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News Stories that Critique Social and Institutional Practices


Critiques in the News of Social and Institutional Practices that Undermine Critical Thinking and the Emergence of Critical Societies

There are two opposing social tendencies relevant to critical thinking, each supported by multiple driving forces. One is the tendency to social control and intolerance, to conformity and obedience, to fixity of belief and the preservation of traditional myths and delusions, to dogmas and vested interest pronouncements. The other is to critical analysis; to the transformation of beliefs; to questioning, doubt, and reason focused on the improvement of social life and conditions.

Critical thinking can flourish only to the extent that societies support freedom of thought. Significant support for freedom of thought presupposes social stability, open access to information and knowledge and authentic commitment to maintaining that access. Social and institutional practices that undermine the emergence of such societies warrant critique using the best critical thinking.

There are many possible sources for stories documenting social practices that discourage critical thinking and/or the emergence of critical societies. We cannot cover all such stories. Nevertheless, we believe it is our responsibility to highlight practices inconsistent with fair-minded critical thinking. The stories in this section come from Statewatch, a European watchdog research group. Eventually we hope to provide such critiques on events the world over.  

Consistent with the protocols of independent critical thought, the Foundation for Critical Thinking is non- political. The stories are provided here for your analysis and assessment. We believe that, in general, Statewatch is a paradigm of sound scholarship. However, if you judge any story to be inaccurate or misleading, you may challenge the story (citing your reasoning or evidence).

For full contents see: Statewatch News online with analysis, documentation, news in brief and News Archives 2000-ongoing or What's New: which lists all News Online and News in Brief items. The latest 25 lead items are listed below.

May 2012

EU austerity is feeding racism, report says (euobserver, link): "EU austerity measures are helping to feed racism and intolerance, according to a report by the Strasbourg-based human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe." See: ECRI Annual Report(pdf)

EU: European Commission: Security Research: Protecting Europe’s homeland and its future (pdf) and see:NeoConOpticon - The EU Security-Industrial Complex by Ben Hayes (pdf)

EU-SIS II: European Commission: Proposal for a Council Regulation on migration from the Schengen Information System (SIS 1+) to the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (recast) (pdf)

EU-CIA: European Parliament: Draft Report on alleged transportation and illegal detention of prisoners in European countries by the CIA: follow-up of the European Parliament TDIP Committee report (pdf) to be considered by the LIBE Committee on 8 May:

"Considers that Member States have so far not properly fulfilled their positive obligation under international law to investigate serious human rights violations connected with the CIA programme and afford full redress to victims;

Believes that the failure of Member States to assume their responsibility to conduct inquiries that are fully compatible with their international obligations undermines mutual trust in fundamental rights protection, and thus becomes the responsibility of the EU as a whole."

and Working Document: on Alleged Transportation & illegal detention of prisoners in European countries by the CIA: follow up of the EP TDIP Committee report (pdf)

EU: European Parliament: Orientation Vote Result: on the proposal for a regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (pdf): Vote on the EP's negotiating position before entering trilogue with the Council.

And EIO: Draft Report: on the adoption of a Directive regarding the European Investigation Order in criminal matters (pdf) see: Statewatch: Analysis: Update The Proposed European Investigation Order

GREECE: Amygdaleza detention centre unwanted by local community (Arthens News, link): "Trouble is already brewing in Amygdaleza, where the first detention centre has been set up. The municipality of Acharnes, north of greater Athens, filed a petition for an injunction on Monday against Citizen Protection Minister Mihalis Chryssohoidis, charging “that the Amygdaleza detention centre for illegal migrants was illegally set up”. See also: UNHCR has reservations on migrant center (link)

MEPs press Lithuania to re-launch CIA rendition probe (euobserver, link)


April 2012

EU: YET ANOTHER DAY DAY FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES: MEPs back plans to give air passenger data to US (BBC News, link)."The European Parliament has adopted a controversial bill that will give the United States access to personal information about airline passengers. MEPs agreed by 409 votes to 226 to let the US Department of Homeland Security see data on the Passenger Name Record (PNR)" The two major parties blocs - PPE (conservative group) and S&D (socialist group) were committed to voting in favour.

