Newsletter - February 2010 - Issue n°12

COUNCIL of EUROPE

 

• Criminalisation of Migration in Europe: Human Rights Implications

 

“Criminalising the irregular entry and presence of migrants in Europe corrodes established international law principles and causes many human tragedies without achieving its purpose of genuine control. States have a legitimate interest to control their borders, but criminalisation is a disproportionate measure which causes further stigmatisation and marginalisation of migrants. Immigration offences should remain administrative in nature.” said Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, presenting an Issue Paper on this topic.

This Issue Paper examines systematically the human rights implications of the criminalisation of migration in Europe. It analyses the external border crossing, migrants’ residence and protection of their social rights including employment, as well as asylum and detention. It concludes with a number of recommendations to Council of Europe member states, as a starting point to ensure the correct intersection of human rights standards and the treatment of foreign nationals.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

 

BELGIUM

 

• Forced administration of droperidol to non psychotic detained migrants

The Belgian Medical Council has issued a detailed advice on forced administration of droperidol (trade name DHBP) to non psychotic detained migrants.

The Belgian Medical Council stresses that the Royal Decree on the functioning of detention centres contains a limitative list of coercive measures that are authorised, and that forced administration of drugs does not belong to this list. Explicit consent has to be given by the patient, in conformity with the law on the rights of the patient. The full text of the advice is available in French and in Dutch.

 

 

• Age determination for unaccompanied minors

The Belgian Medical Council has issued a detailed advice on the conditions in which an ‘age determination test’ can be performed on persons claiming to be unaccompanied minors.

Radiation can only be performed with caution. Radiation must be as low and as quick as possible. Interpretation requires a specific expertise. The doubt will always have to benefit to the person claiming to be a minor. Radiation can only be ethically justified if it offers more advantages than disadvantages. A balance of interests needs to be done between approximate age determination and the risks for the health of the person. In any case, the test cannot be performed without the person consenting to it. Consent needs to be well-informed and explicit. The assistance of a tutor or a reference person is important. The result of the test can be transmitted directly to the authorities. The full text of the advice is available in French and in Dutch.

 

 

UNITED KINGDOM

• UK: Children’s Commissioner condemns treatment of detained children

Detaining children in an immigration detention centre is "extremely distressing and harmful", according to a highly critical report on the conditions in the Yarl’s Wood Immigration centre published by the Children's Commissioner for England. The report highlights a number of problems in the Yarl’s Wood centre where more than 1,000 children are held every year. These include a failure to assess "even at an elementary level" the general psychological wellbeing of a child on arrival and a failure to recognise psychological harm when faced with dramatic changes in a child's behaviour. The UK Border Agency dismissed the report as “misguided and wrong” and insisted that they take the detention of families “very seriously” and use it only as a last resort. In response to the findings, Donna Covey, Chief Executive of the UK Refugee Council, said that: “These are children we are talking about. It is unacceptable that they are detained at all. Even if all the Commissioner’s recommendations about procedure were followed to the letter, there is no escaping the harm that is caused by locking children up.”

Source: ECRE Weekly Bulletin, 19 February 2010

PUBLICATIONS

 

· Undocumented Immigrants and Rights in the EU: Addressing the Gap between Social Sciences Research and Policy-making

Undocumented migrants are one of the most vulnerable groups in the EU. This report assesses the main findings and synergies of a selection of EU-funded research projects on irregular immigration and the status of undocumented migrants. It reveals that the results emanating from social science research contrast with the EU policy documents adopted in light of the forthcoming Stockholm Programme – the third multi-annual programme on an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. The authors argue that acknowledgement of the findings of independent research is lacking in EU policy, which continues promote a control-based approach to migration that has profound ethical and human rights implications. The report concludes with a set of policy recommendations aimed at overcoming the current inconsistencies in EU and national policies as well as in practices on irregular migration under the mandate of the Stockholm Programme.

 

 

· Immigrants struggle with declining health

It is well established that immigrants and refugees are healthier than the general Canadian population when they arrive, but their health declines after they start living in Canada, said Dr. Kevin Pottie, co-director of the Immigrant Health Program at the Elisabeth Bruyère Research Institute in Ottawa. Changes in diet and exercise habits and vitamin D deficiency may all contribute to those health problems. Source: CBC NEWS

 

 

· ‘The mental health of detained asylum seeking children’.

European Union policy is to restrict the entry into the EU of asylum seekers. This has resulted in the detention of many thousands of asylum seekers including children and adolescents in prison-like environments. The available evidence suggests this practice is associated with high levels of psychological distress, anxiety, affective and posttraumatic stress disorder, and deliberate self-harm. Significant numbers of detained asylum seekers are released and some would benefit from contact with child mental health professionals. It is suggested that in keeping with EU policy aims alternatives to detention should be sought. Source : Hodes M., European Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010.

 

 

· ‘HIV Infection among ‘Illegal’ Migrants, Italy, 2004 – 2007’

A recent study by Italian public health researchers into HIV infections among undocumented migrant women has highlighted the prominent role of social determinants of HIV infections, including immigration status, living and working conditions. Preventive educational campaigns rarely reached migrant communities because of logistic, cultural, and language barriers resulting in a poor knowledge among many undocumented migrants regarding HIV transmission. The majority of undocumented migrants with HIV/AIDS were found to have acquired infection after the migration process. The research recommends improved health education and free access to HIV testing and care for undocumented migrants. Sources: PICUM, January-February 2010 Newsletter; M. Pezzoli et al, ‘HIV Infection among ‘Illegal’ Migrants, Italy, 2004 – 2007’, Emerging Infectious Diseases, 15(11), November 2009. Available here.

PAST AND UPCOMING EVENTS

 

• Fundamental Rights Agency Conference 2009, “Making rights a reality for all”

Speakers and participants discussed the fact many EU countries lacked clear regulations on access to health care for undocumented migrants. As a result, many migrants were not receiving urgently needed care. To encourage undocumented migrants to have greater confidence in health services, calls were made for legislation that prohibits individual officials in these institutions from reporting them to the police.

 

 

• Undocumented migrants’ access to health care in Sweden

MDM Sweden organised a conference on 23 February in Stockholm, focusing on “Undocumented migrants’ access to health care: how is the discussion ahead of the 2010 elections?” Different panels, in which all the main political parties were represented, discussed the issue from a national but also local perspective. The media were also given the opportunity to have their say, with, for some of these, a more provocative approach. More information on www.huma-network.org soon.

 

 

• UN tackles migrant health at Madrid conference

The World Health Organization and International Organization for Migration, along with the government of Spain, have sponsored a conference in Madrid to explore ways to improve the health of migrants. The two agencies said that while many of the approximately 214 million international migrants and 740 million internal migrants worldwide are healthy, some – particularly undocumented migrants, people forced to migrate due to natural or man-made disasters, and victims of trafficking – are often exploited and suffer physical and mental abuse.

 

“The right to health applies to all migrants, irrespective of their migratory status. We therefore need to define minimum standards of access to health care based on fundamental human rights and sound public health policies and practices. This requires strong partnerships across sectors and between countries where migrants leave from, transit through or are received,” said Davide Mosca, Director of the Migration Health Department at IOM.

 

"Access of migrants to health care has become of paramount importance to rights-based health systems and to public efforts aimed at reducing health inequities,” said Mr. Lopez Acuna, the Director of Strategy, Policy and Resource Management at WHO’s Health Action in Crisis Cluster.