische Küstenwache Flüchtlinge auf ein Boot ohne Motor setzte und wegfuhr – ein klarer Rechtsverstoß, der die Menschen in Lebensgefahr brachte. Die Aufarbeitung des Pushbacks vom 18. April übernahm Leggeri persönlich. Dem Parlament verschwieg er den Pushback zunächst. Stattdessen stufte er den Vorfall nachträglich so ein, dass die Grundrechtsbeauftragte der Agentur fortan nicht mehr beteiligt war.

      Leggeri ließ offenbar belastendes Material vernichten

      Einer der brisantesten Vorwürfe im Bericht des Europaparlaments bezieht sich auf den Pushback in jener Nacht. Demnach wies Leggeri die Grundrechtsbeauftragte persönlich an, alle Informationen zu löschen, die sie zu dem Vorfall gesammelt hatte. Nach SPIEGEL-Informationen soll dies aus internen E-Mails hervorgehen, die die Abgeordneten einsehen konnten.

      https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/gefluechtete-in-griechenland-frontex-wusste-von-menschenrechtsverletzungen-u

  • Hidden infrastructures of the European border regime : the #Poros detention facility in Evros, Greece

    This blog post and the research it draws on date before the onset of the current border spectacle in Evros of February/March 2020. Obviously, the situation in Evros region has changed dramatically. Our research however underlines that the Greek state has always resorted to extra-legal methods of border and migration control in the Evros region. Particularly the violent and illegal pushback practices which have persisted for decades in Evros region have now been elevated to official government policy.

    The region of Evros at the Greek-Turkish border was the scene of many changes in the European and Greek border regimes since 2010. The most well-known was the deployment of the Frontex RABIT force in October of that year; while it concluded in 2011, Frontex has had a permanent presence in Evros ever since. In 2011, the then government introduced the ‘Integrated Program for Border Management and Combating Illegal Immigration’ (European Migration Network, 2012), which reflected EU and domestic processes of the Europeanisation of border controls (European Migration Network, 2012; Ilias et al., 2019). The program stipulated a number of measures which impacted the border regime in Evros: the construction of a 12.5km fence along the section of the Greek Turkish border which did not coincide with the Evros river (after which the region takes its name); the expansion of border surveillance technologies and capacities in the area; and the establishment of reception centres where screening procedures would be undertaken (European Migration Network, 2012; Ilias et al., 2019). In this context, one of the measures taken was the establishment of a screening centre in South Evros, near the village of Poros, 46km away from the city of Alexandroupoli – the main urban centre in the area.

    The operation of the Centre for the First Management of Illegal Immigration is documented in Greek (Ministry for Public Order and Citizen Protection, 2013a) and EU official documents (European Parliament, 2012; European Migration Network, 2013), reports by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (2011), NGOs (Pro Asyl, 2012) and activists (CloseTheCamps, 2012), media articles (To Vima, 2012) and research (Düvell, 2012; Schaub, 2013) between 2011 and 2015.

    Yet, during our fieldwork in the area in 2018, none of our respondents mentioned it. Nor could we find any recent research, reports or official documents after 2015 referring to it. It was only a tip from someone we collaborate with that reminded us of the existence of the Poros facility. We found its ‘disappearance’ from public view intriguing. Through fieldwork, document analysis and queries to the Greek authorities, we constructed a genealogy of the Poros centre, from its inception in 2011 to its ambivalent present. Our findings not only highlight the shifting nature of local assemblages of the European border regime, but also raise questions on such ‘hidden’ infrastructures, and the implications of their use for the rights of the people who cross the border.

    A genealogy of Poros

    The Poros centre was originally a military facility, used for border surveillance. In 2012, it was transferred to the Hellenic Police, the civilian authority responsible for migration control and border management, and was formally designated a Centre for the First Management of Illegal Immigration, similar to the more well-known First Reception Centre in Fylakio, in North Evros. The refurbishment and expansion of the old facilities and purchase of necessary equipment were financed through the External borders fund of the European Union (Alexandroupoli Police Directorate, 2011). Visits by the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström (To Vima, 2012), the then executive director of Frontex, Ilkka Laitinen (Ministry for Public Order and Citizen Protection, 2013b), and a delegation of the LIBE committee of the European Parliament (2012) illustrated the embeddedness of the centre in the European border regime. The Commission’s report on the implementation of the Greek National Action Plan on Migration Management and Asylum Reform specifically refers the Poros centre as a facility that could be used for screening procedures and vulnerability assessments (European Commission, 2012).

    The Poros facility was indeed used as a screening and identification centre, activities that fell under both border management and the Greek framework for reception procedures introduced in 2011. While official documents of the Greek Government suggest that the centre started operating in 2012 (Council of Europe, 2012), a media article (Alexandroupoli Online, 2011) and a report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (2011) provide evidence that it was already operational the year before, as an informal reception centre. When the centre became the main screening facility for South Evros in 2012 (European Parliament, 2012), screening, identification and debriefing procedures at the time were carried out both by Hellenic Police personnel and Frontex officers deployed in the area (Council of Europe, 2012).

    One of the very few research sources referring to Poros, a PhD thesis by Laurence Pillant (2017) provides a detailed description of the space and the activities carried out in the old wooden building and the white containers (image 3), visible in the stills from the video we took in December 2020 (image 4). A mission of Medecins sans frontiers, indicated in Pillant’s diagram, provided health screening in 2012 (European Migration Network, 2013).

    The organisation and function of the centre at the time is also documented in a number of mundane administrative acts which we located through diavgeia.gov.gr, a website storing Greek public administration decisions. Containers were bought to create space for the screening and identification procedures (Regional Police Directorate of Macedonia and Thrace, 2012). A local company was awarded contracts for the cleaning of the facilities (Regional Police Directorate of Macedonia and Thrace, 2013). The last administrative documents we were able to locate concerned the establishment of a committee of local police officers to procure services for emptying the cesspit of the centre (Regional Police Directorate of Macedonia and Thrace, 2015) – not all buildings in the area are linked to the local sewage system. This is the point when the administrative trail for Poros goes cold. No documents were found in diavgeia.gov.gr after January 2015.

    So what happened to the Poros Centre?

    After 2015, we found a mere five online references to the centre, despite extensive searches of sources such as official documents, research or reports by human rights bodies and NGOs. A 2016 newspaper article mentioned that arrested migrants were led there for screening (Ta Nea, 2016). A 2018 article in a local online news outlet mentioned a case of malaria in the village of Poros (Evros News, 2018a), while in another article (Evros News, 2018b), the president of the village council blamed a case of malaria in the village on the lack of health screening in the centre. An account of activities of the municipal council of Alexandroupoli referred to fixing an electrical fault in the centre in May 2019 (Municipality of Alexandroupoli, 2019). Τhe Global Detention Project (2019) also refers to Poros as a likely detention place.

    These sources suggested that the centre might be operational in some capacity, yet they raised more questions than they answered. If the centre has been in operation since 2015, why is there such an absence of official sources referring to it? Equally surprising was the absence of administrative acts related to the Poros centre in diavgeia.gov.gr, in contrast to all other facilities in the area where migrants are detained, such as the Fylakio Reception and Identification Centre and the pre-removal centres and police stations. It was conceivable, of course, that the centre fell into disuse. Since the deployment of Frontex and the border control measures taken under the Integrated Plan, entries through the Greek-Turkish land border decreased significantly – from 54,974 in 2011 to 3,784 in 2016 (Hellenic Police, 2020), and screening procedures were transferred to Fylakio, fully operational since 2013 (Reception and Identification Service, 2020).

    Trying to find answers to our questions, we contacted the Hellenic Police. An email we sent in January 2020 was never answered. In early February, following a series of phone calls, we obtained some answers to our questions. The police officer who answered the phone call did not seem to have heard of the centre and wanted to ask other departments for more information, as well as the First Reception and Identification Service, now responsible for screening procedures. The next day, he said it is occasionally used as a detention facility, when there is a high number of apprehended people that cannot be detained in police cells. According to the police officer, they are detained there for one or two days, until they can be transferred to the Reception and Identification Centre of Fylakio for reception procedures, or detention in the pre-removal detention centre adjacent to it. At the same time, he stated that he was told that Poros has been closed for a long time.

    This contradictory information could be down to the distance between the central police directorate in Athens and the area of Evros – it is not unlikely that local arrangements are not known in the central offices. Yet, it was also at odds both with the description of the use of the centre that our informant himself gave us – using the present tense in Greek –, with what the local media articles suggest, and with what we saw on site. Stills from the video taken during fieldwork in December 2020 suggest that the Poros centre is not disused, although no activity could be observed on the day. The cars and vans parked outside did not seem abandoned or rusting. The main building and the containers appeared to be in a good condition. A bright red cloth, maybe a canvas bag, was hanging outside one of them. The rubbish bins were full, but the black bags and other objects in them did not seem as they have been left in the open for a long time (image 4).

    The police officer also asked, however, how we had heard of Poros – a question that alerted us to both the obscure nature of the facility and the sensitivity of our query.
    A hidden infrastructure of pushbacks?

    The Poros centre, at one level, illustrates how the function of such border facilities can change over time, as the local border regime adapts and responds to migratory movements. Fylakio has become the main reception and detention centre in Evros, and between 2015 and 2017, the Aegean islands became the main point of entry into Greece and the European Union. Yet, our findings raised a lot of significant questions regarding the new function of Poros, given the increase in migratory movements in the area since 2018.

    While we obtained official confirmation that the Poros centre is now used for temporary detention and not screening, it remains the case that there are no official documents – including any administrative acts on diavgeia.gov.gr – that confirm its use as a temporary closed detention centre. Equally, we did not manage to obtain any information about how the facility is funded from the Hellenic Police. Our respondent did not know, and another departments we called did not want to share any information about the centre. It also became evident in the course of our research that most of our contacts in Greece – NGOS and journalists – had never heard of the facility or had no recent information about it. We found no evidence to suggest that Greek and European human rights bodies or NGOs which monitor detention facilities have visited the Poros centre after 2015. A mission of the Council of Europe (2019), for example, visited several detention facilities in Evros in April 2018 but the Poros centre was not listed among them. Similarly, the Fundamental Rights Officer of Frontex, in a partly joined mission with the Fundamental Rights Agency, visited detention facilities in South Evros in 2019, the operational area where the Poros centre is located. However, the centre is not mentioned in the report on that visit (Frontex, 2019).

    The dearth of information and absence of monitoring of the facility means that it is unclear whether the facility provides adequate conditions for detention. While our Hellenic police informant stated that detention there lasts for one or two days, there is no outside gate at the Poros centre, just a rather flimsy looking wire fence. Does this mean that detainees are kept inside the main building or containers the whole time they are detained there? We also do not know if detainees have access to phones, legal assistance or healthcare, which the articles in the local press suggest that is absent from the Poros centre. Equally, in the absence of inspections by human rights bodies, we are unaware of the standards of hygiene inside the facilities, or if there is sufficient food available. Administrative acts archived in diavgeia.gov.gr normally offer some answers to such questions but, as we mentioned above, we could find none. In short, it appears that Poros is used as an informal detention centre, hidden from public view.

    The obscurity surrounding the facility, in the context of the local border regime, is extremely worrying. Many NGOs and journalists have documented widespread pushback practices (Arsis et al., 2018; Greek Council for Refugees, 2018; Koçulu, 2019), evidenced through migrant testimonies (Mobile Info Team 2019) and, more recently, videos (Forensic Architecture, 2019a; 2019b). Despite denials by the Hellenic Police and the Greek government, European and international international human rights bodies (Council of Europe, 2019; Committee Against torture 2019) have accepted these testimonies as credible. We have no firm evidence that the Poros facility may be one of the many ‘informal’ detention places migrant testimonies implicated in pushbacks. Yet, the centre is located no further than two kilometres from the Greek-Turkish border, and the layout of the area is similar to the location of a pushback captured on camera and analysed by Forensic Architecture (2019a): near a dirt road with direct access to the Evros River. Black cars and white vans (images 5 and 6), without police insignia and some without number plates, such as those in the Poros centre, have been mentioned in testimonies of pushbacks (Arsis et al., 2018). Objects looking like inflatable boats are visible in our video stills. While there might be other explanations for their presence (used for patrolling the river or confiscated from migrants crossing the river) they are also used during pushbacks operations, and their presence in a detention centre seems odd.

    These uncertainties, and the tendency of security bodies to avoid revealing information on spaces of detention, are not unusual. However, the obscurity surrounding the Poros centre, located in an area of the European border where detention have long attracted criticism and there is considerable evidence of illegal and violent border control practices, should be a concern for all.

    https://www.respondmigration.com/blog-1/border-regime-poros-detention-facility-evros-greece
    #Evros #détention #rétention #détention_administrative #Grèce #refoulement #push-back #push-backs #invisibilité #invisibilisation #Centre_for_the_First_Management_of_Illegal_Immigration #Fylakio #Frontex

    Ce centre, selon ce que le chercheur·es écrivent, est ouvert depuis 2012... or... pas entendu parler de lui avec @albertocampiphoto quand on a été sur place... alors qu’on a vraiment sillonnée la (relativement petite) région pendant 1 mois !

    Donc pas mention de ce centre dans la #carte qu’on a publiée notamment sur @visionscarto :


    https://visionscarto.net/evros-mur-inutile

    ping @reka @karine4

    • En fait, en regardant mieux « notre » carte je me rends compte que peut-être le centre que nous avons identifié comme « #Feres » est en réalité le centre que les auteur·es appellent Poros... les deux localités sont à moins de 5 km l’une de l’autre.
      J’ai écrit aux auteur·es...

      Réponse de Bernd Kasparek, 12.03.2020 :

      Since we have been in front of Poros detention centre, we are certain that it is a distinct entity from the Feres police station, which, as you rightly observe, is also often implicated in reports about push-backs.

      Réponse de Lena Karamanidou le 13.03.2020 :

      Feres is located here: https://goo.gl/maps/gQn15Hdfwo4f3cno6​ , and it’s a much more modern facility (see photo, complete with ubiquitous military van!). However, ​I’m not entirely certain when the new Feres station was built - I think there was an older police station, but then both police and border guard functions were transfered to the new building. Something for me to check in obscure news items and databases!

    • ‘We Are Like Animals’ : Inside Greece’s Secret Site for Migrants

      The extrajudicial center is one of several tactics Greece is using to prevent a repeat of the 2015 migration crisis.


      The Greek government is detaining migrants incommunicado at a secret extrajudicial location before expelling them to Turkey without due process, one of several hard-line measures taken to seal the borders to Europe that experts say violate international law.

      Several migrants said in interviews that they had been captured, stripped of their belongings, beaten and expelled from Greece without being given a chance to claim asylum or speak to a lawyer, in an illegal process known as refoulement. Meanwhile, Turkish officials said that at least three migrants had been shot and killed while trying to enter Greece in the past two weeks.

      The Greek approach is the starkest example of European efforts to prevent a reprise of the 2015 migration crisis in which more than 850,000 undocumented people passed relatively easily through Greece to other parts of Europe, roiling the Continent’s politics and fueling the rise of the far right.

      If thousands more refugees reach Greece, Greek officials fear being left to care for them for years, with little support from other members in the European Union, exacerbating social tensions and further fraying a strained economy. Tens of thousands of migrants already live in squalor on several Greek islands, and many Greeks feel they have been left to shoulder a burden created by wider European indifference.

      The Greek government has defended its actions as a legitimate response to recent provocations by the Turkish authorities, who have transported thousands of migrants to the Greek-Turkish border since late February and have encouraged some to charge and dismantle a border fence.

      The Greek authorities have denied reports of deaths along the border. A spokesman for the Greek government, Stelios Petsas, did not comment on the existence of the site, but said that Greece detained and expelled migrants in accordance with local law. An act passed March 3, by presidential decree, suspended asylum applications for a month and allowed immediate deportations.

      But through a combination of on-the-ground reporting and forensic analysis of satellite imagery, The Times has confirmed the existence of the secret center in northeastern Greece.

      Presented with diagrams of the site and a description of its operations, François Crépeau, a former U.N. Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, said it was the equivalent of a domestic “black site,” since detainees are kept in secret and without access to legal recourse.

      Using footage supplied to several media outlets, The Times has also established that the Greek Coast Guard, nominally a lifesaving institution, fired shots in the direction of migrants onboard a dinghy that was trying to reach Greek shores early this month, beat them with sticks and sought to repel them by driving past them at high speed, risking tipping them into water.

      Forensic analysis of videos provided by witnesses also confirmed the death of at least one person — a Syrian factory worker — after he was shot on the Greek-Turkish border.
      A Secret Site

      When Turkish officials began to bus migrants to the Greek border on Feb. 28, a Syrian Kurd named Somar al-Hussein had a seat on one of the first coaches.

      Turkey already hosts more refugees than any other country — over four million, mostly Syrians — and fears that it may be forced to admit another million because of a recent surge in fighting in northern Syria. To alleviate this pressure, and to force Europe to do more to help, it has weaponized refugees like Mr. al-Hussein by shunting them toward the Continent.

      Mr. al-Hussein, a trainee software engineer, spent that night in the rain on the bank of the Evros River, which divides western Turkey from eastern Greece. Early the next morning, he reached the Greek side in a rubber dinghy packed with other migrants.

      But his journey ended an hour later, he said in a recent interview. Captured by Greek border guards, he said, he and his group were taken to a detention site. Following the group’s journey on his mobile phone, he determined that the site was a few hundred yards east of the border village of Poros.

      The site consisted principally of three red-roofed warehouses set back from a farm road and arranged in a U-shape. Hundreds of other captured migrants waited outside. Mr. al-Hussein was taken indoors and crammed into a room with dozens of others.

      His phone was confiscated to prevent him from making calls, he said, and his requests to claim asylum and contact United Nations officials were ignored.

      “To them, we are like animals,” Mr. al-Hussein said of the Greek guards.

      After a night without food or drink, on March 1 Mr. al-Hussein and dozens of others were driven back to the Evros River, where Greek police officers ferried them back to the Turkish side in a small speedboat.

      Mr. al-Hussein was one of several migrants to provide similar accounts of extrajudicial detentions and expulsions, but his testimony was the most detailed.

      By cross-referencing drawings, descriptions and satellite coordinates that he provided, The Times was able to locate the detention center — in farmland between Poros and the river.

      A former Greek official familiar with police operations confirmed the existence of the site, which is not classified as a detention facility but is used informally during times of high migration flows.

      On Friday, three Times journalists were stopped at a roadblock near the site by uniformed police officers and masked special forces officers.

      The site’s existence was also later confirmed by Respond, a Sweden-based research group.

      Mr. Crépeau, now a professor of international law at McGill University, said the center represented a violation of the right to seek asylum and “the prohibition of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and of European Union law.”
      Violence at Sea

      Hundreds of miles to the south, in the straits of the Aegean Sea between the Turkish mainland and an archipelago of Greek islands, the Greek Coast Guard is also using force.

      On March 2, a Coast Guard ship violently repelled an inflatable dinghy packed with migrants, in an incident that Turkish officials captured on video, which they then distributed to the press.

      The footage shows the Coast Guard vessel and an unmarked speedboat circling the dinghy. A gunman on one boat shot at least twice into waters by the dinghy, with what appeared to be a rifle, before men from both vessels shoved and struck the dinghy with long black batons.

      It is not clear from the footage whether the man was firing live or non-lethal rounds.

      Mr. Petsas, the government spokesman, did not deny the incident, but said the Coast Guard did not fire live rounds.

      The larger Greek boat also sought to tip the migrants into the water by driving past them at high speed.
      Forensic analysis by The Times shows that the incident took place near the island of Kos after the migrants had clearly entered Greek waters.

      “The action of Greek Coast Guard ships trying to destabilize the refugees’ fragile dinghies, thus putting at risk the life and security of their passengers, is also a violation,” said Mr. Crépeau, the former United Nations official.
      A Killing on Land

      The most contested incident concerns the lethal shooting of Mohammed Yaarub, a 22-year-old Syrian from Aleppo who tried to cross Greece’s northern land border with Turkey last week.

      The Greek government has dismissed his death as “fake news” and denied that anyone has died at the border during the past week.

      An analysis of videos, coupled with interviews with witnesses, confirmed that Mr. Yaarub was killed on the morning of March 2 on the western bank of the Evros River.

      Mr. Yaarub had lived in Turkey for five years, working at a shoe factory, according to Ali Kamal, a friend who was traveling with him. The two friends crossed the Evros on the night of March 1 and camped with a large group of migrants on the western bank of the river.

      By a cartographical quirk, they were still in Turkey: Although the river mostly serves as the border between the two countries, this small patch of land is one of the few parts of the western bank that belongs to Turkey rather than Greece.

      Mr. Kamal last saw his friend alive around 7:30 a.m. the next morning, when the group began walking to the border. The two men were separated, and soon Greek security forces blocked them, according to another Syrian man who filmed the aftermath of the incident and was later interviewed by The Times. He asked to remain anonymous because he feared retribution.

      During the confrontation, Mr. Yaarub began speaking to the men who were blocking their path and held up a white shirt, saying that he came in peace, the Syrian man said.

      Shortly afterward, Mr. Yaarub was shot.

      There is no known video of the moment of impact, but several videos captured his motionless body being carried away from the Greek border and toward the river.

      Several migrants who were with Mr. Yaarub at the time of his death said a Greek security officer had shot him.

      Using video metadata and analyzing the position of the sun, The Times confirmed that he was shot around 8:30 a.m., matching a conclusion reached by Forensic Architecture, an investigative research group.

      Video shows that it took other migrants about five minutes to ferry Mr. Yaarub’s body back across the river and to a car. He was then taken to an ambulance and later a Turkish hospital.

      An analysis of other footage shot elsewhere on the border showed that Greek security forces used lethal and non-lethal ammunition in other incidents that day, likely fired from a mix of semiautomatic and assault rifles.
      E.U. Support for Greece

      Mr. Petsas, the government spokesman, defended Greece’s tough actions as a reasonable response to “an asymmetrical and hybrid attack coming from a foreign country.”

      Besides ferrying migrants to the border, the Turkish police also fired tear-gas canisters in the direction of Greek security forces and stood by as migrants dismantled part of a border fence, footage filmed by a Times journalist showed.

      Before this evidence of violence and secrecy had surfaced, Greece won praise from leaders of the European Union, who visited the border on March 3.

      “We want to express our support for all you did with your security services for the last days,” said Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, the bloc’s top decision-making body.

      The European Commission, the bloc’s administrative branch, said that it was “not in a position to confirm or deny” The Times’s findings, and called on the Greek justice system to investigate.

      https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/world/europe/greece-migrants-secret-site.html

      https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/world/europe/greece-migrants-secret-site.html

      #Mohammed_Yaarub #décès #mourir_aux_frontières

    • Grécia nega existência de centro de detenção “secreto” onde os migrantes são tratados “como animais”

      New York Times citou vários migrantes que dizem ter sido roubados e agredidos pelos guardas fronteiriços, antes de deportados para a Turquia. Erdogan compara gregos aos nazis.

      Primeiro recusou comentar, mas pouco mais de 24 horas depois o Governo da Grécia refutou totalmente a notícia do New York Times. Foi esta a sequência espaçada da reacção de Atenas ao artigo do jornal norte-americano, publicado na terça-feira, que deu conta da existência de um centro de detenção “secreto”, perto da localidade fronteiriça de Poros, onde muitos dos milhares de migrantes que vieram da Turquia, nos últimos dias, dizem ter sido roubados, despidos e agredidos, impedidos de requerer asilo ou de contactar um advogado, e deportados, logo de seguida, pelos guardas fronteiriços gregos.
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      “Para eles somos como animais”, acusou Somar al-Hussein, sírio, um dos migrantes entrevistados pelo diário nova-iorquino, que entrou na Grécia através do rio Evros e que diz ter sido alvo de tratamento abusivo no centro de detenção “secreto”.

      “Não há nenhum centro de detenção secreto na Grécia”, garantiu, no entanto, esta quarta-feira, Stelios Petsas, porta-voz do executivo grego. “Todas as questões relacionadas com a protecção e a segurança das fronteiras são transparentes. A Constituição está a ser aplicada e não há nada de secreto”, insistiu.

      Com jornalistas no terreno, impedidos de entrar no local por soldados gregos, o New York Times entrevistou diversos migrantes que dizem ter sido ali alvo de tratamento desumano, analisou imagens de satélite, informou-se junto de um centro de estudos sueco sobre migrações que opera na zona e falou com um antigo funcionário grego familiarizado com as operações policiais fronteiriças. Informação que diz ter-lhe permitido confirmar a existência do centro.

      https://www.publico.pt/2020/03/11/mundo/noticia/grecia-nega-existencia-centro-detencao-secreto-onde-migrantes-sao-tratados-a

      #paywall

    • Greece : Rights watchdogs report spike in violent push-backs on border with Turkey

      A Balkans-based network of human rights organizations says that the number of migrants pushed back from Greece into Turkey has spiked in recent weeks. The migrants allegedly reported beatings and violent collective expulsions from inland detention spaces to Turkey on boats across the Evros River.

      Greek officers “forcefully pushed [people] in the van while the policemen were kicking them with their legs and shouting at them.” Then, the migrants were detained, forced to sign untranslated documents and pushed back across the Evros River at night. Over the next few days, Turkish authorities returned them to Greece, but then they were pushed back again.

      This account from 50 Afghans, Pakistanis, Syrians and Algerians aged between 15 and 35 years near the town of Edirne at the Greek-Turkish border was one of at least seven accounts a network of Balkans-based human rights watchdogs says it received from refugees over the course of six weeks, between March and late April.

      The collection of reports (https://www.borderviolence.eu/press-release-documented-pushbacks-from-centres-on-the-greek-mainland), published last week by the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN), with help from its members Mobile Info Team (MIT) and Wave Thessaloniki, consists of “first-hand testimonies and photographic evidence” which the network says shows “violent collective expulsions” of migrants and refugees. According to the network, the number of individuals who were pushed back in groups amount to 194 people.
      https://twitter.com/mobileinfoteam/status/1257632384348020737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E12

      Without exception, according to the report, all accounts come from people staying in the refugee camp in Diavata and the Drama Paranesti pre-removal detention center. They included Afghans, Pakistanis, Algerians and Moroccans, as well as Bangladeshi, Tunisian and Syrian nationals.

      In the case of Diavata, according to the report, migrants said police took them away, telling them they would receive a document known as “Khartia” to regularize their stay temporarily. The Diavata camp is located near the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.

      Instead, the migrants were “beaten, robbed and detained before being driven to the border area where military personnel used boats to return them to Turkey across the Evros River,” they said. Another large group reported that they were taken from detention in Drama Paranesti, also located in northern Greece, some 80 kilometers from the border with Turkey, and expelled in the same way.

      While such push-backs from Greece into Turkey are not new, the network of NGOs says the latest incidents are somewhat different: “Rarely have groups been removed from inner-city camps halfway across the territory or at such a scale from inland detention spaces,” Simon Campbell of the Border Violence Monitoring Network told InfoMigrants.

      “Within the existing closure of the Greek asylum office and restriction measures due to COVID-19, the repression of asylum seekers and wider transit community looks to have reached a zenith in these cases,” Campbell said.

      Although Greece last month lifted a controversial temporary ban on asylum applications imposed in response to an influx of refugees from Turkey, all administrative services to the public by the Greek Asylum Service were suspended on March 13.

      The suspension, which the Asylum Service said serves to “control the spread of COVID-19” pandemic, will continue at least through May 15.

      https://twitter.com/GreekAsylum/status/1248651007489433600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E12

      Reports of violence and torture

      The accounts in the report by the network of NGOs describe a range of violent actions toward migrants, from electricity tasers and water immersion to beatings with batons.

      According to one account, some 50 people were taken from Diavata camp to a nearby police station, where they were ordered to lie on the ground and told to “sleep here, don’t move.” Then they were beaten with batons, while others were attacked with tasers.

      They were held overnight in a detention space near the border, and beaten further by Greek military officers. The next day, they were boated across the river to Turkey by authorities with ’military uniform, masks, guns, electric [taser].’"

      Another group reported that they were “unloaded in the dark” next to the Evros River and “ordered to strip to their underwear.” Greek authorities allegedly used batons and their fists to hit some members of the group.

      Alexandra Bogos, advocacy officer with the Mobile Info Team, told InfoMigrants they were concerned about the “leeway afforded for these push-backs from the inner mainland to take place.”

      Bogos said they reached out to police departments after they learned about the arrests, but police felt “unencumbered” and continued transporting the people to the Greek-Turkish border. “On one occasion, we reached out and asked specifically for information about one individual. The answer was: ’He does not appear in our system’,” Bogos said.

      https://twitter.com/juliahahntv/status/1246165904406261773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E12

      An Amnesty report (https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur01/2077/2020/en) from April about unlawful push-backs, beatings and arbitrary detention echoes the accusations in the report by the network of NGOs.

      History of forcible rejections

      Over the past three years, violent push-backs have been documented in several reports. Last November, German news magazine Spiegel reported that between 2017 and 2018 Greece illegally deported 60,000 migrants to Turkey. The process involved returning asylum seekers without assessing their status. Greece dismissed the accusations.

      In 2018, the Greek Refugee Council and other NGOs published a report containing testimonies from people who said they had been beaten, sometimes by masked men, and sent back to Turkey (https://www.gcr.gr/en/news/press-releases-announcements/item/1028-the-new-normality-continuous-push-backs-of-third-country-nationals-on-the-e).

      UN refugee agency UNHCR and the European Human Rights Commissioner called on Greece to investigate the claims. In late 2018, another report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), also based on testimonies of migrants, said that violent push-backs were continuing (https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/12/18/greece-violent-pushbacks-turkey-border).

      It is often unclear who is carrying out the push-backs because they often wear masks and cannot be easily identified. In the HRW report, they are described as paramilitaries. Eyewitnesses interviewed by HRW said the perpetrators “looked like police officers or soldiers, as well as some unidentified masked men.”

      Simon Campbell of the Border Violence Monitoring Network said the reports he receives also regularly describe “military uniforms,” which “suggests it is the Greek army carrying out the push-backs,” he told InfoMigrants.

      Last week, the Spiegel published an investigation into the killing of Pakistani Muhammad Gulzar (https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/greek-turkish-border-the-killing-of-muhammad-gulzar-a-7652ff68-8959-4e0d-910), who was shot at the Greek-Turkish border on March 4. “Evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the bullet came from a Greek firearm,” the authors wrote.

      Violations of EU and international law

      Push-backs are prohibited by Greek and EU law as well as international treaties and agreements. They also violate the principle of non-refoulement, which means the forcible return of a person to a country where they are likely to be subject to persecution.

      In March, Jürgen Bast, professor for European law at the University of Gießen in Germany, called the action of Greek security forces an “open breach of the law” on German TV magazine Monitor.

      Greece is not the only country accused of violating EU laws at the bloc’s external border: On top of the 100 additional border guards the European border and coast guard agency Frontex deployed to the Greek border with Turkey in March, Germany sent 77 police officers to help with border security.
      Professor Bast called Berlin’s involvement a “complete political joint responsibility” of the German government. “All member states of the European Union...including the Commission...have decided to ignore the validity of European law,” he told Monitor.

      In response to a request for comment from InfoMigrants, a spokesperson for EU border and coast guard agency Frontex would confirm neither the reports by the three NGOs nor the existence of systematic push-backs from Greece to Turkey.

      “Frontex has not received any reports of such violations from the officers involved in its activities in Greece,” the spokesperson said, adding that its officers’ job is to “support member states and to ensure the rule of law.”

      Coronavirus used as a pretext?

      On the afternoon of May 5, as the network of NGOs published their report on push-backs, police reportedly rounded up 26-year-old Pakistani national Sheraz Khan outside the Diavata refugee camp. After sending the Mobile Info Team (MIT) a message telling them “Police caught us,” he tried calling the NGO twice, but the connection failed both times.

      MIT’s Alexandra Bogos told InfoMigrants that Khan has not been heard of since and he has not returned to the camp. “We have strong reasons to believe that he may have been pushed back to Turkey,” Bogos said.

      A day later, the police arrived in the morning and “started removing tents and structures set up in an overflow area” outside the Diavata camp.

      Simon Campbell of the Border Violence Monitoring Network said the restrictive measures taken as a response to the coronavirus pandemic have been used to remove those who have crossed the border.

      “COVID-19 has been giving the Greek authorities a blank cheque to act with more impunity,” Campbell told InfoMigrants. “When Covid-19 restrictions lift, will we have already seen this more expansive push-back practice entrenched, and will it persist beyond the lockdown?”

      https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/24620/greece-rights-watchdogs-report-spike-in-violent-push-backs-on-border-w

    • Spaces of Detention at the Greek-Turkish Land Border

      Guest post by Lena Karamanidou, Bernd Kasparek and Simon Campbell. Lena Karamanidou is a researcher at the Department of Economics and Law, Glasgow Caledonian University. Her recent work has focused on the EU border agency Frontex, pushbacks and border violence at the Greek-Turkish land border. Simon Campbell is a field coordinator with the Border Violence Monitoring Network, a collective of organisations and initiatives based in South Eastern Europe documenting pushbacks and violence within state borders. Bernd Kasparek is an undisciplined cultural anthropologist, with a focus on migration and border studies, europeanisation, racism and (digital) infrastructures. His book “Europa als Grenze” (Europe as Border), an ethnography of the European border agency Frontex is forthcoming in Summer 2021.

      The local coach from Alexandroupoli to Orestiada, the two largest towns in Evros, the region of the Greek-Turkish border, passes outside two border guard stations: Tychero and Neo Cheimonio [images 1 & 2]. Their function as detention spaces is barely discernible from the road; without the Hellenic police signs and vehicles outside, the Tychero border guard station could be mistaken for the wheat warehouse it once was. The train between the two cities, though, passes behind the Tychero facility; from there you can see a gated structure at the back of the station, resembling prison railings, which may have been used as a kind of ‘outside space’ for detainees. Reports by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the Greek Council for Refugees criticised the absence of outside space and conditions of detention (described sarcastically as ‘best of the best’ by a police officer interviewed by one of the authors in 2011).

      Although the Greek government announced the closure of the Tychero station in 2013, after several critical reports on conditions of detention there, it continued to be used as a detention space. While detention facilities may be perceived as stable, permanent or at least long-term structures at the core of European border regimes, their histories in Evros suggest temporal, spatial and functional disruptions. The creation of detention facilities since the 1990s appeared to be ad hoc, reflecting the increasing significance of the area as a key entry point to the European Union and the Europeanisation of border management both nationally and locally.

      Spaces for detention were created out of existing facilities such as cells in local police stations and in border guard stations. The latter were established in 1999 - some of which are housed together with police stations, like in the towns of Feres [image 3] and Soufli, and others in separate facilities as in the villages of Tychero, Isaakio and Neo Cheimonio. While it is difficult to find specific information on their history, some detention facilities emerged early in the 2000s, for example in the village of Venna in the Rhodopi prefecture near the boundary with Evros. The Fylakio facility [image 4] was established as a detention centre in 2007 before being renamed a pre-removal centre following legal reforms in 2012. Yet, detention capacity in the area never quite met the needs imposed by the extensive use of detention as an instrument of control. Until the early 2010s, ad hoc, makeshift structures and centres were used at different times in Feres and at the villages of Dikaia, Vrissika [image 5], Elafochori [image 6] and Peplos – all now closed, as well as the one in Venna. The #Venna, #Peplos, #Vrissika, #Elafochori and #Tychero facilities, as well as the temporary Feres structure referred to in the 1999 CPT report, were all repurposed wheat warehouses, formerly property of a state agricultural agency closed down in the early 1990s.

      The facilities mentioned above are official ones. Their function can be traced in official documents – Greek, European and international - as well as in reports by NGOs and human rights organisations and research. However, they are not the only spaces where people may be detained in the area. One example of a ‘quasi-official’ place is the detention facility in Poros [image 7]. Originally a military structure that was converted into a ‘reception’ facility where screening, identification and debriefing procedures took place in 2012, by the late 2010s the centre had fallen into obscurity. From 2015 until 2020, there was little evidence of its use other than a few administrative documents and media reports, and it is unclear when its function switched from a reception to a detention facility. It was only in 2020, through research, investigations and journalism that the Poros facility became ‘known’ again, coinciding with the border spectacle in Evros that year. The government denied that the facility was ‘secret’ – ‘if the New York Times know about it, then I don’t see how such a detention centre can be a secret’, stated the government spokesman. Yet, the CPT described the facility as ‘semi-official’ and supported claims that it was used as a holding facility prior to pushbacks, given ‘the complete absence of any registration of detention’.

      To date, Poros is probably the only facility whose use as a ‘hidden’ detention centre was revealed . Testimonial evidence collected by NGOs and research organisations (for example here, here and here) suggests that detention in informal facilities prior to pushbacks may be a common practice in the area. These sites are used to hold groups captured within the footfall area of the border, but also to receive detainees transferred from across the Greek interior, from urban areas, police stations, and pre-removal detention facilities. Their aggregate role in pooling people-on-the-move prior to pushbacks to Turkey is also intimated by their bare functional layout [image 8]. Several testimonies of people who have been pushed back from Evros to Turkey refer to detention in buildings that did not appear to be police or border guard stations, and were not properly equipped with toilets, running water or beds. The holding cells recounted in these testimonies were composed of fenced yards, portacabins, warehouses, garages, and even animal pens:

      “the room did not look like a normal prison or police station but more like a stable”

      “They drove us to an old room close to the river. It was a stable. It didn’t have a proper floor, but dirt”.

      This unofficial repurposing of agrarian or semi-industrial outbuildings for detention in some senses mirrors the improvised architecture Greek authorities used to expand its official sites in Evros from the 90s onwards. Yet without the formal authorisation, nor the visual signifiers demarcating these sites, the web of new – and possibly old - unofficial detention centres are extremely difficult to locate. People detained there often do not know the exact location because of the way they are transported. Speaking to people who had likely been detained in Tychero, testimonies published by the Border Violence Monitoring Network described how “since the vehicle had no windows, the respondent could not see the building from the outside.” For researchers and investigators, geolocating these sites has become a near impossible task, not only because of the secrecy that characterises the practices of pushbacks and the risks of in situ research, but also because of multiple potential locations and a large number of buildings that could serve as informal detention facilities.

      Detention in Greece has been a core technique for governing migration, reflecting policies of illegalisation and criminalising unauthorised entry, even if deportations, which provided one of the key reasons for detention, were not feasible. However, the linkages between detention and pushbacks at the Greek – Turkish border illustrate how the governance of borders relies on assemblages of both formal and informal practices and infrastructures. The proliferation of these structures, often concealed by their benign outward appearance as farm buildings, fits in with the dispersed geography of pushbacks - and the way detention is increasingly serving as a temporal stage within the execution of violent removals.

      https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2021/05/spaces-detention

  • The Landscapes of Border Control : Mapping border control and resistance

    Border Criminologies is pleased to launch our new interactive website, the Landscapes of Border Control. Starting with material gathered from and about Greece and Italy this project aims to visualise what goes on in detention centres in order to increase public understanding about immigration and the treatment of immigrants in detention settings. Eventually, other countries will be added.

