English

NEWSLETTER
December 2015
EDITORIAL
2
SAVE THE DAY!
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AEDH NEWS
3
AEDH THEMES
4
Asylum and immigration
4
EU decisions chronology4
Statistics to be interpreted with caution
4
The “protection” of states vs protection of migrants
4
Protection of personal data
4
Data retention: Member States in denial
4
Economic, social and cultural rights
5
Children at risk of poverty in Europe, the figures are overwhelming 5
Europe 2020 strategy: what are the mid-term results?
MEMBER NEWS
5
4
EU AGENDA
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EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION
FOR THE DEFENCE OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
33 rue de la Caserne
1000 Bruxelles ( Belgique)
Tel : +32 (0) 2 511 21 00
Fax : +32 (0) 2 511 32 00
Site Internet : www.aedh.eu
Email : info(at)aedh.eu
N°281
EDITORIAL
by DOMINIQUE GUIBERT
Europe: I am talking about a time…
In 1957 in Rome, the six founding members of what
was then not even called the European Community yet,
agreed to lay down the foundations of an original international construction. Not a federation, not a merging
operation, not a juxtaposition, but something then characterised primarily by the recent past: the end of the
Second World War, then just 12 years ago and the collapse of Nazism. The most progressive politicians of the
time brought together the countries to agree on what
united them instead of concentrating on what separated
them. I am talking about a time that the less than forty
years old among us cannot know.
They are not sensitive any longer to the list of members:
on one side of the table, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, on the other side, the German
Federal Republic and Italy. The spectre of two centuries full of wars moved away to make room for memory
and history. Making of the past the basis of a positive
reconstruction. Honouring the 50 million victims in all its
forms. Condemn the systems of oppression and death
and their accomplices. Creating legally defined acts of
genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes. I am
now talking about a time that everyone has the duty to
know.
This new entity also intended to respond to the political and military extension of another construction, the
Warsaw Pact under the initiative and domination of the
USSR. An area where prosperity and peace would reign
and serve as an example and a counterweight to the
zone that was maintained only by repression, deprivation of liberties, military invasion, East Berlin 1953, Budapest 1956, Warsaw 1956 while behind a military and
industrial complex there was a simple system of survival
for the vast majority of the people under occupation. The
collapse of the USSR, its implosion in the strict sense of
the word happened in 1989 and opened the door for a
new global situation that was unimaginable thirty years
ago. I am talking about a time that the less than twentyfive years old among us cannot know.
Between these two blocs, East and West, between capitalism and communism a vast field of regional conflicts
THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
opened playing with the limits of what was going not
too far into the destruction of the world that the atomic weapon would allow. In this in-between, liberation
struggles against the colonial yoke developed. At the
time the Rome Treaty was signed, the colonies did well
exist and France from 1954 to 1962 was in the middle
of the Algerian war, and Belgium was still in Congo until
1960. The Netherlands were forced to recognise the
independence of Indonesia in 1949 and of course the
defeated Italy had no colonial basis. As for Germany, it
lost its territories in Africa since 1918. And even if the
stigma and colonization crimes still strongly marked
the balance of power between the participating states,
the development of a European area required the end
of Colonial empires. But I am probably talking about a
time that the less fifty years old ones among us cannot
know.
The European Union’s prefiguration is a major element
of the configuration of today’s world. Other than the
geopolitical, cyclical considerations, a structure for the
European integration was needed. The latter can be
summarized by three words, symbolic representations:
the convergence between countries, the rule of law for
all, eternal peace for its members. A positive triptych,
which allowed the enlargement of the European Union
with the successive accessions of Southern, Northern,
Western and Eastern countries. This started forty years
ago, at a time that young people of twenty and something cannot know.
So how is it then that a continent that has not even
reached its sixties is trembling? Although it no longer
has to be in opposition to another political block, although the multipolar world should open a space for
discussion, cooperation and prosperity, Europe is in
crisis and disillusion. At the expense of brotherhood,
freedom, solidarity, equality. We must note that the
founder’s triptych is undermined by the return of multiple competitions. First among member states, then
between member states and third countries. Then
between populations with irreducible characteristics
in search of illusory and improbable identities. Finally
between individuals who are determined to be competitive which is to say active against each other.
NEWSLETTER N°281 DECEMBER 2015
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EDITORIAL
AEDH NEWS
In fact, too much Europe is not what we suffer form, but
we suffer rather of the return of the principle of competition of all against all. Look at social protection: while we
know that it is in times of crisis that it is most useful, it
is in these moments that we say that it is too expensive
and that we can no longer afford it. Take public services:
while they are the guarantee for the most vulnerable
people not to be affected by exclusion, fiscal austerity is
presented as the solution instead. Look at refugees and
migrants - we should stop calling them a crisis: it seems
all to be about which member state has to do least, accepting a few hundred here, rejecting those with the
“bad” religion there, sticking to its insularity elsewhere.
