by ICER and EveryOne Group

Tuesday, October 12 , 2011

For the attention of:

Mr. António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Mrs. Navanethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Mr. Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe

The intervention group Rabit (Rapid Border Intervention Team) is part of Frontex, the agency for the control of EU external borders. For some time now human rights organizations and African immigrants have been reporting abuses by agents of the intervention team, who have been moving migrants and asylum seekers to deportation centres in Greece. Here they suffer inhumane and degrading treatment and are detained in unacceptable conditions. This represents a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Charter of Nice, the Geneva Convention and international law that prohibits torture and physical and psychological ill-treatment.

Rabit is collaborating with Greece in controlling the flow of migrants from Turkey. Human Rights Watch has reported the story of 65 asylum seekers transferred to Greek detention centres in 2011. There are many children among them who are forced to suffer months of overcrowding, with poor sanitary conditions and ill-treatment. Frontex claims that the responsibility for the living conditions in the centres lies with the Greek Government, but it is more a case of shared responsibility. The activities of Frontex has led to the pushing back of more than six thousand refugees from Africa over the last year.

EveryOne Group, ICER (International Commission on Eritrean Refugees) and other NGOs working for the rights of migrants have collected testimonies of refugees who have a right to asylum being blocked by the local authorities of Tunisia and Libya – in accordance with agreements stipulated with the Italian Government.

There have been episodes of boat people being pushed back, and threatening behaviour towards boats carrying refugees who are fleeing from humanitarian tragedies, as well as a total lack of assistance.

Only a few days ago, the Italian Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni, deemed the port of Lampedusa “unsafe”, preventing refugees from landing and holding them aboard ships until they can be transferred to other ports. Save the Children, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other NGOs have protested against a measure that undermines the rescue of migrants at sea and the respect for the refugees’ right to international protection.

Many of the migrants who have fallen into the hands of traffickers in Libya and Egyptian Sinai, or who are being detained in prison awaiting deportation, have previously been on boats that were pushed back. There are many children, pregnant women and sick people among them. Many others were deported from Italy and have been plunged into situations of extreme hardship and persecution. It should be noted that no one at the present time is monitoring the fate the migrants face when deported back to their countries of origin. Monitoring the refugees’ fate is the only effective method for controlling the fairness of the asylum system in Europe, and the decisions taken against those who are refused asylum or protection.

It is important that the institutions and the authorities who decide the fate of the refugees are aware of how the laws protecting human rights in some countries are de jure but not de facto.

It is just as important that they realize how the most vulnerable individuals are being subjected to persecution and violence after deportation, often ending up in the hands of people smugglers and organ traffickers.

In the Italian deportation centres migrants are regularly subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment, being forced to live in unacceptable conditions for periods of up to 18 months.

Even those who have been granted asylum or international protection find themselves living in inadequate structures with a ludicrous contribution of 2.50 Euro per day, no document certifying their status, and all the time subjected to constant police checks.

In small towns like San Lupo (Benevento) the situation is even worse. In San Lupo 35 sub-Saharan migrants are part of a European integration programme, but in spite of substantial funding from the Council of Europe, they are living as beggars, left to their own devices.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has long been aware of these atrocious violations and is playing a valuable and difficult role in saving lives and preventing humanitarian tragedies. It is now time that civil society started to protest against the unjust persecution and deportations that migrants from countries where humanitarian crises are underway are subjected to. It is important that all migrants have the opportunity (something recognized by the Geneva Convention) to apply for asylum or international protection. It is important that international agencies for the rights of refugees activate tools to monitor what happens to migrants when they are rejected by the commissions, courts and authorities.
Civilization must also put a stop to this carnage of migrants at sea – a result of the expulsions and deportations – and also prevent the ill-treatment, torture and intolerable detention taking place in migrant deportation centres. It is with great concern, but also with faith, that ICER and EveryOne Group are appealing to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the European Commissioner for Human Rights to raise their voices against this terrible abuse taking place against extremely vulnerable human beings, and asking them to take appropriate measures to protect them in the future.

For the International Commission on Eritrean Refugees (ICER), the president Yebio Woldemariam

For EveryOne Group, the co-presidents Roberto Malini, Matteo Pegoraro and Dario Picciau

ICER
international Commission on Eritrean Refugees (ICER)
ICER@ICEritreanRefugees.

EveryOne Group
+39 3934010237: +39 3343449180: +39 331358546
info@everyonegroup.com: www.everyonegroup.com