See Statewatch's Observatory: Exchange of data on passengers (PNR) with USA

EU-SWITZERLAND: Swiss re-impose immigration limits on some EU states - The Swiss government has decided to re-impose immigration quotas on workers from central and eastern European Union (EU) countries. (BBC News, link). See also:Statement by High Representative Catherine Ashton on the decision of the Swiss Government to re-establish quantitative limitations for certain categories of residence permits as regards EU citizens who are nationals of eight of the EU Member States (pdf)

 EU: Statewatch Analysis: Amending the EU’s Borders Code (pdf) by Steve Peers, Professor of Law, Law School, University of Essex:

"The Borders Code has already been amended on four occasions... However, the 2011 proposals would have a much bigger impact on the text of the Code. Between them, these proposals would amend nearly every provision of the Code, and add a number of new provisions."

 EU-G6: FOR THE RECORD: G6 meeting, Paris, 1 December 2011 (pdf): The secretive G6, working on justice and home affairs, is comprised of France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland and the UK - it is usually also attended by the USA Department of Homeland Security. The meeting discussed Schengen governance, asylum and itinerant (mobile) criminality and, including the US representatives, focused on the recovery of criminal assets and Transatlantic data sharing.

 EU-EDPS: EDPS calls for data protection safeguards before public sector information containing personal data can be re-used (Press release, pdf), Opinion (pdf) and Public access to documents containing personal data after the Bavarian Lager ruling(pdf)

Peter Hustinx, EDPS, says: "The re-use of PSI containing personal data may bring significant benefits, but also entails great risks to the protection of personal data, due to the wide variety of data held by public sector bodies. The Commission proposal should therefore more clearly define in what situations and subject to what safeguards information containing personal data may be required to be made available for re-use."

 EU: Statewatch Analysis: Amending the EU’s visa list legislation (pdf) by Steve Peers, Professor of Law, University of Essex:

"Quite apart from the usual lack of transparency of EU documents (the texts submitted to Coreper have not officially been made public, although they are available on the Statewatch website - see the links below), the negotiation process is highly obscure, as it is not currently clear whether Coreper even reached an agreement on the proposed measures, and if so what text was agreed....

the version of the proposed legislation discussed in Coreper clearly shows the Member States’ intention to assert the EU’s authority more forcefully as regards visa policy by the creation of two new fast-track powers to impose visa obligations, but also to retain a lot of political discretion when using such powers. Although these new powers would be conferred upon the Commission, Member States have tried as much as possible to assert their control over its actions, and they have rejected any attempt to remove their remaining discretion as regards visa policy for various categories of persons."

 EU: European Court of Justice: Advocate General's Opinion: European Parliament v Council of the European Union (Action for annulment – Decision 2010/252 – Implementing powers – Limits – Regulation No 562/2006 – Schengen Borders Code – Border surveillance) (pdf). Advocate-General's opinion backs EP challenge to Council's decision implementing borders code re Frontex.

 EU authorities accused of blindness on 'counter-jihad' (euobserver, link): "Security services in Europe have neglected the kind of right-wing extremism which inspired Norway's Anders Behring Breivik to commit mass murder, a UK-based rights group has warned. "Post-911, all major authorities have themselves in the EU focused on the direct threat of Islamic terrorism while they took their eye off the ball on the radicalisation of Europeans," Daniel Hodges, a campaigner for Hope Not Hate, a London-based NGO, told EUobserver on Monday (16 April).

 EU: FRONTEX: Statewatch Analysis: The Frontex Regulation - Consolidated text after final 2011 amendments (pdf) by Steve Peers
Professor of Law, University of Essex:

"The following presents the Regulation setting up the EU Borders Agency - ‘Frontex’ - as it was amended by a number of amendments adopted in 2011: Regulation 1168/2011, OJ 2011 L 304/1 (the ‘2011 amendments’). It replaces the consolidated text of the Regulation based on the agreed text of the 2011 amendments, which were subject to a number of technical changes when they were finally adopted."