Think a second about the rise and the reappearance of
right-wing movements believing to have finally found the
right to speak with their archaic ideologies, their criminal
histories, racist and xenophobic traditions that had previously disqualified them.
To the extent that it is essential to remind all those who
make the world and to all those who will build it tomorrow that nothing should ever be taken for granted. I am
talking about a time that everyone can know: I am talking
about right now.
AEDH
NEWS
Migrant rights are not for sale!
AEDH press release
18 December 2015 - 8.6 billion euros! This is the sum
the European Union has committed to spending to keep
migrants as far as possible from its borders. For this International Migrants Day, AEDH and its 32 member organisations call on the European Union and its member
states: to stop considering the “migrant crisis” as an
attack on their integrity, to open secure access routes
to European territory and to act as real defenders of
human rights.
Read more
AEDH joins the Frontexit campaign!
AEDH campaign
SAVE
THE DATE!
AEDH IS CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF
THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE
PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA
15 décembre 2015 - As an international campaign of
several associations, Frontexit was launched in 2013
with the principle objective of abolishing the EU agency
Frontex because of the incompatibility of its actions with
the respect of the rights of migrants and refugees.
Read more
AEDH conference
The LIBE committee adopted the “Passenger
Name Record” in breach of fundamental rights
Come join us in the European Parliament !
AEDH press release
We will discuss:
14 décembre 2015 - The Civil Liberties, Justice and
Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee of the European Parliament voted in favour of the compromise text on the
PNR. In a letter sent to the members of this committee
the European Association for the Defense of Human
Rights (AEDH) called on the MEPs to reject the draft
law that is contrary to the fundamental rights of the
Union, as noted by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) who immediately challenged this vote.
• The important developments in European legislation,
• The major achievements by active citizens and whistleblowers,
• The recent trends on the national, European, and
global level.
27th of January 2016
Room PHS 1 C 51
14:30 - 18:00
Guest among others : Max Schrems
Read more
Read more
THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
NEWSLETTER N°281 DECEMBER 2015
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AEDH NEWS
INTERVENTION THEMES
Poverty is not a situation, it is a denial of rights!
AEDH press release
10 December 2015 - Statistics prove it: there are still as
many poor in the European Union as there have always
been. In one of its latest press releases, Eurostat stated
that 120 million people in 2014 were living in poverty
and / or social exclusion. This means: a quarter of the
population! One has to recognise the importance of this
number that should have enjoyed the widest possible
publicity.
Read more
Report Seminar AEDH on poverty 16 November
2015
Report seminar
On November 16, AEDH hosted a seminar on the topic
“Poverty : changing the language in order to change the
policies” which brought together human rights organisations and European civil society actors in order to discuss the development of poverty in Europe and deconstruct the stereotypes assimilated to it in our political and
everyday language.
Read more
Hundreds of thousands, millions … statistics
to be interpreted with caution
16 December 2015 - The numbers which were being
published in abundance over the last months are sometimes difficult to interpret and their comparison is rather
hazardous. Depending on the sources, they consist of
numbers on : arrivals in the Mediterranean (UNHCR),
disappearances (International Organization for Migration, IOM), transit routes (IOM again), irregular border
crossings (Frontex), asylum applications (Eurostat). Below you can find a review for a better measurement of
the challenges.
Read more
The “protection” of states vs protection of
migrants
16 December 2015 - The risk of a humanitarian crisis
at the border crossing points between Greece and the
Balkans On 24 November, UNCHR, IOM and UNICEF
have expressed their shared concern on the risks coming with new restrictions at several border crossing
points of countries in the Balkans. Depending on their
assumed nationality, people are blocked in some of
these countries, without an appropriate and durable solution.
Read more
PROTECTION OF PERSONNAL DATA
AEDH
THEMES
Data retention: Member States in denial
ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION
07 December 2015 - On April 8, 2014, the Court of
Justice of the European Union (CJEU) invalidated the
directive on data retention because it did not respect
the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Union. Since
then, other decisions on similar matters have consolidated this first ruling. Nevertheless, during the Justice
and Home Affairs Council of 3 and 4 December 2015,
Member States considered that retaining bulk electronic
communication data in a generalised manner was still
allowed.
For the record, the decisions and commitments
of the European institutions and Member States
of 2015
16 December 2015 - At the end of this year, we find it
relevant to map out the most striking guidelines of European policies in response to the “migration crisis”.The
review below sums up the main stages of the decision
process which obviously did not prioritise the reception
of refugees and the protection of their rights. In particular the last trimester of 2015 with the Valletta summit
and the agreement with Turkey is evidence of the EU’s
attempt to push the problem outside of the EU’s borders.
