#trust_fund_for_africa

Gli attivisti eritrei denunciano la Ue : “Finanzia il lavoro forzato”

Grazie alle risorse del “#Trust_fund” per l’Africa, la Commissione europea ha stanziato 20 milioni di euro per la costruzione di una strada che collega i porti eritrei al confine etiope. Tra i lavoratori coinvolti nel progetto anche i giovani costretti alla leva obbligatoria a tempo indeterminato.

L’Unione europea sta finanziando con un contributo di 20 milioni di euro il progetto per la costruzione di un’importante arteria stradale in Eritrea in cui la manodopera è formata in parte da giovani sottoposti al cosiddetto “National service”. Ovvero ragazzi e ragazze che vengono reclutati nell’ambito del servizio militare e civile obbligatorio, previsto nel Paese per tutti i cittadini dai 18 anni d’età (ma secondo molte denunce il reclutamento avviene anche prima). Oltre all’addestramento militare, i coscritti sono spesso costretti a lavorare come manodopera a bassissimo costo nella costruzione di infrastrutture (strade, ospedali, alberghi) o nelle miniere del Paese. Una prassi che diversi rapporti delle Nazioni Unite e di organizzazioni per i diritti umani come Human Rights Watch hanno definito un “crimine contro l’umanità” equiparandolo, di fatto, al lavoro forzato e alla riduzione in schiavitù. Il finanziamento europeo è stato erogato attraverso le risorse del “Trust Fund” per l’Africa.

L’accusa alla Commissione europea arriva dalla “Foundation Human Rights for Eritreans” (FHRE), un’associazione con sede in Olanda che riunisce attivisti e rifugiati in fuga dal regime di Asmara. Il 1° aprile, tramite uno studio legale di Amsterdam, l’associazione ha inviato una lettera alla Commissione europea per denunciare questa situazione e chiedere un incontro. Se non ci sarà una risposta entro il 15 aprile o se l’offerta di incontro non verrà presa in considerazione, la federazione procederà con le azioni legali. “È inaccettabile che l’Unione europea finanzi un progetto che utilizza manodopera forzata -sottolinea Mulueberhan Temelso, direttore dell’FHRE-. L’Eritrea è una prigione a cielo aperto, chi è sottoposto alla coscrizione obbligatoria vive in condizioni molto dure e l’Europa è perfettamente a conoscenza di questa situazione”.

Nella documentazione relativa al progetto (▻https://ec.europa.eu/trustfundforafrica/sites/euetfa/files/t05-eutf-hoa-er-66_-_eritrea_road_rehabilitation.pdf) per la costruzione della strada (che andrà a collegare i porti eritrei con l’Etiopia), pubblicata sul sito del “Trust fund” vengono identificate tre tipologie di lavoratori: “Professionisti del Governo, quelli del ‘National service’ e quelli mobilitati dalle comunità locali”. “Sorprendentemente, l’Europa è chiaramente a conoscenza di questa situazione e la accetta -scrive nella lettera Emiel Jurjens, l’avvocato che sta promuovendo la causa degli attivisti eritrei-. Il ‘Trust fund’ semplicemente accetta l’affermazione del governo eritreo secondo cui non vi saranno riforme a breve termine del servizio nazionale dal momento che le attuali realtà economiche lo escludono”. La sola preoccupazione espressa dal documento europeo riguarda i rischi legati alla “bassa qualità” del lavoro a causa dell’impiego di una manodopera non-qualificata o poco specializzata”.

L’avvocato Jurjens inoltre evidenzia come non ci siano evidenze del fatto che il recente accordo di pace tra Eritrea ed Etiopia abbia avuto un impatto positivo sul miglioramento dei diritti umani in Eritrea. Il 16 marzo 2019, l’Alto commissario delle Nazioni Unite per i diritti umani, Kate Gillmore, ha chiesto all’Eritrea di mettere fine al servizio nazionale obbligatorio: “La durata della leva va ben al di là dei 18 mesi previsti dalla legge e, di fatto, è a tempo indeterminato. Inoltre spesso si svolge in condizioni estremamente lesive dei diritti umani, che possono includere il ricorso alla tortura, alle violenze sessuali e al lavoro forzato”. Il 28 marzo 2019, anche il Comitato delle Nazioni Unite per i diritti umani ha espresso la sua preoccupazione circa le accuse secondo cui i giovani sottoposti alla coscrizione obbligatoria “sono impiegati in varie attività lavorative, comprese le miniere o imprese di costruzione di proprietà privata ricevendo un salario estremamente basso o nullo”.

“Finanziare progetti che fanno ricorso a manodopera forzata è una chiara violazione dei diritti umani -commenta l’avvocato Jurjens-. L’Europa deve cessare queste attività immediatamente e ripensare il suo approccio all’Eritrea. Chiediamo inoltre che la Commissione ci fornisca tutti i documenti relativi a questo progetto per indagare ulteriormente sulle modalità con cui sono state prese queste decisioni”.