    Despite the increased media and political attention on Italy and Greece as key sites of European border security, we still know little about everyday life inside detention sites in these two countries. This map, and the stories that accompany it, seek to fill this gap by contextualising and communicating the presence and function of these sites of confinement as well as the lived experiences of those within them. In doing so, this project seeks not only to present the violence of the border control regime but also to illuminate the struggles of those affected by it.

    Such a project is particularly important, we believe, in the face of the alarming growth of the detention estate worldwide, and particularly in Italy and Greece. For instance, in Italy a new detention centre has been re-opened in December at Gradisca d’Isonzo, and another one is in the process of being opened in Macomer. Tragically, two deaths have already occurred in 2020, the latest one occurring on Saturday 18 January, when a 20-years old man died in the hospital of Gorizia. Early reports suggest that #Vakhtang_Enukidze had been seriously injured during an episode of violence within the Gradisca detention centre a few days before. While an investigation is currently underway, early reports from activists reveal considerable police brutality (see here). In response, they have organised a demonstration in front of the centre in solidarity with the detainees inside (see here). This latest tragedy demonstrates, once again, the importance of joint efforts to ensure that what happens in detention is not hidden from scrutiny, that detainees’ experiences are heard, and that human rights defenders are given information and support.

    Moved by these aims, this countermapping project presents a variety of forms of evidence including videography, photography, original art, oral history, and testimonies from those directly affected. The material disseminated through this platform draws on a large set of data obtained over different time periods and under a range of diverse projects and long-term engagement with civil society organisations. It is specifically designed to offer a platform to civil society organisations, solidarity groups, (ex) detainees and the public to communicate their experiences from detention and

    The map shows the locations of facilities where migrants may be detained in both Greece and Italy. Clicking on a node, you can see the name of the centre; click again and you will be directed to the centre’s page where an array of information will be provided including images, video and audio (where applicable), academic work, human rights organisations’ reports, policy briefs and other published material. We hope that in time, the material we provide will be enriched by original contributions from people in the field and those who have survived the centres.

    Items can be added easily through the button ‘add information to this location’ found at the bottom of each individual page. An example can be seen here for Ponte Galeria in Rome. Entirely new locations can also be added by filling in information on this page. Items will be screened by Border Criminologies’ members. Information can also be provided in Italian and Greek and will be translated by us.

    Contributors will remain anonymous if they wish and they can add either free text, a pdf document, video or audio files.

    This is a collaborative project, designed to give organisations and groups already in detention an avenue for publicising their findings and disseminating them to a wider audience which is not limited to their national contexts but reaches out globally. We have received considerable assistance from a range of people and collectives/NGOs in getting it this far. Among these, in Italy, we would like to mention BeFree, ADIF, ASGI, the Migrant Observatory Basilicata, LasciateCIEntrare, CILD, Antigone, Sant’Egidio, A Buon Diritto, the International University College of Turin and the Legal Clinic of Roma Tre on migration and asylum. So, too, we have worked with the Greek Refugee Council and Aitima, among others.

    We hope this initiative, which is supported by the ‘Public Engagement with Research Fund,’ at the University of Oxford and the Open Society Foundations, will challenge attempts by the Greek and Italian states to invisibilise and spatially isolate immigrants, while supporting local partners who are engaged in advocacy and strategic litigation, e.g. through factual investigation, research and analysis. We believe that this project can provoke critical witnessing. This map depicts Italy and Greece as they are experienced and shaped by migrants’ presence and their struggles.

    https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2020/01/landscapes-border
    #rétention #détention_administrative #asile #migrations #réfugiés #Italie #Grèce #cartographie #carte_interactive #visualisation

    –----

    Je me demande en quoi l’initiative est vraiment différente du site web de Migreurop « #Close_the_camps » :
    https://en.closethecamps.org

    Et du #Global_detention_project :
    https://www.globaldetentionproject.org

    ping @karine4 @reka
    via @isskein

  • UN envoy fears ’new crisis’ for Rohingya Muslims if moved to remote Bangladesh island

    A United Nations human rights investigator on #Myanmar has voiced deep concern at Bangladesh’s plan to relocate 23,000 Rohingya refugees to a remote island, saying it may not be habitable and could create a “new crisis”.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-12/un-envoy-fears-new-crisis-for-rohingya-muslims/10890932
    #réfugiés #îles #île #Bangladesh #rohingya #réfugiés_rohingya #asile #migrations #Birmanie

    • Polly Pallister-Wilkins signale sur twitter (https://twitter.com/PollyWilkins/status/1105366496291753984) le lien à faire avec le concept de #penal_humanitarianism (#humanitarisme_pénal)

      Introducing the New Themed Series on Penal Humanitarianism

      Humanitarianism is many things to many people. It is an ethos, an array of sentiments and moral principles, an imperative to intervene, and a way of ‘doing good’ by bettering the human condition through targeting suffering. It is also a form of governance. In Border Criminologies’ new themed series, we look closer at the intersections of humanitarian reason with penal governance, and particularly the transfer of penal power beyond the nation state.

      The study of humanitarian sentiments in criminology has mainly focused on how these sensibilities have ‘humanized’ or ‘civilized’ punishment. As such, the notion of humanism in the study of crime, punishment, and justice is associated with human rights implementation in penal practices and with normative bulwark against penal populism; indeed, with a ‘softening’ of penal power.

      This themed series takes a slightly different approach. While non-punitive forces have a major place in the humanitarian sensibility, we explore how humanitarianism is put to work on and for penal power. In doing so, we look at how muscular forms of power – expulsion, punishment, war – are justified and extended through the invocation of humanitarian reason.

      In the following post, Mary Bosworth revisits themes from her 2017 article and addresses current developments on UK programmes delivered overseas to ‘manage migration’. She shows that through an expansion of these programmes, migration management and crime governance has not only elided, but ‘criminal justice investment appears to have become a humanitarian goal in its own right’. Similarly concerned with what happens at the border, Katja Franko and Helene O.I. Gundhus observed the paradox and contradictions between humanitarian ideals in the performative work of governmental discourses, and the lack of concern for migrants’ vulnerability in their article on Frontex operations.

      However, in their blog post they caution against a one-dimensional understanding of humanitarianism as legitimizing policy and the status quo. It may cloud from view agency and resistance in practice, and, they argue, ‘the dialectics of change arising from the moral discomfort of doing border work’. The critical, difficult question lurking beneath their post asks what language is left if not that of the sanctity of the human, and of humanity.

      Moving outside the European territorial border, Eva Magdalena Stambøl however corroborates the observation that penal power takes on a humanitarian rationale when it travels. Sharing with us some fascinating findings from her current PhD work on EU’s crime control in West Africa, and, more specifically, observations from her fieldwork in Niger, she addresses how the rationale behind the EU’s fight against ‘migrant smugglers’ in Niger is framed as a humanitarian obligation. In the process, however, the EU projects penal power beyond Europe and consolidates power in the ‘host’ state, in this case, Niger.

      Moving beyond nation-state borders and into the ‘international’, ‘global’, and ‘cosmopolitan’, my own research demonstrates how the power to punish is particularly driven by humanitarian reason when punishment is delinked from its association with the national altogether. I delve into the field of international criminal justice and show how it is animated by a humanitarian impetus to ‘do something’ about the suffering of distant others, and how, in particular, the human rights movement have been central to the fight against impunity for international crimes. Through the articulation of moral outrage, humanitarian sensibilities have found their expression in a call for criminal punishment to end impunity for violence against distant others. However, building on an ethnographic study of international criminal justice, which is forthcoming in the Clarendon Studies in Criminology published by Oxford University Press, I demonstrate how penal power remains deeply embedded in structural relations of (global) power, and that it functions to expand and consolidate these global inequalities further. Removed from the checks and balances of democratic institutions, I suggest that penal policies may be more reliant on categorical representations of good and evil, civilization and barbarity, humanity and inhumanity, as such representational dichotomies seem particularly apt to delineate the boundaries of cosmopolitan society.

      In the next post I co-wrote with Anette Bringedal Houge, we address the fight against sexual violence in conflict as penal humanitarianism par excellence, building on our study published in Law & Society Review. While attention towards conflict-related sexual violence is critically important, we take issue with the overwhelming dominance of criminal law solutions on academic, policy, and activist agendas, as the fight against conflict-related sexual violence has become the fight against impunity. We observe that the combination of a victim-oriented justification for international justice and graphic reproductions of the violence victims suffer, are central in the advocacy and policy fields responding to this particular type of violence. Indeed, we hold that it epitomizes how humanitarianism facilitates the expansion of penal power but take issue with what it means for how we address this type of violence.

      In the final post of this series, Teresa Degenhardt offers a discomforting view on the dark side of virtue as she reflects on how penal power is reassembled outside the state and within the international, under the aegis of human rights, humanitarianism, and the Responsibility to Protect-doctrine. Through the case of Libya, she claims that the global north, through various international interventions, ‘established its jurisdiction over local events’. Through what she calls a ‘pedagogy of liberal institutions’, Degenhardt argues that ‘the global north shaped governance through sovereign structures at the local level while re-articulating sovereign power at the global level’, in an argument that, albeit on a different scale, parallels that of Stambøl.

      The posts in this themed series raise difficult questions about the nature of penal power, humanitarianism, and the state. Through these diverse examples, each post demonstrates that while the nation state continues to operate as an essential territorial site of punishment, the power to punish has become increasingly complex. This challenges the epistemological privilege of the nation state framework in the study of punishment.

      However, while this thematic series focuses on how penal power travels through humanitarianism, we should, as Franko and Gundhus indicate, be careful of dismissing humanitarian sensibilities and logics as fraudulent rhetoric for a will to power. Indeed, we might – or perhaps should – proceed differently, given that in these times of pushback against international liberalism and human rights, and resurgent religion and nationalism, humanitarian reason is losing traction. Following an unmasking of humanitarianism as a logic of governance by both critical (leftist) scholars and rightwing populism alike, perhaps there is a need to revisit the potency of humanitarianism as normative bulwark against muscular power, and to carve out the boundaries of a humanitarian space of resistance, solidarity and dignity within a criminology of humanitarianism. Such a task can only be done through empirical and meticulous analysis of the uses and abuses of humanitarianism as an ethics of care.

      https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2019/03/introducing-new

    • Most Rohingya refugees refuse to go to #Bhasan_Char island – Xchange survey

      Nearly all Rohingya refugees asked about relocating to a silt island in the Bay of Bengal refused to go, a new survey reveals.

      According to a new report published by the migration research and data analysis outfit Xchange Foundation, the vast majority of their respondents (98.4%) ‘categorically refused’ to go to Bhasan Char, while 98.7% of respondents were aware of the plan.

      From the over 1,000 respondents who expressed their opinion, concerns were raised about their safety, security and placement in a location further from Myanmar.

      Decades long limbo

      The findings obtained by the recent Xchange Foundation Report entitled ‘WE DO NOT BELIEVE MYANMAR!,’ chart the protracted living conditions and uncertain future of almost three quarters of a million recent Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh. Accumulated together with previous generations of Rohingya, there are approximately 1.2m living across over a dozen camps in the region.

      This is the sixth survey carried out by the Xchange Foundation on the experiences and conditions facing Rohingya refugees.

      The region has been host to Rohingya refugees for just over the last three decades with the recent crackdown and massacre by the Myanmar military in August 2017 forcing whole families and communities to flee westward to Bangladesh.

      While discussions between the Bangladeshi and Myanmar government over the repatriation of recent Rohingya refugees have been plagued by inertia and lukewarm commitment, the Bangladeshi government has been planning on relocating over 100,000 Rohingya refugees to the silt island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal. This process was expected to take place in the middle of April, according to a Bangladeshi government minister.

      State Minister for Disaster and Relief Management Md Enamur Rahman, told the Dhaka Tribune ‘Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed last week to complete the relocation 23,000 Rohingya families to Bhashan Char by Apr 15.’

      Is it safe?

      Numerous humanitarian organisations including Human Rights Watch, have expressed their concerns over the government’s proposals, saying there are few assurances that Rohingya refugees will be safe or their access to free movement, health, education and employment will be secured.

      HRW reported in March that the Bangladeshi authorities had issued assurances that there wouldn’t be forcible relocation but that the move was designed to relieve pressure on the refugee camps and settlements across Cox’s Bazar.

      The move would see the relocation of 23,000 Rohingya families to a specially constructed complex of 1,440 housing blocks, equipped with flood and cyclone shelter and flood walls. The project is estimated to have cost the Bangladeshi government over €250 million.

      To prepare the island, joint efforts of British engineering and environmental hydraulics company HR Wallingford and the Chinese construction company Sinohydro, have been responsible for the construction of a 13km flood embankment which encircles the island.

      When asked by the Xchange survey team one Male Rohingya of 28 years old said, ‘We saw videos of Bhasan Char; it’s not a safe place and also during the raining season it floods.’ An older female of 42 said, ‘I’m afraid to go to Bhasan Char, because I think there is a risk to my life and my children.’

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM8wlvLddnw

      Threat of flooding

      Bhasan Char or ‘Thengar Char,’ didn’t exist 20 years ago.

      The island is understood to have formed through gradual silt deposits forming a island around 30km from the Bangladeshi mainland. Until now, human activity on the island has been very minimal with it being largely used for cattle and only reachable by a 3.5 hour boat trip.

      But, the island is subject to the tides. It is reported that the island loses around 5,000 square acres of its territory from low to high tide (15,000 – 10,000 acres (54 square kilometres) respectively).

      This is worsened by the threat of the monsoon and cyclone season which according to HRW’s testimony can result in parts of the island eroding. This is recorded as being around one kilometre a year, ABC News reports.

      Golam Mahabub Sarwar of the Bangladeshi Ministry of Land, says that a high tide during a strong cyclone could completely flood the island. This is exemplifed by the 6 metre tidal range which is seen on fellow islands.

      New crisis

      The UN Envoy Yanghee Lee has warned that the Bangladesh government goes through with the relocation, it could risk creating a ‘new crisis’.

      Lee warned that she was uncertain of the island was ‘truly habitable’ for the over 23,000 families expected to live there.

      The Special Rapporteur to Myanmar made the comments to the Human Rights Council in March, saying that if the relocations were made without consent from the people it would affect, it had, ‘potential to create a new crisis.’

      She stressed that before refugees are relocated, the United Nations, ‘must be allowed to conduct a full technical and humanitarian assessment’ as well as allowing the beneficiary communities to visit and decide if it is right for them.

      https://www.newsbook.com.mt/artikli/2019/05/07/most-rohingya-refugees-refuse-to-go-to-bhasan-char-island-xchange-survey/?lang=en

    • Rohingya Refugees to Move to Flood-Prone Bangladesh Island

      Thousands of Rohingya living in Bangladesh refugee camps have agreed to move to an island in the #Bay_of_Bengal, officials said Sunday, despite fears the site is prone to flooding.

      Dhaka has long wanted to move 100,000 refugees to the muddy silt islet, saying it would take pressure off the overcrowded border camps where almost a million Rohingya live.

      Some 740,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar in August 2017 in the face of a military crackdown, joining 200,000 refugees already in makeshift tent settlements at Cox’s Bazar.

      Relocations begin soon

      Bangladesh’s refugee commissioner, Mahbub Alam, said officials overseeing the relocation would be posted to #Bhashan_Char_island in the next few days.

      Approximately 6,000-7,000 refugees have expressed their willingness to be relocated to Bhashan Char, Alam told AFP from Cox’s Bazar, adding that “the number is rising.”

      He did not say when the refugees would be moved, but a senior Navy officer involved in building facilities on the island said it could start by December, with some 500 refugees sent daily.

      Bangladesh had been planning since last year to relocate Rohingya to the desolate flood-prone site, which is an hour by boat from the mainland.

      Rights groups have warned the island, which emerged from the sea only about two decades ago, might not be able to withstand violent storms during the annual monsoon season.

      In the past half-century, powerful cyclones have killed hundreds of thousands of people in the Meghna river estuary where the island is located.

      Rohingya leaders would be taken to Bhashan Char to view the facilities and living conditions, Alam said.

      Safety facilities built on the island include a 9-feet (3 meter) high embankment along its perimeter to keep out tidal surges during cyclones, and a warehouse to store months’ worth of rations, he added.

      Overcrowding in camp

      Rohingya father-of-four Nur Hossain, 50, said he and his family agreed to relocate to #Bhashan_Char after they were shown video footage of the shelters.

      “I have agreed to go. The camp here (at Leda) is very overcrowded. There are food and housing problems,” the 50-year-old told AFP.

      There was no immediate comment from the U.N., although Bangladeshi officials said they expect a delegation would visit the island in the next few weeks.

      https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/rohingya-refugees-move-flood-prone-bangladesh-island

    • Bangladesh : des réfugiés rohingyas acceptent de partir sur une île

      Des milliers de Rohingyas vivant dans des camps de réfugiés au Bangladesh ont accepté de partir pour une île isolée du golfe du Bengale, ont annoncé dimanche les autorités, en dépit des risques d’inondations.

      Dacca a depuis longtemps fait part de son intention de transférer 100.000 réfugiés musulmans rohingyas des camps de réfugiés surpeuplés, près de la frontière birmane, vers un îlot de vase boueux et isolé du golfe du Bengale.

      Le gouvernement du Bangladesh y voit une solution pour résoudre le problème des camps de réfugiés surpeuplés où vivent près d’un million de Rohingyas.

      Environ 740.000 Rohingyas ont fui la Birmanie pour le Bangladesh en 2017 pour échapper à une répression militaire massive. Ils ont rejoint les quelque 200.000 réfugiés vivant déjà dans le district bangladais frontalier de Cox’s Bazar (sud-est).

      Le commissaire bangladais aux réfugiés, Mahbub Alam, a indiqué que des fonctionnaires seront détachés, dans les prochains jours, afin de superviser cette installation.

      « Environ 6.000 à 7.000 réfugiés ont déjà exprimé leur volonté d’être réinstallés à Bhashan Char », a déclaré Alam à l’AFP depuis Cox’s Bazar, affirmant que « leur nombre est en augmentation ».

      Il n’a cependant pas donné de chiffres sur le nombre de réfugiés qui seront ainsi déplacés.

      Selon un officier supérieur de la marine qui participe à la construction d’installations sur l’île, cette opération pourrait débuter en décembre et environ 500 réfugiés seraient envoyés quotidiennement sur cette île située à une heure de bateau de la terre ferme la plus proche.

      Des groupes de défense des droits affirment que Bhashan Char est susceptible d’être submergée lors des moussons.

      Au cours des cinquante dernières années, de puissants cyclones ont fait des centaines de milliers de morts dans l’estuaire de la rivière Meghna, où l’île se situe.

      Des responsables rohingyas seront conduits à Bhashan Char afin d’y découvrir les installations et leurs conditions de vie, a affirmé M. Alam.

      Des responsables locaux ont assuré qu’une digue de trois mètres a été construite autour de l’île pour la protéger de la montée des eaux en cas de cyclone.

      Nur Hossain, un réfugié rohingya, père de quatre enfants, a déclaré que sa famille et lui ont accepté de partir pour Bhashan Char après avoir vu des images vidéo des abris.

      « Le camp ici (à Leda) est très surpeuplé. Il y a des problèmes de nourriture et de logement », a déclaré à l’AFP cet homme de 50 ans.

      L’ONU n’a jusqu’à présent pas fait de déclaration à ce sujet. Des responsables bangladais ont cependant déclaré qu’une délégation des Nations unies se rendra sur l’île au cours des prochaines semaines.

      https://www.courrierinternational.com/depeche/bangladesh-des-refugies-rohingyas-acceptent-de-partir-sur-une

    • Rohingya: il Bangladesh vuole trasferirli su un’isola sperduta e pericolosa

      Le violenze dell’esercito del Myanmar avevano costretto centinaia di migliaia di Rohingya a rifugiarsi in Bangladesh nel 2017. E quando ancora un rientro nelle loro terre d’origine sembra lontano, Dacca cerca di mandarne 100 mila su un’isola remota e pericolosa nel Golfo del Bengala

      Non sono bastate le violenze dell’esercito del Myanmar e degli estremisti buddisti, che nell’agosto 2017 hanno costretto centinaia di migliaia di Rohingya a rifugiarsi in Bangladesh. E non bastano neanche le condizioni precarie in cui vivono nei fatiscenti campi profughi gestiti da Dacca. Il dramma di questa popolazione, che secondo le Nazioni Unite è una delle minoranze più perseguitate al mondo, non sembra avere fine.

      La scorsa settimana il governo del Bangladesh ha annunciato che alla fine di novembre inizierà il trasferimento di 100 mila rifugiati Rohingya a Bhasan Char, una remota isola nel Golfo del Bengala. Per le autorità questa mossa sarebbe necessaria a causa del «disperato sovraffollamento» nei campi di Cox’s Bazar, una città al confine con la ex-Birmania, che ora ospita oltre 700 mila sfollati. Ma la scelta della nuova collocazione ha sollevato una serie di preoccupazioni per la salute e la sicurezza dei Rohingya che verranno trasferiti.

      Rohinghya in Bangladesh: l’isola in mezzo al nulla

      Yanghee Lee, relatore speciale delle Nazioni Unite sulla situazione dei diritti umani in Myanmar, che ha visitato l’isola nel gennaio 2019, ha espresso seri dubbi e preoccupazioni sul fatto che «l’isola sia davvero abitabile». Bhasan Char, infatti, è soggetta frequentemente ad inondazioni e cicloni. Lee ha anche avvertito che «un trasferimento mal pianificato e senza il consenso degli stessi rifugiati, creerebbe una nuova crisi per i Rohingya».

      Il governo di Dacca ha spiegato che tutte le ricollocazioni a Bhasan Char saranno rigorosamente volontarie e che oltre 7 mila rifugiati hanno già accettato di trasferirsi. Non sappiamo, però, se questi Rohingya siano effettivamente consapevoli dell’isolamento e della pericolosità del contesto in cui andranno a vivere. L’isola, infatti, è a ore di navigazione dalla terraferma e le condizioni del mare non sono delle migliori. Durante il periodo dei monsoni i pochi residenti sono bloccati in mezzo alle acque per lunghi periodi.

      Rohingya a rischio sussistenza

      Sebbene le autorità abbiano migliorato le infrastrutture a Bhasan Char, per cercare di contrastare i rischi di inondazioni e costruito più di 1.400 edifici per ospitare gli sfollati, l’isola non ha un adeguato sistema di agricoltura e le attività commerciali sono quasi inesistenti. Inoltre vanno aggiunte le difficoltà per quanto riguarda l’istruzione e la sanità. Problematiche già presenti nei campi di Cox’s Bazar, che nei mesi scorsi avevano anche lanciato l’allarme del radicalismo islamico.

      Nell’ultimo periodo, infatti, nelle strutture dove hanno trovato rifugio i Rohingya scappati dal Myanmar sono proliferate centinaia di scuole coraniche gestite da Hefazat-e-Islam, un gruppo estremista locale fondato nel 2010, che in passato ha organizzato numerose proteste di piazza. Questa organizzazione, finanziata da alcuni Paesi del Golfo, ha di fatto riempito il vuoto educativo imposto da Dacca, che ha vietato alla minoranza musulmana di frequentare gli istituti locali.

      Chi sono i Rohingya e perché sono perseguitati

      I Rohingya sono un popolo invisibile. Di fede musulmana, dall’ottavo secolo vivono nel Nord-Ovest del Myanmar, ma non vengono considerati ufficialmente un’etnia dal governo. Proprio per questo non hanno alcun diritto e la maggior parte di loro non ha cittadinanza nel paese guidato dal premio Nobel per la pace Aung San Suu Kyi. Senza il diritto di avere cure mediche e istruzione, non possono possedere nulla e non possono avere più di due figli.

      Si è tornato a parlare della loro drammatica situazione nell’agosto di due anni fa, a causa delle persecuzioni dei militari birmani, che li hanno costretti ad un esodo nel vicino Bangladesh. Le poche testimonianze di prima mano arrivate in quei giorni del 2017 parlavano di brutalità inaudite e quotidiane: centinaia di morti, stupri, mine, sparizioni, villaggi dati alle fiamme e torture.

      Rohingya: il difficile ritorno in Myanmar

      Negli ultimi due anni, il governo del Myanmar ha negato la sua colpevolezza per le atrocità commesse e ha vietato alle organizzazioni e agli osservatori internazionali, incluso il relatore speciale delle Nazioni Unite Lee, di accedere nello stato Rakhine, dove la maggior parte dei Rohingya viveva prima dello spargimento di sangue del 2017.

      Proprio per queste ragioni, un ritorno in sicurezza in patria per la popolazione musulmana sembra, per ora, molto difficile. Lo stesso Lee, a settembre, ha dichiarato che il Paese della Suu Kyi «non ha fatto nulla per smantellare il sistema di violenza e persecuzione contro i Rohingya».

      https://www.osservatoriodiritti.it/2019/10/31/rohingya-myanmar-bangladesh-perseguitati

    • Rohingya relocation to #Bhashan_Char to begin next week

      The first batch of Rohingyas would be shifted to Bhashan Char next week from overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar as part of the Bangladesh government’s plan to relocate 100,000 Rohingyas temporarily to the island until permanent repatriation to their homeland in Myanmar.

      “The exact date for shifting the first batch of Rohingyas to Bhashan Char has not been fixed yet but preparations have been taken to send the first group next week. First, a small group of Rohingyas will be relocated to the island and the process will continue,” said #Commissioner_of_Rohingya_Refugee_Repatriation_Commission (#RRRC) and Additional Secretary Shah Rezwan Hayat.

      These displaced Rohingya people are believed to have become a security threat to regional peace and the host communities as many of them have got involved in criminal activities, and drug and arms trading, reports UNB.

      Seeking support from big countries to find a durable solution to the Rohingya crisis, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on October 7 last said, “We’ve long been saying that uncertainty might be created in the region if the Rohingya crisis is not resolved."

      The government has information that trafficking of girls and children was taking place and traffickers share images of girls and children through smartphones using high-speed internet as part of trafficking, he said.

      Nur Mohammad Shikdar, general secretary of Ukhiya Rohingya Repatriation Movement Committee, said: “The relocation process could have been started long ago had a vested quarter of them not gone against the move at the provocation of some international organisations.”

      He stressed the need for implementation of the government plan to relocate 100,000 Rohingyas to Bhashan Char.

      Visiting the camps and talking to some Rohingyas, the UNB correspondent found a greater number of Rohingya people willing to be shifted to Bhashan Char due to uncertainty over their repatriation to their homeland.

      A resident and also leader of a shade in Kutupalong Rohingya Camp said, wishing anonymity, “They’re going through unimaginable suffering as some Rohingya criminals torture them. They want to return to their own country and are also ready to be shifted to Bhashan Char and stay there until the repatriation begins.”

      As part of the government move to relocate Rohingyas to Bhashan Char, a delegation of Rohingya leaders along with the representatives of 22 local and international NGOs have visited Bhashan Char recently.

      Saiful Islam Kalim, executive director of local a NGO, said, “The propaganda against Bhashan Char is totally false and fabricated. I myself visited Bhashan Char. Had I not visited the island I might have been confused with the propaganda. The government has created a wonderful environment there for Rohingyas where many NGOs have expressed their keenness to work with Rohingyas.”

      There is a lack of a conducive environment in Myanmar and two repatriation attempts have failed as Rohingyas are not feeling comfortable with the environment in Rakhine.

      Bangladesh urged the global community to convince Myanmar to bring changes in Rakhine and implement the repatriation arrangements.

      Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them have entered the country since August 25, 2017.

      Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a repatriation deal on November 23, 2017.

      On January 16, 2018, Bangladesh and Myanmar inked a document on “Physical Arrangement”, which was supposed to facilitate the return of Rohingyas to their homeland. But no Rohingya has been repatriated so far.

      https://www.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/rohingya-relocation-to-bhashan-char-to-begin-next-week-16067

    • Rohingya relocation to #Bhashan_Char to begin next week

      The first batch of Rohingyas would be shifted to Bhashan Char next week from overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar as part of the Bangladesh government’s plan to relocate 100,000 Rohingyas temporarily to the island until permanent repatriation to their homeland in Myanmar.

      “The exact date for shifting the first batch of Rohingyas to Bhashan Char has not been fixed yet but preparations have been taken to send the first group next week. First, a small group of Rohingyas will be relocated to the island and the process will continue,” said #Commissioner_of_Rohingya_Refugee_Repatriation_Commission (#RRRC) and Additional Secretary Shah Rezwan Hayat.

      These displaced Rohingya people are believed to have become a security threat to regional peace and the host communities as many of them have got involved in criminal activities, and drug and arms trading, reports UNB.

      Seeking support from big countries to find a durable solution to the Rohingya crisis, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on October 7 last said, “We’ve long been saying that uncertainty might be created in the region if the Rohingya crisis is not resolved."

      The government has information that trafficking of girls and children was taking place and traffickers share images of girls and children through smartphones using high-speed internet as part of trafficking, he said.

      Nur Mohammad Shikdar, general secretary of Ukhiya Rohingya Repatriation Movement Committee, said: “The relocation process could have been started long ago had a vested quarter of them not gone against the move at the provocation of some international organisations.”

      He stressed the need for implementation of the government plan to relocate 100,000 Rohingyas to Bhashan Char.

      Visiting the camps and talking to some Rohingyas, the UNB correspondent found a greater number of Rohingya people willing to be shifted to Bhashan Char due to uncertainty over their repatriation to their homeland.

      A resident and also leader of a shade in Kutupalong Rohingya Camp said, wishing anonymity, “They’re going through unimaginable suffering as some Rohingya criminals torture them. They want to return to their own country and are also ready to be shifted to Bhashan Char and stay there until the repatriation begins.”

      As part of the government move to relocate Rohingyas to Bhashan Char, a delegation of Rohingya leaders along with the representatives of 22 local and international NGOs have visited Bhashan Char recently.

      Saiful Islam Kalim, executive director of local a NGO, said, “The propaganda against Bhashan Char is totally false and fabricated. I myself visited Bhashan Char. Had I not visited the island I might have been confused with the propaganda. The government has created a wonderful environment there for Rohingyas where many NGOs have expressed their keenness to work with Rohingyas.”

      There is a lack of a conducive environment in Myanmar and two repatriation attempts have failed as Rohingyas are not feeling comfortable with the environment in Rakhine.

      Bangladesh urged the global community to convince Myanmar to bring changes in Rakhine and implement the repatriation arrangements.

      Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them have entered the country since August 25, 2017.

      Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a repatriation deal on November 23, 2017.

      On January 16, 2018, Bangladesh and Myanmar inked a document on “Physical Arrangement”, which was supposed to facilitate the return of Rohingyas to their homeland. But no Rohingya has been repatriated so far.

      https://www.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/rohingya-relocation-to-bhashan-char-to-begin-next-week-16067

  • Drone Surveillance Operations in the Mediterranean: The Central Role of the Portuguese Economy and State in EU Border Control

    Much has been written in the past years about the dystopic vision of EU borders increasingly equipped with drone surveillance (see here: http://www.europeanpublicaffairs.eu/high-tech-fortress-europe-frontex-and-the-dronization-of-borde, here: http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-next-phase-of-european-border-and.html, here: https://www.heise.de/tp/features/EU-startet-Langstreckendrohnen-zur-Grenzueberwachung-4038306.html and here: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2018/11/role-technology). Yet, when the first joint drone surveillance operation of #Frontex, the #European_Maritime_Safety_Agency (#EMSA) and Portuguese authorities was launched on 25 September 2018, there was a lack of response both from the media and concerned activists or researchers. Yet, the EMSA offered details about the operation on its website, and Frontex as well. In addition, Frontex mentioned in its press statement parallel operations undertaken in Italy and Greece in the same period.

    These operations were a crucial step for the setup of the joint European information system for border surveillance, #EUROSUR. The drone surveillance program in the context of Frontex operations is a major step in the operational setup of the EUROSUR program that aims to integrate databases and national coordination centres of 24 European countries. EUROSUR was officially introduced with a policy paper in 2008, and the system itself was launched on 1 December 2013 as a mechanism of information exchange among EU member states. But it is not yet fully operational, and drone surveillance is commonly seen as a central component for full operationability. Thus, the cooperation between the EMSA, Frontex and the Portuguese state in the recent operation is a crucial milestone to achieve the aim of EUROSUR to create a unified European border surveillance system.

    This is why the operation launched in Portugal in September 2018 is of higher significance to the ones in Italy and Greece since it includes not only national authorities but also the EMSA, located in Lisbon, as a new key actor for border surveillance. EMSA was founded in 2002 as a response to various shipping disasters that lead to environmental pollution and originally focuses on monitoring the movement of ships, with a focus on the safety of shipping operations, environmental safety at sea and the trading of illegal goods via maritime transport.

    In 2016 the EMSA was allocated 76 million Euros in a bid for the production of drones for the surveillance of the Mediterranenan in the context of Frontex missions. EMSA`s bid foresaw that drones would be hired by EMSA itself. EMSA would run the operation of drones and share real-time data with Frontex. The largest part of this bid, 66 million Euros, went to the Portuguese company #Tekever, while smaller portions went to the Italian defence company #Leonardo and to the Portuguese air force that will operate drones produced by the Portuguese company #UA_Vision. At the same time, the successful bid of Tekever and the integration of Portuguese authorities in surveillance operations catapults Portugal onto the map of the defence and surveillance industry that profits immensely from the recent technological craze around border surveillance (see here, here and here).

    Lisbon-based Tekever set up a factory for the production of drones in the Portuguese mainland in #Ponte_de_Sor, an emerging new hub for the aerospace industry. Together with French #Collecte_Localisation_Service, which specialises in maritime surveillance, Tekever founded the consortium #REACT in order to produce those specific drones. Under the Portuguese operation, ground control, i.e. the technical coordination of the flight of the drones, was located in Portugal under the authority of the Portuguese air force, while the operation was coordinated remotely by Frontex experts and Portuguese authorities in the #Frontex_Situational_Centre in Poland where data were shared in real-time with EMSA. This first operation is a crucial step, testing the technical and administrative cooperation between EMSA and Frontex, and the functionality of the drones that were specifically produced for this purpose. These drones are lighter than the ones used in Greece and Italy, and they are equipped with special cameras and #radars that can detect ship movements and receive emergency calls from the sea. This allows to run data collected by the drones through an algorithm that is programmed to distinguish so-called ´#migrant_vessels´ from other ships and boats.

    The Portuguese government has set up a number of initiatives to foster this industry. For example, a national strategy called #Space_2030 (#Estratégia_Portugal_Espaço_2030) was launched in 2018, and the newly founded #Portuguese_Space_Agency (#Agência_Espacial_Portuguesa) will begin to work in the first months of 2019. The fact that border surveillance is one of the larger European programs boosting the defence and surveillance industry financially has not generated any controversy in Portugal; neither the fact that a center-left government, supported by two radical left parties is propping up surveillance, aerospace and defence industries. The colonial continuities of this industrial strategy are all too visible since narratives like ‘from the discovery of the sea to the technology of space’ are used not only by industry actors, but also, for example, by the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in the UK on its website. In this way, social and political #domination of non-European territories and the control of the movement of racialized bodies are reduced to the fact of technological capability – in the colonial period the navigation of the seas with optical instruments, astronomic knowledge and ships, and today the electronic monitoring of movements on the sea with drones and integrated computer systems. The Portuguese aerospace industry is therefore presented as a cultural heritage that continues earlier technological achievements that became instruments to set up a global empire.

    The lack of any mention about the start of the drone surveillance programme does not only demonstrate that border surveillance goes largely unquestioned in Europe, but also that the sums spent for surveillance and defence by EU agencies create incentives to engage more in the defence and surveillance industry. This goes all the more for countries that have been hit hard by austerity and deindustrialisation, such as Portugal. The recent increase of 9.3 billion Euros for the period 2021 to 2027 for border surveillance funding in the EU with the creation of the #Integrated_Border_Management_Fund focused on border protection, is a telling example of the focus of current EU industrial policies. For the same period, the European Commission has earmarked 2.2 billion Euro for Frontex in order to acquire, operate and maintain surveillance assets like drones, cameras, fences, and the like. In this situation, the political consensus among EU governments to restrict migration reinforces the economic interests of the defence industry and vice versa, and the interest of national governments to attract #high-tech investment adds to this. Those lock-in effects could probably only be dismantled through a public debate about the selective nature of the entrepreneurial state whose funding has decisive influence on which industries prosper.

    While the Portuguese government does not currently have a single helicopter operating in order to control and fight forest fires that have caused more than 100 deaths in the past two years, much EU and national public funding goes into technology aimed at the control of racialized bodies and the observation of earth from space. At the same time, there is considerable concern among experts that surveillance technology used for military means and border security will be rolled out over the entire population in the future for general policing purposes. For this reason, it remains important to keep an eye on which technologies are receiving large public funds and what are its possible uses.


    https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2019/02/drone
    #drones #contrôles_frontaliers #frontières #technologie #complexe_militaro-industriel #technologie_de_la_surveillance #externalisation #business #algorithme #colonialisme #néo-colonialisme #impérialisme #héritage_culturel #austérité #désindustrialisation

    ping @daphne @marty @albertocampiphoto @fil

    • Des drones en renfort dans l’#opération_Sophia

      Pour renforcer la surveillance aérienne, après le départ des navires, l’opération Sophia déployée en Méditerranée (alias #EUNAVFOR_Med) va bénéficier d’un renfort d’au moins un drone #Predator de l’aeronautica militare.