Read more
Read more
THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
NEWSLETTER N°281 DECEMBER 2015
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INTERVENTION THEMES
NEWS OF OUR MEMBER LEAGUES
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
One in four children at risk of poverty in Europe,
the figures are overwhelming
15 December 2015 - MEPs adopted with 569 in favour,
77 against and 49 abstentions a resolution urging EU
member states to adapt their agendas in order to fight
effectively child poverty and social inequalities. AEDH
appreciates this initiative focusing on the specific situation of children among people at the risk of poverty and social exclusion (a quarter of the population is
concerned). This resolution adopted by the European
Parliament is a further argument in the fight against inequalities and social exclusion. Indeed, children are a
particularly vulnerable group that needs protection.
Read more
Europe 2020 strategy: what are the mid-term
results?
15 December 2015 - Under the initiative of the European Union in 2008, the Europe 2020 strategy was implemented to respond in a relatively short 12 year term
to some major economic and social issues(1): unemployment, investment in research and development, poverty and social exclusion, climate change, renewable
energy and education.
Read more
KISA - Action for Equality, Support and Antiracism expresses its concern towards the undignified living conditions of migrants on the
island
Press release
15 December 2015 - The Association KISA deplores
once again the living conditions of migrants in Cyprus,
especially in the camps of Kofinou and Purana. KISA reminds the Cypriot government that the conditions under
which migrants are held, only exacerbate the traumatic
experiences they might have experienced in the past.
Read more
Following the attacks of Paris, the Belgian
League of Human Rights (LDH) is questioning
the 18 measures taken by the government in
order to fight terrorism
Press release
09 December 2015 - Among the government’s measures
the LDH points out: the excessive increase in the defence budget at the expense of the social budget (that
would help in the upstream fight against the rise of extremism), the restriction of free movement at borders, the
increase of custody time from 24 to 72 hours, searches
24/24, house arrest with electronic tagging or the implementation of the PNR in the European Union.
Read more
NEWS OF OUR
MEMBER LEAGUES
LDH published the 15th number (September-November 2015) of its «Human rights
in Central and Eastern Europe» letter
Report
15 December 2015 - This publication is the result of the
work of activists that aims to deepen and disseminate
political, social and economic developments affecting
Europe, particularly in the former socialist countries, but
not only.
Read more
THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
On the eve of the International Day for Human
Rights, APDHA released a report on the violations of human rights and social exclusion in
2015
Press release
09 December 2015 - The 2015 report of APDHA on the
violation of human rights and social exclusion addresses
four types of social exclusion: prisons, immigration, marginalisation and prostitution. It aims at making a state of
play in each area and suggests solutions.
Read more
NEWSLETTER N°281 DECEMBER 2015
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AGENDA
NEWS OF OUR MEMBER LEAGUES
The French League of Human Rights (LDH)
reacts to the results of the first round of the
regional elections in France
Press release
07 December 2015 - Noting with regret the historical level reached by the party Front National (National Front),
LDH recalls that the party for which thousands of disillusioned people voted on the 6th of December is repressive and aims at restricting freedom.
Read more
EU
AGENDA
OF THE LUXEMBOURG PRESIDENCY
Calender of COREPER I et COREPER II meetings.
OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Plenary Session
Strasburg, 12-15 January 2016
Brussels, 28 January 2016
Read more
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home
Affairs (LIBE)
Brussels, 14 January 2016, 15:00
Brussels, 18 January 2016, 15:00
Brussels, 25 January 2016, 15:00
Read more
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL)
Brussels, 11 January 2016, 15:00
Brussels, 25 January 2016, 15:00
Read more
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU
General Affairs Council
Brussels, 19 January 2016
Read more
THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
NEWSLETTER N°281 DECEMBER 2015
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BECOME A
MEMBER
HELP US DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS:
BECOME A MEMBER !
HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER ?
You will find all the information concerning the process of becoming an individual member here:
h t t p : / / w w w. a e d h . e u / - B e c o m e - a - m e m b e r - . h t m l .
Through a large European network, AEDH proposes the
creation of a collective sending a strong message:
YES,
AN
ALTERNATIVE
IS
POSSIBLE!
YES, WE CAN TURN EUROPE INTO A PLACE OF
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS!”
Its members are essential to AEDH. With their
knowledge and their commitment, individual members
strengthen AEDH’s action across Europe.
As one of our members, you’ll have:
•
Free access to a significant body of documents on the situation of human rights in Europe as well as to the activities of AEDH.
•
The possibility to participate in the creation and implementation of projects of interest on a regular or occasional basis.
•
The opportunity to participate in a citizens’
project and to make AEDH a strong political actor of the European landscape.
CONTACT
EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION
FOR THE DEFENSE OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
Rue de la Caserne, 33 1000 Bruxelles
Belgique
Tél : +32(0)25112100
Fax : +32(0)25113200
Email : info(at)aedh.eu
HAVE CONTRIBUTED
TO THIS EDITION
Dominique Guibert, President and Editor in chief
Catherine Teule, Vice-chairwoman
Maryse Artiguelong, board member
Yvonne Ebner
Elena Bosshardt
Marius Jammes
Mickael Molé
Layout : Anaïs Kintgen
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