By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

MADRID, Spain — On February 17, about 700 migrants stormed an 8 kilometer long, 6 meter high barbed-wire security fence separating Morocco from Ceuta, which is a Spanish territory in North Africa.  Security cameras filming the incident showed some migrants breaking through the fence using wielding shears and clubs.

498 migrants successfully made it onto Spanish territory.  Those that successfully scale the fence are usually taken to migrant centers where they are repatriated or released, with the majority choosing to seek asylum or work undocumented in Europe.  Those that are intercepted before making it onto Spanish territory are usually returned to Morocco.

Two migrants were hospitalized as a result of the invasion, 30 were treated at a migrant center for fractures and other injuries, 10 members of Morocco’s armed forces were injured, and 11 police officers were injured.  In the video footage, some migrants can be seen with blood on their faces.

The border invasion was one of the largest since the fence was built in 2005.  According to an unidentified Civil Guard spokesman, police officers clashed with the migrants at the Tarajal section of the fence.  The last similar attempt took place on New Year’s Day 2017, when over 1,000 migrants attempted to jump a fence between Morocco and Ceuta.  Only two of those migrants were successful in reaching the Spanish territory, however both required hospital treatment.  Other recent successful attempts were made by 400 migrants in December, and by 200 migrants in October.

The video footage of the invasion captured migrants celebrating their arrival onto Spanish territory.  Some screamed “Libertad, libertad!” while others wrapped themselves in Spanish and European flags.  One migrant was heard shouting “I love you Mamma, long live Spain.”

Hundreds of migrants regularly attempt to enter Ceuta via climbing the fence, swimming along the coast, or hiding in vehicles.  Many consider reaching the Spanish territory as safer than attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea.  These migrants are hopeful in eventually reaching Europe and fleeing poverty and violence.  The migrant center in Ceuta has recently been struggling to host over 600 migrants, and has been using military tents as makeshift shelters for migrants in nearby parking lots.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC — Hundreds of Migrants Storm Fence to Reach Spanish Enclave of Ceuta — 17 February 2017

DW — Hundreds of Migrants Storm Spain’s Ceuta, Clashing with Police — 17 February 2017

The Local — Hundreds of Migrants Storm Fence to Enter Spain from Morocco — 17 February 2017

The Washington Post — Almost 500 Migrants Smash Through Border Fence into Spain — 17 February 2017

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

BERN, Switzerland — Switzerland just voted to make the immigration process easier for third-generation immigrants to become citizens.  Prior to the vote, a “fast-track” route to citizenship in Switzerland was only available to foreigners who were married to a Swiss citizen for over six years.  Non-Swiss residents were required to wait an average of 12 years before applying for citizenship.

The new process exempts third-generation immigrants who were born in Switzerland, and whose parents and grandparents resided permanently in Switzerland, from interviews and tests throughout the application process.  The interviews and tests are administered by town councils, and include requests for applicants to name local cheeses or mountains to ensure they are well-integrated into the Swiss culture.

The new immigration process does not make citizenship an automatic process, however.  It will continue to require immigrant-hopefuls to prove they are 25 years of age or younger, were born in Switzerland, attended school there for at least five years, share Swiss cultural values, speak the national language, and do not depend on state aid.

Rightwing politicians in Switzerland argue that relaxing the process will pose a security threat to the country, and that this is the first step in grant all immigrants currently in Switzerland citizenship.  The Swiss People’s Party, a political party often accused of demonizing Islam, warned of the risks of the possible “loss of Swiss values” through the citizenship of more Muslims.  Some believe the new process might lead to “Islamisation” of Switzerland.  In support of that argument, a poster was distributed to the public that featured a woman wearing a niqab with a caption that encouraged voters to reject “uncontrolled” citizenship.

Proponents of the simplified citizenship process argue that it is unfair to request that people who were born in and have lived in Switzerland all of their lives to prove they are integrated.  The new law will affect about 25,000 people, the majority of whom are of Italian descent.  Other large populations in Switzerland include foreigners from the Balkans and Turkey.

Over the past 30 years, three attempts to relax citizenship process were rejected by voters.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC — Switzerland Votes to Relax its Citizenship Rules — 12 February 2017

DW — Switzerland Votes on Third-Generation Immigrant Citizenship — 12 February 2017

The Guardian — Switzerland Votes to Ease Citizenship Process – 12 February 2017

Independent — Switzerland Votes to Relax Immigration Rules in Defiance of Anti-Muslim Rhetoric — 12 February 2017

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON DC, United States — The organizers of the Women’s March last month announced a plan to hold a general women’s strike on a date that is yet to be determined.  The plan for the strike has been announced across the official social media accounts for the Women’s March, declaring there will be a “General Strike: A Day Without a Woman.”  The idea of a general strike comes from labor-oriented political movements where people leave their place of employment to demand political action.

The will of the people will stand.

A post shared by Women's March (@womensmarch) on Feb 6, 2017 at 8:03am PST

(Photo Courtesy of Salon)

The general strike comes on the heels of the Women’s March which took place last month, in which over three million Americans across the nation protested their dissent for the new president.  The official website of the Women’s March thanked participants, however also noted that the “march forward does not end here.  Now is the time to get friends, family and community together and make history.”

Organizers of the Women’s March have voiced their praise for boycotts of companies that support President Trump, and reinforce their commitment to engage in “actions that affirmatively build community, strengthen relationships and support local, women- and minority-owned businesses” at a time when “foundational principles of freedom and equality are under threat.”

