Newsletter June 2009 - Issue n°4

UNITED NATIONS

 

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted General Comment No. 20 on Non-Discrimination in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The General Comment is the Committee’s interpretation of Article 2(2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Article 2(2) states: “The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” The General Comment reiterates that discrimination undermines the fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights for a significant proportion of the world’s population and that “non-discrimination and equality are fundamental components of international human rights law and essential to the exercise and enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.” The Committee has provided a non-exhaustive list of “other grounds” of discrimination prohibited by Article 2(2), including: disability, age, nationality (covering non-nationals, migrant workers and victims of international trafficking), sexual orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, and economic and social situation.
Source: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

COUNCIL OF EUROPE

 

Council of Europe Anti-Torture Committee publishes report on Greece
On Monday 30 June 2009, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published a report on its ad hoc visit to Greece, which took place in September 2008. In addition, the response of the Greek Government was also published and the documents have been made public at the request of the Greek authorities. During the visit, the CPT reviewed the treatment of persons detained by law enforcement officials and examined the conditions of detention in police and border guard stations as well as in special facilities such as for irregular migrants, in order to evaluate progress made since the CPT’s last visit to Greece in 2007. The findings of the 2008 visit to Greece confirm that persons apprehended by Greek law enforcement agencies continue to run a considerable risk of ill treatment. Furthermore, the CPT reiterates that the conditions of detention of the vast majority of irregular migrants remain unacceptable. Even for periods of detention of a few days the material conditions, hygiene and access to medical care are unacceptable and call for radical improvement.
Source: Council of Europe Anti-Torture Committee

 

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“Belgium should improve detention conditions and strengthen migrants’ rights” says Commissioner Hammarberg in a report.
“Belgium has a good system of human rights protection, but more efforts are needed in certain areas, in particular on prison conditions, asylum procedures and the protection of the rights of migrants”, said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, when presenting his report.
The Commissioner welcomes the new policy not to detain most of the irregular migrant families and considers the new housing system a substantial improvement. However, he regrets that in certain cases children and their parents continue to be detained and calls for an appropriate solution. “Living conditions and access to health care should be improved in the closed centres for aliens.”

 

 

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

 

BELGIUM
Belgium’s Federal Ombudsman issues reports on detention centres
On Monday 29 June 2009, the Belgian Federal Ombudsman published two critical reports about closed and open detention centres in Belgium, with an additional report on medical care in closed detention centres. In February 2008, the Belgian Chamber of Representatives requested the Federal Ombudsman to produce these research reports. The report on medical care raises the issue of lack of continuity of care, both in case of return to the country of origin and in case of release; the lack of medical information regarding the situation prevailing in the country of origin, considering the fact that the doctors of the closed centres have to evaluate the availability of an appropriate medical treatment. The report also considers that “the presence of an independent medical body, for instance an NGO, could offer detainees the possibility to ask for a second opinion”.
Sources: Investigation sur le fonctionnement des centres fermés gérés par l'Office des Etrangers, Rapport d'évaluation des soins médicaux dans les centres fermés

 

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GERMANY
The German Trade Union Federation (DGB) has issued a paper dealing with the situation of undocumented migrants in Germany. In addition to naming a few examples for “good practices”, the DGB also formulates policy requirements, i.e. respecting undocumented migrants' basic social and human rights, combating moonlighting as a matter of labour, not regulatory policy, no ban on regularisations by the EU, a more liberal issuing of a stable right to stay and work to migrants with short-term permits, an end to the duty to report for public administration in the fields of health care, education and work, decriminalisation of people supporting undocumented migrants, a disjunction of employment and residence rights, and deportations that are in compliance with human rights.
Source: DGB-Bundesvorstand, Department of Migration and Antiracism Policy.

 

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GREECE
Greece decided to strongly tackle the issue of clandestine immigration. Latest measures include the transfer of clandestines to old army camps, or a 1000 Euros incentive for migrants who agree to leave voluntarily the country, next to a flight ticket. Frontex considers Greece to be EU’s most affected Member States by clandestine immigration, intercepting 146 337 in 2008. EU Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot, during his visit in Corfou, said he was very dissatisfied with the asylum procedure in Greece, recognising refugee status to only 1% of applicants. But he also stated that the EU could not support Turkey any longer in its efforts to protect its borders if it did not respect its readmission agreement with Greece.
Source : Le Figaro

 

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POLAND
The Polish Proksenos Foundation (Fundacja Proksenos) has been established to provide assistance for vulnerable migrants in Poland. Kajetan Wróblewski, a spokesperson from the foundation, informs that almost 300,000 Ukrainians reside in Poland and many of them are undocumented so illnesses or accidents pose huge problems for them. As no foundation has yet addressed their situation due to their irregular status, these migrants remain invisible to social workers and civil servants. The organization has raised money to provide treatment for severely ill undocumented migrants residing in Poland. The organization also plans to contest current Polish legislation which stipulates that undocumented migrants who voluntarily give himself or herself over to the authorities will not only be deported but also banned from re-entering Poland for five years, regardless of his or her material or health situation.
Source: Gazeta Wyborcza, Grzegorz Lisicki, “For them no one is illegal” (“Dla nich nikt nie jest nielegalny”)

 

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Home Affairs Committee of the House of Commons, during consideration of the Draft (Partial) Immigration and Citizenship Bill, took extensive evidence from medical professionals and organisations –among which MDM UK- who were worried about the impact of proposals indicated in the Draft Bill to restrict access to health services for some groups of migrants. The Home Affairs Committee stated in its conclusions and recommendations that the evidence it received during consideration of the Draft (Partial) Immigration and Citizenship Bill “cautioned against any future restrictions on access to primary health services for those subject to immigration control. Medical professionals gave persuasive evidence that the risks—to public as well as individual health— outweighed the benefits of any such restriction”.
Source: House of Commons, Home Affairs Committee, "Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill [HL]", Fifth Report of Session 2008-09.

PUBLICATIONS

 

PICUM: Undocumented and Seriously Ill: Residence Permits for Medical Reasons in Europe
This report aims to identify some of the main problems and obstacles in gathering information within 11 EU member states concerning residence permits for seriously ill undocumented migrants. For each country, an analysis of the legal framework for eligibility of such a residence permit, the availability of medical stay permits, the application procedure and the involvement of health care practitioners during the procedure is addressed. The opinions of NGOs, authorities and health care practitioners on the creation of a European medical database of information on the availability and accessibility of medical treatment around the world are also presented.
Source: PICUM