      L’#Italie a indiqué sa disponibilité à fournir un drone à l’opération Sophia, selon nos informations confirmées à bonne source. Ce pourrait être un #MQ-9A Predator B, la version la plus avancée et la plus récente du drone, d’une longueur de 10,80 m avec une envergure de plus de 20 mètres, qui peut voler à 445 km / heure. De façon alternative, selon les moyens disponibles, un MQ-1C Predator A, plus modeste (longueur de 8,20 m et envergure de 14,80 m), pouvant voler à 160 km/heure, pourrait aussi être déployé.

      http://www.bruxelles2.eu/2019/04/09/des-drones-en-renfort-dans-loperation-sophia
      #operation_Sophia

  • Deportation as Air Power

    Guest post by #William_Walters, Professor of political sociology, Carleton University. William directs the Air Deportation Project, a five-year investigation into the aviation / expulsion nexus funded by Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. This is the fifth post of Border Criminologies’ themed series ‘Migrant Digitalities and the Politics of Dispersal’, organised by Glenda Garelli and Martina Tazzioli.

    https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2018/05/deportation-air
    #renvois #expulsions #avions #asile #migrations #réfugiés #déportation

    • Un bon article de #Matteo_Villa qui résume ces questions, paru en septembre 2018 :

      Outsourcing European Border Control : Recent Trends in Departures, Deaths and Search and Rescue Activities in the Central Mediterranean

      In our previous blog post ‘Border Deaths in the Mediterranean: what we can learn from the latest data?’ on Border Criminologies (March 2017) we discussed the existing data sources on Mediterranean Sea migration and provided an analysis of key patterns and trends. We found that Search and Rescue (SAR) has little or no effect on the number of arrivals, and it is rather the absence of SAR that leads to more deaths. These results, which are in line with other research, were covered by various European media outlets and also resulted in a peer reviewed publication in Sociology (also available as a free preprint).

      These findings covered the period until December 2016. Since then, however, the context of European border policy has changed considerably:

      Through a mix of political pressure, financial incentives and military assistance, the EU has tried to induce transit countries in the Sahel to close their borders to Europe-bound migrants. According to European parliament president Tajani, this resulted in a 95% drop in crossings through Niger, a key transition point for migrants on the way to Libya, although it cannot be excluded that migrants are taking different, more dangerous routes in order to reach Northern African countries (either via Niger or through Algeria).
      From the beginning of 2017 onwards, the Italian government backed by the EU has increasingly cooperated with Libyan authorities to block depatures in exchange for financial and logistical support. The UN-backed government in Libya in turn, has allegedly forged deals with a number of militias.
      Increased European support for the Libyan Coast Guard (LCG), resulting in an increase in interceptions and the declaration of a Libyan SAR zone.
      Increasing legal and political attacks on NGOs engaged in SAR have culminated in Italy’s decision to declare its ports to be “closed” to NGO vessels and (temporarily) to EU rescue ships in June 2018.

      Each of these developments can be seen as part of a broader strategy to close the European borders by externalizing border control to third countries, a practice that was tried earlier with Turkey, and to relax commitments enshrined in international law, such as search and rescue at sea and non refoulement.

      In view of these recent developments, we document estimated trends in arrivals, deaths, mortality rates and rescue activities covering the most recent period, between January 2016 and July 2018. In doing so, we strongly rely on detailed statistical analyses conducted by the Italian research institute ISPI. Our analyses are based on publicly available data from the IOM and the UNHCR for arrivals and interceptions, and IOM’s Missing Migrants Project for deaths. It is important to note that recorded deaths are a lower bound estimate of the actual death toll, because some deaths are likely to remain unreported. We provide an extensive discussion of data sources, data quality and challenges for their interpretation in our academic article on the issue. Since most of the above developments relate to the situation in Libya, we focus on migrants departing from that country. Libya is also the only Northern African country where interceptions at sea by the Coast Guard are independently monitored by both IOM and UNHCR personnel at disembarkation points.

      Although each of these individual developments have been reported elsewhere, together they paint a picture of Europe’s resolve to close its external borders and deter irregular migration, regardless of the (human) cost.

      Trend #1: A sharp drop in departures

      Figure 1 plots trends in the number of migrants departing irregularly from Libya by sea since January 2016. Until mid-2017, migrant departures show a remarkably regular seasonal pattern, with around 20,000 departures during the summer months. As of July 2017, however, the number of arrivals dropped dramatically, and it has stayed at comparatively low levels up to the present. The decrease in arrivals occurred after alleged ’deals’ between Libyan authorities and the militias in Western Libya that control the smuggling networks, and a few months after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Italy and Libya. Convergent diplomatic action induced some militias to switch from smuggling to preventing departures. Other factors, such as the activity of the LCG, private and public SAR providers, or dynamics in the rate of dead and missing along the route, are relevant per se but appear to play no significant role in the decrease in arrivals to Europe. Europe’s efforts to block migrants passing though transit countries may have played a role as well, but evidence is still too sparse to be reliably assessed.

      Trend #2: An increased risk of interception by the Libyan Coast Guard

      The Libyan Coast Guard plays a pivotal role in Europe’s strategy of externalizing migration control to third countries. A report by Human Rights Watch suggests that in recent months “the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (IMRCC) has routinized a practice, tested since at least May 2017, of transferring responsibility to Libyan coast guard forces in international waters even when there are other, better-equipped vessels, including its own patrol boats or Italian navy vessels, closer to the scene.” This practice has been termed ’refoulement by proxy’ because the LCG is financed, equipped and instructed by the Italian and European authorities, as described in this recent investigative report. Migrants who are forcibly returned to Libya are imprisoned in detention centres for indefinite periods, and they face systematic violence—including torture and rape—as has been documented in numerous reports.

      The new Italian government intensified and formalized the policy of transferring responsibility to the LCG. Since June, it has instructed ships undertaking rescues in the Libyan SAR zone to refer all emergency calls to the Libyan authorities, who will then arrange their interception and pull-back to Libya. The declarations that Italian ports are “closed” to NGO ships are also part of this strategy, as their operations are considered to interfere with LCG interceptions. In late July, this practice resulted in the first instance of a non-Libyan vessel, the Asso Ventotto, being instructed to coordinate with the Tripoli Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC). The ship ultimately disembarked the rescued persons on Libyan territory and thus effectively engaged in refoulement and collective expulsion of migrants.

      The practice of outsourcing European border control to the Libyan Coast Guard has brought about a sharp increase in its activity: by the end of July 2018, the LCG had intercepted 12,490 migrants at sea compared to 8,851 during the same period in the previous year, which amounts to a 41% increase. In combination with the drop in departures, this policy has resulted in a rapid increase in the risk of interception. To illustrate this fact, in July 2017 just 6% of migrants leaving Libya by sea ended up being caught and brought back, while almost 94% made it to Europe. In July 2018, instead, 71% of migrants leaving Libya’s shores were intercepted and brought back, while just 24% arrived safely in a European country (see Figure 2).

      Trend #3: An increase in the absolute and relative mortality rate between mid-June and July 2018

      In this section, we look at trends in absolute mortality (the number of dead and missing people at sea) and relative mortality (the risk of crossing) of migrants departing from Libya. In particular, we analyse the widely reported spike in deaths that occurred in late June 2018, after virtually all SAR NGOs had been prevented from operating as a result of policies introduced by the new Italian Minister of Interior Salvini from the far-right Lega and the continued denial by the Maltese authorities to offer Valetta as a port of entry. On June 10, Italy unilaterally decided to declare its ports to be “closed” to NGO rescue ships, as well as (temporarily) to commercial and EU vessels carrying rescued migrants. Also Malta tightened its position on rescue activities and cracked down on two SAR NGOs in early July. Since then, rescue operations close to the Libyan coast have been almost entirely delegated to the LCG.

      First, we look at trends in the absolute mortality rate. Figure 3 shows a reduction in the monthly number of deaths since July 2017, commensurate with the reduction in the number of departures described above. For example, 20 deaths were recorded in April 2018, and 11 in May (Figure 3). In June, however, an estimated 451 migrants died on their way from Libya to Europe—of which 370 between 16 and 30 June. It is important to note that these deaths occurred during a time when departures were comparatively low. As a result, the risk of crossing has increased from 2.8% in the previous months to a staggering 7% since mid-June 2018 (Figure 4). These findings are also robust to using different time frames for the pre-NGO absence period, including the entire period since the drop of arrivals in July 2017 until the NGO ban. Whereas relative mortality has fluctuated in recent years, 7% constitute an extraordinary spike.

      Figure 5 maps shipwreck events occurring between 16 June and 31 July 2018 with at least estimated 15 dead or missing persons, using geocoded data provided by IOM’s Missing Migrants Project. While the precise location of each shipwreck is only an estimate, as “precise locations are not often known” (as explained in the “Methodology” section of the Missing Migrants Project), such estimates do provide an indication of where such shipwrecks have taken place. In particular, IOM data shows that shipwrecks between 16 June and 31 July took place well within 50 nautical miles from Libya’s shores, an area which used to be patrolled by either the LCG or NGO vessels. Yet, during the time when deaths spiked, only two NGO vessels had been operating, and only discontinuously.

      These observations are reminiscent of what happened in 2015, when the withdrawal of competent SAR providers (the Italian mission Mare Nostrum) similarly created the conditions for avoidable loss of life. Although these findings are based on a relatively short time period, they are suggestive of the risk of leaving the Libyan SAR zone to the operations of the LCG alone. Continuous monitoring of the situation remains of utmost importance.

      Conclusion

      In combination, the three trends described above highlight the harsh realities of recent European migration policies, which seek to limit irregular migration regardless of the moral, legal and humanitarian consequences. The current European obsession with reducing migration at all costs is even less comprehensible when considering that arrivals decreased drastically prior to the most recent escalation of rhetoric and externalization of migration control. Arrivals to Italy in the first half of 2018 were down by 79% compared to the same time frame in 2017. Although increasingly inhumane policies are often cloaked in a rhetoric about reducing deaths at sea, it is important to remember that those who are prevented from crossing or forcibly returned are generally not safe but remain subject to precarious and often lethal conditions in countries of transit. Rather than providing a sustainable response to the complex challenges involved in irregular migration, Europe has outsourced the management of its migration ’problem’ to countries like Libya and Niger, where violence and death often remains hidden from the public view.

      https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2018/09/outsourcing

    • Arrivées en Europe via la Méditerranée :
      2018 :
      https://seenthis.net/messages/705781
      Arrivées en Europe toute frontière confondue :
      https://seenthis.net/messages/739902
      –-> attention, c’est les « crossings »... rappelez-vous de la question des doubles/triples contages des passages :
      https://seenthis.net/messages/705957

      Pour #2016 #2017 et #2018, chiffres de Matteo Villa :
      https://seenthis.net/messages/768142
      database : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ncHxOHIx4ptt4YFXgGi9TIbwd53HaR3oFbrfBm67ak4/edit#gid=0
      #base_de_données #database

    • Arrivées par la #Méditerranée en #2019 :
      Europe : plus de 21.000 migrants et réfugiés arrivés par la Méditerranée depuis janvier

      Selon l’Agence des Nations Unies pour les migrations (OIM ), les arrivées de migrants en Méditerranée ont dépassé le seuil des 21.000, ce qui constitue une baisse d’environ un tiers par rapport aux 32.070 arrivés au cours de la même période l’an dernier.

      Ce sont exactement 21.301 migrants et réfugiés qui sont entrés en Europe par voie maritime à la date du 29 mai. Les arrivées en Espagne et en Grèce représentent 85% du total des arrivées, le reste des migrants et réfugiés de cette année ont pris la direction de l’Italie, de Malte et de Chypre.

      La Grèce a désormais surpassé l’Espagne au titre de première destination des migrants et des réfugiés rejoignant l’Europe via la Méditerranée. Selon l’Organisation internationale pour les migrations (OIM), le nombre total d’arrivées par mer cette année est de 10.200 dont 2.483 arrivées signalées entre le 1er et le 29 mai dernier.

      Le Bureau de l’OIM en Grèce a indiqué mercredi dernier que les garde-côtes helléniques ont confirmé que pendant plus de 48 heures entre le 28 et le 29 mai, il y eu sept incidents nécessitant des opérations de recherche et sauvetage au large des îles de Lesbos, Leros, Samos, Symi Kos et le port d’Alexandroupolis. Ils ont ainsi sauvé 191 migrants qui ont été transférés par la suite dans les ports respectifs grecs.

      De plus, à la date du 30 avril, ce sont 3.497 migrants qui ont réussi à atteindre la Grèce via sa frontière terrestre avec la Turquie.
      519 décès de migrants, dont plus de la moitié sur la route de la Méditerranée centrale

      L’Espagne reste la deuxième porte d’entrée des réfugiés en Méditerranée, avec 7.876 arrivées dont 1.160 hommes, femmes et enfants pour le seul mois de mai. Sur la même période l’an dernier, Madrid a comptabilisé 8.150 migrants et réfugiés ayant réussi à franchir la route de la Méditerranée occidentale. En outre, plus de 2.100 ont atteint l’Espagne via sa frontière terrestre avec le Maroc.

      Par ailleurs, l’OIM rappelle que les arrivées ont considérablement baissé en Italie où seuls 1.561 migrants ont réussi à franchir les côtes siciliennes.

      Mais la route de la Méditerranée centrale (Italie et Malte) reste tout de même la plus meurtrière avec 321 décès, soit plus de la moitié du total de migrants et réfugiés ayant péri en tentant d’atteindre l’Europe. Les décès enregistrés sur les trois principales routes de la mer Méditerranée pendant près de cinq mois en 2019 s’élèvent à 519 personnes, soit un quart de moins que les 662 décès confirmés au cours de la même période en 2018.

      A cet égard, l’OIM rappelle que dans l’ouest de la Méditerranée, l’organisation non gouvernementale Alarme Phone a signalé qu’un jeune Camerounais avait disparu le 21 mai dernier. Selon les témoignages des huit survivants qui l’accompagnaient, il serait tombé en mer avant que leur navire ne soit intercepté par la marine marocaine. Son corps n’a pas été retrouvé.

      En Méditerranée centrale, des migrants interceptés et renvoyés en Libye le 23 mai ont également indiqué aux équipes de l’OIM que cinq hommes s’étaient noyés au cours de leur voyage. « Aucun autre détail concernant l’identité, le pays d’origine ou d’autres informations personnelles concernant les disparus n’est disponible », a souligné l’OIM dans une note à la presse.

      https://news.un.org/fr/story/2019/05/1044671

  • Pushing Migrants Back to Libya, Persecuting Rescue NGOs: The End of the Humanitarian Turn (Part I).
    https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2018/04/pushing-migrants

    This was not to be the end of the matter, however. Instead, the Italian authorities responded, first, by denying the Open Arms permission to bring the migrants to Italy, which has always been the landing point for NGO vessels acting under the coordination of the Italian MRCC. When the Open Arms was finally allowed to dock in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo, the Italian authorities confiscated the ship. The captain and the head of mission were subsequently charged with aiding ‘illegal immigration’.

    This case is unique insofar as it is the first time that: a) The Italian MRCC declares to have transferred SAR coordination to a Libyan counterpart; b) Investigations are opened for acting against the code of conduct that the Italian government imposed on SAR NGOs in the summer of 2017; c) Investigations are opened for not disembarking people in Malta, as requested by the Italian MRCC when the Open Arms transited Maltese waters to evacuate two persons in immediate need of medical care.

    On 31 March 2018, the Italian authorities were involved in a similar incident with the Aquarius, a ship operated in partnership by SOS Méditerranée and MSF. After a negotiation with the Libyan Coast Guard, the Aquarius was allowed to take on board only 39 vulnerable and medical cases of the 129 passengers. The rest were forcibly returned to Libya.

    In this post, I argue that these incidents are part of a series of developments, which show that Italy is tightening its policy of containment to prevent ‘unwanted’ migrants from reaching European soil, while at the same time waging a war against humanitarian organizations. Through these actions, the government facilitates returns to Libya, which are carried out on Italy’s behalf by the Libyan coast guard and navy. In so doing, Italy is putting an end to its humanitarian turn and moving towards a more exclusionary management of the space of the sea.

  • Country Report : Italy

    The updated AIDA Country Report on Italy documents developments in the asylum procedure, reception conditions, detention of asylum seekers and content of international protection throughout 2017.
    The year 2017 has been chatacterised by media, political and judicial crackdown on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) saving lives at sea, and by the implementation of cooperation agreements with African countries such as Libya, while barriers to access to the territory have also been witnessed at the northern borders of the country, against the backdrop of increasing arrivals from Austria.
    Severe obstacles continue to be reported with regard to access to the asylum procedure in Italy. Several Police Headquarters (Questure) in cities such as Naples, Rome, Bari and Foggia have set specific days for seeking asylum and limited the number of people allowed to seek asylum on a given day, while others have imposed barriers on specific nationalities. In Rome and Bari, nationals of certain countries without a valid passport were prevented from applying for asylum. In other cases, Questure in areas such as Milan, Rome, Naples, Pordenone or Ventimiglia have denied access to asylum to persons without a registered domicile, contrary to the law. Obstacles have also been reported with regard to the lodging of applications, with several Questure such as Milan or Potenza unlawfully refusing to complete the lodging of applications for applicants which they deem not to be in need of protection.
    Since December 2017, Italy has established a specific Dublin procedure in Questure in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region bordering Austria and Slovenia, with support from EASO. According to that procedure, as soon as a Eurodac ‘hit’ is recorded, Questure move the lodging appointment to a later date and notify a Dublin transfer decision to the persons concerned prior to that date. Applicants are therefore subject to a Dublin transfer before having lodged their application, received information on the procedure or had an interview.
    Despite a continuing increase in the capacity of the SPRAR system, which currently counts over 35,000 funded places, the vast majority of asylum seekers are accommodated in temporary reception centres (CAS). CAS hosted around 80% of the population at the end of 2017. In Milan, for example, the ratio of SPRAR to CAS is 1:10.
    Destitution remains a risk of asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection. At least 10,000 persons are excluded from the reception system. Informal settlements with limited or no access to essential services are spread across the entire national territory.
    Throughout 2017, both due to the problems related to age assessment and to the unavailability of places in dedicated shelters, there have been cases of unaccompanied children accommodated in adults’ reception centres, or not accommodated at all. Several appeals have been lodged to the European Court of Human Rights against inappropriate accommodation conditions for unaccompanied children.
    Five pre-removal centres (CPR) are currently operational, while a new hotspot has been opened in Messina. However, substandard conditions continue to be reported by different authorities visiting detention facilities, namely the hotspots of Lampedusa and Taranto and the CPR of Caltanissetta and Ponte Galeria.
    The hotspots of Lampedusa and Taranto have been temporarily been closed as of March 2018.

    http://www.asylumineurope.org/sites/default/files/report-download/aida_it_2017update.pdf
    #Italie #asile #migrations #réfugiés #procédure_d'asile #hotspots #Dublin #frontières #procédure_accélérée #vulnérabilité #pays_sûr #relocalisation #hébergement #logement #éducation #travail #santé #rétention #détention_administrative #naturalisation #liberté_de_mouvement #rapport #refoulement #push-back

    Intéressant, lien avec la #frontière_sud-alpine (#Côme #Milan #Vintimille) :

    Particularly as regards Taranto , as reported by the Senate , among the 14,576 people transiting through the hotspot from March to October 2016 , only 5,048 came from disembarkations while the majority (9,528 ) were traced on Italian territory, mainly at border places in Ventimiglia , Como and Milan , and forcibly taken to Taranto to be identified. Some o f them were asylum seekers accommodated in reception centre in the place they were apprehended and who, after being again identified, were just released out of the hotspot without any ticket or money to go back to their reception centres.

    v. aussi la carte de #Gwendoline_Bauquis, produite dans le cadre de son mémoire de master : « Géopolitique d’une crise de la frontière – Entre #Côme et #Chiasso, le système européen d’asile mis à l’épreuve » (2017)


    #cartographie #visualisation

  • Immigration Detention in Italy: Between Security and Humanity

    Despite the increasing scholarly attention to immigration detention around the globe, relatively little is known about life and the lived experiences of the people inside these sites of confinement. This is particularly true of the perspectives of professionals who provide services in these contexts. What are the lived experiences of people working in Rome’s detention center of Ponte Galeria? What complexities, struggles and contradictions do they encounter when working inside a custodial environment?


    http://blog.nccr-onthemove.ch/immigration-detention-in-italy-between-security-and-humanity/?lang=fr
    #Italie #détention_administrative #rétention #asile #migrations #réfugiés #sans-papiers
    cc @isskein

    Version longue:
    Working in Immigration Detention in Italy: Navigating the Tensions Between Security and Humanity, Repression and Compassion, Inside and Outside

    Despite the increasing scholarly attention to immigration detention around the globe, we know relatively little about life and the lived experiences of the people inside these sites of confinement, as Mary Bosworth points out. This is particularly true of the perspectives of professionals who provide services in these contexts.

    https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2017/12/working
    #répression #compassion #humanité #sécurité

  • Egypt : The Escape Portal

    Egypt has been considered a destination country for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees from various Arab Mashreq countries and some African countries, as well as an important transit point in the Mediterranean region due to political instability, conflicts and civil wars in their homelands. Since mid-2013, as a result of the political crisis in Egypt, asylum seekers and refugees remain subject to numerous abuses and attacks. In 2013, the number of arrests of displaced Syrian and Palestinian refugees increased tremendously. According to the #Egyptian_Initiative_for_Personal_Rights (#EIPR), from August 2013 to September 2014 more than 6,800 Syrians, including at least 290 children, were arrested and detained. More than 1,200 refugees were forced to leave Egypt and travel to countries such as Turkey, Malaysia or Lebanon under the threat of detention. On 8 July 2014, the Egyptian government imposed additional measures restricting the entry of Syrians to the country, requiring them to obtain a #visa and prior security approval. Because of this, approximately 476 Syrians were deported or denied access to Egyptian territory in the same month. The Egyptian Foreign Minister announced that these measures are temporary and will have no effect on the support afforded to Syrians in Egypt. However, the wave of violence and attacks on Syrian asylum seekers and refugees was reignited after allegations that they were supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and former President Mohamed Morsi.

    https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2017/12/egypt-escape
    #asile #migrations #réfugiés #Egypte #détention_administrative #rétention #frontières #fermeture_des_frontières

  • What’s in A Name? Exploring the Role of Law and Bureaucracy in The Everyday Construction of Holot, an ’Open Detention Facility’ for ’Infiltrators’ in Israel | Oxford Law Faculty
    https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2017/11/whats-name

    Approximately 38,000 asylum seekers from Sudan and Eritrea currently reside in Israel. All entered Israel since 2005 through non-authorized border points, and most claim to have fled persecution in Sudan or human rights abuses in Eritrea. In 2013, Israel established Holot ‘open detention facility’ in the middle of the Negev desert, approved by the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament). To date, approximately 10,000 people have been detained in Holot. Detainees must report to Holot for a year-long detention, under the 5th amendment to the Prevention of Infiltration Law. Detainees must be present for head counts in the mornings, evenings and sleep in the facility, while during the day, they are allowed outside the center’s confines. Israel’s Prison Authority runs the facility. Breach of disciplinary guidelines is punishable by sanctions, including removal to a closed facility, Saharonim, located across the road.

    During interviews, three legal terms were frequently used by state employees or legal professionals to describe Holot as a non-punitive arrangement. I expand briefly on each term to trace how a punitive effect takes place, despite the claimed neutrality and administrative nature of these legal terms.

    Administrative detention, which includes the arrest and detention of persons without an indictment, trial or access to judicial review, has existed since the state’s founding in 1948. The early days of Israeli statehood were characterised by the mass movement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who had been displaced during the 1947-8 war. Those who crossed the border without the new State’s authorisation were titled ‘infiltrators.’ Increased organized smuggling by militant groups called Fedayeen in the early years of the state, led to the legislation of the Prevention of Infiltration Law in 1954. Since 2012 this law was expanded, contested in court, and amended to regulate asylum seekers who entered the country through non-authorised border points, and enable their detention.

    State employees and legislators insist that administrative detention is not punitive, and therefore does not need to comply with individual criminal law procedures and protections. However, similarities between administrative detention and penal incarceration came under scrutiny in Israel’s Supreme Court and in legislative committees. As explained in the final verdict on detention in Holot by Justice Vogelman: “Long periods of detention cross the border between a ‘disciplinary’ sanction which is largely carried out for the sake of deterrence and a ‘penal’ sanction which is punitive in its essence” (author’s translation). This observation was picked up by scholars, activists and lawyers questioning the legislative aim of detention, its covert and overt goals.

    The blurred or intersecting border between criminal law and immigration law has been vastly explored under the term crimmigration. Juliet Stumpf has written about the ways in which ‘the process is the punishment in crimmigration law’, drawing on Malcolm Feeley’s 1979 work. Stumpf identifies two criteria to ascertain when processes of crimmigration law may become punitive: when those subjected to the process experience it as punitive, and when the process is enacted as a sanction by the state.

  • Migranti, vertice al Viminale dei ministri dell’Interno di Italia, Ciad, Libia e Niger

    Una cooperazione congiunta per il contrasto al terrorismo e alla tratta di esseri umani. Istituita una cabina di regia che opererà per monitorare sui temi oggetto dell’incontro


    http://www.interno.gov.it/it/notizie/migranti-vertice-viminale-dei-ministri-dellinterno-italia-ciad-libia-e-n
    #externalisation #asile #migrations #réfugiés #Tchad #Italie #Libye
    cc @i_s_

    • Parola d’ordine esternalizzare: soldi europei agli Stati africani per fermare il flusso dei migranti

      Il ministro degli Interni del Niger: «Chiediamo all’Ue infrastrutture militari». Ma il Mali non firma le riammissioni: «Le rimesse ci hanno portato 800 milioni di dollari nel 2016»

      http://www.lastampa.it/2017/05/24/esteri/speciali/divertedaid/parola-dordine-esternalizzare-soldi-europei-agli-stati-africani-per-fermare-il-flusso-dei-migranti-VKqfQ42Nr9TimSleQzT7XL/pagina.html?platform=hootsuite

    • Deploying Italian warships to police Libyan waters will expose refugees to horrific abuse

      Proposals to send warships to police Libyan territorial waters are a shameful attempt by the Italian authorities to circumvent their duty to rescue refugees and migrants at sea and to offer protection to those who need it, said Amnesty International, ahead of a vote in the Italian parliament tomorrow.

      https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/deploying-italian-warships-to-police-libyan-waters-will-expose-refugees-

    • Missione navale: Italia pronta a destinare rifugiati e migranti verso orribili violenze

      Dopo il voto del parlamento italiano in favore dell’invio di navi da guerra nelle acque libiche per assistere la Guardia costiera della Libia a intercettare migranti e rifugiati e a riportarli a terra, la vicedirettrice di Amnesty International per l’Europa Gauri Van Gulik ha rilasciato questa dichiarazione:

      https://www.amnesty.it/missione-navale-italia-pronta-destinare-rifugiati-migranti-verso-orribili-vi

    • "L’aiuto dell’Italia alla Guardia costiera libica rischia di tradursi in complicità negli abusi sui migranti"

      L’annuncio del supporto operativo delle navi della Marina Militare italiana al governo di Tripoli, nell’intercettazione di barconi di migranti in acque libiche, è stata criticata da Human Rights Watch: «Potrebbe coinvolgere l’Italia in violazioni dei diritti umani a danno dei migranti successivamente detenuti in Libia».

      http://www.huffingtonpost.it/2017/08/02/l-aiuto-dellitalia-alla-guardia-costiera-libica-rischia-di-tra_a_2306

    • Libia, la Guardia Costiera viene pagata con i soldi della Cooperazione

      Le frontiere esterne dell’Unione Europea si blindano usando fondi destinati allo sviluppo. Dalla polizia del Niger, alle milizie che presidiano i confini in Sudan fino ai militari che controllano le coste del Paese nord africano. La missione ONU per la Libia (Unsmil) in un rapporto parla delle carceri libiche come luoghi di estorsioni e violenze

      http://www.repubblica.it/solidarieta/cooperazione/2017/07/31/news/libia_la_guardia_costiera_viene_pagata_con_i_soldi_della_cooperazione-172

      #aide_au_développement

    • Italy Has a Controversial New Plan to Stop Migrants Crossing the Mediterranean Sea

      The Italian government initially hoped to send six ships to Libya’s territorial waters, but plans had to be scaled down following popular protests in Tripoli, Reuters reports. Libyans have reportedly been posting images of Omar al-Mukhtar, a national hero who battled Italian rule in the early 1900s, on social media in response to the Italian presence— reflecting the widespread unease over a former colonial power intervening on domestic affairs. Pinotti said that Italy had no intention of creating a blockade on Libya’s coast.

      http://time.com/4885415/italy-naval-mission-migrant-smuggling

    • LIBIA : IL SUCCESSO DEMOCRATICO

      C’è solo una cosa che avete perso: la dignità umana.
      Credo l’abbiate fatto consapevolmente, perché liberarvi della fatica di difendere la dignità umana era il peso più affrontabile per risolvere questo maledetto problema degli sbarchi.
      Creare in pubblico il reato umanitario, confermare e rafforzare le derive più xenofobe e pericolose della nostra società, abbandonare migliaia di persone al loro immobile destino di ingiustizia e povertà, non disturbare la chiusura dell’Europa ricca e respingente, consolidare poteri forti e corrotti in paesi di origine e di transito: questo avete fatto e con questo state vincendo.
      Complimenti.
      Abbiate almeno il coraggio di non chiamarvi più nemmeno democratici.

      http://andreasegre.blogspot.ch/2017/08/libia-il-successo-democratico.html
      #Andrea_Segre

      Avec un ps sur la Suisse :

      P.P.S. scrivo tutto ciò da Locarno (Svizzera), dove presenteremo domani il nuovo doc IBI. E non posso non guardarmi intorno. Questo è il cuore dell’Europa ricca che proteggendosi ha ottenuto ciò che le interessava: crescita interna altissima sulle spalle di un mondo esterno da sfruttare e tenere fuori (i corpi ovviamente, i soldi no, se vogliono quelli entrano subito e senza controlli). Il PIL procapite medio da queste parti è circa 80mila euro l’anno. Nei paesi da cui scappano gli invasori raggiunge al massimo 1000 euro. Ma qui non ci arrivano, perché anche qui, soprattutto qui, hanno vinto. Bravi!

    • Fermare i migranti? Addestrare i libici non funziona

      La notte del 23 maggio 2017 il capitano della Iuventa, la nave dell’Ong tedesca Jugend Rettet, denuncia una nuova aggressione in mare da parte di un motoscafo libico, il cui equipaggio avrebbe sparato verso alcune imbarcazioni sovraccariche di profughi, per poi riportare due delle imbarcazioni verso la Libia. Era la Guardia Costiera libica? L’Italia come la sta addestrando, e a che scopo? E quante Guardie Costiere ci sono in Libia in realtà? Francesco Floris ha ricostruito nei dettagli la storia dell’addestramento italiano dei libici e i suoi precedenti.

      https://openmigration.org/analisi/fermare-i-migranti-addestrare-i-libici-non-funziona

    • Libia, arrivano meno migranti che così finiscono nel lager di #Sabha

      Lo dicono i numeri delle ultime settimane: si assiste ad una drastica riduzione del flusso migratorio dalla Libia verso l’Italia. E’ l’effetto dell’accordo italo-libico, sostenuto dall’Unione Europea. Decine di migliaia di migranti subsahariani bloccati. Lo raccontano le duemila testimonianze raccolte da Medici per i Diritti Umani (Medu)

      http://www.repubblica.it/solidarieta/immigrazione/2017/08/08/news/libia-172648143/?ref=search

    • Libyan Coast Guard Faces Allegations of Corruption

      At the same time, conflict and corruption on the ground have called into question the EU’s plans to train the Libyan Coast Guard and return migrants to Libyan shores. In February, Libya’s UN-backed government in Tripoli agreed to direct its coast guard to return migrants to shore in exchange for training assistance and financial aid. On Monday, Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Serraj negotiated for an additional EU assistance package of $860 million in military equipment, including ships, vehicles, helicopters and communications gear.

      http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/libyan-coast-guard-faces-allegations-of-corruption
      #gardes-côtes #frontières #Libye #gardes-côtes_libyens #corruption #Libye

    • Supreme Court annuls verdict that suspended implementation of Italy-Libya MoU

      The Supreme Court in Libya annulled a previous verdict that suspended the implementation of the #memorandum_of_understanding (MoU) that was signed between Libya’s UN-proposed Presidential Council and Italy.


      https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/supreme-court-annuls-verdict-suspended-implementation-italy-libya-mou

    • L’Italia esibisce in Europa gli accordi con Tripoli. Sotto attacco vittime e testimoni.

      Il governo italiano si presenta al vertice di Parigi esibendo, dietro il Codice di condotta per le ONG, autentico specchietto per le allodole, i risultati degli accordi con il premier libico Serraj e alcune tribù del Fezzan, come già prima con il Sudan di Bashir, con un abbattimento su base mensle, in agosto, del 70 per cento degli arrivi di migranti dalla Libia. Adesso si può davvero dire che le frontiere europee raggiungono il Fezzan, le attività di esternalizzazione dei controlli sono molto avanzate e numerosi contingenti militari sono già schierati sul territorio di confine tra Libia, Niger, Chad e Sudan. Poco importa a quale prezzo. Di fatto sono state proprio le milizie della zona di Sabratha, dalla quale si verificavano le partenze della maggior parte dei gommoni, ad intervenire per bloccare tutte le vie di fuga. Perchè di vie di fuga dalla Libia occorre parlare, oltre che di contrasto al traffico di esseri umani.

      http://www.a-dif.org/2017/08/28/litalia-esibisce-in-europa-gli-accordi-con-tripoli-sotto-attacco-vittime-e-te

    • DA TRAFFICANTE A COMANDANTE DELLA GUARDIA COSTIERA LIBICA

      In un’intervista a “La Stampa” Roberto Saviano racconta oggi che il capo dei trafficanti di #Zawija, base di tante partenze di migranti, a 40 km da Tripoli, è un ragazzo di nemmeno trent’anni, ricchissimo e spietato: #Abdurahman_Al_Milad_Aka_Bija, che tutti conoscono come #Al_Bija. Bene, anzi male: Al Bija è appena diventato il nuovo comandante della Guardia costiera libica della città. Insomma, il referente delle nostre navi militari.

      https://alganews.wordpress.com/2017/08/15/da-trafficante-a-comandante-della-guardia-costiera-libica

    • Tripoli. Accordo Italia-Libia, è giallo sui fondi per aiutare il Paese

      «Il governo non tratta con i trafficanti», asserisce la Farnesina. Non a torto, perché diverse fonti in Libia e tra la bene informata diaspora a Tunisi, dove risiedono molti membri del Consiglio presidenziale libico, confermano che gli stanziamenti italiani sono destinati alle istituzioni. «Però tutti sanno – aggiungono con sarcasmo – che autorità e contrabbandieri hanno madri diverse, ma lo stesso padre». Da Tripoli, ancora nessuna smentita ufficiale. Le conferme, al contrario, sono molteplici, non tutte anonime. Almeno cinque milioni di euro sono stati consegnati da Roma nelle settimane scorse sotto forma di denaro e medicamenti per le strutture sanitarie di Sabratha. Altri ’aiuti’, per importi analoghi, sono attesi dai sindaci-dignitari che hanno assicurato di voler cooperare con il premier Fayez al-Sarraj e l’Italia. Ci sono poi gli stanziamenti già destinati a Bengasi, nell’area controllata dal generale Khalifa Haftar, l’uomo forte della Cirenaica (a est del Paese) ora in espansione anche nell’ovest del premier al-Sarraj.

      https://www.avvenire.it/attualita/pagine/accordo-italia-libia-giallo-sui-fondi-per-aiutare-il-paese

    • I migranti come arma di ricatto tra lotte di potere, ritorsioni e nuovi equilibri in Libia. E i morti aumentano

      Nel week end tra il 15 e il 17 settembre sono arrivati in Italia dalla Libia più di 1.800 migranti su una quindicina di gommoni. Senza contare il flusso crescente di “barche fantasma”, pescherecci di varie dimensioni che, partendo dalla Tunisia, approdano in Sicilia, soprattutto sulle coste dell’Agrigentino. Dopo giorni di sbarchi in calo e di continue, “trionfanti” notizie di blocchi effettuati dalla Guardia Costiera libica lungo le coste africane, questo improvviso exploit di sbarchi ha destato non poca sorpresa, contraddicendo almeno in parte le dichiarazioni del Governo italiano sull’efficacia e sulla tenuta dei “muri” eretti nel Mediterraneo e nel Sahara con gli ultimi accordi stipulati da Roma con Tripoli. Non a caso, questo degli sbarchi, è stato uno dei temi guida del dibattito politico e del notiziario dei media nel fine settimana.

      http://www.a-dif.org/2017/09/22/i-migranti-come-arma-di-ricatto-tra-lotte-di-potere-ritorsioni-e-nuovi-equili

    • Italy claims it’s found a solution to Europe’s migrant problem. Here’s why Italy’s wrong.

      Motivating the Libyan militias’ newfound zeal for blocking migrant movement is a new policy spearheaded by the Italian government and embraced by the European Union. The approach relies on payment to militias willing to act as migrant deterrent forces. Italian government representatives use intermediaries such as mayors and other local leaders to negotiate terms of the agreements with the armed groups. They also build local support in the targeted areas by distributing humanitarian aid.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/09/25/italy-claims-its-found-a-solution-to-europes-migrant-problem-heres-w

    • Libye: La manœuvre périlleuse de l’Italie

      Rome est accusée d’avoir financé des passeurs de Sabratha pour endiguer le flux de migrants. Avéré ou non, cet accord a déclenché une guerre entre milices, déstabilisant un peu plus le pays.

      Côté face, Marco Minniti, le ministre italien de l’Intérieur, se félicite d’être à l’origine de la chute du nombre de migrants partant de la Libye pour l’Europe : - 50 % en juillet et - 87 % en août par rapport à la même période en 2016. Côté pile, Minniti, ancien chef des services secrets, est aussi la principale causede la guerre actuelle qui se déroule à Sabratha, ville située à 80 kilomètres à l’ouest de Tripoli, depuis le 17 septembre. Les combats ont fait au moins 26 victimes et, près de 170 blessés, endommageant également le théâtre romain antique classé au Patrimoine mondial de l’Unesco. Là, des taches de sang et des centaines de douilles jonchent encore le sol. Le lieu, qui a survécu aux soubresauts de l’histoire libyenne, est aujourd’hui marqué jusque dans ses pierres par ce nouveau drame qui n’a rien de théâtral.

      Marco Minniti est accusé d’avoir passé un accord financier avec le chef de milice Ahmed Dabbashi, alias Al-Ammou (« l’Oncle »), pour qu’il mette fin à ses activités de baron du trafic des migrants et ainsi faire baisser le nombre d’arrivées sur les côtes italiennes. L’homme était un des passeurs les plus puissants de Sabratha, dont les plages sont les lieux de départ de la grande majorité des candidats à rejoindre l’Europe.

      Dans les cafés de Sabratha, les habitués sourient lorsqu’on évoque le « repentir » d’Ahmed Dabbashi : « Il veut se donner une respectabilité, mais soyez certains qu’à 3 heures du matin, ses bateaux continuent de partir », assure Salah, qui préfère rester anonyme par crainte de représailles du chef mafieux, membre d’une importante famille de la cité antique. En septembre, plus de 3 000 migrants ont été secourus en mer, et un grand nombre d’entre eux était parti des plages de Sabratha. Si les départs ont ralenti, ils n’ont pas totalement disparu.