 EU: Dissolve secret agencies and police – Anarchy in the EU! (link)

 EU: Updated: Statewatch European Monitoring and Documentation Centre (SEMDOC) Justice and Home Affairs "e-library" archive (1976 - 2000): Weekly Highlighted documents: Update including:

- 8680/00: Summary update of the existing analyses of information on border control, asylum, immigration and police in Romania
- 9334/00 - Proposal on responsibility for stowaways
- 9559/1/00 - Football hooliganism - Annual report on football hooliganism in the Member States of the European Union: Synthesises information from fourteen countries to provide an overview of football hooliganism and police cooperation measures intended to cope with the problem
- Draft conclusions of the Executive Committee's meeting held in S-Gravenhage on 21 February 1996: (Document in French) Following a request from Spain for Schengen Member States to cooperate more closely on terrorism issues, the EU Presidency brings forward a proposal for improved extradition mechanisms between Member States
- The SCHENGEN ACQUIS 1990 - 1995 and 13-page list of all conventions, decisions and measures adopted between 1990 and 1995
- 11358/00 - Advanced technologies: production of a directory of the prefixes and roaming agreements of mobile phone operators in the fifteen countries of the European Union - Questionnaire
-12086/00 - Conclusions of the seminar on the laundering of the proceeds from organised crime in Europe (Paris, 13 to 15 September 2000)

Search JHA archive - EU Justice and Home Affairs documents from 1976 onwards: (currently holds 5,600 documents)

 EU: European Parliament, Subcommittee on Human Rights Public Hearing on Secret rendition and detention practices - How to protect Human Rights while countering terrorism? 12 April 2012: Mr. Juan E. Méndez, United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (pdf)

 EU: Joint NGO statement: The Brighton Declaration must strengthen human rights protection in Europe and preserve the integrity and authority of the European Court of Human Rights (pdf)

 EU: ACTA: European Parliament: Draft Recommendation (pdf): Committee on International Trade, Rapporteur David Martin MEP. See aso: EU Parliament’s draftsman urges ACTA rejection (euractiv, link)

 EU: European Parliament study: EU Framework of Law for Children’s Rights (49 pages, pdf)

 EU: Statewatch Analysis: The revised ‘Dublin’ rules on responsibility for asylum-seekers: The Council’s failure to fix a broken system (pdf) by Steve Peers, Professor of Law, Law School, University of Essex:

"The Council appears to have little regard for the case law of the European Court of Human Rights or the EU’s Court of Justice, as regards the issue of suspending transfers in light of justified human rights concerns. Moreover, the Council clearly wishes to ‘jump the gun’ on a number of other issues pending before the Court of Justice as regards the Dublin rules (the humanitarian clause, the rules on unaccompanied minors, and the application of the reception conditions Directive to Dublin cases)....

the Council has not accepted either of the two remedies which the Commission had proposed to fix the Dublin system – the suspension of that system or the significant improvement of the rules relating to family members and vulnerable persons. It remains to be seen whether the EP is willing to recognise that the Dublin system is broken, and to demand that more serious steps be taken to fix it."

 EU: Council of the European Union:

- Draft Council Conclusions on further enhancing efficient cross-border exchange of law enforcement information (DAPIX, 5929/2/12, pdf)
- Draft Council conclusions on the establishment of a European Cybercrime Centre (ENFOPOL, 8295/12,pdf)
- Amended proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection status (ASILE, 8591/12, pdf)

 ECHR-PUBLIC ORDER-TEAR GAS: European Court of Human Rights: Police should not have used tear gas against a peaceful demonstrator (Press release, pdf) and Judgment (pdf). See also: Man gets €10,000 as tear gas victim (Athens News, link)

 EU: Death of 63 migrants in the Mediterranean: Complaint in France holds the French military to account (FIDH, link)

 EU: NGOs give EU commission a beating over anti-counterfeit pact (euobserver, link): " Amnesty Intentional, Oxfam, Reporters without Borders as well as internet rights groups and the Council of Europe all spoke out against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) at a European Parliament hearing on Wednesday (11 April). "

 EU: Council of the European Union: Proposal for a Directive on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and on the right to communicate upon arrest - Preparation of Coreper (pdf) Revised Council position.