Il Fondo fiduciario europeo di emergenza per l’Africa (detto anche “Trust fund”) è stato lanciato nell’ottobre 2015 a La Valletta (Malta) con l’obiettivo di finanziare con rapidità iniziative e progetti per “affrontare le cause profonde delle migrazioni irregolari”. I destinatari di questi fondi sono 23 Paesi africani di origine e di transito dei flussi migratori. Dei circa 4 miliardi di euro destinati al “Trust fund”, circa 3,7 provengono dal Fondo sociale europeo di sviluppo e da altri strumenti finanziari dell’Unione per l’aiuto allo sviluppo nei Paesi terzi. Tuttavia, il Parlamento europeo, non ha modo di controllare né di verificare come vengono spesi questi soldi. Diverse inchieste giornalistiche e report pubblicati da organizzazioni non governative hanno messo in luce come i fondi del “Trust fund” siano stati spesso utilizzati per migliorare i controlli di polizia lungo le frontiere dei Paesi di transito.

▻https://altreconomia.it/eritrea-ue-lavoro-forzato

#travail_forcé #Erythrée #UE #EU #Europe #esclavage_moderne #trust_fund_for_africa #développement (sic) #route #infrastructure_routière #national_service

La description de l’aide financière à l’Erythrée via le Trust fund :

https://i.imgur.com/TRaWr4y.png

N’oublions pas que le but du Trust Fund est de "combattre la migration irrégulière" :

The European Union Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa (EUTF for Africa) aims to foster stability and to contribute to better migration management, including by addressing the root causes of destabilisation, forced displacement and irregular migration.

▻https://ec.europa.eu/trustfundforafrica/content/homepage_en

ping @isskein

Asylum seeker to sue UK for funding Libyan detention centres

Ethiopian teenager says he experienced physical abuse, extortion and forced labour in centres part-funded by UK.

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2b7f0ee4cf43b79ed7e11bbfca5467239b3381c1/0_220_3300_1980/master/3300.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8a9fd12883b075055e20e0648820b5f8#.jpg

A teenage asylum seeker from Ethiopia is planning to sue the government for its role in funding detention centres in Libya, where he says he experienced physical abuse, extortion and forced labour.

The teenager, who turned 18 a few weeks ago, cannot be named. He lives in London and is waiting for the Home Office to determine his asylum claim. His legal action against the government’s Department for International Development (DfID) for its contribution to funding these overseas centres is thought to be the first of its kind.
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The Guardian previously revealed the terrible conditions in a network of 26 detention centres across Libya. The EU’s Emergency Trust Fund for Africa provides some funding for the centres. DfID says that the funding it provides is used to improve conditions in the camps.

Children have described being starved, beaten and abused by Libyan police and camp guards. One said the conditions were like “hell on Earth”.

The government insists the funding is necessary as part of a humane effort to dissuade people from making the dangerous Mediterranean crossing. Arguing that migrant detention centres are the responsibility of the Libyan authorities, it is understood to have raised concerns over the treatment of detainees with the Libyan government.

A spokeswoman previously told the Guardian: “We continue to help fund the European Union Trust Fund’s work to improve conditions for migrants in detention centres.”

But critics see the Libyan camps as a way for European countries to prevent asylum seekers and other migrants from reaching Europe, and the UK’s involvement as another plank of the so called “hostile environment” to keep people out.

Last year the UK government spent £10m in Libya on various initiatives, including the detention centres.

The teenager who has begun the legal action against the government claims that officials are acting unlawfully in funding the detention centres and should stop doing so. He is also asking for compensation for the suffering he endured there.

The boy’s legal team is calling on DfID to facilitate the relocation of the detention centres to the UK or other safe countries so that asylum claims can be safely processed. His lawyers have asked DfID to disclose the funding agreements between the UK and Libyan governments and any internal documents concerning the destination of UK funding in Libya as well as any untoward incidents in the centres.
Inside the chaos and corruption of Tripoli, where militias rule the streets
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The teenager fled persecution in Ethiopia because of his father’s political allegiances and finally reached the UK after a dangerous journey through Libya and across the Mediterranean.

In Libya he suffered both at the hands of traffickers and in the detention centres, some of which are controlled by local militias.

“The period I was detained and enslaved in Libya was a living hell,” he said. An expert medical report conducted in London identified 31 different lesions, including 10 on his face, which the doctor who examined him found provided “significant corroboration” of his account of repeated ill treatment.

Many of those in the camps are from Eritrea but there are also asylum seekers from Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and Syria.

James Elliott of Wilsons Solicitors, who is bringing the legal action on the teenager’s behalf, said: “DfID acknowledges that conditions in the camps are appalling. We are bringing this legal challenge because it is vital that UK taxpayers’ money is not used to allow places where men, women and children are subjected to torture, rape and slavery to continue to exist.”

DfID has been approached for comment.