      Une aide italienne a minima

      Le conflit qui déchire Sabratha oppose les hommes d’Al-Ammou (alliés à la Brigade 48, dirigée par un frère d’Ahmed Dabbashi), à la Chambre des opérations (CDO) du ministre de la Défense, au Bureau de lutte contre la migration clandestine (BLMC) du ministre de l’Intérieur et à la milice salafiste Al-Wadi, également accusée de trafic humain. Tous se revendiquent d’une affiliation au gouvernement d’union nationale (GUN) de Faïez el-Serraj, soutenu par la communauté internationale. Mais ce dernier ne reconnaît que la CDO et le BLMC. Preuve, s’il en était, que la Libye, en proie au chaos, n’est qu’un camaïeu de gris.

      Bachir Ibrahim, le porte-parole du groupe d’Ahmed Dabbashi, a évoqué l’existence d’un accord verbal avec le gouvernement italien et le GUN de Faïez el-Serraj. Mais ces deux derniers démentent toute entente financière avec la milice. La rumeur ne s’est pas éteinte pour autant. Et les habitants de la ville rappellent les forts liens entre la milice de Dabbashi et l’Italie : c’est le groupe armé qui protège le site gazier de Mellitah, situé à l’ouest de Sabratha et géré par le géant italien ENI. D’ailleurs, la milice possède deux bateaux pneumatiques ultra-rapides qui appartenaient à la marine libyenne et dont l’un a été récupéré sur le site de Mellitah… Bassem al-Garabli, le responsable du BLMC, s’étonne, lui, que l’ambassadeur italien, Giuseppe Perrone, n’ait pas visité son unité lors de sa venue à Sabratha, le 10 septembre pour se féliciter de la chute du nombre de départs de migrants. L’ambassadeur italien à Tripoli n’a, de son côté, pas souhaité répondre à nos questions.

      « L’Italie a payé, en juillet, 5 millions d’euros à Al-Ammou pour trois mois de tranquillité, affirme sous couvert d’anonymat un membre de la CDO. L’échange s’est fait en haute mer. »Cette source rappelle le double jeu du chef de la milice, qui posséderait quatre hangars où des navires capables d’embarquer plusieurs centaines de migrants seraient restaurés. Pourtant, le 28 juillet, l’Union européenne a débloqué 46 millions d’euros à l’Italie afin qu’elle aide les autorités libyennes à renforcer sa capacité à gérer les flux migratoires et protéger ses frontières. Une somme que reflètent peu les résultats sur le terrain.

      A ce jour, seuls 136 marins libyens ont été formés en Italie à rechercher, secourir et perturber le trafic d’êtres humains. Les garde-côtes ont reçu cette année quatre bateaux, reliquats d’un contrat passé en 2008 et, qui plus est, anciens. « L’aide italienne est réelle mais pas au niveau, résume le porte-parole de la marine libyenne, le général Ayoub Gacem. Nous avons besoin de navires neufs pour intercepter les embarcations des migrants qui sont de plus en plus souvent escortées par des hommes armés sur des vedettes rapides. » La marine se montre davantage satisfaite par le « Code Minniti », qui a durci les conditions d’intervention des bateaux d’ONG présents pour secourir les migrants en détresse, au grand dam des organisations humanitaires. « Ces navires sont comme des taxis pour les clandestins, affirme Ayoub Gacem. Les passeurs ont compris qu’il suffit que les migrants atteignent les eaux internationales pour arriver en Europe. »

      Encore faut-il les atteindre. « Alors que nous étions au large de Sabratha, un bateau est arrivé, raconte Shaada, un Bangladais de 17 ans. Les hommes nous ont pris notre argent, nos téléphones portables, le téléphone satellite et le moteur avant de repartir. » Aujourd’hui au centre de rétention de Tripoli, Shaada décrit l’amplification de la piraterie à l’encontre des migrants, en mer comme dans le désert. Un phénomène qui explique aussi, en partie, la baisse des départs depuis la Libye.

      Boko Haram et l’état islamique

      Pour Ayman Dabbashi, cousin d’Al-Ammou mais également membre de la CDO, l’existence d’un « contrat » avec l’Italie ne fait aucun doute. Mais il ne comprend pas la logique italienne. « C’est incompréhensible, parce que mon cousin n’est pas quelqu’un d’éduqué, il sait à peine dire une phrase, affirme-t-il. Il a dit qu’il arrêterait les bateaux mais ce n’est pas vrai. Il va arrêter les bateaux des autres, mais pas les siens. »

      « Marco Minniti pousse le gouvernement d’union nationale à "intégrer" les milices comme celle d’Al-Ammou au sein du ministère de la Défense. Le ministre italien l’a reconnu lui-même. Cela est beaucoup plus grave pour la sécurité de la Libye, que l’existence ou non d’échange de valises de billets », prévient Jalel Harchaoui, qui prépare une thèse sur la dimension internationale du conflit libyen à l’université Paris-VIII. Même inquiétude du côté du général Omar Abdoul Jalil, responsable de la Chambre des opérations : « L’Europe doit faire attention avec qui elle négocie. Les passeurs n’ont aucun problème à introduire des terroristes dans des bateaux de migrants. » Il cite ainsi le cas de deux Camerounais récemment trouvés sur une embarcation et aussitôt envoyés en prison à Tripoli pour de forts soupçons d’appartenance à Boko Haram.

      Jusqu’en février 2016, des camps d’entrainement de l’Etat islamique étaient installés dans Sabratha, avant que les Américains ne bombardent un site. Le groupe terroriste était dirigé par Abdoullah Dabbashi, un parent d’Al-Ammou. Une accointance familiale qui pourrait servir de prétexte à Khalifa Haftar pour entrer dans la danse. L’homme fort de l’est du pays, bien qu’opposant au gouvernement de Faïez el-Serraj, pourrait envoyer des avions de sa base militaire d’Al-Watiya (à 80 kilomètres au sud-ouest de Sabratha) pour bombarder la milice d’Al-Ammou. Officiellement au nom de sa lutte contre le terrorisme. Officieusement, pour entrer de plain-pied dans la Tripolitaine, région ouest du pays. « Si Haftar intervient, l’altercation ne restera sans doute pas locale, prédit le chercheur Jalel Harchaoui. Un échange violent et soutenu poussera d’autres milices à prendre position et à entrer dans le bras de fer. Cette partie de la Libye est la plus peuplée du pays. Il est possible qu’elle s’enflamme et fasse l’objet d’un réalignement important. »

      « c’est une fausse victoire »

      Le maréchal Haftar a d’ailleurs été reçu par Marco Minniti mardi dernier à Rome. La question de Sabratha a été abordée. Spécialiste de la Libye au Conseil européen des relations internationales, Mattia Toaldo ne croit pas à l’escalade : « Marco Minniti veut protéger sa politique antimigratoire en persuadant Khalifa Haftar de rester à l’écart. Ce dernier n’a d’ailleurs pas intérêt à intervenir, ce serait une mission kamikaze. »

      Que le conflit s’embrase ou non, le trafic des migrants ne disparaîtra pas, les réseaux s’adapteront. « En ce moment pour les trafiquants, c’est plus rentable de faire de la contrebande d’essence ou de nourriture que de transporter des hommes. Mais c’est une fausse victoire. Cela va reprendre », assure Choukri Ftis, qui a participé à un récent rapport de Altai Consulting intitulé « Partir de Libye, rapide aperçu des municipalités de départs ». Il pointe déjà la plage de Sidi Bilal, située à une vingtaine de kilomètres à l’ouest de Tripoli, comme prochain centre d’embarquement. Ici, l’Al-Ammou local se nomme Saborto et dirige une milice de la tribu des Warshefanas, réputée pour ses enlèvements de riches Tripolitains et d’étrangers.

      http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2017/10/01/libye-la-manoeuvre-perilleuse-de-l-italie_1600209

    • European priorities, Libyan realities

      August 14 began calmly for Riccardo Gatti. On the first morning of a new search and rescue mission in the central Mediterranean, the former yachtsman turned activist walked the grayed wooden deck of the Golfo Azzurro, a trawler that has been stripped of its bulky fishing equipment to make space for life jackets and water bottles.

      http://issues.newsdeeply.com/central-mediterranean-european-priorities-libyan-realities

      cc @isskein

    • Le Commissaire demande des éclaircissements concernant les opérations maritimes italiennes dans les eaux territoriales libyennes

      Adressée au ministre italien de l’Intérieur, M. Marco Minniti, et publiée le 11 octobre 2017, le Commissaire sollicite des informations concernant les opérations maritimes menées par l’Italie dans les eaux territoriales libyennes à des fins de gestion des flux migratoires.

      https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/view/-/asset_publisher/ugj3i6qSEkhZ/content/commissioner-seeks-clarifications-over-italy-s-maritime-operations-in-libyan-te

      La réponse de Minniti :
      https://rm.coe.int/reply-of-the-minister-of-interior-to-the-commissioner-s-letter-regardi/168075dd2d

    • «Ministro Minniti mi incontri, le racconto l’orrore»

      Gennaro Giudetti, 26 anni, volontario dell’ong Sea Watch, ha recuperato con le proprie mani decine di persone salvandole da morte certa e un bambino senza vita nel naufragio di ieri 6 novembre 2017: «Ho visto con i miei occhi il folle comportamento dei militari libici, che picchiavano chi voleva raggiungerci e ci lanciavano patate. L’Italia blocchi l’accordo con la Libia». Ecco il suo racconto senza filtri

      http://www.vita.it/it/article/2017/11/07/ministro-minniti-mi-incontri-le-racconto-lorrore/145020

    • « En Libye, le trafic de migrants va reprendre comme avant »

      Ces derniers mois, les traversées depuis la Libye ont diminué de façon spectaculaire. Mais, en concluant un accord secret avec une milice de Sabratha, l’Italie pourrait avoir encore un peu plus déstabilisé le pays.

      Entre deux dossiers, dans son bureau de Rome, le ministre de l’Intérieur, Marco Minniti, doit sûrement se demander : « Ai-je eu raison ? » L’ancien chef des services secrets italiens est accusé d’avoir passé, au printemps, un accord financier avec Ahmed Dabbashi alias al-Ammou (l’Oncle), chef d’un des plus importants réseaux de trafic d’êtres humains en Libye, pour que ce dernier arrête son commerce et celui de ses concurrents régionaux.

      L’« Oncle » opère depuis Sabratha, à 70 km à l’ouest de Tripoli, d’où partait l’écrasante majorité des candidats à l’exil. Cette alliance a été revendiquée sur les réseaux sociaux par la brigade de l’Oncle, appelée « Anas-Dabbashi », du nom d’un cousin d’Ahmed tué pendant la révolution de 2011.

      « L’Italie a promis de verser 5 millions d’euros par trimestre. Le premier échange s’est fait durant l’été sur un bateau dans les eaux internationales », assure, sous couvert d’anonymat, un responsable de la Chambre des opérations de Sabratha, dépendant du gouvernement d’union nationale de Tripoli (reconnu par la communauté internationale) et principal ennemi de Dabbashi.

      Une realpolitik qui a eu des résultats spectaculaires : les enregistrements de migrants en Italie en provenance de la Libye ont chuté de 50% en juillet et 87% en août. Seulement, outre l’aspect moral douteux de cette politique, elle a été la principale cause d’une guerre de trois semaines (17 septembre-6 octobre) qui a fait une trentaine de morts et quelque 170 blessés. Les combats ont également profondément endommagé le Théâtre antique romain, classé au patrimoine de l’Unesco. Ils opposaient des forces du gouvernement d’union nationale à Dabbashi et son allié, la brigade 48. Ahmed Dabbashi a été battu et a dû quitter Sabratha. Son réseau n’est plus opérationnel, mais le jeu en valait-il la chandelle ?
      Milice payée avec des fonds européens ?

      L’Union européenne, qui avait donné quasi carte blanche à l’Italie pour régler la question des migrants, va-t-elle sévir ? Bruxelles avait octroyé 53,3 millions de francs suisses à la Botte pour aider la Libye à protéger ses frontières. L’argent a-t-il servi à payer Dabbashi ? Sur le terrain, les acteurs libyens n’ont pas vu d’amélioration notable. Les garde-côtes n’ont reçu cette année que quatre bateaux qui ont déjà servi, et encore s’agissait-il du reliquat d’un contrat passé en 2008.

      « L’aide italienne est réelle mais pas au niveau, résume le porte-parole de la marine libyenne, le général Ayoub Gacem. Nous avons besoin de navires neufs pour intercepter les embarcations des migrants, qui sont maintenant de plus en plus escortés par des hommes armés sur des vedettes rapides. » Car, si Dabbashi est hors-jeu, d’autres réseaux ont pris le relais.

      Après les affrontements de Sabratha, près de 15 000 migrants, principalement d’Afrique subsaharienne, ont été retrouvés et emmenés dans des centres de détention officiels dans la région de Tripoli. Dans le pays, ils seraient plusieurs centaines de milliers à attendre l’opportunité de traverser la Méditerranée.
      « Une fausse victoire »

      Le 31 octobre, deux bateaux pneumatiques avec 299 migrants à leur bord ont été arrêtés par les autorités libyennes. Ils étaient partis des plages de Zliten à 180 km à l’est de Tripoli. « La victoire de Sabratha est une fausse victoire, le trafic va reprendre comme avant dès l’an prochain quand ce sera la saison [été-automne] », prédit Choukri Ftis, un chercheur qui a participé récemment à un rapport sur la migration illégale en Libye.

      Cet été, le président français, Emmanuel Macron, avait lancé l’idée de centres d’enregistrement basés dans le sud libyen pour filtrer en amont les migrants. Une idée difficilement réalisable sur un territoire aussi vaste (2000 km de frontière avec l’Algérie, le Niger, le Tchad, le Soudan et l’Egypte) et soumis continuellement aux tensions ethniques entre Arabes, Toubous et Touaregs, qui se partagent le pouvoir dans une zone où l’Etat est quasi absent.

      La stratégie de Minniti a donné un coup de pied dans la fourmilière des réseaux de trafic d’êtres humains mais n’a pas fait disparaître le phénomène. Par contre, elle pourrait avoir durablement chamboulé l’équilibre politique du pays. Parmi la coalition armée qui a chassé Dabbashi se trouvait une force d’appui : la brigade al-Wadi. De tendance salafiste, le groupe est un affidé de l’Armée nationale arabe libyenne de Khalifa Haftar. L’homme fort de l’est a donc ainsi pu se draper de la victoire à Sabratha contre Ahmed Dabbashi.
      Intérêts gaziers

      Le 25 septembre, en plein milieu de la guerre de Sabratha, le maréchal a d’ailleurs été accueilli pour la première fois, bien qu’en catimini, par Marco Minniti et la ministre de la Défense, Roberta Pinotti. Au menu : le contrôle des plages de Sabratha si Dabbashi venait à être vaincu et la sécurisation du complexe gazier de Mellitah tout proche. Le site géré par le géant italien ENI était jusqu’alors protégé par les hommes de l’« Oncle ». Si rien n’a filtré de ce rendez-vous, les craintes sont vives que Haftar, fort d’un possible soutien italien qui aurait retourné sa veste devant la fuite de Dabbashi, n’ait des visées expansionnistes.

      « L’altercation ne restera sans doute pas locale, prédit Jalel Harchaoui. Un échange violent et soutenu poussera d’autres milices à prendre position et à entrer dans le bras de fer. Cette partie de la Libye est la plus peuplée du pays. Il est possible qu’elle s’enflamme et fasse l’objet d’un réalignement important. » Marco Minniti, dans son bureau, y pense-t-il parfois ?

      https://www.letemps.ch/monde/2017/11/05/libye-trafic-migrants-va-reprendre

    • Depositato il ricorso di ASGI contro lo sviamento di 2,5 milioni di euro dal c.d. Fondo Africa

      Supporto tecnico alle autorità libiche per la gestione delle frontiere con fondi destinati a rilanciare il dialogo e la cooperazione con i Paesi africani. ASGI al TAR : E’ sviamento di potere.

      https://www.asgi.it/asilo-e-protezione-internazionale/libia-italia-ricorso-fondi-cooperazione
      #Fonds_afrique

      –-> An English synthesis:

      Supporting Libyan Coast Guard is a misuse of the so-called “Africa Fund”. Italian Association ASGI brings Italian Foreign Ministry to Court.

      The Italian Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI) has recently brought legal proceedings before the Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR) with regard to Decree 4110/47 by which the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation allocates 2,5 million euros to the Ministry of Interior to repair four vessels for Libyan authorities and train them. Such a disbursement is part of the “Africa Fund” (200 million euros) set up by the Italian Parliament to promote cooperation and dialogue with African countries. Being Libya a notoriously unsafe country for migrants and refugees in transit, the compatibility of such a massive allocation of money with the stated goals of the “Africa Fund” – however vague they are – should be questioned. Given that these vessels might be used by the Libyan Coast Guard to pull-back migrants and refugees rescued/intercepted at sea and retain them in appalling detention centers, the main argument before TAR is that this military equipment is a diversion of the funding allocated by the Italian Parliament to contribute to the resolution of the humanitarian crisis in Libya.

    • The Case for Italy’s Complicity in Libya Push-Backs

      When a boatload of migrants sets off from Libya in the direction of Italy, smugglers often tell those on board to get to international waters before raising the alarm. The migrants hope to be picked up by rescue boats run by humanitarian NGOs and taken on to Italy where they can apply for asylum. The alternative is interception at the hands of the Libyan coast guard and a return to Libya.

      http://souciant.com/2017/11/the-case-for-italys-complicity-in-libya-push-backs

    • The rest of the world has woken up, but migrants are still sleepwalking into Libya slave markets

      While the West has reacted with outrage to video evidence of Libyan slave markets, potential victims themselves remain unaware of the dangers they face

      The trade in human beings has risen sharpy since the Italian government began paying Libyan militant groups and smugglers to stem the flow of migrants over the sea earlier this year.

      http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/african-migrants-libya-slave-markets-aim-europe-refugees-human-traffi

    • La strategia italiana nel Mediterraneo

      http://www.ispionline.it/sites/default/files/media/img/rapporto_med_maeci_2017_internet_1.pdf

      Avec ce commentaire sur FB de Francesco Floris (07.12.2017):

      La Farnesina s’è desta.
      Il ministero degli esteri ci fa la cortesia di dirci cosa pensa della Libia. Dopo che Alfano ha speso gli ultimi 12 mesi a fungere da cartonato di Minniti e a implorare diversi magistrati siciliani (e non) di indagare sulle ong invece che sui centri d’accoglienza usati da Ncd come un’american express.
      Solo che appena parlano finiscono col confessare.

      A pagina 24 del doc. «La strategia italiana nel Mediterraneo» - pamphlet dalla prosa brillante pieno zeppo de «L’Italia ha prontamente reagito», «Roma si è immediatamente attivata», «la task force ha fermamente ribadito» che gli piacciono enormemente gli avverbi - si legge che dopo il 2 febbraio 2017, e su richiesta di Serraj, abbiamo inviato a Tripoli una nave-officina per riparare le unità navali libiche. Ma non solo per amore della meccanica a quanto pare, anche per «fornire un coordinamento alle operazioni di pattugliamento e salvataggio in mare».
      Coordinare le operazioni dei libici per riportare i migranti in una nazione che non sottoscrive la Convenzione di Ginevra e dove vige un regime di tortura. Lo scrivono loro. E sarebbe anche illegale qualora a questi manettari con i polsi degli altri interessasse qualcosa.
      Quindi ogni volta che sentite le autorità italiane o la Mogherini indignarsi e sbraitare «la Ue e l’Italia non hanno mai respinto nessuno» e altre cazzate fate loro due domande: Cosa ci fa allora una nave italiana a Tripoli a coordinare le operazioni?
      E due: ci state prendendo per il culo o cosa?
      La seconda è quella giornalisticamente più interessante.

    • Exclusive: Italy plans big handover of sea rescues to Libya coastguard

      ROME/TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Italy wants Libya’s coastguard to take responsibility within three years for intercepting migrants across about a tenth of the Mediterranean even as Libyan crews struggle to patrol their own coast and are accused of making deadly mistakes at sea.

      https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-libya-exclusive/exclusive-italy-plans-big-handover-of-sea-rescues-to-libya-coastguard-idUSK

    • Italy Strikes Back Again: A Push-back’s Firsthand Account

      Evidence is mounting about the Italian Navy’s involvement in facilitating the return of migrants to Libya. There have been alleged cooperation agreements between Italy and Libya to stem the flows to Europe, at the same time, as there have been accusations of pushbacks to Libya. In these cases, Italy stands accused of actively supporting the Libyan Coast Guard in committing unlawful acts, returning intercepted migrants to places where their lives or freedom would be threatened, or where they would face the risk of torture.

      https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2017/12/italy-strikes?platform=hootsuite

    • Vu sur twitter, le 15.02.2018 :

      Another patch of Libyan Coast Guards #LCG finished training in #Italy , certificates given during a ceremony in #Libya #Migration


      https://twitter.com/zakariyatz/status/963801317738209282

      Et avec ce commentaire de Gerry Simpson :

      A reassuring photo of the latest Libyan coastguards receiving certificates after Italy trained them to intercept refugees & migrants heading for the EU & return them to Libya to face guaranteed inhumane detention conditions and a real risk of torture

      https://twitter.com/GerrySimpsonHRW/status/963976898291355648

    • Italy Has Reportedly Delivered Further Vessels To Tripoli’s Coast Guard In Libya

      “Three further Italian patrol vessels have been delivered to the Libyan Coast Guard right in these days”, the Italian analyst Gerardo Pelosi has revealed on Il Sole 24 Ore while debating the military missions to Libya and Niger Rome approved last January.

      The news apparently echoes a similar one shared by the Libyan outlet Libya Observer‘s journalist Safa Al Harathy, who has written today an only vessel, the “106”, was delivered on February 22nd after being fixed in Tunisia:

      “the vessel 106 will join the vessels 109 and 111 at Khums port to contribute in securing the Libyan coast from Tajoura all along to Zlitan city in the east”,

      the Libya Observer reports.

      https://betweenlibyaanditaly.wordpress.com/2018/02/25/italy-has-reportedly-delivered-further-vessels-to-tr

    • Mancata ratifica parlamentare del memorandum Italia-Libia : al via il ricorso alla Corte Costituzionale

      Presentato un ricorso alla Consulta da alcuni parlamentari italiani contro il Governo che, non chiedendo la ratifica dell’ accordo, ha impedito loro di esercitare il diritto di discuterne e di votare, come stabilito dalla Costituzione . La scheda tecnica dell’ASGI sull’azione.

      https://www.asgi.it/primo-piano/mancata-ratifica-parlamento-memorandum-italia-libia-ricorso-corte-costituzional
      #memorandum

    • Italian work on Libya and migrants OK

      Italy’s work on migrants and Libya has been positive, Frontex chief #Fabrice_Leggeri told ANSA in an interview Tuesday.
      “Italy is working to use the resources allotted by the EU to find sustainable solutions for Libya” and the migrants held there, he said.
      "And for now it is going in the right direction, even though the conditions of the centres in Libya are not in line with our standards, and with basic humanitarian standards.
      “But that is not Italy’s fault, all the international community and not only the EU can help”.


      http://www.ansa.it/english/news/politics/2018/02/20/italian-work-on-libya-and-migrants-ok_1cfcf7d8-b477-452c-aedf-86c0cfd48b48.html
      #Frontex #Leggeri

    • Migranti, l’accordo Italia-Libia finisce davanti alla Corte costituzionale

      Era il 2 febbraio 2017 quando – alla vigilia di un importante vertice europeo a Malta in cui si sarebbe discusso anche di emergenza immigrazione – il Primo ministro Paolo Gentiloni siglava a Roma l’accordo col presidente del Governo di unità nazionale libico Fayez al-Serraj: un memorandum in cui l’Italia si impegnava nei confronti della Libia a fornire strumentazioni e sostegno militare, strategico e tecnologico, oltre a fondi per lo sviluppo, per bloccare le partenze dei migranti in fuga. Un accordo con un Paese, è bene ricordarlo, che non ha ratificato la Convenzione di Ginevra sui rifugiati, e nelle cui carceri i migranti sono quotidianamente oggetto di violenze e soprusi.

      https://left.it/2018/02/28/migranti-laccordo-italia-libia-finisce-davanti-alla-corte-costituzionale

    • Le patrouilleur 648 qui a menacé Open Arms, un cadeau de l’Italie à la Lybie.

      L’UE a entrainé l’équipage du bateau qui a joué un rôle dans plusieurs incidents avec des ONG de sauvatage.

      CRISTINA MAS Barcelona 25/03/2018 00:21

      Le bateau de patrouille des gardes-côtes libyens qui a menacé dans les eaux internationales les volontaires d’Open Arms le 15 mars afin qu’ils leur livrent les femmes et les enfants qu’ils étaient en train de secourir, était un cadeau de l’Italie à la Libye. La même embarcation, qui porte le numéro d’identification 648 et le nom de Ras al Jadar, a joué un rôle dans plusieurs autres incidents avec d’autres bateaux des ONG SeaWatch et SOS méditerranée, qui travaillent au sauvetage de naufragés en Méditerranée.

      Entre 2009 et 2010, le Premier ministre italien Silvio Berlusconi a alors accordé six patrouilles aux garde-côtes libyens dans le cadre de l’accord amical signé avec le dictateur libyen Mouammar Kadhafi. Le texte prévoyait la construction d’un système de radar dans le but de surveiller les frontières du désert et des patrouilles maritimes conjointes dans les eaux libyennes et internationales pour empêcher que des bateaux quittant la Libye arrivent en Italie.

      Mais la vie des six bateaux de patrouille donnés à Kadhafi – toutes du modèle Bigliani, qui étaient auparavant au service du corps militaire Guardia di Finanza - était aussi courte que la période à laquelle le dictateur a survécu au pouvoir. Le 17 février 2011, le printemps arabe atteint la Libye avec une révolte qui a déclenché une intervention de l’OTAN et s’est terminée avec la mort de Kadhafi huit mois plus tard. Deux des embarcations ont été détruites dans les combats, et les quatre autres, dont le 648, ont été réparés à l’usine navale de Fiamme Gialle de Miseno (Naples). En avril dernier, l’Italie les a rendue au gouvernement de Tripoli.

      L’incident du 15 mars avec Open Arms n’est pas le premier d’une ONG avec ce bateau de patrouille. Le 6 novembre, l’ONG allemande Sea Watch, travaillant dans la même région, a rapporté qu’à 30 miles de la côte libyenne la même patrouille a interféré dans un sauvetage.

      Les migrants à bord ont pris panique, le bateau des gardes-côtes les a rattrapé, certains naufragés ont pu grimper sur le bateau de patrouille sans que les agents ne les aident et, une fois à bord, comme on peut le voir sur la vidéo enregistrée par l’ONG, les gardes-côtes les ont frappés avec les amarres du bateau.

      Un jeune a tenté de descendre pour atteindre le bateau de l’ONG et est resté suspendu à l’échelle, au moment où le bateau libyen a accéléré et mis sa vie en danger. Au moins cinq migrants sont morts dans l’opération, des décès qui selon Sea Watch auraient pu être évités.

      Le 4 mars, le navire Aquarius, de l’ONG SOS Mediterranée, a également subi l’hostilité de la patrouille 648, qui s’est approchée d’eux au cours d’une collision sans répondre à leurs avertissements radio et finalement ils leur ont ordonné de quitter le site, à 17 milles au large de la côte, alors même s’ils étaient à la recherche d’un bateau.

      Un autre vaisseau d’Open Arms a eu, en août, un incident avec un autre bateau de patrouille donné par l’Italie, le 654, qui les a menacé avec deux rafales de balles tirée en l’air et une semaine plus tard les a forcés à naviguer pendant environ deux heures en direction de Tripoli en disant qu’ils étaient sous sa protection.

      Rome et l’ensemble de l’UE ont choisi l’un des trois gouvernements qui se disputet le pouvoir dans la guerre civile en Libye, celui dirigé par le Premier ministre Faiez al-Sarraj, qui a le soutien de l’UE et de l’ONU, mais ne contrôle seulement qu’un tiers du pays. La Libye est plongée dans un conflit sans front avec des centaines de milices armées.

      Le Premier ministre italien Paolo Gentiloni et Al-Sarraj ont signé le 2 février 2017 un protocole d’accord - dans le cadre de l’accord signé par Berlusconi et Kadhafi - qui établit une coopération bilatérale dans les domaines du développement, l’immigration illegale, le trafic d’êtres humains, la contrebande et le renforcement de la surveillance des frontières entre l’Italie et la Libye. L’Italie livrera à Tripoli six patrouilles supplémentaires totalement neuves.

      L’Espagne s’est proposé de former 100 garde-côtes libyens dans la base navale de Carthagène. Dans le cadre de l’opération Sophia de l’OTAN, le programme de formation de la Garde côtière libyenne financé par l’UE avec 46 millions d’euros a déjà formé 93 agents dans un navire italien et dans un autre navire néerlandais. 43 officiers supplémentaires ont été formés en Crète, à Malte et à Rome.

      Human Rights Watch lance un cri d’alarme : « Aider les autorités libyennes à capturer des immigrés en haute mer, sachant qu’ils les rendront à un traitement cruel, inhumain ou dégradant dans une détention arbitraire, expose l’Italie et d’autres pays de l’UE à participer à une violation grave des droits de l’homme ». Les accusations ne viennent pas seulement des ONG. Le groupe d’experts de l’ONU sur la Libye a rappelé que « les abus contre les migrants ont été largement collectés, y compris les exécutions, la torture ou la privation de nourriture, d’eau et de médicaments », et prévient que « le département contre l’immigration (libyen) et la garde côtière (italienne) sont directement impliqués dans ces graves violations des droits de l’homme. » Avec les accords d’externalisation du contrôle des frontières de l’UE, le témoignage des ONG en Méditerranée centrale devient de plus en plus gênant."

      Traduction, reçu via la mailing list de Migreurop, de cet article paru en catalan:
      La patrullera #648 que va amenaçar Open Arms, un regal d’Itàlia a Líbia

      La UE va entrenar la tripulació del vaixell que ha protagonitzat diversos incidents amb ONGs de rescat


      https://www.ara.cat/internacional/patrullera-amenacar-Open-Arms-Libia_0_1984601662.html
      #Open_arms

    • Texte publié par SOS Méditerranée, sur twitter (17.04.2018) :

      UPDATE while searching for the boat in distress, the #Aquarius was informed the Libyan coastguard took coordination over 2 boats in distress today. This means more people were taken back to a place where their safety is not guaranteed.

      https://twitter.com/SOSMedIntl/status/986294580097224705

      v. aussi :

      UPDATE The #Aquarius was alerted to a boat in distress earlier today. This afternoon, the crew of the #Aquarius found this empty and slashed rubber boat in international waters off the coast of #Libya.

      https://twitter.com/SOSMedIntl/status/986267126087503872

      #refoulement #push-back

    • Cercate i guardacoste libici? Telefonate a Roma: 06/…

      È un numero di telefono a rivelare il rapporto, forse un po’ troppo stretto, tra Roma e Tripoli. Una utenza che corrisponde a un interno della Marina militare italiana, stampato, come recapito del mittente, su un modulo di messaggi utilizzato dalla Guardia costiera libica. Il documento, di cui pubblichiamo il dettaglio, ha consultato porta la […]

      https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/premium/articoli/cercate-i-guardacoste-libici-telefonate-a-roma-06

    • Sur le site de la Défense italienne...
      Un article de août 2017:
      Nave #Tremiti nel porto libico di #Abu_Sittah

      Dopo il pattugliatore Comandante Borsini che ha sbarcato nel porto militare di Tripoli (Abu Sittah) il personale italiano che opererà a supporto della Guardia costiera libica, è giunta ieri nel porto della nostra ex colonia Nave Tremiti, una delle 6 unità da 750 tonnellate per il trasporto costiero della Classe Gorgona.

      La nave è destinata a garantire supporto tecnico ai mezzi navali libici nell’ambito della cooperazione italo-libica e in applicazione dell’accordo tra i due Paesi del 2008 “riesumato” dal governo di Fayez al-Sarraj.


      http://www.analisidifesa.it/2017/08/nave-tremiti-nel-porto-libico-di-abu-sittah

      –-> j’aime bien l’expression «accordo riesumato» = «accord ressuscité»

      Et puis cette nouvelle, de 30 mars 2018:
      Missioni Militari: Nave #Caprera sostituisce la #Capri nella missione bilaterale di assistenza e supporto in Libia

      È previsto nella giornata di oggi il “passaggio di consegne” tra Nave Capri e Nave Caprera nell’ambito della Missione Bilaterale di Assistenza e Supporto in Libia.

      In particolare, a questo assetto navale compete, prioritariamente, l’attività di supporto logistico e tecnico-manutentivo dei battelli della Marina e della Guardia Costiera libiche. Nave Caprera giungerà domani al porto di Tripoli, da dove comincerà la sua missione della durata di circa quattro mesi.

      Nave Capri aveva iniziato la sua attività a dicembre dello scorso anno, subentrando a Nave Tremiti, e nei suoi circa quattro mesi di missione ha svolto consulenza e formazione del personale militare libico della Marina e della Guardia Costiera nelle attività di manutenzione, riparazione e ripristino dell’efficienza delle unità navali libiche.

      L’operazione, inizialmente inquadrata nell’operazione “Mare Sicuro”, era stata avviata ad agosto dello scorso anno, in seguito alla richiesta di supporto avanzata dal Governo di Accordo Nazionale libico al Governo italiano. Per assolvere con efficacia i compiti assegnati, a bordo delle unità navali italiane della “classe Gorgona” – selezionate per alternarsi in questo specifico incarico di natura tecnico-logistica – è prevista la presenza di un container attrezzato a officina meccanica, oltre che di due ulteriori team di personale tecnico-specialistico.

      https://www.difesa.it/OperazioniMilitari/op_intern_corso/Libia_Missione_bilaterale_di_supporto_e_assistenza/notizie_teatro/Pagine/Nave_Caprera_sostituisce_la_Capri_nella_missione_bilaterale_di_assistenza_e_s

      #operazione_Mare_Sicuro

    • "Playing with Molecules": The Italian Approach to Libya

      Cette étude met en lumière la manière dont la politique étrangère italienne a choisi en Libye de traiter avec les divers éléments, ou « molécules », d’un pays entré en décomposition.
      La politique impulsée par le gouvernement Gentiloni, et en particulier le ministre de l’Intérieur Marco Minniti, a composé avec les différents acteurs pour « repriser » et stabiliser le terrain, afin de mieux gérer les flux de migrants et les activités illégales en Méditerranée, mais aussi de sécuriser l’approvisionnement énergétique de l’Italie. Cette approche « moléculaire » est à double tranchant : alors que les flux migratoires se sont réduits, que les relations économiques s’intensifient et que les coopérations informelles créent de nouveaux espaces de dialogue, le manque de vision stratégique dans la mise en avant de nouveaux acteurs pourrait nuire aux perspectives de paix et in fine, aux relations entre l’Italie et la Libye.


      https://www.ifri.org/fr/publications/etudes-de-lifri/playing-molecules-italian-approach-libya

    • Most Libyan militias involved in illegal migration activities nominally affiliated to official state security institutions: UN Libya Experts Panel report

      Most Libyan militias involved in illegal migration activities are nominally affiliated to official state security institutions, the UN Libya Experts Panel report states in its section on human trafficking and financing of armed groups.

      ‘‘Armed groups, which were party to larger political-military coalitions, have specialized in illegal smuggling activities, notably human smuggling and trafficking. The drastic rise in the numbers of migrants starting in 2014 indicates that illegal migration in Libya is not the preserve of isolated armed groups but of much larger coalitions. Most armed groups involved in these illegal activities were nominally affiliated to official security institutions. In 2014, the number of migrants that took the central Mediterranean route (great majority through Libya) was 170,664, compared to 45,298 and 15,151, respectively in 2013 and 2012.

      Role of SDF and links with smugglers

      The Special Deterrence Force (SDF) is an armed group affiliated to the Government of National Accord’s Ministry of Interior, with policing and security functions, including investigation of human traffickers and the arrest of illegal migrants.

      Testimonies of migrants, originating from Eritrea, reveal that when they reached Tripoli from Bani Walid in July 2016, they were arrested by SDF. They confirmed that, once arrested by SDF, they were handed over, against payment, to various migrant smuggling rings for onward journeys to Zawiyah and Sabratha.

      Some were handed over to the Mitiga detention centre, while others were taken to the Tajura and Abu Slim detention centres. These three centres are theoretically subordinated to the Ministry of Interior’s Department Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM). The group detained in Mitiga had to pay the SDF between 300 and 400 USD each, for their release and transfer from Tripoli to Sabratha.

      Four Bangladeshis told the Panel that they landed in Tripoli from Dhaka on 15 July 2015, holding valid Libyan work visas. On arrival, SDF seized their passports and detained them for three months in Mitiga. They were subsequently transferred to Sabratha, and sent on boats against their will to Europe after being extorted of 300 USD paid in cash to the SDF elements.

      The Panel is assessing whether the SDF’s leadership was aware of collusion and trafficking being conducted within its ranks.

      Role of Eritrean smugglers

      In Tripoli, a well-structured network of smugglers coming from East Africa has operated since 2008. Multiple testimonies collected and corroborated by judicial authorities indicate that the leadership is composed of two Eritreans living in Tripoli, Ermias Ghermay and Abd al-Razzak Fitwi.

      They play a key role in organizing the smuggling from the migrants’ homeland to Italy against substantial payments. Interviewees claimed that Fitwi acts as a broker and receives up to 1,500 US dollars per person, to release the migrants held in the official detention centres in Tripoli and to send them to Sabratha.

      An armed group member from Tripoli, told the Panel that Fitwi and Ghermay paid substantial fees to prominent armed groups to pursue their activities and to guarantee their safety. They also have private detention camps in Tajura, Abu Slim and Gargaresh guarded by Africans. From there they transport migrants to Sabratha or Zawiyah.

      Use of State detention facilities for trafficking

      The Directorate Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM) is responsible for 24 detention centres and employs 5,000 staff. Under Libyan legislation, the migrants are detained because they are considered as illegal aliens, subject to investigation by judicial authorities.

      According to international agencies, the DCIM has no control over its detention centres. The administration is almost non-existent, and records on the migrants, who have been detained, are poor. A minister of the GNA admitted in a discussion that the armed groups are stronger than the authorities in handling the flows of migrants. Several migrants also confirmed that the local armed group controlled the centres they stayed in.