 GREECE: Greece taking a leaf out of the UK’s manual on indefinite detention (link) "The Greek government appears to have taken a leaf out of the UK government’s book and decided to hold migrants in detention centres indefinitely. The new plans which have already raised significant criticism by campaigners centre on opening 30 former military sites and detaining 1000 people in each."

 UK: Home Affairs Select Committee report: Work of the UK Border Agency (August - December 2011) (pdf) See: UK Border Agency unable to fulfil its basic functions, MPs warn (Guardian, link)

 UK: Home Affairs Select Committee report: The US-UK Extradition Treaty (link)

 RE-POSTED: EU: AGENCIES: Council of the European Union: Evaluation of European Union agencies (pdf)

Background: Study for the Commission: Evaluation of the EU de-centralised agencies in 2009: Final Report Volume I (pdf) andVolume II (pdf), Volume III (pdf) and Volume IV (pdf)

 EU: Council of the European Union:

- SCHENGEN: Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 in order to provide for common rules on the temporary reintroduction of border control at internal borders in exceptional circumstances - Revised draft compromise text(6161-rev1-12, pdf)

- SCHENGEN: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) and the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement (8262-12, pdf)

- VISA LIST: Draft Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (8218-12, pdf)


February 2012

CoE: Hammarberg publishes 47 country report on Roma and Travellers (link)

EU: FRONTEX: Israel Aerospace Industries' Heron Unmanned Aerial System was demonstrated to Frontex EU Agency (link)

EU: Article 29 Working Party on Data Protection: Working Document 01/2012 on epSOS (pdf): "EpSOS is a pilot that offers cross-border e-Health Services to European citizens. It focuses on developing a practical e-Health framework and ICT (information and communication technology) infrastructure that enables access to patient health information from different European healthcare systems."

EU: Meijers Committee: Standing committee of experts on international immigration, refugee and criminal law: Reply to the Green Paper on the right to family reunification of third-country nationals living in the European Union (pdf): "the Meijers Committee proposes not to revise Directive 2003/86/EC on the right to family reunification on short notice. Instead, it urges the Commission to closely supervise the implementation and application of the Directive in the Member States and to start infringement procedures in case of incomplete or incorrect implementation or application."

Call for the Defense of Society and Democracy in Greece,” which urges for a powerful intervention in Greek and European public opinion (link)

EU: Statewatch Analysis: The Revised Directive on Asylum-seekers’ Reception Conditions: How much lower can the Member States go? (pdf) by Steve Peers, Professor of Law, University of Essex:

"If the Council does accept this compromise, it will remain to be seen whether the European Parliament will consider it acceptable to have a ‘deal at any cost’, or whether it will take the opportunity to press for much needed improvements concerning issues such as access to benefits without documentation, detention conditions, grounds for and time limits for detention, legal aid, subsistence and health care, and vulnerable asylumseekers."

ITALY: Returning migrants to Libya without examining their case exposed them to a risk of ill-treatment and amounted to a collective expulsion (pdf) and Judgment: full-text (link) The European Court of Human Rights has found italy guilty of a series of violations in its collective refoulements of migrants to libya in 2009 - The case concerned Somalian and Eritrean migrants travelling from Libya who had been intercepted at sea by the Italian authorities and sent back to Libya. Press statement by Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament: Court ruling on odious Italy-Libya deal has clear implications for EU migration and border policies (link)

EU-USA PNR AGREEMENT: European Parliament: Draft report: Calls for the parliament to withhold its consent:

- DRAFT RECOMMENDATION: on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the United States of America and the European Union on the use and transfer of Passenger Name Records to the United States Department of Homeland Security Rapporteur: Sophia in 't Veld (pdf), Rapporteur: Sohie in `t Veld