Many other organizations have called for strikes against the new presidency as well.  Strike4Democracy has a general strike planned for February 17, and according to its Facebook page, over 16,000 people will be participating.  The organizers of this strike are encouraging people to strike from work or school and spend the day doing community service.  The strike is also calling upon members of Congress to defend the Constitution.  Writer Francine Prose wrote an article in the Guardian, calling for a general strike following President Trump’s executive order temporarily banning travel from seven countries.

There are no other details about the women’s general strike aside from the caption on the Instagram picture announcing the strike, which reads “The will of the people will stand.”  The Instagram post is the only public announcement that has been made about the general strike so far.

 

For more information, please see:

CNN — ‘A Day Without  Woman’ — Women’s March Organizers Plan General Strike — 7 February 2017

The Huffington Post — Women’s March Organizers are Planning a ‘Day Without a Woman’ — 6 February 2017

Marie Claire — The Woman’s March Organizers are Planning a Women’s Strike — 6 February 2017

Salon — “A Day Without Women”: Women’s March Group Announces Plan to Hold a General Strike — 6 February 2017

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

 

ROME, Italy — On Wednesday, Italy pledged 200 million euros ($215 million) to several African countries to aid in their efforts of better controlling their borders. The goal of the fund is to reduce the number of migrants who leave these countries and risk their lives traveling to Europe by preventing them from leaving their home countries. The fund also hopes to deter human traffickers and smugglers who control the migration routes from Africa to Europe.

The fund, known as the Africa Fund, will aid in the “fight against human trafficking and illegal migration” according to Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano. The money will help train each nations’ security forces that control the borders, as well as pay for equipment to better monitor their borders. The funding will also be allocated partially towards Libya’s coastguard, as well as United Nations refugee and migrant agencies that can use the money to improve the living conditions of migrants in those countries.
At a press conference, Alfano further explained the fund’s goal of focusing efforts on the African countries migrants leave from, saying that Italy does not “build walls in the Mediterranean – we can’t and don’t want to do that.” Instead, Alfano emphasized the need to “strengthen the bond between solidarity and security.”
Some European leaders have suggested the possibility of financing camps in different locations on the southern shores of the Mediterranean to house potential refugees, however Alfano’s goal with the Africa Fund is to prevent exactly this. According to him, there have not been talks of setting up camps in Tunisia or Libya yet due to the lack of security in those nations. Italy is “trying to work so that there will be no need for camps.”

The majority of the funding will be given to Niger, Libya, and Tunisia, which are three major departure points for African migrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean and reach Italy. Other African countries can also request money to improve their border control.

Last week, the EU’s executive European Commission proposed making another 200 million euros available for other African countries to prevent migrants from leaving their home countries to journey across the Mediterranean Sea in hopes of reaching Europe.

 

For more information, please see:

Daily Nation — Italy Pledges 200 Million Euros to African Countries to Address Immigration — 1 February 2017

Euractiv — Italy Sets up Fund to Help African Countries Stop Migrants — 1 February 2017

European Online Magazine — Italy Unveils 200-Million-Euro Africa Fund to Curb Migration — 1 February 2017

 Reuters — Italy Sets up Fund to Help African Countries Stop Migrants — 1 February 2017

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

 

The human rights activist group Amnesty International issued a warning that Europe’s counter-terrorism measures are eroding basic human rights, and have been for the past two years.  The report released by Amnesty, titled ‘Dangerously Disproportionate: The Ever-Expanding National Security State in Europe,’ gives a detailed look into the anti-terrorism measures employed by 14 European countries, and explains how those measures impact basic human rights.  The report also warns that a security state is becoming the “new normal” in the 14 countries which were examined.

Amnesty attributes the restrictive measures to the recent string of terrorist attacks in Europe.  John Dalhuisen, Amnesty’s Europe director, explained that “Europe’s human rights framework, which was so carefully constructed after the Second World War, is being rapidly dismantled.”  Dominique Curis, Amnesty’s director in France, urged the need to “dismantle the paradigm that says there is the state of emergency or nothing in the fight against terrorism, that security equals restriction of rights equals state of emergency.”

Kate Allen, director of Amnesty’s UK branch, compared the restrictive measures to those of Big Brother from author George Orwell’s book 1984, calling the surveillance state from the book “alive and dangerously well in Europe today.”  Allen explained the understandable need for protection from such attacks, however such measures should not be implemented at the cost of fundamental human rights.

Activist groups such as Amnesty criticize the state of emergency that was enacted after the attacks in Paris, and has since been renewed five times, as “extreme.”  Government officials, however, view this as a necessary security measure in protecting against future attacks.  Manuel Valls, French Prime Minister and presidential hopeful, told reporters that “[t]his terrorist threat will last a generation.  Today we have to live with a kind of permanent state of emergency.”

Amnesty’s report is also at odds with independent reviewer of terrorism legislation David Anderson QC’s report.  Anderson believes that the anti-terrorism legislation is an appropriate and proportionate reaction to the current threat Europe faces.  European Union representatives have voiced their disagreement with the conclusions in Amnesty’s report as well, urging that human rights remain paramount in their eyes.

 

For more information, please see:

EurActiv — Amnesty: Fight Against Terror is Dismantling Human Rights in Europe — 18 January 2017

DW — European Counter-Terrorism Legislation ‘Dangerously Disproportionate,’ Amnesty Reports — 17 January 2017

The Guardian — UK Counter-Terror Laws Most Orwellian in Europe, Says Amnesty — 17 January 2017

Independent — European Anti-Terror Powers ‘Eroding Human Rights’ — 17 January 2017