      Smugglers in Sabratha

      Sabratha is the main departing point of migrants to Italy. The city is divided between two competing armed groups involved in migrant smuggling. The eastern zone is under control of Mosab Abu Grein al Wadi armed group. The western zone is held by Ahmad al-Dabbashi’s Martyr Anas al-Dabbashi Brigade.

      Anas al-Dabbashi Martyr Brigade

      The commander of Anas al-Dabbashi Martyr’s Brigade, Ahmad al-Dabbashi (alias al- ‘Amu), was the main smuggler in Sabratha from 2014 until he was ousted in October 2017. West African migrants rescued in Lampedusa in April 2017 testified in Italy on al-Dabbashi’s modus operandi.

      The interviewees were forced to call their families to transfer money to specific bank accounts located in Europe, Africa or the Middle East. From October 2016 to April 2017, they had to pay up to 2,000 USD each for their travel. The money was extorted by armed guards composed of Libyans, Nigerians and Gambians. The African guards work for three months to pay their own migration to Europe. The interviewees sailed, on 13 April 2017, with two of their former guards from Sabratha to Lampedusa.

      The Panel is investigating the GNA’s creation and financing of the anti-illegal migration unit, “Brigade 48”. Although it was supposedly under the Ministry of Defence and the Chief of Staff, sources stated that al-Amu’s brother, Mohamed al-Dabbashi, headed it. In summer 2017, al-Dabbashi’s brigade had apparently shifted from trafficking to policing migrants for the GNA’s account.

      Furthermore, several open sources reported an alleged deal with al-Dabbashi to contain the migration flows from Sabratha. Although the information was denied, it triggered violent clashes between competing armed groups involved in smuggling. Ahmad al-Dabbashi was defeated and escaped Sabratha on 6 October 2017. The PC dissolved the Brigade 48 on 16 November 2017.

      Role of Mos’ab Abu Grein

      Mos’ab Abu Grein (alias “The Doctor”), a leader of al-Wadi Brigade, operates in the eastern part of Sabratha. He is connected to a network of smugglers composed of Salafi armed groups in Tripoli, Sebha and Kufra. The Panel interviewed three different Eritrean migrants who reported that they were taken from SDF’s Mitiga detention centre to the Abu Grein facility in Sabratha in July 2016. They were detained in a hangar with African guards from where Abu Grein organizes departures on inflatable rubber boats to Italy.

      The interviewees said they paid Abu Grein 1,500 USD cash via a Nigerian broker to cross the Mediterranean. According to official sources, Mos’ab Abu Grein enjoys impunity for his activities in migrant smuggling because he collaborates with the SDF to counter drug traffickers, consumption of alcohol and combats alleged links of Sabratha and Zawiyah traffickers to listed entities such as ISIL.

      Abu Grein and Dabbashi have been in close competition, both seeking to monopolize the trafficking in Sabratha. From 21 September, Abu Grein supported the anti-ISIL Operation Room (AIOR) to combat the Brigade 48 armed group. The Panel notes that the warring parties, the AIOR and the Brigade 48, were officially financed by the GNA until the conflict broke out in Sabratha.

      Zawiyah

      Al Nasr Brigade and the Coast Guards

      Between Tripoli and Sabratha, Zawiyah port plays a distribution role. According to interviews of migrants and judicial reports, ‘Al Nasr Brigade’ 56, headed by Mohamed Koshlaf, and Zawiyah Coast Guards, was connected to Ahmad al-Dabbashi’s organization. Several migrants paid 100,000 to 150,000 Francs CFA57 to a Burkinabe broker operating between Koshlaf and the migrants.

      Other interviewees, who travelled in April 2017, asserted that their group left Zawiyah by night, crammed on a 10-meter inflatable rubber boat. While at sea, men with an official boat and wearing Coast Guard uniforms stopped them. They shot in the air and extorted the passengers’ money and valuables. When the boat arrived at calling distance off the Italian shores, the same official boat returned to seize the rubber boat’s engine. Similar incidents have been reported previously.

      Southern Region

      Brigade Subul al-Salam

      Eritrean and Ethiopian interviewees described their transfer, in January 2015, from the Sudanese border to Al Kufra. An Eritrean fixer, called Afra Waiki, transported and handed them over to an armed group, Brigade Subul al-Salam, affiliated with the LNA and under the command of Abd al Rahman Hashem from the Zway tribe in al-Kufra.

      The interviewees said they were put in a prison where the guards were dressed in police uniforms and driving official police cars. For their release, each migrant had to transfer up to 300 USD to a foreign bank account. In July 2015, they could continue their travel to Bani Walid driven by another Eritrean fixer known as Wadi Isaaq.

      Role of Tebu armed groups and Sudanese armed groups

      Sources indicated active involvement of Tebu and Darfuri armed groups, supported by Darfuri mercenaries in the south, in migrant smuggling. They operate particularly in the Tamassa region, in the south west of Jebel Arrush, Murzuq and al Kufra. The Tebu manage their own warehouses for migrants while Darfuri armed groups provide protection and escort to the traffickers.

      Recent developments have shown attempts to counter the groups involved in migrant smuggling. In September 2017, an armed group called the ‘Suqur al Sahara’ headed by the Tebu commander, Barka Shedimi, claimed the closure of the borders with Niger, Sudan and Chad to halt human trafficking. Similarly, a coalition of armed groups linked to Murzuq Municipality also created their own border protection force. The Panel is investigating these decisions, particularly the political and the financial motivations behind them”.

      https://www.libyaherald.com/2018/03/11/most-libyan-militias-involved-in-illegal-migration-activities-nominally
      signalé par @isskein via Fulvio Vassallo sur FB

    • Sauvetage de migrants : tensions entre gardes-côtes et ONG au large de la Libye

      Plusieurs associations dénoncent le traitement infligé aux migrants par les garde-côtes libyens. Ces derniers travaillent en coordination avec l’Italie.

      Toujours pas d’apaisement en Méditerranée entre ONG et gardes-côtes libyens. Ce week-end, plusieurs navires humanitaires souhaitant s’approcher d’embarcations de migrants en détresse se sont vus refuser l’accès.

      « Les Libyens agissent comme des pirates dans les eaux internationales, exigeant que leur soit reconnue une autorité. Ils agissent hors du droit et ils le font avec des moyens fournis par le gouvernement italien », a accusé sur Twitter le député italien de gauche Riccadro Magi. Samedi, il était à bord de l’Astral, un voilier appartenant à l’ONG Proactiva Open Arms, lorsqu’une vedette libyenne a ordonné au navire de s’éloigner.

      Bis repetita dimanche avec l’Aquarius. Ce bateau, affrété par SOS-Méditerranée et Médecins sans frontières (MSF) avait été prévenu par les gardes-côtes italiens de la présence d’un canot surchargé au large de Tripoli. Mais Rome a aussi prévenu ses homologues libyens, qui ont pris la coordination de l’opération et interdit au navire de s’approcher. Leur a également été demandé de s’éloigner quand des migrants ont sauté à l’eau pour tenter d’éviter d’être reconduits en Libye. En début de soirée, la marine libyenne a annoncé avoir secouru plus de 300 migrants dans trois opérations distinctes, faisant état d’un mort et d’un disparu.

      Flou autour de l’identité de ces gardes-côtes

      Le porte-parole de la marine libyenne a prévenu que les tensions avec les ONG risquent de s’aggraver dans les prochains jours, les navires humanitaires « s’approchant de plus en plus » des eaux libyennes, selon M. Kacem. La Libye, qui accuse les ONG d’être liées aux réseaux de passeurs, est soutenue par l’Italie et l’Union européenne qui finance la formation de ces officiers dans cette région en proie aux tensions inter-tribales.

      « Certains ont des uniformes mais on ne sait pas qui ils sont vraiment, décrivait pour le Parisien Francis Vallat, président de SOS Méditerranée. Certains dépendent du gouvernement libyen reconnu internationalement, tandis que d’autres relèvent de chefs féodaux plus ou moins provinciaux. On ne sait pas si ces gens respectent le droit. En tout cas, ils ont une attitude qui permet d’en douter. »

      LIRE AUSSI >Des migrants « secourus » sur fond d’accusations de traitements inhumains

      Trois responsables de l’ONG Proactiva Open Arms font actuellement l’objet d’une enquête judiciaire en Italie pour avoir refusé de remettre des migrants aux Libyens lors d’une opération mi-mars. Même si un juge a estimé qu’ils avaient agi « en état de nécessité » compte tenu de l’insécurité pour les migrants en Libye.
      La crainte de l’« enfer libyen »

      Le pays fait régulièrement l’objet de critiques pour les traitements infligés aux migrants, notamment africains, qui passent sur son territoire dans l’espoir de rejoindre l’Europe pour une vie meilleure. En novembre, CNN révélait au monde abasourdi l’existence de ventes aux enchères d’hommes réduits aux rangs d’esclaves, dans une vidéo glaçante tournée près de Tripoli, la capitale libyenne.

      Cette semaine, MSF a dénoncé la situation dans un centre de détention libyen à Zouara (ouest), où ses équipes ont vu plus de 800 personnes tellement entassées qu’elles ont à peine la place de s’allonger, « sans un accès adéquat à l’eau et à la nourriture ».

      LIRE AUSSI >Esclavage en Libye : Ousmane a vécu six mois d’enfer dans les geôles libyennes

      La coordination entre Rome et Tripoli a fait chuter drastiquement les départs vers les côtes européennes. Selon les autorités italiennes, près de 9 500 migrants ont débarqué cette année, soit une baisse de 75 % par rapport à la même période en 2017. Dans le même temps, les gardes-côtes libyens ont secouru et ramené en Libye plus de 5 000 migrants, selon l’Organisation internationale pour les migrations (OIM), qui fait aussi état d’un bilan d’au moins 379 morts ou disparus au large de la Libye.

      http://www.leparisien.fr/international/sauvetage-de-migrants-tensions-entre-gardes-cotes-et-ong-au-large-de-la-l

    • Riportati dalla Guardia costiera in Libia, torturati e venduti : le associazioni fanno ricorso alla CEDU

      Ricorso alla Corte Europea dei Diritti umani contro l’Italia per aver coordinato la Guardia Costiera libica nei respingimenti che hanno portato ad abusi e al decesso di migranti

      Il 6 Novembre 2017 l’ONG Sea-Watch è stata ostacolata dalla Guardia Costiera Libica durante un’operazione di salvataggio di 130 cittadini migranti da un gommone alla deriva, partito dalle coste libiche. Almeno venti dei migranti sono morti, tra cui due minori. L’intervento è stato coordinato a distanza dal Centro di Coordinamento Marittimo (MRCC) della Guardia Costiera italiana e la motovedetta libica coinvolta era stata donata dal governo italiano alcuni mesi prima. La Guardia Costiera libica ha poi riportato in Libia quarantasette dei sopravvissuti, che sono stati rinchiusi in condizioni disumane, subendo percosse, estorsioni, fame e stupri. Due di loro sono stati successivamente “venduti” e torturati con elettrochoc. Nella conferenza stampa verrà illustrato il ricorso alla Corte Europea dei Diritti umani e verrà presentato un rapporto audio-visivo prodotto da Forensic Oceanography/Forensic Architecture che ricostruisce questo ed altri casi di respingimento.

      https://www.asgi.it/allontamento-espulsione/migranti-libia-guardia-costiera-cedu
      #CEDH

    • Un article d’avril 2017

      L’accordo tra Italia e Libia potrebbe favorire il traffico di migranti

      A Gaeta è una giornata di sole, i battaglioni della guardia di finanza sono schierati davanti al mare sulla terrazza della caserma Bausan, stretta tra il golfo e la cittadina fortificata. In mare le due motovedette che l’Italia restituirà alla guardia costiera libica si esibiscono in caroselli a sirene spiegate. Un elicottero sorveglia la parata. Il ministro dell’interno Marco Minniti è arrivato da Roma per assistere alla riconsegna alla guardia costiera libica di due motovedette. Erano state donate dall’Italia alla Libia nel 2009, ma erano state danneggiate nel 2011 durante la guerra in Libia, e restituite agli italiani nel 2012.

      “Entro l’anno ne saranno consegnate in tutto dieci”, dice il ministro, che nel suo discorso definisce la guardia costiera libica “la più importante struttura nel Nordafrica” per il controllo dell’immigrazione irregolare. Poco dopo, Minniti consegna i diplomi ai venti cadetti libici che hanno seguito un corso di addestramento a Gaeta per tre settimane. Altri diciannove saranno formati nelle prossime settimane dalla scuola nautica della guardia di finanza, per un totale di quattro equipaggi.

      L’obiettivo del governo italiano, espresso nel memorandum d’intesa con la Libia firmato il 2 febbraio, è affidare ai libici il pattugliamento delle coste e il recupero dei migranti che salpano ogni giorno dalle coste del paese africano a bordo d’imbarcazioni di fortuna. Dall’inizio del 2017 ne sono stati soccorsi più di 30mila, mentre quelli che hanno perso la vita durante la traversata sono stati più di mille. Il presidente del governo di unità nazionale (Gna) di Tripoli, Fayez al Sarraj, ha chiesto all’Italia di investire 800 milioni di euro nella cooperazione per fermare l’arrivo dei migranti.

      Adel, Hamza e Omar sono alcuni degli ufficiali della guardia costiera libica che partecipano alla cerimonia di Gaeta: maglione blu a coste e cappellino da baseball. “In Libia la situazione non è per niente tranquilla”, dice Adel, gli occhi verdi e il volto scavato, in un italiano stentato, dopo la fine della cerimonia, mentre mangia pasticcini insieme ai compagni sotto coperta, all’interno della motovedetta appena riconsegnata a cui è stato dato il nome di Sabratha. “La guerra non è proprio finita”, continua Adel sorridente.

      Alleati affidabili?
      Il governo italiano conosce bene la situazione drammatica in Libia e molte inchieste hanno denunciato casi di corruzione della guardia costiera del paese, eppure Roma sembra determinata a perseguire il suo progetto di cooperazione con Tripoli per fermare la partenza dei migranti, anche se il memorandum d’intesa è stato sospeso dalle autorità libiche, nell’attesa che un tribunale ne stabilisca la legittimità.

      “Fermeremo le imbarcazioni che partono dalla Libia”, ha detto Ahmed Safar, l’ambasciatore libico in Italia. “Quelli che saranno soccorsi saranno portati nei centri di detenzione più vicini”, ha assicurato durante la cerimonia di Gaeta. La rete televisiva tedesca Ard ha rivelato che il governo di Tripoli ha chiesto all’Unione europea di armare la guardia costiera libica con altre 130 imbarcazioni di vario tipo, alcune delle quali dotate anche di mitragliatrici per fermare la partenza dei migranti dalle coste.

      Molti esperti, tuttavia, hanno espresso il timore che i fondi stanziati dall’Italia e dall’Unione europea per finanziare la guardia costiera libica finiscano indirettamente nelle mani dei trafficanti. Un’inchiesta di Nancy Porsia per Trt World, infatti, ha mostrato che il capo della guardia costiera a Zawiya, Abdurahman Milad, è una delle figure chiave del traffico di esseri umani nella regione.

      Milad è accusato di avere legami con le milizie di Tripoli che portano i migranti dal Sahara alla costa, prima che siano imbarcati verso l’Italia. “Le mafie si sono infiltrate, ricattano molte delle unità di polizia, delle guardie costiere delle città e dei villaggi libici”, aveva detto una fonte della sicurezza italiana all’inviato del quotidiano italiano Repubblica in Libia Vincenzo Nigro.

      “In Libia non si può parlare di un’unica guardia costiera, ma di un’istituzione che rimane espressione delle realtà locali”, spiega Gabriele Iacovino, esperto di Libia del Centro di studi internazionali (CeSI). “Una cosa è la guardia costiera di Misurata, un’altra quella di Zawiya. In particolare, in questa regione della Libia, i poteri locali sono nemici delle milizie che controllano Tripoli”.

      Iacovino spiega che non si può escludere che in alcune zone “esponenti della guardia costiera libica si facciano pagare delle tangenti dai trafficanti per consentire alle imbarcazioni di lasciare la costa e giungere nelle acque internazionali”.

      Questa ipotesi è stata confermata da un rapporto dell’operazione navale europea EunavforMed, citato dall’Istituto per gli studi di politica internazionale (Ispi), che denuncia la collusione tra la guardia costiera di Zawiya e i trafficanti di esseri umani. In un articolo, pubblicato sull’Espresso, i giornalisti Francesca Mannocchi e Alessio Romenzi hanno descritto un fenomeno simile: la guardia costiera libica vende le persone recuperate in mare alle milizie, che gestiscono dei centri di detenzione illegali.

      Nell’agosto del 2016 una nave dell’ong Medici senza frontiere, che soccorreva i migranti in mare, è stata attaccata da un’imbarcazione della guardia costiera libica; il 21 ottobre del 2016 una nave dell’ong tedesca Sea-watch ha denunciato che la guardia costiera libica ha picchiato i profughi imbarcati su un gommone al largo della Libia. Un video pubblicato dal Times nel febbraio del 2017 mostra, infine, percosse e maltrattamenti dei guardacoste libici ai migranti.

      Il mercato degli schiavi
      “I migranti spesso ci dicono che preferirebbero morire piuttosto che tornare in Libia”, racconta Riccardo Gatti dell’organizzazione non governativa spagnola Proactiva open arms, che effettua soccorsi in mare. “Mi ricordo di un ragazzo bangladese che aveva minacciato di buttarsi in mare quando un’imbarcazione della guardia costiera libica si era avvicinata alla nostra nave”. Dall’inizio del 2017 i guardacoste e i pescatori libici hanno recuperato circa quattromila migranti al largo della Libia, secondo l’Organizzazione internazionale delle migrazioni (Oim). Flavio Di Giacomo, portavoce dell’Oim in Italia, conferma: “I trafficanti dicono ai migranti di mettersi in mare prima di giugno, cioè prima che la guardia costiera libica sia di nuovo attiva e impedisca la partenza delle imbarcazioni”.

      Di Giacomo aggiunge: “Sappiamo che ci sono persone che collaborano con la guardia costiera e che in realtà sono trafficanti”. L’Oim ha recentemente denunciato un “mercato degli schiavi” in cui una persona può essere venduta per duecento dollari. “Da anni i migranti ci raccontano che in Libia vengono sequestrati da miliziani che chiedono un riscatto alle famiglie per liberarli oppure li vendono ad altri trafficanti”, racconta Di Giacomo.

      “Non appena passano il confine tra il Niger e la Libia e arrivano a Sabha, i migranti cadono nelle mani delle milizie. Sono rapinati, rapiti, reclusi nei centri di detenzione. A Sabha corrono il rischio di essere venduti in un vero e proprio mercato degli schiavi, come lo definiscono loro stessi, che si svolge nei parcheggi e nelle piazze”, spiega Flavio Di Giacomo.

      L’ambasciatore libico in Italia ha confermato le violazioni dei diritti umani nei centri per migranti

      L’Oim è una delle poche organizzazioni umanitarie ad avere accesso a una decina di campi di detenzione intorno alla capitale libica, Tripoli, dove sono rinchiuse circa seimila persone. In totale, secondo le Nazioni Unite, ci sono una cinquantina di campi in tutto il paese, ma i centri dove sono reclusi i migranti potrebbero essere molti di più. “Più lavoriamo in Libia, più ci rendiamo conto che è una valle di lacrime per i migranti. I centri sono prigioni, posti disumani”, spiega Di Giacomo. La sua denuncia è confermata da Arjan Hehenkamp, direttore generale di Medici senza frontiere, che ha visitato sette campi intorno a Tripoli e assicura che in Libia “tutti i campi di detenzione sono in mano alle milizie, non ci sono campi controllati dal governo”.

      Hehenkamp si è detto sconvolto da ciò che ha visto nei centri: “Persone che non hanno più dignità né autonomia, a completa disposizione dei carcerieri. Alcuni mi hanno raccontato di nascosto, sussurrando, gli abusi subiti: non possono parlare e sono terrorizzati dalle ritorsioni”.

      L’ambasciatore libico in Italia, Ahmed Safar, ha confermato le violazioni dei diritti umani nei centri, ma ne ha minimizzato l’importanza. “Le violazioni ci sono state e ce ne saranno ancora nei campi, ma non possiamo generalizzare”, ha detto il 21 aprile a Gaeta. “In Libia non ci sono nemmeno le leggi per regolarizzare la presenza di cittadini stranieri, perché la Libia è un paese di transito. Ci sono campi di detenzione, campi per il rimpatrio, campi dove si aspetta di essere espulsi. Il governo libico ha bisogno del sostegno dei partner europei per garantire una situazione migliore”, ha concluso.

      Una frontiera che non esiste
      Per fermare l’arrivo di migranti in Europa, l’Italia sta investendo anche sul controllo della frontiera meridionale libica, un’area di confine in mezzo al deserto, da secoli attraversata dalle rotte migratorie e controllata dai trafficanti. Il 31 marzo a Roma il governo italiano si è fatto garante di un accordo di pace firmato da una sessantina di gruppi tribali che vivono nel sud del paese e che dall’inizio della guerra civile se ne contendono il controllo. Dopo la firma dell’accordo di pace, il ministro Minniti ha precisato che “una guardia di frontiera libica pattuglierà i cinquemila chilometri della frontiera meridionale del paese”.

      Minniti ha ribadito che mettere in sicurezza quel confine significa “mettere in sicurezza la frontiera meridionale dell’Europa”. Molti hanno però sollevato dubbi sul fatto che questo accordo possa funzionare, sia per la vastità della zona da controllare sia per gli interessi in gioco. “Si tratta di zone desertiche, molto insicure, zone che da sempre sono lo scenario di traffici di armi, di droga e di esseri umani”, spiega Giuseppe Loprete dell’Oim, che è appena tornato da una missione al confine tra il Niger e la Libia.

      “Le popolazioni dei tubu e dei tuareg presenti in Libia sono presenti anche in Niger, la frontiera per loro non esiste. Tra il nord del Niger e il sud della Libia c’è un rapporto di continuità: è importante che le comunità locali siano coinvolte in qualsiasi tipo di negoziato”, dice Loprete che sottolinea un aspetto importante, ma sottovalutato: “L’immigrazione irregolare è una fonte di guadagno per le comunità locali”.

      Dopo il 2011 tutti i traffici illegali sono diventati la principale fonte di guadagno delle popolazioni locali

      Lo conferma Virginie Colombier, esperta di Libia e ricercatrice dell’Istituto universitario europeo di Fiesole: “Soprattutto dopo il 2011 tutti i traffici illegali sono diventati la principale fonte di guadagno delle popolazioni locali del sud e dell’ovest della Libia”. Questa regione è il principale punto d’ingresso in Libia dei migranti che arrivano dall’area del Sahel e, più in generale, dall’Africa subsahariana.

      Si tratta di una zona isolata, dove non ci sono infrastrutture, reti di comunicazione, strutture sanitarie. In quella regione, inoltre, sono in gioco importanti interessi economici internazionali: passano i principali traffici illeciti diretti in Europa e in Nordafrica (commercio di droga e di armi) e ci sono pozzi petroliferi. “L’Italia ha tutto l’interesse a ristabilire la sicurezza nel sud e nell’ovest del paese, perché in quel territorio sono presenti alcune grandi aziende italiane attive nel settore del petrolio e del gas”, spiega Colombier.

      Secondo la studiosa francese, il governo di AlSarraj non riesce ad assicurare il controllo del territorio e per questo Roma ha deciso di intraprendere azioni dirette come l’accordo tra i gruppi tribali del sud del paese. “Una delle questioni centrali è la situazione nella città di Sabha; il centro urbano più popoloso dell’area, conteso tra i diversi gruppi”, continua Colombier.

      Prima del 2011, alcuni accordi di pace informali avevano garantito al governo di Tripoli di controllare – almeno in parte – il confine, ma questi accordi sono falliti dopo la caduta di Muammar Gheddafi e diverse tribù hanno cominciato a contendersi il controllo delle principali rotte dei traffici illegali. L’Italia sta cercando d’intervenire e di ritagliarsi un ruolo di mediatrice, “un passo preliminare che potrebbe assicurare agli italiani un’influenza nella regione anche in futuro”. Tuttavia, secondo Colombier, “l’accordo difficilmente avrà effetti concreti nel breve periodo, né servirà a fermare l’immigrazione irregolare”.

      Per Gabriele Iacovino al momento una delle questioni problematiche è l’interesse che il generale Khalifa Haftar, in conflitto con il governo di Tripoli, ha manifestatoperalcuni impianti petroliferi nella regione di Sabha. Queste azioni militari non fanno altro che minacciare i fragili equilibri nella regione meridionale del paese. “Interrompere il cessate il fuoco tra tebu e tuareg, le due principali tribù nel sud del paese, può compromettere ulteriormente il processo di stabilizzazione del paese”, conclude Iacovino.

      Nel frattempo, però, la situazione in Libia è talmente disperata che sta aumentando il numero di persone disposte a tornare in Niger. Lo conferma l’Organizzazione internazionale delle migrazioni, che ha osservato il fenomeno nei suoi cinque centri per migranti in Niger. “Quelli che sono abbandonati nel deserto, quelli che non ce la fanno ad arrivare sulla costa, quelli che hanno finito i soldi, tornano spesso in Niger, nel nostro centro a Dirkou”, racconta Loprete. Quando tornano hanno storie disperate. Hanno fatto il viaggio, con tutte le difficoltà che comporta, ma non hanno ottenuto quello che speravano.

      https://www.internazionale.it/notizie/annalisa-camilli/2017/04/29/italia-libia-migranti-guardia-costiera

    • Meeting of Libyan, Italian officials revolve around illegal migration, southern borders security

      Libyan officials from different authorities met with the Italian ambassador to Libya, Giuseppe Perrone, and a delegation from the Italian defense and interior ministries as well as representatives of the Italian Prime Minister at the coast security department’s headquarters in Tripoli on Thursday.

      https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/meeting-libyan-italian-officials-revolve-around-illegal-migration-sout

    • Libia-Italia: ministro Interno #Minniti atteso oggi a Tripoli

      Tripoli, 15 mag 09:35 - (Agenzia Nova) - Il ministro dell’Interno, Marco Minniti, è atteso oggi a Tripoli per una visita a sorpresa. Lo hanno riferito ad “Agenzia Nova” fonti libiche secondo le quali il titolare del Viminale incontrerà funzionari del governo di accordo nazionale. Minniti dovrebbe tenere una conferenza stampa nel corso della giornata nella base navale di Abu Seta, vicino Tripoli. La scorsa settimana il coordinamento tra la Guardia costiera libica e italiana ha portato al primo salvataggio in mare di 498 migranti al largo delle coste di Sabrata, nella Libia occidentale. L’11 maggio si è tenuta nella capitale libica una riunione del Comitato misto per la lotta contro l’immigrazione illegale tra Italia e Libia, nel quale è stato fatto il punto sul programma di rafforzamento delle capacità della Guardia costiera e della Guardia di frontiera del paese nordafricano. Durante la riunione è stata espressa soddisfazione per l’operazione di salvataggio dei 500 migranti. L’Italia ha recentemente consegnato alla Guardia costiera libica due motovedette riparate nel nostro paese. Le due motovedette erano state inviate in Italia nel 2013 per essere riparate e sarebbero dovute rientrare in servizio nell’agosto del 2014.

      Lo scorso 2 febbraio il presidente del Consiglio italiano, Paolo Gentiloni, e il premier del governo di accordo nazionale libico, Fayez al Sarraj, hanno firmato a Roma un memorandum d’intesa sulla cooperazione nel campo dello sviluppo, del contrasto all’immigrazione illegale, al traffico di esseri umani, al contrabbando e sul rafforzamento della sicurezza delle frontiere tra lo Stato della Libia e l’Italia. L’accordo prevede che la parte italiana si impegni “a fornire supporto tecnico e tecnologico agli organismi libici incaricati della lotta contro l’immigrazione clandestina”. Non solo: l’intesa prevede anche il “completamento del sistema di controllo dei confini terrestri del sud della Libia”, “adeguamento e finanziamento dei centri di accoglienza”, “la formazione del personale libico all’interno dei centri di accoglienza”, “sostegno alle organizzazioni internazionali presenti e che operano in Libia nel campo delle migrazioni a proseguire gli sforzi mirati anche al rientro dei migranti nei propri paesi d’origine”. (Lit) © Agenzia Nova - Riproduzione riservata

      https://www.agenzianova.com/a/59195c42c137d4.06358231/1565108/2017-05-15/libia-italia-ministro-interno-minniti-atteso-oggi-a-tripoli/linked

    • Italy tries to bolster Libyan coast guard, despite humanitarian concern

      Italy gave the Libyan coast guard four repaired patrol boats on Monday to beef up Libya’s efforts to stop people smuggling, but the support worries humanitarian groups operating rescue ships near the Libyan coast.


      http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-libya-idUSKCN18B2E5?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
      cc @i_s_

    • L’Italie a signé un accord avec la Libye, le Tchad et le Niger pour contenir l’afflux de migrants

      Selon le bilan diffusé lundi par le ministère de l’Intérieur italien, 50 041 migrants sont arrivés sur les côtes italiennes depuis le début de l’année. Un chiffre qui correspond à une hausse de plus de 45% par rapport à la même période l’an passé. Face à cet afflux, l’Italie a signé dimanche un accord avec la Libye, le Tchad et le Niger.

      http://www.jeuneafrique.com/441266/societe/litalie-a-signe-accord-libye-tchad-niger-contenir-lafflux-de-migrants

    • Migranti: da vertice al Viminale con ministri Libia, Niger, Ciad centri accoglienza in paesi transito

      Centri di accoglienza per migranti rispondenti agli standard umanitari internazionali verranno costruiti in Ciad e Niger,due dei Paesi di transito delle migliaia di persone che dall’Africa sub sahariana raggiungono la Libia per poi imbarcarsi verso l’Italia. E’ uno dei risultati del vertice voluto dal ministro dell’Interno Minniti con i ministri dell’Interno di Libia, Niger e Ciad che si è tenuto al Viminale. I quattro ministri hanno siglato una dichiarazione congiunta.

      Secondo il Viminale si tratta di un punto di partenza per tentare di gestire il flusso di migliaia di senza speranza e spesso senza documenti che dall’Africa tenta di raggiungere l’Europa. Circa cinquemila uomini, donne e bambini diretti in Italia sono stati soccorsi al largo della Libia tra giovedì e sabato mattina dalle guardie costiere italiana e libica. Bisognerà vedere adesso se gli accordi messi nero su bianco nella dichiarazione congiunta troveranno applicazione nel deserto a sud della Libia, ma l’obiettivo e’ quello di arginare il fenomeno dove questo si origina e non in mare. Dalla Libia viene d’altronde il 90% di coloro che sbarcano in Italia e la quasi totalità è entrata nel paese nordafricano seguendo le rotte che dall’Africa occidentale portano ad Agades, in Niger, primo vero centro di smistamento di migliaia di esseri umani, o quelle che attraversano il deserto del Ciad e partono dall’Eritrea e dall’Etiopia.

      La strategia del Viminale si fonda su due pilastri: rafforzare la guardia costiera libica, mettendola in condizioni di operare per fermare i barconi – e in quest’ottica va la consegna entro giugno di 10 motovedette – e ristabilire il controllo sui cinquemila chilometri di confine sud che da anni sono in mano alle organizzazioni di trafficanti di esseri umani.

      Su quest’ultimo fronte il primo passo è stato il patto siglato il 2 aprile scorso sempre al Viminale con le principali tribù del Fezzan. Oggi, con la firma sulla dichiarazione da parte di Minniti, del ministro libico Aref Khoja e dei colleghi di Niger e Ciad, Mohamed Bazoum e Ahmat Mahamat Bachir e’stato fatto un altro passo per rafforzare i confini formando gli agenti e creando una “rete di contatto” tra tutte le forze di
      polizia della zona.

      L’Italia gioca una ruolo cruciale su questo aspetto visto che il Memorandum of understandig siglato il 2 gennaio a palazzo Chigi con la Libia prevede il completamento del sistema di controllo radar per il controllo dei confini al sud del paese già previsto dal trattato di Amicizia del 2008. Un sistema che dovrebbe realizzare Selex, del gruppo Leonardo-Finmeccanica, con una spesa prevista a carico dell’Italia di 150 milioni.

      http://www.onuitalia.com/2017/05/21/migranti-da-vertice-al-viminale-con-ministri-libia-niger-ciad-centri-acco
      #Tchad

    • Sempre più a Sud: Minniti ora vuole i Cie in Niger e in Ciad

      La foto ricordo scattata domenica scorsa al Viminale mostra una «storica» stretta di mano a quattro tra il nostro ministro dell’Interno Marco Minniti e i suoi omologhi di Ciad, Libia e Niger, dopo la firma di una dichiarazione congiunta per istituire una «cabina di regia» comune allo scopo di sigillare i confini a sud e evitare la partenza di migranti verso l’Italia e l’Europa.

      La dichiarazione impegna l’Italia a «sostenere la costruzione e la gestione, conformemente a strandard umanitari internazionali, di centri di accoglienza per migranti irregolari in Niger e in Ciad». Chi controlli la rispondenza di questi centri «di accoglienza» a standard di umanità internazionalmente riconosciuti non è chiaro, né chi li debba gestire e con quali fondi. E neanche è dato sapere in quale modo si intenda «promuovere lo sviluppo di una economia legale alternativa a quella legata ai traffici illeciti in particolare al traffico di esseri umani». Ma i quattro ministri sono immortalati con ampi sorrisi, che dovrebbero migliorare la «sicurezza percepita» a cui tiene tanto il titolare del Viminale.

      Per chi non si accontenta di sorrisi e annunci, la situazione in Libia e tra una frontiera e l’altra nel Sahara, lungo la rotta dei migranti, è sempre più incandescente. A Zawiya, città costiera dove è florido il business dei barconi, è esplosa ieri un’autobomba.

      Nel Fezzan il bilancio del truculento assalto della settimana scorsa alla base aerea di Brak al Shati, controllata dalle milizie del generale Haftar, è salito a 141 morti, tra i quali 15 civili. E si scopre – attraverso la Commissione nazionale diritti umani della Libia – che al seguito della Terza Forza, negli squadroni della città stato di Misurata che costituiscono l’ossatura delle milizie fedeli al governo Serraj di Tripoli, quello con cui l’Italia sta stringendo accordi per fermare i migranti, c’erano anche «foreign fighters provenienti dal Ciad e qaedisti delle Brigate di difesa di Bengasi».

      Serraj, per far vedere di non aver gradito l’assalto che ha violato la tregua con Haftar, ha sospeso il ministro della Difesa Al Barghouthi e il capo della Terza Forza, Jamal al Treiki, ma si tratta di un pro forma che neanche il suo ministro ha preso sul serio, infatti ha continuato a incontrare i capi misuratini per verificare «la presenza di cellule dell’ Isis» sopravvissute all’assedio di Sirte. Gli Usa intendono mantenere una presenza militare in Libia, ha detto il generale Waldhauser, proprio per combattere le cellule dell’Isis che stanno tentando di riorganizzarsi.

      Intanto l’Alto commissario Onu per i rifugiati Filippo Grandi, per la prima volta in visita ai centri di detenzione per migranti in Libia in queste ore, si è detto «scioccato» dalle condizioni in cui si trovano bambini, donne e uomini «che non dovrebbero sopportare tali difficoltà». Grandi fa presente che oltre ai profughi africani (1,1 milioni) in Libia ci sono 300 mila sfollati interni a causa del conflitto che dal 2011 non è mai finito.

      https://ilmanifesto.it/sempre-piu-a-sud-minniti-ora-vuole-i-cie-in-niger-e-in-ciad

    • Per bloccare i migranti 610 milioni di euro dall’Europa e 50 dall’Italia

      Con la Libia ancora fortemente compromessa, la sfida per la gestione dei flussi di migranti dall’Africa sub-sahariana si è di fatto spostata più a Sud, lungo i confini settentrionali del Niger. Uno dei Paesi più poveri al mondo, ma che in virtù della sua stabilità - ha mantenuto pace e democrazia in un’area lacerata dai conflitti - è oggi il principale alleato delle potenze europee nella regione. Gli accordi prevedono che il Niger in cambio di 610 milioni d’ euro dall’Unione Europea, oltre a 50 promessi dall’Italia, sigilli le proprie frontiere settentrionali e imponga un giro di vite ai traffici illegali. È dal Niger infatti che transita gran parte dei migranti sub-sahariani: 450.000, nel 2016, hanno attraversato il deserto fino alle coste libiche, e in misura inferiore quelle algerine. In Italia, attraverso questa rotta, ne sono arrivati 180.000 l’anno scorso e oltre 40.000 nei primi quattro mesi del 2017.


      http://www.lastampa.it/2017/05/31/esteri/per-bloccare-i-migranti-milioni-di-euro-dalleuropa-e-dallitalia-4nPsLCnUURhOkXQl14sp7L/pagina.html

    • Back to Old Tricks? Italian Responsibility for Returning People to Libya

      On 10/11 May 2017 various news outlets reported a maritime operation by the Libyan authorities, in coordination with the Italian Search and Rescue Authority, in which 500 individuals were intercepted in international waters and returned to Libya. This operation amounted to refoulment in breach of customary international law and several treaties (including the Geneva Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights), and an internationally wrongful act is one for which Italy bears international legal responsibility.

      https://www.ejiltalk.org/back-to-old-tricks-italian-responsibility-for-returning-people-to-libya

    • Tutto quello che c’è da sapere sull’accordo Italia – Libia

      Il memorandum d’intesa tra Italia e Libia è solo una tappa della articolata strategia di esternalizzazione delle frontiere perseguita tanto dal nostro governo quanto dall’Unione Europea. A tutti i costi, e mettendo in secondo piano il rispetto dei diritti fondamentali. Ecco cosa c’è che non va nell’accordo e quali sono le sue conseguenze.

      http://openmigration.org/analisi/tutto-quello-che-ce-da-sapere-sullaccordo-italia-libia/?platform=hootsuite

    • Libia, la Guardia Costiera viene pagata con i soldi della Cooperazione

      Le frontiere esterne dell’Unione Europea si blindano usando fondi destinati allo sviluppo. Dalla polizia del Niger, alle milizie che presidiano i confini in Sudan fino ai militari che controllano le coste del Paese nord africano. La missione ONU per la Libia (Unsmil) in un rapporto parla delle carceri libiche come luoghi di estorsioni e violenze

      http://www.repubblica.it/solidarieta/cooperazione/2017/07/31/news/libia_la_guardia_costiera_viene_pagata_con_i_soldi_della_cooperazione-172
      #aide_du_développement #coopération_au_développement #développement

    • commentaire reçu via la mailing-list migreurop (01.08.2017) :

      Elle a été déjà approuvée par le Conseil des Ministres Italiens. Demain le Président du Conseil en discutera aux commissions intéressées. Il s’agit d’une opération militaire italienne de soutien aux gardes cotes libyennes à l’intérieur des eaux territoriales libyennes suite à la demande de un des trois Gouvernement Libyen (celui de Al Serraj).
      L’Italie utiliserait donc – du 1 aout 2017 – deux bateaux militaires engagés aujourd’hui à l’extérieur des eaux libyennes dans l’opération Mare Sicuro (une opération qui a comme mission celle de la sécurité de la région, pas du tout celle de la migration). L’Italie ne prendra pas à bord des migrants, et si sera obligé à le faire les transbordera dans un bateau libyen avant de rejoindre le cotes libyennes.