See also Statewatch Observatory: Observatory on the exchange of data on passengers (PNR) with USA (2003 - ongoing)

EU-ACTA: ECJ to rule on anti-piracy agreement (european voice, link) and Commission seeks legal clarification on controversial anti-piracy treaty (euobserver, link). See: Commission statement on its referral of ACTA to the ECJ (pdf)

EU: Revising the Access to documents Regulation saga - The beginning of the endgame

- "Now is not the time to compromise on transparency" (Michael Cashman MEP)
- Danish Council Presidency invokes "the space to think"
- Council and Commission question the definition of a "document"
- Council seeks to restrict access to legislative documents
- "The outcome of the process which is now being embarked on will determine the future of democratic accountability on the EU"(Tony Bunyan, Statewatch Director)

CANADA: Taking Liberties: Canada’s Booming Business of Detention and Deportation (link)

Mediterranean takes record as most deadly stretch of water for refugees and migrants in 2011 (UNHCR, link)

NETHERLANDS-COE: Secretary General calls on Dutch government to respond to concerns about problematic website (pdf)

UK: Theresa May to split up UK Border Agency (BBC News, link): "Home Secretary Theresa May has said the UK Border Agency will be split in two following revelations that hundreds of thousands of people were let into the country without appropriate checks. She told MPs the UK Border Force would become a separate law-enforcement body.."

See: Home Office statement (pdf) and Vine report: An investigation into border security checks (pdf)

EU border agency Frontex will sign a Cooperation Agreement with the Armenian Government (Public Radio, link)

EU: MULTIPLE BIOMETRICS REQUIRED: HEAD OF EU LARGE-SCALE IT AGENCY: "We believe that in an ideal world, you have to take 13": (all ten fingers, both eyes and the face): EU official says identity management must be based on multiple biometrics (Fierce Government, link):

"Identity management in the European Union must be based on the collection of biometric information from individuals, said Frank Paul, head of unit for large scale IT systems and biometrics within the European Commission's directorate general of home affairs. We also believe that in an ideal world, you have to take 13," he added, referring to data collections of 10 fingerprints, two iris scans and one facial image. Paul spoke Feb. 1 during a panel of an identity management conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

ECRI reports: Europe’s hardening attitudes towards Muslims, migrants and Roma (link)

EU-USA: US lobbying waters down EU data protection reform (euractiv, link): "The reform of EU data protection rules is of particular interest to countries like the United States, whose companies may have to abide by stricter provisions to do business in Europe. But intense lobbying from the United States has in part watered down the draft legislation.

EU-USA:DATA PROTECTION AGREEMENT: PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF EU CITIZENS? Council of the European Union: EU-US data protection negotiations during 2011 (pdf):

"the US side has a mandate for an “Executive agreement” that does not change existing US law, nor create any new rights"

"The US has rejected the idea to apply the agreement also to data transferred from private parties in the EU to private parties in the US and subsequently processed for law enforcement purposes by US competent authorities."

"a non-discrimination clause, i.e. the application of data protection principles to all data subjects regardless of nationality and place of residence, was discussed. The US is cautious on this as it is linked to the personal scope of protection under the Privacy Act, which is limited to US citizens and permanent residents."

"The US side however acknowledged that no judicial redress is available to non-US individuals who seek correction of their data without having suffered harm. Further discussion is needed."

"data retention, the US side appears to oppose a general obligation enshrined in this agreement to define appropriate retention periods whenever data sharing is agreed (specific agreements, unilateral condition by sending authority), arguing that such limits should be determined by the recipient party's domestic law."

"On purpose limitation (and further use of data), the US envisages to specify the purpose of data processing and further use in the "umbrella" agreement itself and to conceive it widely. This would result that in principle all data could be used for prevention, detection, suppression, investigation or prosecution of criminal offences, protection of public security, for directly related non-criminal and administrative proceedings, or for any other purpose if prior consent is given by the sending authority."