▻https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/20/asylum-seeker-to-sue-uk-for-funding-libyan-detention-centres
#Libye #externalisation #UK #Angleterre #justice #centres_de_détention #asile #migrations #réfugiés #poursuite #viol #abus_sexuels #travail_forcé #Trust_fund #Trust_fund_for_Africa

#métaliste (qui va être un grand chantier, car il y a plein d’information sur seenthis, qu’il faudrait réorganiser) sur :
#externalisation #contrôles_frontaliers #frontières #migrations #réfugiés

Des liens vers des articles généraux sur l’externalisation des frontières de la part de l’ #UE (#EU) :
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/569305
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/390549
►https://seenthis.net/messages/320101

Ici une tentative (très mal réussie, car évidement, la divergence entre pratiques et les discours à un moment donné, ça se voit !) de l’UE de faire une brochure pour déconstruire les mythes autour de la migration...
La question de l’externalisation y est abordée dans différentes parties de la brochure :
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/765967

Petit chapitre/encadré sur l’externalisation des frontières dans l’ouvrage (Dé)passer la frontière :
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/769367

Les origines de l’externalisation des contrôles frontaliers (maritimes) : accord #USA-#Haïti de #1981 :
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/768694

L’externalisation des politiques européennes en matière de migration
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/787450

Gambian migrants’ choice: bury the straggler alive or be killed

Water was running low as the convoy drove through the desert into Libya, so Khadim was given a terrible choice: bury a sickly fellow migrant alive, or be killed by their smugglers.

“They told us to bury him in the sand,” said Khadim, 29. “They started waving their guns. ‘If you refuse, you’re dead.’ We started digging and digging. As we buried him he said, ‘I’m not dead yet, why are you doing this to me?’ ”

Khadim is one of about 2,600 migrants repatriated to the Gambia from Libya on flights paid for by European countries trying to stem crossings of the Mediterranean. The vast majority of those coming home are young men, who arrive at Banjul airport with at most a few belongings in a plastic bag, sometimes after spending years in Libyan detention centres.

They are the among the first to be sent back since footage emerged in November of migrants being sold at slave markets in Libya. African and EU leaders agreed an emergency plan shortly afterwards to repatriate thousands.

Many tell stories of frequent beatings, or of fellow migrants dying from hunger or violence. Others described watching companions drown on sinking boats in the Mediterranean.

Like many others, Khadim was betrayed by smugglers and drivers before he saw the sea. He was kidnapped for ransom, arrested and put in a detention centre before he could reach Tripoli.

He is relieved to have landed back in Banjul, the Gambian capital. Not only is he alive but there are promises of money to help him make a fresh start.

The UN’s migration agency, as part of an EU-funded plan, can support people to go to college, start a business or buy livestock. Other EU help offers grants to those aged 15 to 35, returning or potential migrants, to start businesses.

It likely to be just the beginning. The International Organisation for Migration estimates that up to a million migrants remain in Libya. Since late 2015, the EU has spent more than €2 billion in African countries trying to create jobs in the hope that people will stay.

Those returning to the Gambia, where almost half of the two million population live below the poverty line, are provided with just enough cash to go home and live for a few weeks, after which they can apply for more help.

Last week, a group of former Gambian migrants, with some funding from the German government, began touring the country to warn young people of the dangers of taking the “back way”, as the journey through the desert and across the Mediterranean is called.

“Before we go we knew the risks involved, but we didn’t believe,” said Mustapha Sallah. “Most of the people that talked to us were government officials, activists who are living good. I was thinking they were just trying to discourage us.”

With fellow Gambians who were incarcerated in Libyan detention centres, he has now started Youths Against Irregular Migration. As well as sharing their harrowing experiences, they try to persuade people to stop dreaming of Europe and make a living at home, through education, setting up in business, or agriculture.

The Gambia’s nascent democracy, restored after the former dictator Yahya Jammeh was deposed last year, has prompted many to return from exile, as the fear of arbitrary arrest, detention and torture dissolved.

The economy is growing at about 5 per cent but youth unemployment is about 44 per cent. Rising food prices mean many struggle. “The opportunities are not many and they’re not easy to get right now,” said Mr Sallah.

Paul Jatta, 23, came home on a repatriation flight a few months ago and is trying to put the trauma behind him. Three times he tried and failed to cross to Italy in flimsy boats. On the last attempt he watched five people die as the vessel started to sink. “I seriously cried that day. Because I saw them drown but I couldn’t do anything to help,” he said.

He said he had not received any support and was back doing what he used to, working in a computer repair shop and cleaning swimming pools in his spare time. He works up to 12 hours a day most days but earns less than £100 a month, and most of that goes to support his extended family.

After spending his savings of more than £1,000 trying to reach Europe, he is now in a worse financial situation than he was two years ago, and has even less to lose. “I still want to go to Europe. I’m waiting for a miracle,” he said. “There are no opportunities here.”

▻https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/gambian-migrants-choice-bury-the-straggler-alive-or-be-killed-62qf0qjbl
#retour_volontaire #Libye #asile #migrations #réfugiés #retour_au_pays #renvois #Gambie

Possible/probable future #migrerrance:

After spending his savings of more than £1,000 trying to reach Europe, he is now in a worse financial situation than he was two years ago, and has even less to lose. “I still want to go to Europe. I’m waiting for a miracle,” he said. “There are no opportunities here.”