      Il est évidente que de cette façon il y a un claire tentative de contourner le principe de non refoulement au quel l’Italie a l’obligation (et pour violation du quel a été déjà sanctionné). Il est intéressante aussi de voir que dans le Code de Conduit que le Gouvernement veut imposer aux Ong qui interviennent en mer, il y a interdiction de transborde. Mais si c’est l’Italie qui doit le faire pour contourner l’accusation de refoulement, alors cela semble accepté.

      L’opération devrait partir très rapidement, le 1 aout. Les bateaux sont prêtes, mais semble irréalisable la partie du “projet” italien qui prévoit des centres d’accueil à l’arrivés aux ports libyens gérés par l’UNHCR e OIM. Semblerait donc naturel que seront les camps d’enfermement la suite des opérations d’interception que l’Italie aurait aidé à mener dans les eaux libyennes.

      L’Italie – et les institutions européennes qui soutiennent l’opération – semble ne pas se préoccuper de l’effet boomerang sur un processus de stabilisation d’un pays déjà très fragile. Ce n’est pas au hasard que Serraj aurait d’abord nié d’avoir demandé à l’Italie d’intervenir pour ensuite le confirmer et que Haftar vient de faire circuler une note où dénonce cet accord et menace de considérer toute intervention militaire de l’Italie dans les eaux territoriale libyennes comme une violation de la souveraineté du pays.

      Une partie de la mission sera financé avec les fonds déjà alloués à l’opération Mare Sicuro et en partie seront surement financé par les 46 millions de Fonds Fiduciaires que la Commission Européenne a annoncé le même jour de l’annonce de la mission.

    • Libya’s eastern commander vows to destroy Italian warships if sailed to Libyan water

      The Libyan eastern commander of Dignity Operation forces, Khalifa Haftar, has ordered to bombard any warships sailing into the Libyan waters, in a U-turn that could see escalations between eastern Libya and the UN-proposed government’s bodies in western Libya get tense.

      http://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/libyas-eastern-commander-vows-destroy-italian-warships-if-sailed-libya

    • Des navires de guerre italiens pour repousser les réfugiés au lieu de les protéger

      En proposant de déployer des navires de guerre pour patrouiller dans les eaux territoriales libyennes, les autorités italiennes cherchent à se soustraire à leur obligation de secourir les réfugiés et les migrants en mer et d’offrir une protection à ceux qui en ont besoin.

      https://www.amnesty.fr/refugies-et-migrants/actualites/des-navires-de-guerre-italiens-pour-repousser-les-refugies-au-lieu-de-les-pr

    • Respingimenti collettivi ed omissione di soccorso nel contrasto dell’immigrazione irregolare

      L’esternalizzazione dei controlli di frontiera, che assume adesso una dimensione operativa dopo gli accordi ed i protocolli operativi stipulati dall’Italia con la Libia, la Tunisia e l’Algeria, la chiusura di tutte le vie di accesso per i potenziali richiedenti asilo con i respingimenti collettivi in mare ed alle frontiere marittime, e le retate operate con “pattuglie miste” delle polizie presenti nei paesi di transito, come la Libia e la Grecia, ai danni dei migranti irregolari, spesso donne e minori, o altri potenziali richiedenti asilo, stanno aggravando gli effetti devastanti delle politiche proibizioniste adottate da tutti i paesi europei nei confronti dei migranti in fuga dalle guerre, dai conflitti interni e dalla devastazione economica ed ambientale dei loro paesi. Quanto sta avvenendo in questi mesi in Grecia ed in Libia aumenta le responsabilità già gravissime del governo italiano nelle pratiche informali di respingimento “informale” dai porti dell’Adriatico (Venezia, Ancona, Bari) verso Patrasso e Igoumenitsa e scopre tutte le ipocrisie di chi afferma di riconoscere i diritti dei rifugiati e poi rimane inerte ad assistere allo scempio del diritto di asilo, di persone che avrebbero titolo ad ottenere protezione ma sono arrestate, respinte o espulse.

      http://www.meltingpot.org/Respingimenti-collettivi-ed-omissione-di-soccorso-nel.html

    • ASGI : C’è il rischio di riaprire la stagione buia dei respingimenti già condannati dalla CEDU

      Sulle nuove iniziative del Governo italiano per contrastare l’arrivo dei rifugiati dalla Libia l’ ASGI lancia l’allarme: “C’è il rischio di gravissime violazioni del diritto internazionale che riportino la stagione buia dei respingimenti per i quali l’Italia era stata già condannata dalla corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo”.

      https://seenthis.net/recherche?recherche=%23libye+%23externalisation+%23italie
      #refoulement #push-back

    • Cooperazione: kit di primo soccorso inviati in Libia grazie a collaborazione tra Esteri e Difesa

      L’ambasciatore d’Italia a Tripoli, Giuseppe Perrone, e l’addetto per la Difesa, capitano di vascello Patrizio Rapalino, hanno consegnato al sindaco di #Zwara, 5.000 kit igienico-sanitari e di primo soccorso per migranti per le esigenze della municipalità.

      http://www.esteri.it/mae/it/sala_stampa/archivionotizie/comunicati/2017/08/cooperazione-kit-di-primo-soccorso.html

    • Accordo Italia e milizie in Libia, qualcosa c’è ma non si dice

      Cosa è realmente accaduto in Libia tra Italia (sia chi sia ad aver trattato) e le milizie di Sabratha che prima gestivano la mafia dei traffici di persone e ora la contrastano in nome del governo Sarray? Ora anche la stampa ‘tradizionale’ s’accorge del problema. Il Manifesto, «Accordo tra l’Italia e le milizie per fermare i migranti in Libia». Il Fatto quotidiano, Migranti, Ap: «Italia ha trattato direttamente con le milizie libiche per bloccare gli sbarchi”. Farnesina: ‘Falso’».

      https://www.remocontro.it/2017/08/31/accordo-italia-milizie-libia-qualcosa-ce-non-si-dice

    • L’Italie finance-t-elle des groupes armés libyens pour bloquer l’arrivée de migrants ?

      De moins en moins de migrants débarquent en Italie. Comment l’expliquer ? D’après l’agence Associated Press, derrière les explications officielles, la véritable raison de cette diminution s’expliquerait par le fait que l’Italie financerait des groupes armés libyens. Valérie Dupont, correspondante pour la RTBF à Rome, fait le point.

      https://www.rtbf.be/info/monde/detail_l-italie-finance-t-elle-des-groupes-armes-libyens-pour-bloquer-l-arrivee

    • Migrants en Libye : le #pacte pourri entre Rome, les garde-côtes et les trafiquants

      Alors que l’Union européenne finance, à hauteur de dizaines de millions d’euros, les garde-côtes libyens, il est établi que certains de ses membres sont compromis dans le trafic de migrants. Rome, de son côté, est accusé de négocier directement avec les milices de #Sabratha pour empêcher le départ des embarcations.

      https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/020917/migrants-en-libye-le-pacte-pourri-entre-rome-les-garde-cotes-et-les-trafiq

    • E l’Italia contribuisce alla costruzione della mafia in Libia. Conversazione con Nancy Porsia

      «Negli ultimi 3 mesi c’è stata l’implementazione del piano messo a punto già prima di allora. Lo scorso autunno fu lanciata la campagna di criminalizzazione da parte delle autorità italiane e libiche verso le Ong che operano Ricerca e Soccorso in mare, e mentre nell’inverno e nella primavere seguenti questa campagna di delegittimazione e criminalizzazione veniva portata avanti, gli italiani e gli europei addestravano le autorità Libiche e le loro forze militari per il pattugliamento dei confini e quindi anche del mare e delle coste libiche. Questa era una sorta di fase preparatoria che poi si è andata finalizzando negli ultimi tre mesi. Quindi gli italiani hanno di fatto consegnato i mezzi alla Guardia costiera libica, mezzi che risalgono agli accordi fra Berlusconi e Gheddafi del 2008 e che sono stati riconsegnati solo oggi dopo il lavoro diplomatico massiccio delle Nazioni Unite, Europa e in prima fila Italia, e che ha portato alla legittimazione dell’entourage di Serraj come Governo di unità nazionale. Quindi quello che resta delle autorità libiche è stato assunto come interlocutore legittimo, nonostante i grandi dubbi che ci sono circa la loro stessa legittimità. I libici hanno iniziato a pattugliare la costa reclamando tale compito come loro “dovere / diritto” e insinuando come “ingerenza” le operazioni svolte dalle Ong. Si è andati un pezzettino avanti rispetto alla criminalizzazione delle stesse Ong che poi come sappiamo sono state vessate dalla magistratura italiana, dalla campagna di discredito a mezzo stampa, in Italia e in Europa, ed esposte in maniera sempre più frequente al pericolo del fuoco libico tanto che hanno dovuto fare un passo indietro. Quindi di fatto il piano che era in cantiere da oramai un anno e mezzo fra l’Italia, l’Europa e la Libia è entrato nella sua fase finale. Il risultato è che le coste vengono pattugliate dai libici, oggi in grado di fermare la maggior parte dei barconi carichi di migranti. Dove è la critica di senso rispetto alla nuova situazione? Quelli che oggi bloccano i migranti sono gli stessi che ieri li trafficavano, e quindi il “piano Minniti” ha portato ad una istituzionalizzazione degli stessi trafficanti. Siamo di fronte ad una politica di cooperazione che interloquisce con trafficanti istituzionalizzatie e alcuni ufficiali della Guardia costiera corrotti. Su alcuni di questi c’è anche un procedimento della Corte penale dell’Aia piuttosto che un fascicolo lungo non so quante pagine all’interno del rapporto del panel di esperti delle Nazioni Unite sulla Libia, pubblicato lo scorso giugno. Quindi negli ultimi mesi il piano Minniti ha proceduto a gamba tesa nell’istituzionalizzazione delle milizie e dei maggiori trafficanti in Libia oltreché alla connivenza con le stesse guardie corrotte, anzi più che corrotte io le definirei in odore di mafia, in quanto parte integrante di un sistema mafioso che trafficava i migranti. Tutto questo per ridurre il numero dei migranti nel più breve tempo possibile».

      http://www.a-dif.org/2017/09/04/e-litalia-contribuisce-alla-costruzione-della-mafia-in-libia-conversazione-co

    • I campi dei migranti in Libia sotto il controllo delle Ong

      Coinvolgere le Ong nei campi libici per evitare di «condannare i migranti all’inferno». L’idea è venuta al ministero degli Esteri, e più precisamente al vice con delega alla cooperazione internazionale, Mario Giro: dopo aver lanciato l’allarme un mese fa sulle condizioni infernali dei campi, nel pieno della discussione sulla missione italiana autorizzata a Tripoli, nei giorni scorsi ha rivolto un invito alla galassia delle Organizzazioni non governative, proponendo un incontro a chi è interessato a lavorare in Libia. Hanno risposto in una ventina, di orientamento laico e cattolico, molte delle quali già impegnate in varie zone del grande Paese nordafricano con compiti di protezione dell’infanzia e nel settore della sanità, da Medici senza Frontiere all’Arci a Save the children, da Intersos a Terre des hommes fino a Elis, legata all’Opus Dei: ieri pomeriggio la riunione, alla Farnesina, per prendere i primi contatti. Con l’idea però di accelerare e intervenire al più presto: il bando è già pronto, sono stanziati sei milioni di euro.

      http://www.lastampa.it/2017/09/08/esteri/i-campi-dei-migranti-in-libia-sotto-il-controllo-delle-ong-y0jOMmVk6gVG49hdon0gZJ/pagina.html

    • Centri di detenzione in Libia: “(Forse) è ora di pensare alle ‘condizioni umanitarie’”…

      I nuovi propositi di attenzione del governo italiano alle «condizioni umanitarie» nei centri di detenzione per migranti e rifugiati in Libia arrivano dopo mesi di silenzi e di iniziative tutte mirate al loro “contenimento” in quel Paese.

      «Le condizioni di quelli che rimangono in Libia, posso garantirvi, sono il mio assillo ed è l’assillo del Governo italiano», ha detto venerdì a Torino il ministro dell’Interno Marco Minniti, dopo averlo già affermato ad agosto ma aggiungendo: «La prossima settimana insieme con la Farnesina incontreremo le ONG italiane. Ragioneremo con loro se è possibile, accanto alle operazioni di salvataggio in mare, che naturalmente continuano, costruire un’iniziativa delle ONG direttamente in Libia per affrontare quel tema dei diritti umani e delle condizioni di vita».

      http://viedifuga.org/centri-detenzione-libia-forse-ora-pensare-alle-condizioni-umanitarie
      #ONG

    • Il governo di Tripoli vuole cinque miliardi dall’Italia per ripristinare il trattato di pace tra Berlusconi e Ghedafi con gli accordi di blocco e respingimento. Ma sono ancora le navi umanitarie a salvare la maggior parte delle persone in pericolo di naufragare.

      Il governo di Tripoli vuole cinque miliardi dall’Italia per ripristinare il trattato di pace tra Berlusconi e Ghedafi con gli accordi di blocco e respingimento. Ma sono ancora le navi umanitarie a salvare la maggior parte delle persone in pericolo di naufragare. E Serraj non controlla neppure tutta Tripoli, cosa può garantire all’Italia ed all’Europa ?

      http://dirittiefrontiere.blogspot.ch/2016/08/il-governo-di-tripoli-vuole-cinque.html

    • Migrants: Italian FM wants more EU efforts on Libya route

      MILAN - The Italian government wants the EU to exert greater efforts concerning the central Mediterranean migrant route, which runs from Libya to Italy, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Friday. The minister was replying to journalists’ questions after his speech at a conference on immigration, refugees and asylum policies at the Bocconi University in Milan, where he discussed the ’Migration Compact’. Gentiloni called for investment in African countries to be stepped up, ’’with new instruments like ’Africa bonds’’’, and said that the countries receiving the investment should be required to put forth serious efforts to limit migration flows. He added that repatriation of migrants to safe countries should be ’’ever more European’’, but that migrants should not be repatriated to Libya. ’’On these issues,’’ he concluded, ’’the Italian government is asking Europe for commitment similar to what it showed on the (migration, Ed.) route running from Turkey to Greece and the Balkans.’’

      http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2016/04/22/migrants-italian-fm-wants-more-eu-efforts-on-libya-route_f8c9e906-3729-44b

    • Migranti, il Gruppo di contatto per la rotta del Mediterraneo centrale diventa stabile

      «Oggi abbiamo fatto un passo importante, abbiamo messo in comune la volontà di governare l’immigrazione; l’esito della riunione è stato particolarmente fruttuoso». E’ questa la convinzione espressa dal ministro dell’Interno, Marco Minniti, oggi al termine dell’incontro conclusivo con ministri e rappresentanti di Paesi della Ue e del Nord Africa che fanno parte del «Gruppo di contatto per la rotta migratoria del Mediterraneo centrale», presso la scuola Superiore di Polizia, in via Pier della Francesca a Roma.


      www.interno.gov.it/it/notizie/migranti-gruppo-contatto-rotta-mediterraneo-centrale-diventa-stabile

    • signalé par Fulvio Vassallo sur FB avec ce commentaire (19.04.2017) :

      Ci volevano i giapponesi per dire quali sono le ragioni vere della partenze di massa della Libia. Altro che le navi umanitarie come fattore di attrazione. L’Italia sta consegnando altre motovedette alla Guardia Costiera libica per aggirare il divieto di respingimenti collettivi per cui nel 2012 veniva condannata dalla Corte Europea dei diritti dell’Uomo.

      Facing threat of patrols, thousands of migrants fleeing Libya ; 28 found dead

      Warm weather and calm seas usually spur smugglers to send migrants across the Mediterranean come spring. But aid groups say another timetable might be behind a weekend spike: the looming start of beefed-up Libyan coast guard patrols designed to prevent migrants from reaching Europe.


      http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/04/19/world/social-issues-world/facing-threat-patrols-thousands-migrants-fleeing-libya-28-found-dead

      #fermeture_des_frontières #militarisation_des_frontières #mourir_en_mer #morts #mourir_en_méditerranée #décès #facteurs_push #attractivité #push_factors #push-factors

    • Migranti: l’Italia consegna 10 motovedette alla Libia

      La scena si è già vista il 14 maggio 2009 ed il 10 febbraio 2010, sempre nel porto di Gaeta (Latina): sei motovedette hanno ammainato la bandiera italiana ed alzato quella libica per andare a pattugliare le acque davanti al Paese nordafricano con il compito di bloccare le partenze dei migranti. L’attività è però durata poco, fino all’intervento della coalizione internazionale contro Muhammar Gheddafi, nel 2011.

      Ora Italia e Libia ci riprovano: domani a Gaeta,alla presenza del ministro dell’Interno, Marco Minniti – quattro di quelle motovedette (le altre due sono andate distrutte) saranno nuovamente riconsegnate alla Marina ed alla Guardia costiera libiche. Seguiranno altre sei nelle settimane successive, con la speranza che siano in grado di frenare il flusso gestito dai trafficanti di uomini, che nel 2017 ha già portato sulle coste italiane oltre 35mila persone, il 40% in più del 2016, anno record per gli sbarchi.

      http://www.imolaoggi.it/2017/04/20/migranti-litalia-consegna-10-motovedette-alla-libia

    • G.Costiera Libia soccorre migranti, riportati a Tripoli

      ROMA - Primi effetti degli accordi di collaborazione sottoscritti di recente tra Italia e Libia in materia di migranti: oggi la Guardia Costiera libica, alla quale l’Italia ha donato anche alcune unità navali, ha soccorso in acque internazionali e riportato nel porto di Tripoli un barcone in navigazione verso l’Italia, a bordo del quale vi erano circa 300 migranti. I migranti avevano inviato una richiesta di soccorso alla centrale operativa di Roma della Guardia Costiera italiana. Il barcone, inoltre, era stato avvistato ancora in acque libiche da alcuni mezzi aerei impegnati sul Mediterraneo centrale.
      Ricevute le due segnalazioni, la centrale operativa di Roma della Guardia costiera ha allertato la Guardia costiera libica che - diversamente rispetto a quanto accaduto in passato - ha preso il comando delle operazioni di soccorso. Alcune motovedette di Tripoli sono salpate in direzione del barcone, che è stato raggiunto in acque internazionali. Alcuni uomini della Guardia costiera libica hanno preso il comando dell’unità, che, invertita la rotta, è stata riportata nel porto di Tripoli.

      http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/it/notizie/rubriche/politica/2017/05/10/g.costiera-libia-soccorre-migranti-riportati-a-tripoli_df5b95ff-4921-4f05-

    • Fermare i migranti? Addestrare i libici non funziona

      La notte del 23 maggio 2017 il capitano della Iuventa, la nave dell’Ong tedesca Jugend Rettet, denuncia una nuova aggressione in mare da parte di un motoscafo libico, il cui equipaggio avrebbe sparato verso alcune imbarcazioni sovraccariche di profughi, per poi riportare due delle imbarcazioni verso la Libia. Era la Guardia Costiera libica? L’Italia come la sta addestrando, e a che scopo? E quante Guardie Costiere ci sono in Libia in realtà? Francesco Floris ha ricostruito nei dettagli la storia dell’addestramento italiano dei libici e i suoi precedenti.


      http://openmigration.org/analisi/fermare-i-migranti-addestrare-i-libici-non-funziona

    • Migrants: Tripoli thanks Italy but wants help in maintenance

      Thanking Italian authorities for cooperating in the fight against human trafficking, the operations chief of Libyan coast guards, Colonel Massoud Abdelsamad, called on Italy to send spare parts and maintenance support soon for cutters given to Tripoli to fight traffickers through ’’joint operations’’ carried out by Italy and Libya.
      ’’I would like to thank very much Italian authorities and especially the Italian coast guard: we have a good cooperation between us’’, the colonel said, commenting recent gunfire between his personnel and traffickers. ’’We are in contact 24 hours a day and sometimes carry out joint operations’’, added Abdelsamad in a phone interview with ANSA.
      ’’Our boats however need spare parts and maintenance. We would like to have in Libya, as soon as possible, the finance police team that has been working closely with us since 2010’’, also said the colonel, referring to a unit that should take care of maintenance in case of problems.
      ’’We were promised that the group would come to Libya and we are now waiting for it so it can support us’’, stated Abdelsamad. ’’We can carry out joint operations with the Libyan coast guard, finance police and Italian coast guard’’ and ’’this would help us a lot’’, he concluded, recalling that traffickers are heavily armed and have fast motor boats.

      http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2017/05/31/migrants-tripoli-thanks-italy-but-wants-help-in-maintenance_3d2f7ffa-42d4-

    • Migranti: Tripoli, grazie Italia ma aiutateci per manutenzione
      http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/it/notizie/rubriche/politica/2017/05/31/migrantitripoligrazie-italia-ma-aiutateci-per-manutenzione_e874ccee-bba3-4

      Avec ce commentaire de Fulvio Vassallo:

      I libici ammettono che la guardia costiera italiana collabora nei respingimenti collettivi, illegali se si svolgono, come si svolgono, in acque internazionali. E chiedono pure pezzi di ricambio. Tra poco chiederanno anche gli equipaggi. Se Minniti non ha gia’ provveduto con i cd. Agenti di collegamento.Naturalmente chi viene riportato in Libia non ha molte chance di fare ricorso alla Corte Europea dei diritti dell’Uomo.

    • Bloccati in Libia. I migranti e le (nostre) responsabilità politiche

      Le corrispondenze dal caos libico che ci invia Nancy Porsia sono pressoché uniche nel campo del giornalismo in occidente, sicuramente le uniche in Italia. Pubblichiamo questo suo articolo in cui si riprende il testo dell’ accordo italo – libico firmato ieri dal Primo Ministro Gentiloni e dal “Capo del Governo di Riconciliazione Nazionale dello Stato di Libia”, Fayez Mustafà Serraj. Un accordo, secondo l’autrice, siglato forse troppo in fretta e in base tanto alle esigenze economiche italiane quanto alla necessità di rendere più complesse le vie di fuga per coloro che, fuggendo da guerre, crisi ambientali o economiche, transitano in Libia per entrare in Europa. Alcune voci si sono levate contro l’accordo. Dal parlamento europeo, oltre 40 parlamentari, guidati da Barbara Spinelli (GUE/NGL) ma afferenti a diversi gruppi politici, anche il Partito Popolare Europeo, hanno preso una dura posizione con una interrogazione scritta in cui si parla espressamente di pericoli derivanti dall’accordo UE- Libia. Durissimo anche il comunicato di Amnesty International, in cui si denuncia che i “piani per “chiudere” la frontiera marittima rischiano di intrappolare rifugiati e migranti in condizioni orrende in Libia”, mentre l’ambasciata tedesca in Niger, ha paragonato i campi di detenzione libici, espressamente a dei lager.

      http://www.a-dif.org/2017/02/03/bloccati-in-libia-i-migranti-e-le-nostre-responsabilita-politiche

    • Migranti: accordo Italia-Libia, il testo del memorandum

      Memorandum d’intesa sulla cooperazione nel campo dello sviluppo, del contrasto all’immigrazione illegale, al traffico di esseri umani, al contrabbando e sul rafforzamento della sicurezza delle frontiere tra lo Stato della Libia e la Repubblica Italiana Il Governo di Riconciliazione Nazionale dello Stato di Libia e il Governo della Repubblica Italiana qui di seguito denominate ’Le Parti’


      http://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2017/02/02/news/migranti_accordo_italia-libia_ecco_cosa_contiene_in_memorandum-157464439

      Le texte en anglais:
      http://www.asgi.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ITALY-LIBYA-MEMORANDUM-02.02.2017.pdf

    • EU and Italy migration deal with Libya draws sharp criticism from Libyan NGOs

      Twelve Libyan non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have issued a joint statement criticising the EU’s latest migrant policy as set out at the Malta summit a week ago as well as the Italy-Libya deal signed earlier which agreed that migrants should be sent back to Libya and repartiated voluntarily from there. Both represented a fundamental “immoral and inhumane attitude” towards migrants, they said. International human rights and calls had to be respected.

      https://www.libyaherald.com/2017/02/10/eu-and-italy-migration-deal-with-libya-draws-sharp-criticism-from-libya

    • Tripoli Appeals Court to rule on Italy-Presidential Council MoU

      A number of Libyan citizens lodged an appeal at the Judiciary Division of the Tripoli Appeals Court against the signing of a #Memorandum_of_Understanding (MoU) between the UN-proposed government’s Presidential Council’s Head Fayez Al-Sirraj and the Italian Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni.


      https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/tripoli-appeals-court-rule-italy-presidential-council-mou

    • Perché l’accordo tra l’Italia e la Libia sui migranti potrebbe essere illegale

      Il memorandum d’intesa sui migranti firmato il 2 febbraio dall’Italia e dalla Libia potrebbe essere illegale. A sostenerlo è un gruppo di giuristi, ex politici e intellettuali libici che il 14 febbraio ha presentato un ricorso di 23 pagine alla corte d’appello di Tripoli. I sei libici, tra cui diversi ex ministri, sostengono che il memorandum sia incostituzionale. Innanzitutto perché, prima di essere firmato dal primo ministro Fayez al Sarraj a Roma, non è stato approvato dal parlamento libico e dal governo all’unanimità. Al Sarraj non ha ottenuto la fiducia dei parlamentari libici che si sono ritirati a Tobruk nel 2014. Inoltre l’accordo implicherebbe impegni onerosi da parte di Tripoli, che non erano contenuti nel trattato di amicizia tra Italia e Libia stipulato nel 2008, a cui il memorandum s’ispira.

      http://www.internazionale.it/notizie/annalisa-camilli/2017/02/20/italia-libia-migranti-accordo-illegale

    • Così Italia e Libia argineranno il flusso dei migranti

      Ambulanze, gommoni, mute, satellitari e bombole.

      L’accordo bilaterale prevede «l’addestramento, l’equipaggiamento ed il sostegno alla guardia costiera libica». Per questo l’elenco delle forniture è lungo e costoso. L’obiettivo è di completare il piano di consegna in 24 mesi, anche se alcuni punti dovranno essere ritoccati. In particolare sono state chieste 10 navi per la ricerca e il soccorso (alcune da oltre trenta metri) e 10 motovedette che devono essere utilizzate per i controlli sotto costa in modo da impedire alle “carrette” dei trafficanti di salpare. Le prime tre imbarcazioni potrebbero essere consegnate già agli inizi di giugno, prevedendo una dilatazione dei tempi per quelle più grandi. E poi quattro elicotteri che dovranno “guidare” le operazioni contro le organizzazioni che gestiscono i viaggi della speranza, ma anche coadiuvare il recupero in mare. Nell’elenco sono stati poi inseriti

      24 gommoni
      10 ambulanze
      30 jeep
      15 automobili
      30 telefoni satellitari Turaya
      mute da sub
      bombole per l’ossigeno
      binocoli diurni e notturni

      Saranno le forze dell’ordine italiane a dover addestrare i poliziotti locali e gli uomini della Guardia costiera. Su questo c’è già l’intesa con l’Ue che finanzierà la missione della Capitaneria di Porto che partirà entro due mesi.

      http://www.agi.it/cronaca/2017/03/20/news/cos_italia_e_libia_argineranno_il_flusso_dei_migranti-1602473
      #accord_bilatéral #contrôles_frontaliers #militarisation_de_la_frontière #frontières

    • Migranti, 12 unità navali alla Libia: via libera del governo

      Roma cede «a titolo gratuito» a Tripoli dieci motovedette della Guardia costiera e due unità della Gdf. C’è poi un pacchetto di assistenza tecnica ai mezzi e di preparazione del personale

      ARRIVERANNO presto i nuovi mezzi navali che il governo italiano ha promesso al governo libico di accordo nazionale di Tripoli. Il Consiglio dei ministri ha dato il via libera all’invio di 12 unità navali e a un programma di addestramento del personale per il loro utilizzo. Un impegno economico, ha precisato il ministro dei Trasporti e delle Infrastrutture Danilo Toninelli, «che sfiora 1,5 milioni, a fronte di un costo complessivo del provvedimento pari a circa 2,5 milioni».

      «Siamo consapevoli che questo non può bastare e che bisogna lavorare per stabilizzare lo scenario, rafforzare lo stato di diritto e la tutela della dignità delle persone sul suolo del nascente Stato libico. Ecco perché stiamo via via intensificando la cooperazione con organizzazioni come l’Unhcr e l’Oim, che sono presenti a Tripoli. In attesa che l’Europa si faccia carico in modo solidale del fenomeno migrazioni - ha concluso Toninelli - il governo italiano e questo ministero lavorano in modo fattivo per debellare i naufragi di migranti in mezzo al Mediterraneo».

      Alla Libia saranno date «a titolo gratuito» 10 motovedette «Classe 500» della Guardia costiera e due unità costiere «Classe Corrubia» della Guardia di Finanza. Assieme alle navi, l’Italia fornirà un pacchetto di assistenza tecnica ai mezzi e di preparazione del personale che possa rafforzare la Marina e la Guardia costiera libiche.

      Le «Classe 500» sono delle piccole vedette costiere che in Italia sono state usate da Carabinieri e Guardia Costiera, e saranno utili di sicuro soprattutto per il pattugliamento lungo le coste libiche. Hanno una autonomia di 200 miglia e una velocità massima di 35 nodi, vengono utilizzate in un raggio di azione di una ventina di miglia dalla costa e hanno un equipaggio composto da tre persone. Le «Corrubia» sono invece piccoli pattugliatori di 27 metri che possono raggiungere i 43 nodi e hanno un’autonomia di 800 miglia. Con un equipaggio di 14 persone, queste navi possono operare anche a parecchie miglia dalle coste.

      Assieme alle navi arriverà un programma di formazione dei marinai libici. Addestramento che si svolgerà sia in Italia sia in Libia e partirà entro una decina di giorni. Le vedette invece dovrebbero essere trasferite tutte nel porto militare di Augusta, da dove poi saranno trasportate con una nave della Marina militare fino a Tripoli.

      A Tripoli si è tenuta una riunione del Comitato tecnico italo-libico che riunisce Guardia costiera, marina, polizia marittima, polizia di frontiera libica con i corrispondenti enti italiani. In discussione oltre ai provvedimenti per la Guardia costiera anche la situazione nel Sud della Libia, dove la polizia di frontiera non ha la possibilità di controllare uno spazio così immenso come le migliaia di chilometri che segnarono i confini con Algeria, Niger e Ciad.

      http://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2018/07/02/news/la_promessa_del_governo_italiano_alla_libia_in_arrivo_dodici_motovedette-

    • Un decreto legge per la Guardia costiera della Libia che non esiste. La pianificazione della strage.

      Nell’ultima seduta del Consiglio dei ministri il Governo ha adottato un decreto legge che prevede “la cessione di unità navali italiane a supporto della Guardia costiera del Ministero della Difesa e degli organi per la sicurezza costiera del Ministero dell’Interno libici”.

      Analizzando il contenuto del decreto si nota subito che le unità fornite sono molto piccole (in prevalenza CP classe 500) e sono più indicate per intercettare i barconi carichi di migranti, e magari bloccarli, sotto minaccia delle armi, piuttosto che procedere a operazioni di salvataggio che garantiscano la riconduzione dei naufraghi, perchè di questo si tratta, verso un porto di sbarco sicuro, porto che la Libia oggi non può offrire. Come hanno rilevato le Nazioni Unite nei loro più revcenti rapporti sulla Libia ed i giudici di Ragusa e Palermo, nelle loro sentenze, nelle quali si esclude che la Libia offrisse porti sicuri di sbarco e si ritiene legittimo e conforme alle Convenzioni internazionali il comportamento delle ONG.

      Il provvedimento del governo italiano, che dovrà essere approvato dal Parlamento entro sessanta giorni dalla sua pubblicazione, non fa alcuna menzione alla situazione provvisoria, e assai precaria anche dal punto della legittimità, del governo di Tripoli sostenuto dalle Nazioni Unite, ma privo di continuità politica con la Libia di Gehddafi, che pure si cita nel provvedimento. Nessun riferimento al rispetto delle Convenzioni internazionali. La Libia non ha mai sottosctitto, peraltro, la Convenzione di Ginevra sui rifugiati.

      l richiamo ai precedenti accordi stipulati dall’Italia con la Libia nel 2008 non costituisce alcuna legittima base del decreto, considerando che il governo italiano, che nel maggio del 2009 aveva messo in esecuzione quegli accordi, con i respingimenti collettivi illegali esegiti dalla Guardia di Finanza verso Tripoli, è stato condannato dalla Corte Europea dei diritti dell’Uomo ( Sentenza 23 febbraio 2012- Caso Hirsi),

      Dopo l’allontanamento dell’Aquarius e il calvario inflitto alla Lifeline, con il sequestro della nave di Sea Watch a Malta e le indagini penali avviate a carico del comandante della Lifeline, sembra avere successo la strategia di Salvini per la eliminazione totale delle ONG dal Mediteraneo centrale. Una campagna avviata lo scorso anno da Frontex e da Minniti, sorretta da blogger che hanno diffuso una valanga di notizie false ma tanto condivise da valere più della verità, poi sfociata in indagini della magistratura che, prima ancora delle sentenze, hanno prodotto la condanna mediatica del soccorso umanitario in acque internazionali.

      Sono invece Minniti prima e Salvini poi che hanno fatto accordi con le milizie che coprono i trafficanti, e poi insinuano che le Ong siano colluse con gli scafisti. Quando il rovesciamento della realtà raggiunge questa dimensione, e su questo si aggrega il consenso, si può dire che lo stato di diritto e’ sconfitto dallo strapotere dell’esecutivo. Dunque responsabilità sempre più gravi incombono sulla magistratura. Non solo in Italia.

      Diverse iniziative giudiziarie, da ultimo a Malta, hanno portato al sequestro o all’allontanamento delle imbarcazioni delle Organizzazioni non governative che costituivano l’ultima possibilità di salvezza sulla rotta del Mediteraneo centrale, dopo il ritiro, o la scomparsa dai radar, delle navi militari di Frontex e di Eunavfor Med (Operazione Sophia), che in passato avevano soccorso decine di migliaia di persone. I recenti piani dell’Unione Europea di creare in Libia e nei paesi del Sahel centri di contenimento (piattaforme di sbarco) dei migranti, per impedire loro di raggiungere le coste del Mediterraneo, appaiono impraticabili sul piano politico e militare, oltre che umanamente inaccettabili, anche se si dovesse ottenere l’avallo dellOIM e dell’UNHCR. Sono piani che non elimineranno mai l’esigenza assoluta di operazioni di soccorso umanitario nel mar libico.

      Le stragi di questi ultimi giorni dimostrano che la Guardia costiera libica non ha i mezzi e gli assetti organizzativi per salvaguardare effettivamente la vita umana in mare. I mezzi trasferiti a titolo gratuito dall’Italia al governo di Tripoli, per le loro ridotte dimensioni, non garantiscono alcun effettivo incremento delle capacità di soccorso della Guardia costiera che si definisce “libica”, ma che in realtà corrisponde solo alle milizie che controllano la Tripolitania. Milizie sulle quali pesano gravi sospetti di collusione con i trafficanti di esseri umani. Le unità più grosse, (nel massimo di due !) cedute ai libici, ed attualmente in uso alla Guardia di finanza, non sono lunghe più di 25 metri, e possono soccorerre al massimo 100 persone, in condizioni di mare calmo.

      Malgrado la pomposa titolazione del decreto legge, la capacità di ricerca e salvataggio della Guardia costiera di Tripoli resterà molto al di sotto degli standard internazionali imposti dalle Convenzioni e dal Regolamento IMO. Non basterà certo la istituzione di una Zona Sar “libica”, inserita persino nei dati dell’IMO (Organizzazione internazionale del mare), in assenza di una effettiva capacità di coordinamento e di intervento della sedicente Guardia costiera “libica” che in realtà controlla soltanto alcuni porti della Tripolitania. Il riconoscimento di una zona SAR libica non comporta poi la qualifica automatica, come place of safety, e dunque legittimi porti di sbarco, dei porti di Tripoli, Zawia, Khoms, o di Sabratha o ancora di Zuwara.

      Chi ha coordinato davvero le ultime operazioni di soccorso, a partire dal 28 giugno, quando veniva resta nota la istituzione di una zona SAR libica ? Da quel giorno ad oggi sono morte o risultano disperse nel Mediterraneo centrale centinaia di persone, quasi un naufragio al giorno, per quanto tempo continuerà così?

      Malgrado la istituzione di una zona SAR di loro competenza, I libici continuano a confermare che le attività di ricerca e soccorso (SAR), in realtà vere e proprie intercettazioni in acque internazionali, avvengono da tempo sotto il coordinamento delle autorità italiane. “Rome provides Libya’s coastguard with logistical support via its “Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre”, locating migrant boats to intercept or rescue, as well as providing basic maintenance. Come era stato chiaramente affermato anche dal Giudice delle indagini preliminari di Catania, nel caso del sequestro della nave Open Arms.

      Il decreto legge proposto dal governo italiano, al pari della chiusura informale dei porti e del blocco immotivato di tre battelli umanitarie a Malta, crea le condizioni oggettive perchè le stragi, al largo delle coste libiche, si ripetano con frequenza sempre maggiore. Non saranno certo i mezzi che l’Italia si appresta a trasferire alla Guardia costiera di Tripoli che potranno ridurre il numero delle vittime. Gli appelli dell’Alto Commissariato per i rifugiati, dopo le ultime stragi nel mar libico, non ricevono ancora risposta.