See Statewatch's Observatory on: EU-USA general agreement on data protection and the exchange of personal data

EU: EUROPOL: No to computer-aided profiling and search from Europol! (pdf):

"“The Europol police agency analyses records using ‘data mining’ processes. The European Commission must prove that this does not constitute computer-aided profiling and search,” Cornelia Ernst, Member of the European Parliament, and Andrej Hunko, Member of the German Bundestag, said in a statement in reaction to the European Commission’s reply to their question on this subject."

EU: Council of the European Union: Draft Council Conclusions regarding the establishment of a procedure for the strengthening of political governance in the Schengen cooperation (pdf): "The Mixed Committee, made up of the EU Member States and the Schengen associated
States, should provide the necessary political guidance for the Schengen area." The "Mixed Committee" is comprised of the 27 EU states plus Norway, Switzerland and Iceland, its decisions are not made in public.

EU: European Parliament: Hungary should respect the EU's basic values, say MEPs (Press release, pdf):

"Parliament will draw up a report on whether EU laws and values are respected in Hungary, it decided on Thursday. Further to this report, it will then decide whether to activate EU Treaty Article 7, which is used to investigate a clear risk of a serious breach of EU common values. Its resolution also calls on the European Commission to monitor closely the changes to some of Hungary's laws and how it puts them into practice."

EU: Commission downplays Parliament EU-US data privacy concerns (euobserver, link)

UK: "Convergence" in London: No Borders conference, arrests of activists and collective deportation

The weekly No Borders "Convergence" at Goldsmiths College in London could not be more time-sensitive: a report on unsafe return from the UK to Congo has just been released, and a collective expulsion to Ghana was carried out on 15 February 2012. Some of the No Borders activists who were trying to stop the deportation have been arrested and await trial planned on 8th March 2012.

EU: THE FUTURE FOR DRIVING LICENCES? European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): Merging professional drivers' driving licence with their driver card is not fully in line with data protection principles (Press release, pdf) and Full-text of EDPS Opinion(pdf):

"Giovanni Buttarelli, Assistant EDPS, states: "We seriously doubt about the necessity and the proportionality of such a measure, which has yet to be demonstrated. A consistent approach is needed from the legislator to ensure that the development of any measures concerning drivers’ data is done in full respect of data protection principles". "He further recommends to:

- evaluate the impact of the use of a microchip in the driving licences - ensure that the overall design of the processing is privacy friendly and proportionate to the purposes pursued - specify the data or categories of data to be stored in the microchip, in compliance with the principles of proportionality and data minimisation - provide sufficient guarantees for the effective exercise of data subjects' rights - ensure a strict limitation of access rights in view of the legitimate purposes for which relevant authorities and any other recipients would need to access the data."


November 2011

 EU: REGULATION ON PUBLIC ACCESS TO EU DOCUMENTS: European Parliament: Revised: Report on the proposal for a regulation regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (recast) (23.11.11, pdf). The report was adopted by the Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) by 33 votes in favour, 17 against and 2 abstentions - the rightwing PPE group voted against. It will be considered at a plenary session in December 2011. This replaces the report of: 12 May 2010: Draft EP report(Rapporteur: Michael Cashman MEP)


 EU: DATA PROTECTION: Round Table on Information and Communication Technologies - PART 3 15/11/11 Bureau of European Policy Advisers: Speech of Peter Hustinx, European Data Protection Supervisor, on the revision of the EU: Data Protection Directive (starts 1 min 38 sec in, link)

 EU: Migreurop: A critical Chronology of European migration policies (pdf) produced by Alain Morice (CNRS-Université Paris-Diderot), Migreurop member. This chronology seeks to make it easier to understand European migration and asylum policies through a time-framed comparison of the evolution of the legal framework (columns A1 to A3), the public discourse (B1) and the facts (B2). The table is updated twice a year.

The aim is to picture the way in which the EU policy of closing the borders, apart from the sequence of tragedies that it causes, leads to human rights violations and to absurd situations that are sometimes impossible to manage by the very people who implement them, in an escalation whose effects sometimes appear to escape the grasp of its protagonists, and bargaining among states in which migrants, refugees and displaced people represent a form of exchange currency.