      Ancora oggi, dopo interventi della Guardia costiera libica, ormai padrona assoluta della vastissima zona SAR che si è voluta attribuire alle motovedette di Tripoli e Zawia, si contano morti e dispersi. E tante altre persone, bloccate in alto mare, vengono ricondotte in centri di detenzione nei quali si soffrono condizioni disumane e degradanti. Queste vite negate, quei corpi martoriati, che vediamo anche noi, quando riescono a fuggire ancora una volta dall’inferno libico, saranno davanti alla coscienza di quei parlamentari che nelle prossime settimane dovranno approvare il decreto legge proposto ieri dal governo Salvini-Di Maio. La mobilitazione nel paese, in difesa della vita e dei diritti umani, contro le politiche dell’odio e della rimozione, sarà sempre più forte. Siamo in tanti, colpevoli di solidarietà, che ci vengano a prendere.

      https://www.a-dif.org/2018/07/03/un-decreto-legge-per-la-guardia-costiera-della-libia-che-non-esiste-la-pianif

    • Guardie e ladri: i trafficanti colpiti dalle sanzioni Onu e l’effetto italiano sulle rivalità in Libia

      In Libia sono quattro, appartengono a schieramenti mutevoli e aspettano che passi la tempesta delle sanzioni Onu, mentre le iniezioni di denaro dell’accordo italiano per fermare i migranti continuano a modificare alleanze ed equilibri sul campo. Nancy Porsia, che per prima ha reso note queste figure, ci racconta com’è la situazione oggi, molto più complessa di come la vorrebbe descrivere il governo italiano.

      Uno risulta sospeso dal servizio e l’altro risulta latitante, e insieme aspettano che i riflettori si spengano su di loro in un compound al centro della città di Zawiya, sulla costa occidentale della Libia.

      Il primo è il capo della Guardia Costiera di Zawiya, Abdul Rahman Milad, noto con il nom de guerre “Al Bija”, mentre il suo compagno di sventura è il noto trafficante di esseri umani della città di Sabrata Ahmed Dabbashi, meglio conosciuto come “Al Ammu”.

      Lo scorso mese, i due uomini che per circa tre anni hanno giocato a “guardie e ladri” davanti alle coste libiche sono finiti nella lista nera del Consiglio di Sicurezza delle Nazioni Unite insieme ad altri due cittadini libici: il capo della Brigata Martiri Al Nasser di Zawiya, Mohamed Khushlaf, e il trafficante Mus’ab Abu Qarin, di Sabrata, meglio noto come Dottor Musab per i tanti anni di esperienza nel traffico. Oltre ai quattro libici, sono stati colpiti dalle sanzioni Onu anche due cittadini eritrei, Ermias Ghermay e Fitiwi Abdelrazak, perché accusati di essere leader di una rete attiva nella tratta di migranti, in particolare di decine di migliaia di persone provenienti dal Corno d’Africa.

      Per i sei uomini sono scattati il congelamento degli assets bancari e il divieto di viaggio. È la prima volta che le Nazioni Unite emettono sanzioni individuali contro i trafficanti di essere umani in Libia, una decisione presa a fronte delle molteplici testimonianze contro i sei uomini, tant’è che già nel report annuale delle Nazioni Unite nel 2017 i quattro libici venivano citati come i principali attori del traffico di esseri umani in Libia.

      Gli uomini sotto sanzione: rivalità e alleanze

      Musab Abu Qarin è capo della Brigata Al Wadi; mentre Al Ammu è a capo della Brigata Anas Dabbashi. Sono entrambi miliziani che sulla pelle dei migranti hanno costruito il proprio impero.

      Concorrenti in affari, nel campo politico-militare i due sono nemici giurati. Musab è schierato con la frangia reazionaria della Libia rappresentata dal Generale Khalifa Haftar, da sempre sostenuto da Egitto e Emirati Arabi Uniti con l’avallo della Francia. Sebbene non sia ufficiale, il Dottor Musab è la longa manus della brigata Al Wadi, al servizio dei salafiti madkhali di cui fa parte anche Haftar e della coalizione formata sotto l’egida dell’operazione “Al Karama”, dignità in arabo, lanciata nel 2014 dal generale contro la lobby islamista dei Fratelli Musulmani. Dabbashi invece fa parte della fazione opposta, “Fajr Libya”, che in arabo significa Alba della Libia, sostenuta principalmente da Qatar e Turchia, e in maniera più discreta dall’Italia. Oltre ad Al Ammu, fanno parte della stessa lobby politico-militare anche il capo dei Guardiacoste di Zawiya Milad e Mohamed Khushlaf.

      Un dettaglio non da poco se si vuole comprendere il gioco politico che si sta consumando in Libia sulla pelle della popolazione locale e dei migranti che da lì transitano in rotta verso l’Europa. Infatti ai tempi del sodalizio tra Unione Europea e istituzioni libiche garantito dal Fondo Fiduciario europeo per l’Africa tra il 2016 e l’inizio del 2017, il governo di Serraj rappresentava ancora una sorta di corpo estraneo al paese senza identità né appartenenza. E attraverso la formula della delega a scatole cinesi, i soldi inviati da Bruxelles o da Roma verso Tripoli venivano poi equamente redistribuiti tra i vari potentati locali.
      Porticciolo di Sabrata - uno dei punti di partenza dei barconi di migranti verso l’Europa (foto: Nancy Porsia)

      A maggio del 2017, il capo dei guardiacoste di Zawiya, Milad, veniva ricevuto in Italia come membro della delegazione libica su invito dell’Organizzazione Internazionale per la Migrazione (Oim) in collaborazione con Operazione Eunavfor Med – Sophia. Come ci raccontarono loro stessi all’epoca dei fatti, alcuni uomini di Zawiya, richiedenti asilo in Italia che si trovavano nei centri di accoglienza visitati dal comandante Milad nel corso del tour siciliano, rimasero increduli davanti all’arrivo di colui che conoscevano come “Al Bija” in quello che pensavano fosse un luogo sicuro. Questo mentre sulla sponda sud del Mediterraneo Dabbashi e il Dottor Musab godevano entrambi di ampi spazi di manovra per i loro affari. Infatti nel braccio di costa di 70 chilometri tra Sabrata e Al Mutrud, un villaggio a ovest di Zawiya, si concentrava la quasi totalità delle partenze delle carrette del mare dalla Libia verso l’Europa.

      Ma nell’estate del 2017, l’allora Ministro degli Interni italiano Marco Minniti, con la firma del Memorandum of Understanding, giocoforza ha dato prevalentemente spazio ad alcuni gruppi della coalizione Fajr Libya, attraverso il sostegno indiretto alla Brigata 48 a guida Dabbashi, che proprio in quel periodo si era lanciata sul fronte del contrasto alla migrazione irregolare, e alla Guardia Costiera di Zawiya.
      La guerra di Sabrata

      Mentre Minniti si compiaceva dell’improvviso calo degli arrivi dalla Libia sulla sponda italiana, a ovest di Tripoli la controparte rimasta fuori dai giochi internazionali dichiarava guerra al nemico, e a settembre dello scorso anno si scatenava una guerra senza precedenti tra fazioni opposte. La sala operativa di Zawiya, testa d’ariete della brigata Al Wadi e dei salafiti madkhali nella regione ovest, ha sferrato un attacco massiccio contro Dabbashi. Durante quella che passerà alla storia come la “guerra di Sabrata”, migliaia di migranti venivano messi in mare dai Dabbashi così come dal Dottor Musab, mentre altrettante persone venivano scacciate dalla città via terra. In due giorni la città vicina di Zuwara ne ha accolti tremila.

      In quel frangente Dabbashi trovava riparo da Al Bija, suo fratello in armi dai tempi della Rivoluzione nel 2011. La conferma di questo sodalizio politico-militare ha portato, per un effetto domino, a un altro cambio della guardia importante: i salafiti madkhali a Tripoli, le Forze Speciali Rada, sconfinavano da quello che era il loro campo di competenza, la lotta al terrorismo, e si univano alle forze impegnate sul fronte anti-traffico.
      Le trasformazioni di Ben Khalifa

      A settembre dello scorso anno, le Forze Rada hanno annunciato in pompa magna l’arresto del trafficante Fahmi Ben Khalifa, dichiarando di aver preso il capo della rete del traffico dei migranti e incassando il plauso della comunità internazionale. Tuttavia, Fahmi Ben Khalifa era un noto passatore di migranti all’epoca del regime di Gheddafi. Grazie ai suoi ottimi rapporti con alcuni uomini d’affari a Malta, riusciva a far arrivare in Europa centinaia di migranti. Sempre in quel periodo, Ben Khalifa trafficava droga a livello internazionale sfruttando la posizione strategica della sua città, Zuwara, al confine con la Tunisia e a un tiro di schioppo da Malta e dall’Italia via mare.

      Ma all’indomani della caduta del regime, Ben Khalifa ha capitalizzato i suoi contatti a Malta e reinvestito sul traffico del diesel, dove la linea di demarcazione tra legalità e illegalità è meno definita. Già nel 2014 Ben Khalifa risultava essere il principale contrabbandiere di diesel in Libia. Tuttavia, secondo fonti di sicurezza della città di Zuwara, Ben Khalifa non aveva più nulla a che fare con il traffico di droga e di esseri umani. Eppure le Forze Rada lo hanno dato in pasto all’opinione pubblica europea come il principale attore del business sui migranti in Libia, proprio mentre l’Europa negoziava il consenso politico sul fronte anti-immigrazione, incurante degli introiti che la mafia incassa attraverso il traffico di diesel.

      Tra l’altro, anche nel campo del contrabbando degli idrocarburi, l’attore principale è Mohamed Khushlaf, il quale con la sua brigata Al Nasser controlla la raffineria di Zawiya, unica fonte di tutto il diesel trafficato dalla Libia. Non c’è litro di diesel che esca dalla principale raffineria in funzione nel paese senza il suo consenso. Ma all’epoca dell’arresto e delle foto segnaletiche di Ben Khalifa fatte circolare dalle Forze Rada sul web, i madkhali di Tripoli tentavano ancora di tenere in piedi la strategia doppio-giochista tra le forze Fajr Libya e Al Karama, e quindi Ben Khalifa era un ottimo alibi per coprire il più potente Mohamed Khushlaf.

      Con lo schieramento della comunità internazionale al fianco di Haftar a Parigi lo scorso maggio, la Russia che da sempre sostiene il Generale, il quale ha già il controllo dell’intero est del paese, ha ritirato il veto posto alla proposta di sanzioni dall’Olanda al Consiglio delle Nazioni Unite. Infatti le sanzioni Onu non hanno spostato di un millimetro l’attuale posizione delle forze madkhali sul campo, e il Dottor Musab diventa la sola vittima sacrificale.
      Cosa dice Milad delle sanzioni

      Sul fronte opposto, all’indomani dell’entrata in vigore delle sanzioni, il generale Milad è stato formalmente sospeso dal suo incarico per quattro mesi, in attesa di prove alle accuse mosse dal Consiglio di Sicurezza. Secondo quanto enunciato dall’Onu, “Milad e altri membri della guardia costiera sono direttamente coinvolti nell’affondamento di imbarcazioni di migranti, attraverso l’utilizzo di armi da fuoco. Al-Milad collabora con altri trafficanti di migranti come Mohammed Kachlaf (anch’esso oggetto delle stesse sanzioni) che, secondo alcune fonti, gli fornisce protezione per svolgere operazioni illecite relative al traffico di migranti. Diversi testimoni di alcune indagini hanno dichiarato di essere stati prelevati in mare da uomini armati e trasbordati sulla nave della Guardia costiera ‘Tallil’, utilizzata dal comandante Milad, e portati al centro di detenzione di al-Nasr, dove secondo quanto riferito sarebbero stati detenuti in condizioni brutali e sottoposti a percosse”.

      Qualche ora dopo l’annuncio delle sanzioni Onu, sul suo profilo Facebook Milad scriveva: “Ho lavorato tanto contro il contrabbando di diesel permesso dai politici libici corrotti, e per il contrasto nelle nostre acque alle Ong, che altro non rappresentano se non i servizi segreti stranieri e operano con il beneplacito del governo Al Serraj a Tripoli così come quello di Al Thinni nell’est. Abbiamo rinunciato a tangenti cospicue da funzionari di alto rango che chiedevano di lasciare lavorare le Ong. E per quanto le sanzioni siano un duro colpo, noi passeremo alla storia come quelli leali al paese. E solo Dio sa quanto abbiamo sofferto per questo paese”.

      Prendendo le distanze dal Governo Serraj, anche il comando centrale dei Guardiacoste a Tripoli difende a spada tratta il proprio uomo, tanto che l’Ammiraglio Abdallah Toumia ha criticato fortemente la decisione del Consiglio di Sicurezza Onu, e ha commentato in tv: “Questo non è comprensibile dopo gli sforzi profusi dal nostro comandante sequestrando sei petroliere e salvando ben 17 mila migranti davanti alle coste libiche”.

      Tra quelli sanzionati dall’Onu, dunque, solo Dabbashi risulta fuori gioco. E secondo fonti della sicurezza a ovest di Tripoli, oggi l’ex re del traffico dei migranti di Sabrata è sotto l’ala protettiva del generale Milad.

      http://openmigration.org/analisi/guardie-e-ladri-i-trafficanti-colpiti-dalle-sanzioni-onu-e-leffetto-i

    • Immigration : Rome et Tripoli veulent réactiver leur #traité_d’amitié

      L’Italie et la Libye ont convenu samedi de réactiver leur traité d’amitié signé en 2008, qui permet le refoulement de migrants en territoire libyen, à l’occasion de la première visite à Tripoli du chef de la diplomatie italienne Enzo Moavero Milanesi.

      Le traité signé par les ex-dirigeants des deux pays, Mouammar Kadhafi, renversé par une révolte populaire et tué en 2011, et Silvio Berlusconi, avait marqué la fin de 40 ans de relations tumultueuses entre la Libye et son ancien colonisateur. Mais il avait été suspendu en février 2011 après le début de la révolte libyenne.

      Il prévoit des investissements italiens en Libye de cinq milliards de dollars en compensation de la période coloniale. En contrepartie, la Libye s’engage à limiter l’immigration clandestine depuis ses côtes. Le traité permettait notamment le refoulement en Libye des migrants partis de ce pays, une clause dénoncée par les défenseurs des droits de l’Homme.

      « Nous nous sommes mis d’accord sur la réactivation du traité d’amitié italo-libyen de 2008 », a déclaré le ministre libyen des Affaires étrangères Mohamad Siala lors d’une conférence de presse conjointe avec son homologue italien dans la capitale libyenne Tripoli.

      M. Milanesi a lui jugé ce traité « important et prometteur ».

      Les deux ministres n’ont pas précisé si le texte allait être amendé ou réactivé tel quel.

      Selon le ministre italien, avec ce pacte, « toutes les conditions sont réunies pour travailler main dans la main en vue d’appuyer le processus de stabilisation, la sécurité et l’unité de la Libye ».

      Il a ajouté que la Libye « partageait avec l’Union européenne la responsabilité et le devoir de faire face aux flux de migrants ». « La coopération entre la Libye, l’Italie et l’UE est essentielle pour résoudre la question de l’immigration et éviter des drames humains » en Méditerranée, qui se sont multipliés ces dernières semaines au large de la Libye.

      M. Milanesi a jugé « essentiel d’oeuvrer dans les pays d’origine » des migrants pour les dissuader de tenter la traversée de la Méditerranée vers l’Italie, tout en soulignant l’importance d’aider la Libye à sécuriser ses frontières maritime et terrestre dans le Sud.

      Du temps de Kadhafi, des milliers de migrants traversaient les frontières sud longues de 5.000 km, notamment pour tenter la traversée de la Méditerranée vers l’Europe.

      La situation a empiré après la chute du dictateur, les passeurs profitant du chaos en Libye pour envoyer chaque année des dizaines de milliers de migrants à destination de l’Italie.


      http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2018/07/07/immigration-rome-et-tripoli-veulent-reactiver-leur-traite-d-amitie_166490

      #traité_d'amitié_bis

    • Migrants : l’Italie et la Libye exhument un accord vieux d’il y a dix ans

      L’Italie cherche à fermer ses frontières. Dans ce sens, le nouveau gouvernement vient de réactiver un traité d’amitié signé avec la Libye en 2008. A l’époque, le texte avait permis à Silvio Berlusconi et Mouammar Kadhafi de mettre fin à 40 ans de relations tumultueuses, mais le début de la révolte libyenne, en février 2011, avait enterré l’accord. Le nouveau chef de la diplomatie italienne l’a ressorti lors de sa première visite à Tripoli le week-end dernier, car il permet le refoulement des migrants partis de Libye.

      http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20180709-migrants-italie-libye-exhument-accord-vieux-il-y-dix-ans

    • Migranti, prezzi aumentati e rotte modificate: così in Libia i trafficanti sono tornati a lavoro

      Il “tappo” sta saltando - Da Zwara a Garabulli, i capibanda libici stanno riattivando i punti di partenza bloccati un anno fa, sfidando i mandati di arresto

      È passato circa un anno da quando alcuni trafficanti di esseri umani, insieme a pezzi della Guardia Costiera corrotta a ovest di Tripoli, accettarono di sbarrare il passaggio ai migranti. I trafficanti di esseri umani si trasformarono in guardie, e le guardie tornarono a fare le guardie. Quel tratto di costa per due anni era stato il principale trampolino di lancio per le persone che cercavano un passaggio verso l’Europa.

      All’epoca, Roma “mandò a dire” alle controparti libiche che se non si fossero allineati sarebbero state scovate e arrestate dalle autorità internazionali. Molti degli interlocutori libici decisero di adeguarsi alle nuove regole del gioco. E il meccanismo oramai oliato si ruppe portando alla cosiddetta ‘guerra di Sabrata’ tra i principali trafficanti della città, Ahmed Dabbashi e Mus’ab Abu Qarin.

      Nel frattempo le istituzioni libiche sono state affiancate e sospinte dall’Europa a mettere in cima alle proprie priorità il flusso migratorio irregolare, ovviamente in cambio di legittimità e denari. E dunque anche le meno operative unità di Guardia Costiera o altri gruppi armati sono tornati in prima linea. Lo scorso giugno il Consiglio di sicurezza Onu ha inserito Dabbashi e Abu Qarin nella propria lista nera insieme al capo della Guardia Costiera Abdul Rahaman Milad e il responsabile della raffineria della città di Zawiya, 30 chilometri a est di Sabrata.

      “Con la stretta delle forze di sicurezza sul traffico degli esseri umani, i prezzi del mercato sono aumentati molto. E i grandi pesci sono tornati a lavorare con le vecchi modalità”, ha detto al Fatto una fonte di Zawiya. E giovedì, dalle coste libiche, è partito il barcone in legno con a bordo 450 migranti.

      Anche le rotte su territorio libico cambiano assetto. A Ovest di Tripoli, Sabrata e Zawiya hanno ceduto il passo a Zuwara, la città che per vent’anni è stata il principale snodo per la traversata del Mediterraneo e che negli ultimi tre anni ha visto le forze locali stringere in una morsa i trafficanti locali. “Le autorità locali da sole non possono reggere ancora a lungo. E i trafficanti stanno tornando alle loro postazioni”, spiega al Fatto una fonte di Zuwara. Secondo la Guardia Costiera di Tripoli, il barcone sarebbe partito proprio da Zuwara. A est della Capitale si estende la costa da cui partono l’80% delle imbarcazioni cariche di migranti, secondo una fonte vicina alla intelligence libica. Garabulli, 50 chilometri a oriente di Tripoli, è il principale punto di imbarco insieme alla città di Al Khoms, 50 chilometri più a est.

      Già ai tempi di Gheddafi, a Garabulli erano diverse le famiglie che lavoravano nel business del trasporto dei migranti: le bianche spiagge rendono quel tratto di costa idoneo per le partenze delle carrette del mare. Le dune scoscese lungo la costa sono un reticolo di sentieri che portano alla battigia. “Quei sentieri sono stati costruiti con escavatori dagli stessi trafficanti”, spiegava tempo fa un membro della Guardia Costiera durante uno dei giri di perlustrazione.

      Garabulli torna oggi a essere un importante punto di imbarco. Non solo per via dello sbarramento a ovest di Tripoli, ma anche perché, pochi chilometri a sud, a Bani Walid, si trova il principale punto di transito per i migranti tra il deserto e la costa.

      Dalla nascita dello Stato Islamico a Sirte nel 2015, il punto di smistamento tra sud e nord si è spostato dalla città natale di Gheddafi, Sirte, a Bani Walid. A Garabulli, inoltre, da più di due anni non esiste una struttura, seppure minima, di forze di sicurezza.

      Nel 2016 pesanti scontri a fuoco tra le milizie locali e quelle della vicina città di Misurata, portarono al fuggi fuggi generale dei gruppi armati incaricati della sicurezza.

      A sud, nel Fezzan, la situazione resta completamente fuori controllo.

      Bande di ladroni senza appartenenza politica si moltiplicano nel vuoto di controllo da parte del governo del premier Serraj, di base a Tripoli, e del generale Khalifa Haftar, l’uomo forte dell’est del Paese.

      Dal Niger i migranti continuano ad arrivare in migliaia, anche se battendo sentieri più pericolosi in seguito alle attività di controllo al confine con la Libia. Nel deserto la città-oasi di Saba, la principale nella regione del Fezzan, resta il punto di passaggio principale. Proprio alla periferia di Saba, una prigione nuova di zecca e mai utilizzata dalle autorità locali, da un paio di anni funge da magazzino per i principali trafficanti della zona.

      https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/premium/articoli/il-ricatto-dei-ras-della-costa-nuovi-accordi-o-piu-migranti

    • L’Italia delega i respingimenti dei migranti in mare alla Libia. Violando i diritti umani

      Il protagonismo delle autorità libiche nelle operazioni di “soccorso” nel Mediterraneo consente al nostro Paese di non rispondere direttamente delle condotte sui migranti. Un escamotage per non finire di nuovo dinanzi alla Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo, che nel 2012 aveva duramente condannato l’Italia per i fatti del 2009. Intervista ad Anton Giulio Lana, l’avvocato di quei migranti respinti che hanno vinto la causa a Strasburgo.

      La strategia dell’Italia di delegare i respingimenti dei migranti in mare alle autorità della Libia vìola i diritti umani. Ed è un sostanziale aggiramento della sentenza della Corte europea dei diritti umani che nel 2012 aveva condannato il nostro Paese per aver espulso collettivamente 200 naufraghi intercettati a 35 miglia a Sud di Lampedusa nel maggio 2009. L’avvocato Anton Giulio Lana ha rappresentato 24 di quei respinti a Tripoli dinanzi alla Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo di Strasburgo, che nel 2012 ha pronunciato la storica sentenza sul caso “Hirsi Jamaa e altri c. Italia”. Il comportamento italiano fu ritenuto una grave violazione della Convenzione europea dei diritti dell’uomo che vieta la tortura e i trattamenti inumani o degradanti (Art. 3), nonché le espulsioni collettive (Protocollo n. 4) e la mancata possibilità di richiedere la protezione internazionale (Art. 13).
      A nove anni dalla stagione dei respingimenti e a sei dalla sentenza Cedu, il giudizio di Lana sull’approccio dell’Italia è amaro. Navi dei soccorritori bloccate al largo, annunci di porti chiusi, arresti minacciati. E ancora naufragi.

      Avvocato, anche oggi i diritti umani sono violati nel Mediterraneo?
      AGL Sulla scorta della giurisprudenza che è stata adottata dalla Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo nel caso Hirsi, che come noto ha stigmatizzato la violazione da parte del nostro Paese del principio di non refoulement (principio di non respingimento), anche eventuali azioni che dovessero inibire l’accesso delle imbarcazioni che salvano persone in mare contrasterebbe con la Convenzione europea dei diritti dell’uomo. E con una serie di disposizioni di carattere internazionale come la Convenzione Montego Bay del 1982 delle Nazioni Unite sul diritto del mare, la Convenzione internazionale per la salvaguardia della vita umana in mare (SOLAS) del 1974 e alla Convenzione internazionale del 1979 sulla ricerca e il salvataggio marittimi (SAR) che prevedono che gli sbarchi di persone salvate in mare debbano essere operati nel luogo sicuro più vicino. C’è quindi un contesto di diritto del mare e di diritto internazionale dei diritti umani che prescrive da un lato il divieto di respingimenti e dall’altro l’obbligo di salvare le persone che si trovano in difficoltà su queste “carrette del mare”. Indiscusso il ruolo meritorio che hanno svolto negli anni la Marina italiana e la Capitaneria di porto di Roma per il salvataggio di vite nel mar Mediterraneo, quello che oggi preoccupa sono le nuove iniziative promosse dal governo: chiusura dei porti alle ONG e, anche -almeno nelle intenzioni- alle navi militari straniere che fanno capo all’operazione Sophia.

      Nelle ultime settimane sono stati operati dei respingimenti o comunque azioni che contrastano con le Convenzioni internazionali che ha menzionato?
      AGL Quello che è stato posto in essere, in particolare dal ministro dell’Interno, è una prassi innovativa di annunci via social media. Che è una modalità abbastanza anomala di esercitare il potere e il ruolo per un governo e in particolare per un ministro dell’Interno. Normalmente in un Paese democratico basato sullo Stato di diritto i ministri esercitano il loro ruolo attraverso provvedimenti di varia natura. I quali poi possono anche essere vagliati -in un sistema dove c’è una ripartizione dei poteri- da parte di un’autorità giudiziaria, nella specie da un giudice amministrativo, che potrà valutare validità, fondatezza e motivazioni che hanno indotto ad adottare il provvedimento.

      Annunci a parte, in queste settimane è stata formalmente dichiarata una zona SAR libica e forniti degli estremi di un presunto centro di coordinamento a Tripoli, con il decisivo sostegno italiano e finanziamenti comunitari. È sufficiente questa condizione puramente formale per delegare le operazioni di intercettazione delle imbarcazioni e di successivo trasporto verso le coste libiche per manlevare l’Italia rispetto a quelle situazioni critiche?
      AGL Come militante dei diritti umani, studioso della materia e avvocato posso porre delle domande. E solitamente le pongo a una giurisdizione interna o internazionale, come la Corte di Strasburgo. Quindi non ho risposte. Certo, mi domando se i finanziamenti che vengono dati attraverso modalità varie -anche mediante la fornitura di imbarcazioni alle autorità libiche, piuttosto che la formazione agli operatori libici o altre modalità di supporto- possano concretizzare una corresponsabilità italiana sul piano del diritto internazionale nelle azioni di intercettazione, limitazione e controllo che le forze dell’ordine libiche -se così possiamo definirle- pongono in essere. Io qualche perplessità sul punto ce l’ho.
      Bisognerebbe perciò sottoporre questa questione all’attenzione di un giudice internazionale. So di iniziative dinanzi alla Corte EDU che sono state adottate proprio per mettere in discussione già la politica adottata dal ministro Minniti, figuriamoci quella del ministro Salvini.

      Si può definire la strategia italiana -trasversale in termini di esecutivi- di stipulare di accordi con un Paese come la Libia per fermare i migranti, una sorta di aggiramento del pronunciamento della Cedu a cui lei ha in maniera decisiva contribuito? È cioè un modo per delegare i respingimenti ai libici quello adottato dall’Italia dopo la sentenza sul caso Hirsi?
      AGL Io credo di sì. Stiamo però parlando di una giurisdizione che ragiona sui fatti. Indubbiamente non ha molto senso con riferimento a questi problemi delicati, complicati e drammatici ragionare in linea teorica, bisognerebbe analizzare un singolo episodio, conoscerlo e valutarlo alla luce del diritto internazionale e del diritto del mare. In linea di principio, e quindi con tutti i limiti che ho detto, questa sorta di outsourcing che è stata ideata mi sembra che contrasti con il diritto internazionale dei diritti umani.

      Nel caso Hirsi ci fu un ricorso. Che tipo di iniziativa occorrerebbe per poter far prendere in esame il comportamento dell’Italia dalla Corte?
      AGL All’epoca del ricorso Hirsi, e siamo nel 2009, un rappresentante di un’organizzazione non governativa si recò in Libia, in questi centri, a raccogliere le procure di alcune delle persone respinte, 24, e sulla base di quelle procure fui in condizione di predisporre il ricorso alla Corte EDU. Quindi analogamente occorrerebbe che delle persone che hanno subito una violazione dei diritti fondamentali, ad esempio un’espulsione collettiva – come fu stigmatizzata nella sentenza del 2012 “Hirsi contro Italia”- presentino un ricorso alla Corte, del tutto analogo. Bisognerebbe insomma che si materializzi un’espulsione collettiva e che le vittime di questa espulsione conferiscano incarico per adire alla Corte.

      In queste settimane gli annunci e le chiusure hanno avuto conseguenze drammatiche sulle vite delle persone. Esistono strumenti immediati per ricorrere alla Corte e inibire questa o quella condotta di uno Stato?
      AGL Sì. L’articolo 39 del regolamento di procedura della Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo contempla proprio l’ipotesi di cui lei sta parlando, cioè la possibilità in via d’urgenza di richiedere una misura provvisoria, cautelare, per inibire una determinata condotta da parte di uno Stato. Si potrebbe perciò ottenere un ordine di non respingere in violazione della Cedu, ai sensi dell’articolo 3 laddove le persone una volta respinte fossero sottoposte al rischio concreto di subire torture o trattamenti inumani o degradanti.

      Poniamo che naufraghi alla deriva nelle acque SAR libiche chiamino il centro di coordinamento di Roma per i soccorsi e che questo deleghi “per competenza” a Tripoli le operazioni. L’iniziale contatto con l’MRCC italiano potrebbe essere già un elemento di corresponsabilità in grado di far scattare la giurisdizione della Corte europea?
      AGL Non lo so, dovrei rifletterci con più attenzione. La Corte europea si pronuncia nei confronti dei 47 Paesi membri del Consiglio d’Europa. Si potrebbe immediatamente ravvisare una responsabilità italiana nel momento in cui su un’imbarcazione delle forze dell’ordine libiche, o della guardia costiera libica, fornite magari dall’Italia alla Libia, vi fossero dei militari o comunque degli esponenti delle forze dell’ordine italiane. Presenti lì per coadiuvare o contribuire alla formazione, o per qualsiasi motivo.
      Il semplice avviso al nostro centro di coordinamento è un’ipotesi su cui dovrei riflettere attentamente, bisognerebbe vedere il caso concreto. Ripeto, è difficile parlare di questioni così delicate, anche umanamente complesse e drammatiche, senza ragionare sulla singola fattispecie ma in teoria.

      A proposito della Libia. Per quel che lei ha avuto modo di seguire rispetto all’evoluzione del Paese dai fatti dei respingimenti del 2009 in avanti, è un Paese che ha superato le gravi problematiche fotografate dalla Corte europea di Strasburgo in termini di sicurezza e diritti umani?
      AGL Purtroppo non credo affatto. Tanto è vero che laddove nel caso concreto fossero operati dei respingimenti verso la Libia, si potrebbe a mio avviso sostenere che quelle persone non solo rischiano di essere rimandate nel Paese di origine, e dunque eventualmente sottoposte a violazione dell’articolo 3 (divieto di tortura e trattamenti inumani e degradanti), ma prima ancora la violazione consisterebbe nel respingimento verso la Libia in quanto tale, dove queste persone -come ahimè tristemente noto- vengono seviziate, le donne sono stuprate, torturate. La situazione in Libia, come noto dai rapporti delle Ong più autorevoli, è molto articolata e molto complessa e il governo di Tripoli riconosciuto dalle Nazioni Unite non ha certamente il controllo del territorio di tutto il Paese.

      Come valuta il fatto che dalla sentenza Hirsi in avanti gli esecutivi -riprendendo la strategia degli accordi bilaterali del 2007, 2008 e 2009- abbiano sostanzialmente individuato nella Libia e nelle presunte autorità del Paese un mezzo per non effettuare dei respingimenti direttamente ma per delegarli?
      AGL In modo molto critico. Penso che siamo in presenza di un fenomeno strutturale, sottovalutato dall’Italia in particolare e dall’Europa in generale da vent’anni a questa parte. Non si tratta di un’emergenza, non è un fenomeno che può indurre una paura o una preoccupazione nei confronti di una popolazione di 500 milioni di abitanti per qualche centinaio di migliaia di persone che prova a migliorare le proprie condizioni di vita o a rifuggire da situazioni di guerra, di tortura o di violazioni di diritti umani. Per cui credo che questo problema doveva e ancora oggi deve essere affrontato in maniera radicalmente diversa. Con un impegno sistemico dell’Italia e dell’Europa intera.

      https://altreconomia.it/italia-libia-respingimenti-diritti-lana

    • Salvini: «Cambiare le norme e considerare quelli libici porti sicuri». Ma da Bruxelles arriva un secco No

      «Dobbiamo cambiare la normativa e rendere i porti libici porti sicuri. C’è questa ipocrisia di fondo in Europa in base alla quale si danno soldi ai libici, si forniscono le motovedette e si addestra la Guardia Costiera ma poi si ritiene la Libia un porto non sicuro». Lo dice il vicepremier e ministro dell’Interno Matteo Salvini in una conferenza stampa a Mosca indicando quale sarà l’obiettivo dell’Italia nell’incontro di dopodomani per ridiscutere la missione Sophia. «E’ un bipolarismo europeo che va superato» aggiunge.

      Per arginare il traffico di esseri umani, secondo Salvini, l’unica soluzione «è il blocco delle partenze, aiutando Tunisia, Marocco, Libia ed Egitto a controllare mari, porti e confini». Dobbiamo «soccorrere tutti ma anche riaccompagnarli tutti da dove sono partiti - aggiunge il ministro dell’Interno - E vanno creati canali per l’asilo politico dall’altra parte del Mediterraneo: non far partire più alcuna persona e non far sbarcare più alcuna persona in Italia, e dunque, in Europa, è l’obiettivo. L’Ue deve convincersi che questa è l’unica soluzione per risolvere la questione».

      Il titolare del Viminale è poi tornato a chiedere a Bruxelles «soldi veri» per interventi in Africa e ha ribadito che per le navi delle Ong i porti italiani resteranno chiusi. E quanto ai respingimenti, vietati dalle norme internazionali, Salvini ha sottolineato che «qualcosa che è vietato oggi può diventare normalità domani. Perché qui non parliamo di naufraghi ma di tratta di esseri umani, di un business organizzato dalle mafie dei due continenti».

      Secco no alla richiesta di Salvini da Bruxelles. «Nessuna operazione europea e nessuna imbarcazione europea» riporta i migranti salvati in mare in Libia, perchè «non consideriamo che sia un paese sicuro». Lo dice la portavoce della Commissione, Natasha Bertaud, rispondendo ai giornalisti che chiedevano un commento della Commissione sulle parole del ministro degli Interni, Matteo Salvini, che ha detto che chiederà alla Ue di riconoscere i porti libici come sicuri.

      A stretto giro la controreplica di Salvini. «L’Unione Europea vuole continuare ad agevolare lo sporco lavoro degli scafisti? Non lo farà in mio nome, o si cambia o saremo costretti a muoverci da soli». Così il ministro dell’Interno su Twitter.

      https://www.huffingtonpost.it/2018/07/16/salvini-cambiare-le-norme-e-considerare-quelli-libici-porti-sicuri-ma

    • Lo “scatolone di sabbia”: un anno di inchieste sulla Libia

      Nell’ultimo anno, nella convinzione che conoscere la complessità della Libia aiutasse a leggere più correttamente gli accordi siglati dall’Italia e il loro impatto sui migranti che attraversano il Mediterraneo, abbiamo pian piano costruito una mappa di indagini e storie. In questa estate di nuove e spesso pericolose semplificazioni, ve le proponiamo qui tutte insieme in ordine cronologico.

      http://openmigration.org/analisi/lo-scatolone-di-sabbia-un-anno-di-inchieste-sulla-libia

    • The first Italian vessel promised to the Libyan Coast Guard has just been delivered. Even later than forecast. Unlikely to make a difference for a fragmented, undertrained, understaffed, underequipped Libyan Coast Guard.

      https://twitter.com/emmevilla/status/1054032047818317824

      «#658_Fezzan», 14 membri di equipaggio. In foto, il primo dei due pattugliatori ’classe Corrubia’ - ex GDF, previsto dal c.d. decreto motovedette - appena arrivato a Tripoli e consegnato dal governo italiano alle milizie libiche.


      https://twitter.com/scandura/status/1054021643440455680
      –-> et ce lien vers un site en arabe : https://almarsad.co/2018/10/21/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1-%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%

    • Tripoli-based Coast Guard: Italy has provided old boats and is not intended for rescue

      Spokesman of the Tripoli-based Libyan Coast Guard, Ayoub Qassem, said in media statements on Friday that Italy has provided old boats and is not intended for rescue.

      He also accused the international non-governmental organizations of seeking to reap huge profits through illegal flights to and from Libya.

      Qassem revealed that the number of migrant victims reaches 120 thousand annually, because of smugglers’ use for old boats crowded with immigrants. He also said that there are many who drowned in the sea and no one knows about them.

      Qassem demanded Europe to “pay billions annually to us” without which he says “the Coast Guard would not play its role properly against the waves of migration coming from Africa”. He added that Libya is not defending Europe, but defending its sovereignty.

      http://www.addresslibya.com/en/archives/35784

    • L’Italia affida i migranti agli stessi che fa arrestare per contrabbando

      La Guardia costiera di #Zawiya è un’organizzazione criminale. Secondo le Nazioni Unite, fa parte di una milizia coinvolta in numerosi traffici di esseri umani. Secondo carte lette in questi giorni dall’AFP, l’Onu vuole proporre sanzioni contro sei trafficanti, fra i quali al Bija e Mohammed Koshlaf di cui leggerete in questo articolo. Intanto, secondo la Procura di Catania, la stessa Guardia costiera di Zawiya è coinvolta anche nel furto e contrabbando di petrolio, che costa alla Libia 750 milioni di dollari all’anno. Eppure per l’Italia è un’alleata nella lotta all’immigrazione irregolare.

      Zawiya, Libia, 28 giugno 2016. La petroliera Temeteron naviga a 11 miglia dalla costa. È una nave imponente: un tanker di 110 metri di lunghezza che può contenere fino a 4.600 tonnellate; uno di quei giganti, lunghi e piatti, che attraversano le autostrade del mare a basse velocità e per lunghissimi periodi.

      Nel 2016, la Temeteron viaggiava spesso da quelle parti: un andirivieni continuo dalle acque del Mediterraneo davanti alla Libia, fino al porto di Odessa, in Ucraina, o ai porti russi affacciati sul Mar Nero. Il 28 giugno 2016, però, appena prima che uscisse dal territorio nazionale libico, ossia le acque che si allungano fino a 12 miglia dalla costa, è stata intercettata dalla Guardia Costiera di Zawiya. Anzi, come la definiscono i due ricercatori Mark Micallef e Tuesday Reitano in questa ricerca, dalla “Guardia costiera della raffineria di Zawiya”. Il legame tra l’autorità costiera e il polo industriale della città è infatti indissolubile: quei guardacoste, dotati di due unità navali, sono gli stessi che tra gennaio e giugno 2017, secondo la ricerca di Reitano e Micallef, intercetteranno 5.707 migranti sui 10.989 fermati in tutto dalla Guardia costiera libica.