The prospects of this process are the unfair detention, repression and wandering of a growing number of would-be migrants. The chronology suggests that, should this trend continue to prevail in the future, we are heading towards a system enforcing the assignment of compulsory places of residence for third-country nationals, that is, a new version of apartheid on a worldwide scale in which camps will be in charge of keeping at a distance populations that have been rejected on both sides.

Text in French (Link), Spanish (link) and Italian (link)

 GERMANY: UN Committee concerned at failure to investigate rendition and secret detention and the rendition of Khaled El-Masri:Committee against Torture: fifth periodic report of Germany: concluding observations (pdf)

On 25 November, the UN Committee against Torture issued its concluding observations on the compliance of Germany with the international obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Committee expressed concern at the lack of implementation of the recommendations of the 2009 Parliamentary Inquiry on extraordinary renditions and secret detention complicity. The Committee also expressed at the failure to investigate and provide a remedy for the rendition of Khaled El-Masri.

See also: Denmark: Review of US rendition flights over Greenland “toothless (AI, press statement, link) and Finland must further investigate USA rendition flights (AI statement, link)

 EU: Another EU database for migrants: the European Criminal Records Information System on Third-Country Nationals 

With the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) due to come into operation as of April 2012, the European Commission are now developing the latest in a long list of EU-wide information systems and databases - a European Criminal Records System for Third Country Nationals (ECRIS-TCN). This will be a common European index containing the criminal record information of third-country nationals resident in the EU. As the name suggests, the ECRIS-TCN is essentially an addition to the ECRIS (although information is only exchanged via the ECRIS on EU nationals). It also differs in that it will rely upon a centralised index, rather than the connection of decentralised national registers.

 EU: DATA PROTECTION: EU backs down on 'right to be forgotten' online (euobserver, link) and see: Cloud adoption hampered by cow data protection? (euractiv, link). Tony Bunyan, Statewatch Director comments: "The argument that national laws stop the free movement of personal data suggest that this is an EU principle like the freedom of movement. It is a so-called "principle" invented to meet the demands of state agencies and multi-nationals."

The Moroccan and Spanish law enforcement agencies are complicit in the violence against migrants 

- Allegations that they are endangering security and life in the vicinity of Ceuta
- Statement by GADEM [Groupe antiraciste d'accompagnement et de défence des étrangers et migrants] 25/11/2011

 UK: Asylum Aid-UNHCR: Mapping statelessness in the UK (Executive Summary, pdf) and Full-report (pdf)

 Statewatch Analysis: The Arab Spring of “Security made in Germany" (pdf) by Eric Töpfer:

Investigative journalists have revealed a secret mission by the German Federal Police to train border guards in Saudi Arabia. The episode sheds light on the much broader engagement of the German security-industrial complex in arming authoritarian monarchies in the Gulf region.

 German police clear huge sit-in at nuclear protest - German police cleared a sit-in of thousands of protesters attempting to block a shipment of nuclear waste and detained 1,300 people on Sunday, officials said (Daily Telegraph, link) See also:Statewatch Analysis
Policing popular mass protests: The transport of nuclear waste at Goelben, Germany (pdf)

 Statewatch Analysis: Criticism of UK Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures mounts as government retains power to forcibly relocate suspects (pdf) by Max Rowlands:

In another U-turn on civil liberties, the government is introducing emergency legislation that will allow it to impose on terrorist suspects many of the draconian restrictions they had promised to do away with.

 EU-USA: Readout of Secretary Napolitano’s Participation in the US-EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting(Press release, pdf)

 EU-USA PNR DEAL: Commission proposal for a: Council Decision on the signature of the Agreement between the United States of America and the European Union on the use and transfer of Passenger Name Records to the United States Department of Homeland Security (COM 805, pdf). See: Revised EU-US agreement on PNR data still protects only travel companies, not travellers (Identity Project, link)

 EU: Council of the European Union: Qualifications Directive and European Protection Order

- Directive on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted (recast) (pdf). Ready for adoption.

- Position of the Council at first reading with a view to the adoption of a Directive on the European protection order (pdf) Ready for adoption.

- As above Draft Statement of the Council's reasons (pdf)

 EU: FRONTEX: Code of conduct for all persons participating in Frontex activities (pdf). Note Article 20 deals with the carrying of weapons.

 EU-ECJ: Court judgment on Sison case: EU judgment - no compensation for unlawful anti-terrorist sanctions: Full-text of judgment (pdf)

 EU-ECJ: EU law precludes the imposition of an injunction by a national court which requires an internet service provider to install a filtering system with a view to preventing the illegal downloading of files (Press release, pdf) and Full-text of Opinion (pdf)

 EU-ECJ: DATA PROTECTION: Judgment (pdf):

"Article 7(f) of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data must be interpreted as precluding national rules which, in the absence of the data subject’s consent, and in order to allow such processing of that data subject’s personal data as is necessary to pursue a legitimate interest of the data controller or of the third party or parties to whom those data are disclosed, require not only that the fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject be respected, but also that the data should appear in public sources, thereby excluding, in a categorical and generalised way, any processing of data not appearing in such sources."[emphasis added]

 NETHERLANDS: Dutch parliament refuses ACTA secrecy (ACTA Blog, link)

 UK: Drones to patrol the skies above Olympic Stadium (Independent, link). See also: UK to spend half a billion on lethal drones by 2015 (Bureau of Investigative Journalism) and Ten years since first deadly drone strike, industry gathers in London(Bureau of Investigative Journalism)

 France: Criticism of the law on immigration, integration and nationality of 16 July 2011

Cimade, a French migrant support organisation, has produced a critical analysis of the new immigration law entitled "law on immigration, integration and nationality" approved on 16 July 2011, which highlights that its key objectives are "surveillance, detention, expulsion and banning". Its three driving purposes are identified as:

- developing the mechanisms for the detention and surveillance of foreigners
- considerably reducing procedural guarantees to enable the removal of "unwanted" foreigners in contempt for their human rights and freedoms
- banning people from French territory following expulsion, applicable to everyone who is expelled and very difficult to act against.

 France: Racial profiling and anti-poor byelaws: the French Human Rights League successfully challenges an anti-begging byelaw (link) Anti-begging byelaws are increasingly being adopted by French municipalities. Human rights associations have been quick to denounce the resulting stigmatisation of some social classes and minority groups.

 EU: Council of the European Union: Dublin II early warning system, visa lists, European Investigation Order:

- Proposal for a Regulation establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person (recast) - A process for early warning, preparedness and management of asylum crises (pdf)

- Proposal for a Directive on conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals in the framework of an intra-corporate transfer (pdf)

- Outcomes: Draft Regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement(pdf)

- Presidency proposals on above (pdf) Note there are still over 40 Member State reservations.

- Initiative of Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Spain, Austria, Slovenia and Sweden for a Directive regarding the European Investigation Order in criminal matters - Follow-up document of the meeting of the "Working Party on cooperation in criminal matters" on 14 November 2011 (23 pages, pdf).

 EU: European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): EDPS calls for strengthening of proposed Regulation on the Internal Market Information System (Press release, pdf) and Opinion (pdf):

"IMI is an online application that allows national, regional and local authorities in European Union Member States to communicate quickly and easily with their counterparts in other European countries.... The EDPS calls attention to two key challenges: the need to ensure consistency in the legal framework, while respecting diversity, and the need to balance flexibility and legal certainty. ... The Opinion also calls for further strengthening of data subjects´ rights and for
reconsideration of the extension of the currently applicable 6-months retention period unless adequate justifications are provided."

 EU-ECHR ACCESSION: Council of the European Union: Friends of Presidency (FREMP) Accession of the EU to the ECHR: Working Document from the Presidency (DS 1675-11, pdf)