      Torniamo al 28 giugno 2016: la Guardia costiera di Zawiya scorta la Temeteron fino al porto di Tripoli, dove la lascia nelle mani della Marina militare libica. Temeteron si ormeggia: è in stato di fermo e con lei anche l’equipaggio. L’indomani, durante una conferenza stampa, il portavoce della Marina libica Ayoub Qasim sostiene che i suoi uomini abbiano trovato a bordo della petroliera 5.227 tonnellate di gasolio di contrabbando, rubato dalla raffineria di Zawiya. Il dato, riportato su diversi media, sembra scorretto, perché supera il tonnellaggio della nave. Non ci sono però altre versioni. Il fermo è stato certamente convalidato: l’equipaggio – cinque ucraini, tre russi e un greco – è rimasto nelle carceri libiche fino al 2 marzo 2017.

      Navi come la Temeteron, con gli stessi presunti carichi illeciti, passano spesso al largo di Zawiya. Eppure i controlli delle autorità locali sono sporadici. Il motivo è semplice: la Guardia costiera della città è parte di un’organizzazione criminale che contrabbanda gasolio. Secondo i rapporti delle Nazioni Unite, quella stessa Guardia costiera è coinvolta anche nel traffico di esseri umani. Migranti e gasolio, insieme al greggio, sono i pochi “beni di esportazione” della Libia: controllare questi mercati, di fatto, significa avere le mani sull’export del paese.
      La raffineria protetta dalla Guardia costiera

      La Azzawiya Oil Refinery Company è una raffineria di proprietà statale, aperta nel 1974. È la più grossa della Libia, con una capacità massima di 120 mila barili di greggio al giorno. La controlla la National Oil Company (Noc), l’azienda statale che gestisce gas e petrolio. È socia alla pari della nostra Eni nella Mellitah Oil & Gas, joint venture italo-libica che sorge sempre nella striscia di costa libica famosa come luogo di partenza degli sbarchi.

      La Noc è l’unica autorità del paese nordafricano che può approvare le esportazioni all’estero. Da maggio del 2014 a guidarla è Mustafa Sanalla, manager risoluto, consapevole di occupare il vertice dell’unica istituzione del paese capace, almeno in un immediato futuro, di dare un’economia alla Libia. Il 18 aprile, durante il convegno Oil & Fuel Theft a Ginevra, Sanalla ha affermato che la Libia ogni anno perde 750 milioni di dollari: il 30-40 per cento del gasolio e del greggio importati o prodotti dalla Libia “viene rubato”, ha detto. In altre parole, viene esportato senza un’autentica autorizzazione della Noc, e quindi senza che la compagnia statale libica possa incassare un centesimo di tasse da questa compravendita.

      Gli unici a guadagnare, così, sono i criminali che appartengono al cartello che ha portato il prodotto fuori dalla Libia. Gli acquirenti, che pagano il prodotto in media un terzo del prezzo di mercato, sono soprattutto italiani, spagnoli, tunisini, turchi e russi. A febbraio, la Procura generale di Tripoli ha spiccato 144 mandati d’arresto per traffico di gasolio nell’ovest della Libia. Non sono ancora noti né i nomi dei ricercati, né quanti di loro siano stati effettivamente portati in carcere.
      La mafia libica dei Koshlaf e di al-Bija

      La storia della Temeteron fa parte dell’inchiesta Dirty Oil, lavoro della procura di Catania che ha indagato sulla parte di prodotto che finisce nelle raffinerie italiane, portando in carcere sette persone. Il petrolio tracciato dall’operazione – 82 mila di tonnellate in un anno – rappresenta un trecentesimo del mercato italiano, secondo la stima dell’associazione dei petrolieri Assopetroli.

      Per camuffare i carichi di contrabbando, i gruppi di trafficanti – rivela l’inchiesta – falsificano i certificati d’origine del gasolio, oppure applicano finti timbri d’autorizzazione della Noc. In questo modo, i documenti sono validi per lo scarico in qualunque raffineria europea.

      Daphne Caruana Galizia, giornalista maltese assassinata con un’autobomba il 16 ottobre, si era resa conto del fiorire di questo contrabbando sulla sua isola: Malta è il centro dove si svolge la maggior parte di queste contraffazioni. Il centro di giornalismo investigativo IRPI ha proseguito il suo lavoro, investigando sui protagonisti di questi traffici che partono da Malta. L’inchiesta di IRPI è stata pubblicata con il Daphne Project, progetto di giornalismo collettivo nato allo scopo di proseguire ciò che aveva scoperto o intuito la giornalista assassinata.

      Una pista investigativa porta da Malta alla Libia, dove sta una parte dell’organizzazione criminale arrestata a seguito dell’inchiesta Dirty Oil. In larga misura, i membri del gruppo libico sono ancora liberi. Almeno per tutto il 2016-17, la loro organizzazione è stata tra le più potenti della striscia costiera di 150 chilometri che dal confine con la Tunisia corre fino a Zuwara. Al suo vertice, Walid Koshlaf e Mohammed Koshlaf (detto al-Qasseb): secondo l’Onu, fratelli, e secondo un articolo determinante di Nancy Porsia su Trt, cugini. Uno dei loro luogotenenti è una vecchia conoscenza dell’Italia: la scorsa estate è stato accusato da Washington Post e Middle East Eye di essere a capo della Guardia costiera pagata e addestrata dal governo italiano per fermare i migranti. Il suo nome è Abdurahman al-Milad, detto al-Bija.

      Come si legge nel rapporto Onu del 1 giugno 2017, al-Bija con altri guardacoste “è direttamente coinvolto nell’affondamento delle navi dei migranti a colpi di armi da fuoco”. Dal rapporto Onu sappiamo anche che i Koshlaf dentro la raffineria di Zawiya “hanno aperto un rudimentale centro di detenzione dei migranti”(di cui in questo rapporto di Amnesty si vede una foto satellitare a pag.28). Una parte dei migranti “salvati” da al-Bija viene spesso condotta al centro di detenzione dei Koshlaf. Dal marzo 2016, la prigione risulta accreditata come centro sotto la direzione del Dipartimento per la lotta all’immigrazione irregolare (Dcim) del Governo di Tripoli. A dicembre 2016, la missione Onu in Libia (Unsmil), insieme all’Alto commissariato Onu per i diritti umani, ha pubblicato un rapporto in cui elencava le violazioni compiute in quelle strutture, compresa quella di Zawiya. L’Unicef riporta che per uscire da questi centri è necessario pagare una sorta di riscatto alle guardie carcerarie (cioè alle milizie).

      La tribù dei Koshlaf, gli Awlad Bu Hmeira, a cui appartiene anche al-Bija, controlla stabilmente la raffineria dal 2014. Quella che durante la guerra civile era una milizia tribale, oggi è una forza “regolare”, ufficializzata come corpo di guardia all’esterno del compound della raffineria di Zawiya: sono le Petroleum Facility Guard (Pfg), divisione di Zawiya, titolari di un contratto con la Noc. Prima del 2016 era la Brigata al-Nasr, una milizia pro-islamista che nel 2014 ha fatto parte della coalizione Libya Dawn, prima dell’avvento del governo sponsorizzato dalla Nazioni Unite guidato da Fayez Serraj. Secondo i rapporti Onu, la brigata è la prima responsabile dei furti di petrolio alle raffinerie, tanto che a gennaio 2017 Sanalla l’aveva formalmente deposta, arrivando a definire “terroristi” i suoi componenti. Nell’ultimo rapporto della Chatham House di Londra, però, si riporta che già il 16 ottobre 2017 i Koshlaf sono tornati a capo della milizia a difesa della raffineria di Zawiya.
      Perché la Temeteron è stata fermata?

      Tutte le operazioni che hanno portato a intercettare navi cariche di gasolio di contrabbando, secondo l’inchiesta Dirty Oil, sono avvenute nella zona tra Abu Kammash e Zuwara, vicino al confine libico-tunisino, zona di competenza della Guardia costiera di Zawiya.

      Eppure i suoi guardacoste non sono sempre efficienti e zelanti. La Temeteron, che ha un curriculum di contrabbando alle spalle (sigarette nel 2004 e poi gasolio nel 2015, per il quale venne fermata in Grecia), prima di quella data non era mai stata fermata dai libici. Secondo gli inquirenti, però, si era già dedicata al traffico di gasolio. Allora cos’è successo di diverso, il 28 giugno 2016?

      La risposta ce l’ha Fahmi Ben Khalifa, l’uomo che per conto dei Koshlaf gestiva le partite di gasolio di contrabbando dirette prima a Malta e poi in Italia. Un altro “affiliato” alla loro associazione a delinquere. Ben Khalifa aveva anche una società di trading e una nave, Tiuboda, battezzata con il nome di una città berbera ormai scomparsa sott’acqua.

      Ben Khalifa, alias il Malem, il capo, faceva affari insieme a due maltesi, Darren e Gordon Debono (che non sono parenti) e a un siciliano legato a Cosa Nostra, Nicola Orazio Romeo. Questi è in carcere dall’agosto del 2017, arrestato dalle Rada, le forze speciali del Ministero dell’Interno. I suoi partner sono in carcere in Italia da ottobre 2017, quando è scattata l’inchiesta Dirty Oil. Secondo un rapporto Onu ancora inedito che abbiamo consultato, gli interessi di Ben Khalifa ora sarebbero curati dai fratelli, proprietari di una stazione di benzina di contrabbando a Marsa Tiboda, vicino Abu Kammash.
      La scalata per la Temeteron

      Il cartello internazionale, a differenza della branca libica dell’organizzazione, non ha legami di clan. Non c’è nulla, se non il profitto, a tenere insieme contrabbandieri e fornitori. Tra i due Debono non correva nemmeno buon sangue: Darren era il più legato a Ben Khalifa – il fornitore libico – e a Romeo – l’uomo che gli mette a disposizione gli acquirenti in Italia. Ma Gordon Debono disponeva, grazie ai suoi contatti, di importanti compagnie di trasporto marittimo che vanno dalla Spagna all’Ucraina. La sua esperienza da broker era la più longeva.

      Nel momento in cui il rapporto fra Darren e Gordon si logora, Darren e Ben Khalifa provano a impossessarsi della Temeteron, che è una nave di dimensioni paragonabili a quelle a disposizione di Gordon. Vogliono trovare un modo per fare a meno di lui. La scalata per la Temeteron, però, fallisce, alla fine Gordon riesce a soffiare loro l’affare e comprarsi la nave. Intercettati dalla Guardia di Finanza di Catania durante una telefonata, due acquirenti italiani vicini a Darren hanno raccontato che è stato il libico ad aver segnalato alle autorità libiche il carico illecito a bordo della Temeteron e – a pochi giorni distanza – della San Gwann, altra petroliera riconducibile a Gordon Debono. Questa ipotesi, come si desume da vari dettagli delle carte dell’inchiesta Dirty Oil, è accreditata anche dagli investigatori.

      Traffico di gasolio e traffico di migranti, quindi, sono due facce della stessa medaglia. Se lo scopo della lotta ai trafficanti ha anche l’obiettivo di stabilizzare la Libia, come detto in più occasioni pubbliche dal Ministro dell’Interno Marco Minniti, allora la strategia è da rivedere. L’Italia ha legittimato l’esistenza di questa Guardia costiera, lasciandole, in sostanza, la possibilità di arricchirsi, oltre che con i migranti, anche con il traffico di gasolio. I nostri inquirenti si trovano così nella situazione di dover arrestare componenti di quel cartello con cui il Viminale ha in realtà siglato un accordo di collaborazione.

      https://openmigration.org/analisi/litalia-affida-i-migranti-agli-stessi-che-fa-arrestare-per-contrabban
      #milice #Temeteron #Azzawiya_Oil_Refinery_Company #raffinerie #National_Oil_Company (#Noc) #Eni #Mellitah_Oil_&_Gas #Mustafa_Sanalla #Dirty_Oil #contrebande #pétrole #Walid_Koshlaf #Mohammed_Koshlaf #al-Qasseb #Abdurahman_al-Milad #al-Bija #Awlad_Bu_Hmeira #Petroleum_Facility_Guard #Libya_Dawn #Fayez_Serraj #Abu_Kammash #Zuwara #Tiuboda #Malem #Darren_Debono #Gordon_Debono #Cosa_Nostra #mafia #Nicola_Orazio_Romeo #Marsa_Tiboda

      En bref:

      Traffico di gasolio e traffico di migranti, quindi, sono due facce della stessa medaglia.

      #trafic_de_pétrole #trafic_d'êtres_humains

    • Départ de migrants vers l’Europe : l’Italie aurait négocié avec un trafiquant d’êtres humains libyen

      #Abd_al-Rahman_Milad, surnommé #Bija, est un militaire libyen accusé par l’ONU d’être l’un des plus importants trafiquants d’êtres humains. L’homme est également sous le coup d’une enquête de la Cour pénale internationale. Pourtant, selon le média catholique italien Avvenire, Bija a participé à une réunion en Sicile au mois de mai 2017 avec des agents des services de renseignements italiens à propos des traversées des migrants vers l’Europe.

      C’est une information qui embarrasse l’Italie. Dans une enquête publiée vendredi 4 octobre, le média catholique italien Avvenire assure que l’un des plus importants trafiquants d’êtres humains en Libye, également commandant des garde-côte libyens, a participé à une réunion organisée en Sicile en mai 2017 avec des agents des services de renseignements italiens.

      Le but de cette réunion était de discuter du contrôle des flux de migrants depuis les côtes libyennes.

      Enquête de la CPI

      Abd al-Rahman Milad, surnommé Bija, est notamment accusé par l’ONU d’être responsable d’une fusillade en plein mer contre des navires humanitaires mais également contre les bateaux de pêcheurs qui pourraient transporter des migrants. Il serait aussi à la tête d’une mafia insérée dans la classe politique et économique installée dans la région de Zaouia, dans le nord-ouest de la Libye.

      Depuis l’été dernier, Bija fait l’objet de sanctions de la part du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies et ne peut plus sortir de Libye. La #Cour_pénale_internationale (#CPI) enquête également sur ses activités.

      Selon Avvenire qui publie des photos de la réunion, Bija a obtenu un laissez-passer pour entrer en Italie et assister aux discussions. Le trafiquant s’est présenté comme « un commandant des garde-côtes libyens ». Il aurait alors demandé aux Italiens des fonds pour gérer l’accueil des migrants en Libye.

      Lors d’une visite au centre d’accueil de Mineo, en Sicile, à l’invitation des autorités italiennes, Bija a été reconnu par un migrant libyen. « Mafia Libya, mafia Libya » s’est exclamé l’homme en voyant le trafiquant.

      En février 2017, le Times a diffusé une vidéo dans laquelle on voit un homme en tenue de camouflage frapper violemment un groupe de migrants sur une embarcation de fortune. Le milicien apparaît avec un handicap à la main droite, tout comme Bija qui a perdu des doigts lors des combats anti-Kadhafi de 2011.

      « C’est un homme violent et armé »

      En septembre, une enquête en Sicile a permis l’arrestation de trois trafiquants présumés qui s’étaient cachés parmi les migrants dans un hotspot de l’île. Ils sont accusés de torture, d’enlèvement et de traite d’êtres humains dans le centre de détention de Zaouia, contrôlé par ce même Bija. Plusieurs migrants interrogés ont alors déclaré aux policiers que cet homme "était chargé du transfert des migrants vers la plage. « C’est un homme violent et armé, nous le craignions tous », a insisté l’un d’entre eux.

      En février 2017, le ministre italien de l’Intérieur, Marco Minniti, a signé un accord avec le chef du gouvernement libyen d’union nationale, Fayez al-Sarraj, afin de déléguer la responsabilité des secours en mer aux autorités libyennes. Un accord controversé, les ONG assurant que la Libye n’était pas un pays sûr.

      La polémique vise aussi l’Union européenne, critiquée pour avoir financé la formation des garde-côtes libyens et leur avoir fourni des navires. Un de ces bateaux a notamment été confié aux troupes de Bija pour intercepter les migrants en mer et les empêcher d’atteindre l’Europe, selon un document de la CPI.

      Bija aurait donc en fait une double casquette selon Avvenire : celui de garde-côte et de passeur. D’un côté, il intercepte des migrants en mer pour les ramener en Libye et de l’autre, il organise leur traversée vers l’Europe.

      Le journal italien précise qu’un mois après la visite de Bija en Sicile, les départs de migrants depuis les côtes libyennes ont diminué de 50%.

      https://www.infomigrants.net/fr/post/20076/depart-de-migrants-vers-l-europe-l-italie-aurait-negocie-avec-un-trafi
      #gardes-côtes_libyens

      –--------

      Bija apparaît sur seenthis déjà en 2017, dans ce même fil de discussion : https://seenthis.net/messages/600874#message625178
      Et ici : https://seenthis.net/messages/576747

    • Human trafficker was at meeting in Italy to discuss Libya migration

      #Abd_al-Rahman_Milad attended 2017 talks between intelligence officials and Libyan coastguard.

      One of the world’s most notorious human traffickers attended a meeting in Sicily with Italian intelligence officials to discuss controls on migrant flows from Libya.

      Abd al-Rahman Milad, known as #Bija, took part in a meeting with Italian officials and a delegation from the Libyan coastguard at Cara di Mineo, in Catania, one of the biggest migrant reception centres in Europe, on 11 May 2017.

      Bija’s presence was documented by the Italian newspaper Avvenire, which on Friday published an extensive investigation into the meeting.

      A UN security report published in June 2017 described Bija as a bloodthirsty human trafficker responsible for shootings at sea and suspected of drowning dozens of people. He is considered to be the leader of a criminal organisation operating in the Zawyah area in north-west Libya, about 28 miles west of Tripoli.

      https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/6820513c9e08340e261337ba4c483ed098cf1be0/0_0_1000_1250/master/1000.jpg?width=380&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=87be32c7882ff9ce055395

      In February 2017, the then Italian interior minister, Marco Minniti, signed a memorandum with the leader of Libya’s UN-recognised government, Fayez al-Sarraj, introducing a new level of cooperation between the Libyan coastguard and the Italians, including the provision of four patrol vessels.

      The controversial deal has empowered the Libyan coastguard to intercept migrant dinghies at sea and bring them back to Libya, where aid agencies say the migrants and refugees suffer torture and abuse. The deal, which entailed Italy providing funds and equipment, was made by Minniti, a former communist with deep connections to Italian intelligence and the levers of the Italian state, in an attempt to stem the flow of migrants to its shores.

      The agreement was recently reinforced by Italy’s interior minister, Luciana Lamorgese, at a meeting in Malta with his counterparts from France, Germany and Malta.

      According to Avvenire, which obtained the photos from a source present at the meeting, Bija obtained a pass to enter Italy and take part in the meeting, which was also attended by north African delegates from a handful of international humanitarian agencies. Bija was presented at the meeting as “a commander of the Libyan coastguard”.

      Bija had already been recognised by a number of migrants in Cara di Mineo on the day of the meeting.

      According to the Italian newspaper’s source, Bija that day asked the Italian authorities for funds to manage the reception of migrants in Libya.

      “There had always been suspicions about the agreement between the Libyan coastguard and the Italian government,” Nello Scavo, who wrote the Avvenire story, told the Guardian. “In the past, there had already been talk of the suspected involvement of traffickers in the Libyan coastguard. But now we have the evidence. It seems really strange that Italian intelligence was not aware of Bija’s identity. It is difficult to believe they were distracted.”

      Last September, detectives in Sicily arrested three men who allegedly raped and tortured dozens of migrants in a detention centre in the north-west of Libya.

      Prosecutors in Agrigento have collected testimonies from numerous asylum seekers from north Africa, who allegedly recognised their former captors at a migrant registration centre in Messina, Sicily.

      The three alleged captors, a 27-year-old Guinean man and two Egyptians, 24 and 26, are accused of torture, kidnapping and human trafficking, operated in Zawiya detention centre, the same centre where Bija operated.

      In some of the migrants’ testimonies, contained in the survey documents seen by the Guardian, asylum seekers talk about a man who called himself “Abdou Rahman, who was in charge of transferring migrants to the beach. It was he who, in the end, decided who could embark or not. He was a violent man and armed. We all feared him.”

      Friday’s development came as the Italian foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, presented a new decree regarding asylum seekers, which he said would cut the time it took for a decision on whether a migrant should be repatriated to four months.

      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/04/human-trafficker-at-meeting-italy-libya-migration-abd-al-rahman-milad
      #Minniti

    • La trattativa nascosta. Dalla Libia a #Mineo, il negoziato tra l’Italia e il boss

      Le foto dell’incontro nel 2017 tra il numero uno dei trafficanti di esseri umani, Bija, e delegati inviati dal governo.

      Quando il minibus coi vetri oscurati entra nel Cara di Mineo, solo in pochi conoscono la composizione della misteriosa delegazione da Tripoli. È l’11 maggio 2017. L’Italia sta negoziando con le autorità libiche il blocco delle partenze di profughi e migranti. Oggi sappiamo che quel giorno, senza lasciare traccia nei registri d’ingresso, alla riunione partecipò anche Abd al-Rahman al-Milad, il famigerato Bija. (IL PROFILO)

      Le numerose immagini ottenute da Avvenire attraverso una fonte ufficiale, documentano quella mattinata rimasta nel segreto. Accusato dall’Onu di essere uno dei più efferati trafficanti di uomini in Libia, padrone della vita e della morte nei campi di prigionia, autore di sparatorie in mare, sospettato di aver fatto affogare decine di persone, ritenuto a capo di una vera cupola mafiosa ramificata in ogni settore politico ed economico dell’area di Zawyah, aveva ottenuto un lasciapassare per entrare nel nostro Paese e venire accompagnato dalle autorità italiane a studiare «il modello Mineo», da dove in questi anni sono passati oltre 30mila migranti. Accordi indicibili che proseguono anche adesso, nonostante le reiterate denunce delle Nazioni Unite.

      All’incontro, partecipavano anche delegati nordafricani di alcune agenzie umanitarie internazionali, probabilmente ignari di trovarsi seduti a fianco di un signore della guerra dedito alle peggiori violazioni dei diritti umani. Non deve essere un caso se, pochi giorni dopo, le Nazioni Unite in un durissimo rapporto del Consiglio di sicurezza denunciavano: «Abd al-Rahman Milad (alias Bija) e altri membri della Guardia costiera sono direttamente coinvolti nell’affondamento di imbarcazioni migranti utilizzando armi da fuoco». Si chiede il congelamento dei beni e il divieto di viaggio di Bija al di fuori della Libia. Nel dossier quel nome viene citato per sei volte: «È il capo del ramo di Zawiyah della Guardia costiera. Ha ottenuto questa posizione grazie al supporto di Mohammad Koshlaf e Walid Koshlaf». Questi erano a capo della “Petroleum Facilities Guard”, controllavano la locale raffineria disponendo di una milizia di almeno duemila uomini.
      Sembra impossibile che le autorità italiane non sapessero chi era l’uomo seduto al tavolo dello strano convegno.

      Diversi mesi prima del suo arrivo in Italia, Bija era finito nel mirino di una raffica di inchieste giornalistiche e investigazioni internazionali. Il 14 febbraio 2017 The Times diffonde un video nel quale si vede un uomo in divisa mimetica picchiare selvaggiamente un gruppo di migranti su un gommone. Ripreso di spalle, il miliziano appare con una menomazione alla mano destra. Proprio come Bija, che durante i combattimenti anti Gheddafi del 2011 aveva perso alcune dita. Il 20 febbraio la giornalista italiana Nancy Porsia pubblica un approfondito reportage in inglese per Trt World, proseguendo un’inchiesta apparsa già il 6 gennaio in italiano su The Post Internazionale, nel quale spiega che «Bija lavora sotto la protezione di Al Qasseb, nom de guerre di Mohamed Khushlaf, che è a capo del dipartimento di sicurezza della raffineria di Zawiyah. Supportato da suo cugino e avvocato Walid Khushlaf, Al Qasseb esercita il controllo totale sulla raffineria e sul porto di Zawiyah. I cugini Khushlaf fanno parte della potente tribù Abu Hamyra, così come Al Bija». Poi arriveranno articoli pubblicati da Il Messaggero, Il Mattino, la Repubblica e l’Espresso. L’anno prima, siamo nel 2016, erano stati anche Panorama e Il Giornale a indicare Abdou Rahman quale uomo chiave del traffico di esseri umani. Numerose e ininterrotte da anni sono le inchieste di Francesca Mannocchi per l’Espresso e svariati altri media, di Sergio Scandura per Radio Radicale, oltre che di alcune tra le principali testate del mondo.


      Nonostante la grande mole di informazioni, Bija viene accompagnato in Italia e presentato come «uno dei comandanti della Guardia costiera della Libia», racconta una fonte ufficiale presente al meeting di Mineo. Quel giorno però accade un imprevisto. Un migrante libico ospitato nel Cara finisce per errore nei pressi del prefabbricato dove erano attesi Bija, alcuni delegati del premier Serraj e del Ministero dell’Interno tripolino. Quando dal minibus di una azienda di servizi turistici della provincia di Catania sbarcano i libici (almeno sei), l’immigrato si allontana spaventato: «Mafia Libia, Mafia Libia», dice in italiano.

      Le immagini che oggi pubblichiamo parzialmente per proteggere l’identità di diversi funzionari italiani presenti a vario titolo, mostrano Abdou Rahman seduto accanto a due suoi connazionali, un uomo e una donna. Ascolta senza mai proferire parola. Prende nota e ogni tanto fa cenno all’emissario del ministro dell’Interno del governo riconosciuto di intervenire. I libici fanno domande precise: «Quanto vi paga il governo italiano per ospitare ogni migrante qui? Quanto costa annualmente il Cara di Mineo». Poi, racconta la fonte di Avvenire, in modo neanche troppo diplomatico «fanno capire che in fondo il “modello Mineo” si può esportare in Libia e che l’Italia potrebbe finanziare la realizzazione di strutture per migranti in tutto il Paese, risparmiandosi denaro e problemi». Da lì a poco parte l’assedio alle Ong e vengono annunciati interventi dell’Italia e dell’Europa per aprire campi di raccolta nel Paese nordafricano.

      In realtà, ha spiegato l’inviato del Tg1 Amedeo Ricucci nel corso di uno speciale mandato in onda dopo essersi recato di persona a Zawyah per intervistare proprio Bija appena dopo il viaggio in Sicilia, «è come se giocassero a guardie e ladri, ma in salsa libica: con i ruoli degli uni e degli altri che si invertono di continuo a seconda delle convenienze».

      La trattativa deve essere andata a vantaggio dei trafficanti, se Bija è ancora in servizio. E anche i governi che si sono susseguiti hanno continuato a sostenere indirettamente ma consapevolmente le attività dei boss libici. Diversi testimoni in indagini penali «hanno dichiarato – si legge nei report dell’Onu – di essere stati prelevati in mare da uomini armati su una nave della Guardia costiera chiamata Tallil (usata da Bija, ndr) e portati al centro di detenzione di al-Nasr, dove secondo quanto riferito sarebbero stati detenuti in condizioni brutali e sottoposti a torture».

      Queste informazioni hanno avuto un inatteso riscontro proprio nei giorni scorsi. Mentre gli investigatori di Agrigento e Palermo indagavano per arrestate i tre presunti torturatori camuffati tra i migranti dell’hotspot di Messina, alcune delle vittime hanno raccontato che a decidere chi imbarcare sui gommoni era «un uomo libico, forse di nome “Bingi” (fonetico), al quale mancavano due falangi della mano destra». Secondo un altro migrante l’uomo era soprannominato “Bengi”, e «si occupava di trasferire i migranti sulla spiaggia; era lui, che alla fine, decideva chi doveva imbarcarsi; egli era uno violento ed era armato; tutti avevamo timore di lui». Quando gli chiedono se qualche volta avesse sentito il suo vero nome, il migrante risponde con sicurezza: «Lo chiamavano Abdou Rahman». (1-Continua)

      Una motovedetta del boss scafista mentre recupera un motore da un gommone in alto mare per riutilizzarlo nel traffico dei migranti

      https://www.avvenire.it/attualita/pagine/dalla-libia-al-mineo-negoziato-boss-libico

    • Il trafficante libico Bija in Italia: ecco la lettera ufficiale di invito

      Una missiva protocollata da un’agenzia Onu. Destinatario: il consolato italiano a Tunisi. E il “comandante Bija”, considerato un potente boss degli scafisti, è venuto nel nostro Paese per incontri istituzionali.

      Come mai il libico Abd Raman al Milan, detto “comandante Bija”, ex capo della Guardia costiera accusato dalle Nazioni Unite di essere uno dei più potenti trafficanti di esseri umani, nel 2017 è stato invitato a una serie di incontri ufficiali in Italia? Chi lo ha davvero invitato? E chi ha concesso e protocollato i documenti?

      La questione, esplosa dopo un’inchiesta del reporter Nello Scavo sul quotidiano Avvenire , è ora al centro di polemiche, indagini e interrogazioni parlamentari nel nostro Paese.

      L’Espresso è in grado di mostrare in esclusiva un documento fondamentale della vicenda: la lettera con cui il 3 aprile di due anni fa l’Oim, Organizzazione internazionale per le migrazioni, chiedeva all’ufficio consolare italiano di base a Tunisi l’emissione dei visti per la delegazione libica di cui faceva parte anche Bija.

      Abd Raman al Milan è poi effettivamente venuto in Italia il maggio successivo: sia in Sicilia sia a Roma, dove ha avuto anche colloqui con «autorità italiane», così come anticipava la stessa lettera dell’Oim.

      L’Oim è un’agenzia delle Nazioni Unite con sede centrale a Ginevra e uffici anche in Italia. Il suo presidente è il portoghese Antonio Vitorino, ex commissario Ue. L’Onu stessa ritiene che il “comandante Bija” sia un signore della guerra tra i principali boss del traffico di esseri umani. Nel 2018 il Consiglio di sicurezza ha ordinato il congelamento dei suoi beni e gli ha imposto il divieto d’espatrio.

      Secondo la versione ufficiale delle autorità italiane, il nostro consolato sarebbe stato ingannato da “documenti probabilmente falsi” presentati da Bija. Lo stesso boss libico, ex capo della guardia costiera di Zawhia, ha smentito questa tesi sostenendo di essere arrivato in Italia con il suo vero nome e i suoi regolari documenti, facendo seguito a un invito ufficiale. Le domande sull’incontro a Mineo, dunque, restano ancora aperte. Le versioni troppe e troppo discordanti.

      http://espresso.repubblica.it/attualita/2019/10/18/news/trafficante-libico-bija-in-italia-lettera-ufficiale-1.340124

  • Selon des documents internes, Frontex laisse délibérément les réfugiés se noyer Solidaire - Max Vancauwenberge - 18 Avril 2017
    http://solidaire.org/articles/selon-des-documents-internes-frontex-laisse-deliberement-les-refugies-se-

    Frontex, l’agence européenne des garde-frontières et garde-côtes européens, laisse délibérément les réfugiés se noyer. C’est ce que nous apprennent des documents internes ayant « fuités ». Depuis le début de l’année, 7 personnes meurent chaque jour en tentant la traversée de la Méditerranée…

    Zach Campbell, journaliste d’investigation, a pu mettre la main sur des documents internes de Frontex indiquant que les navires de l’agence européenne naviguent délibérément loin des zones maritimes où ont lieu la grande majorité des naufrages. Ses articles1 ont été publiés sur The Intercept, le magazine en ligne créé par le journaliste Glenn Greenwald qui y a notamment révélé l’affaire Snowden.

    « En ce moment même, nous sommes occupés sur une dizaine de sauvetages dans les eaux internationales. Un millier de personnes ont été sauvées par nos moyens depuis ce matin. Alors, on se pose une question : où est l’Union européenne ? Où sont les pays membres ? » demande Stefano Argenziano, coordinateur des opérations de Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).2 En réalité, les navires de Frontex sont délibérément absent des zones maritimes où ont lieu la grande majorité des noyades. C’est ce que nous apprennent des documents internes de Frontex ayant fuité.

    En octobre 2013, suite aux naufrages qui avaient coûté la vie à plus de 500 hommes, femmes et enfants au large des côtes italiennes de Lampedusa, l’Italie avait lancé l’opération Mare Nostrum. Avec un budget de 9.5 millions d’euros et des moyens considérables, cette opération a permis de sauver la vie à plus de 155.000 personnes en mer. Mais, devant le trop faible soutien reçu par l’Union européenne et ses États membres, l’Italie a mis fin à l’opération en novembre 2014.3

    La Commission européenne a alors mis en place l’opération Triton, une opération européenne à laquelle participent 21 États membres et pays associés à l’Espace Schengen. Cette opération n’a cependant jamais eu l’ambition de remplacer l’opération Mare Nostrum. Elle a plutôt pour rôle de surveiller les frontières, même si elle est légalement obligée de porter secours aux navires en détresse. Son budget est d’ailleurs à l’époque nettement moins élevé – 2.9 millions d’euros contre 9.5 pour l’opération Mare Nostrum – et elle ne se rend pas dans les eaux internationales où ont lieu la majorité des naufrages. Une lettre interne4 envoyée par Frontex aux autorités italiennes en novembre 2014 nous apprend par ailleurs que le directeur de l’époque indiquait que ses navires ne devaient pas être appelés pour des opérations de sauvetage en mer en dehors des zones maritimes italiennes, alors même qu’il s’agit d’une obligation légale en droit maritime de venir en aide à d’autres navires en détresse. L’opération Triton a depuis été renforcée en termes de budget et de moyens d’interventions, mais celle-ci ne se rend toujours pas dans les zones maritimes où ont lieu le plus de noyades.

    Une seule mission européenne – la mission EUNavFor/Sophia – navigue près des eaux libyennes. Cette mission a pour objectif de casser le business des passeurs et est composée de plusieurs navires militaires ainsi que de plusieurs hélicoptères et de drones. Cet équipement leur permet de savoir en permanence et en temps réel si des personnes tentent la traversée de la Méditerranée, et également si leur embarcation est capable de résister à un tel voyage. Ces informations ne sont cependant pas transmises ni aux autorités italiennes ni aux ONG.
    Rien que cette année, 663 personnes5 se sont ainsi déjà noyées en tentant la traversée, soit 7 par jour.

    Les ONG prises pour cible
    Si Frontex ne navigue pas dans les eaux où ont lieu le plus de noyades, les ONG comme Médecins Sans Frontières le font. Ces dernières sont cependant prises pour cible par Frontex. Dans une récente interview donnée au quotidien allemand Die Welt6, le directeur actuel de Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri, affirmait qu’il « fallait éviter de renforcer le business de réseaux criminels et des passeurs en Libye en repêchant les migrants trop près des côtes libyennes ».

    Le 21 mars dernier, notre secrétaire d’État à l’Asile et à la Migration Theo Francken reprenait également cette idée en accusant Médecins Sans Frontières de faire du « trafic d’êtres humains ». Face aux nombreuses réactions choquées et à la demande du Premier ministre Charles Michel, Theo Francken a accepté de « nuancer » ses propos. « Comment nuancer ce genre de propos ? Il demande à MSF de les laisser dans la mer. Comment fait-on pour se noyer "un peu" ? Ces propos sont intolérables ! » affirmera Raoul Hedebouw, parlementaire du PTB au Parlement jeudi 23 mars.

    Le secrétaire d’État à l’Asile et à la Migration n’a en effet pas changer de position sur le fond. Dans une interview donnée à De Morgen, Francken confirmait une nouvelle fois que la présence d’ONG menant des opérations de sauvetage constituait un « appel d’air » pour les réfugiés. « Cet appel d’air est incontestable. Pourquoi ces gens partent-ils ? Si on achète un ticket pour un tel bateau, tu achètes aussi un ticket d’accès à l’Europe », affirme-t-il.7 Une étude réalisée par deux chercheurs d’Oxford démontre cependant que cet appel d’air est un mythe.

    Réduire les opérations de sauvetage ne fera qu’augmenter les noyades
    En effet, une étude réalisée par les chercheurs Elias Steinhilper et Rob Gruijters de l’université d’Oxford8 nous apprend que cet appel d’air est un mythe. Les deux chercheurs ont comparé les périodes comptant de nombreuses missions de sauvetage et celles où elles étaient faibles. Leur conclusion est que les missions de sauvetage n’ont aucune influence sur le nombre de personnes tentant la traversée. Réduire les opérations de sauvetage n’aurait que comme conséquence d’augmenter le nombre de noyades expliquent les deux chercheurs.

    Francken préfère cependant se ranger derrière l’avis de Frontex, qu’il considère comme « une voix importante. Celle des gens se trouvant sur le terrain. Qui est tout aussi importante que les recherches d’un professeur d’université ? »9.

    La seule manière véritable d’arrêter les noyades est d’améliorer les conditions d’accueil dans la région et d’ouvrir des procédures d’accès légales et sûres, basées sur des critères clairs, pour pouvoir se rendre en Europe afin d’y recevoir une protection internationale. Il faut en effet des corridors humanitaires. De sorte que les gens qui veulent demander asile et protection en Europe ne doivent plus recourir à des passeurs au risque de leur vie.

    1.https://theintercept.com/2017/04/01/europe-keeps-its-rescue-ships-far-from-the-coast-of-libya-where-thousa
    2. La Dernière Heure, 18 avril 2017
    3. Myria (Centre fédéral Migration), La migration en chiffres et en droits, 2015, p.54
    4. Le lien de cette lettre se trouve dans l’article de Zach Campbell https://theintercept.com/2017/04/01/europe-keeps-its-rescue-ships-far-from-the-coast-of-libya-where-thousa
    5. Organisation Internationale pour les Migrations (IOM), à la date du 4 avril
    6. Die Welt, 27 février 2017
    7. De Morgen, 2 avril 2017
    8. https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2017/03/border-deaths
    9. De Morgen, 2 avril 2017

    #frontex #Zach_Campbell #union_européenne #commission_européenne #Triton #schengen #Mare_Nostrum #Belgique #theo_francken

  • Will More and Longer Detention Solve the ‘Migration Crisis’?

    In March 2017, the European Commission published new recommendations to Member States on returning refused asylum-seekers and irregular migrants. The pressure to make the EU’s returns policy ‘efficient and credible’ has led the Commission to urge states across the region to use the full scope of the enforcement powers available to them under EU law. The fear is that this will be interpreted as encouragement to increase both the numbers of migrants detained, and the periods of times that they are detained for. The recommendations demonstrate the scale of alarm at the EU’s failures to manage effectively irregular migration and return refused migrants. They are framed as primarily a response to one statistic: in 2015, the ‘return rate’ to third countries was a mere 36% - almost three times as many migrants were ordered to leave Europe as actually left.

    https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2017/04/will-more-and
    #détention_administrative #rétention #asile #migrations #réfugiés