More than 13800 Deaths - the Fatal Realities of 'Fortress Europe'

INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE DAY - 20 JUNE 2010

13.824 DEATHS: Blood on European Hands

- Since 1993 at least 13.824 migrant deaths have occurred as a result of European immigration policy

- 266 drowned trying to enter Fortress Europe only in the last year

- Each case has been documented by UNITED in the updated "List of Deaths"

- The List includes several deaths in European detention facilities and by deportation procedures and due to the externalisation of Fortress Europe

- Italy-Libya agreement is an open violation of legal obligations under the Geneva Convention

- Human Rights Watch report calls on European member states to refuse to participate in Frontex operations that send migrants to abuse in Libya

20 June marks International Refugee Day an occasion when refugees, migrants and the contribution they have made to our communities are celebrated, but also when their plight and the injustices they face must be brought to the public’s attention.

UNITED for Intercultural Action, the European network of 560 organisations working against racism, fascism, nationalism and in support of refugees and migrants marks this day by coordinating the International Refugee Day campaign. Organisations take part all across the continent by promoting refugee rights, highlighting the role of our societies in protecting those who flee from war, persecution and poverty and raising awareness about the serious flaws in our asylum and immigration systems that routinely threaten their individual human dignity. These rights are laid out in the 1951 Geneva Convention; they are not simply a set of values and principles we should try to uphold, but constitute international law. Each time they are broken, they are therefore a direct violation of the protocols to which each participating country is bound.

13.824 Migrant Deaths Documented by UNITED

The "List of Deaths" is a document that UNITED has been producing since 1993 as part of its ongoing campaign "Fatal Realities of Fortress Europe". It includes all reported deaths that have occurred as a consequence of European immigration policy, due to clandestine journeys to Europe, border militarisation, detention conditions, deportation procedures and the unimaginable physical and psychological suffering inflicted by ineffective and thoroughly unworkable asylum policies. This year the list features 13.824 cases; the figures are not getting smaller, the stories do not get less harrowing.

It is impossible to know the real death count, experts estimate it is likely to be three times higher than those documented. The "List of Deaths" is compiled using news sources, reports, testimonies, artwork and documents produced by NGOs, research institutes, journalists, governmental sources, artists and film-makers among others.

These 13.824 are not only statistics, each one is a human life with its own personal history, background, reasons for fear and hopes for the future. The EU failed to protect each one.

The bodies of Mohamed Abagui and Jonathan Sizelina were found in a detention centre in Barcelona in May 2010 within the space of one week; in the same month, the death of a 40 year old Kenyan man in a UK detention centre occurred when he was denied medical treatment; whilst carrying out a deportation order at Zurich airport in March 2010, police forcibly restrained Joseph Ndukaku Chiakwa, who died as a direct result of their brutality.

In May 2010, the body of 20 year old Abdoulaye was found hidden under a lorry in Malaga, he had travelled from Ceuta, where he had applied for asylum. In spite of having permission to travel freely across Spanish territory, guards misinterpreted recent changes to asylum procedures and prevented him. If the authorities themselves are unable to understand the correct procedures, how can migrants be expected to?

Then there are those who never even reached European soil, countless lives are lost at sea; 23 died near the Comoros Islands in November 2009; whilst travelling from Turkey to Greece, 22 drowned in December of the same year and then 19 in January 2010; 11 migrants died on the way from Algeria to Spain when their boat capsized in April 2010.

European borders have become increasingly complex territories. The Italy-Libya pushback operations, arising from an agreement between Berlusconi and Ghaddafi signed in 2005 illustrates the externalisation of EU political borders.

As Libya has not ratified the Geneva Convention, forcing migrants to places where their lives and freedom are threatened is an open violation of Italy’s legal obligation. Libya’s mistreatment of migrants and disregard for human rights has been widely reported; earlier this month, 20 migrants from Chad, Nigeria and Egypt among others were executed for alleged criminal offences without fair trial, police killed 12 in a Benghazi detention centre in August and countless other have died from thirst after being dumped in the desert around Libyan borders. Little is known of these abuses and as the Libyan government ordered the UNHCR office in Tripoli to shut down only last week, it will be increasingly difficult to monitor and report on the mistreatment of migrants and asylum seekers.

By externalising deportation, Europe cannot guarantee that the rights in the Geneva Convention are respected; without even being screened they are denied the fundamental right to seek protection and apply for refugee status. Human Rights Watch say that EU member states must demand that Italy complies with its legal obligations by ending these operations to Libya and must also stop cooperation with Frontex, the border control agency contracted by the EU, who are facilitating these human rights abuses.

The UNITED "List of Deaths" includes many more cases than these, and is a powerful tool to lobby and raise awareness of the issues that refugees face all across Europe. The document is used for campaign activities, creative projects, political action and as a source for research.

Background Information

• :: CAMPAIGN INFORMATION for 20th of June - International Refugee Day
  
• :: List of Activities by country
  
• :: The Fatal Realities of "Fortress Europe" - 13824 Deaths (full report)

UNITED List of Deaths

Death by Policy. The Fatal Realities of "Fortress Europe" - 13824 Deaths Since 1993 UNITED has been monitoring the deadly results of the building of 'Fortress Europe' by making a list of the refugees and migrants, who have died in their attempt of entering the 'Fortress' or as a result of Europe's immigration policies.
More than 13824 deaths have been documented up to now.
If the death of over 13824 people does not wake up Europe's conscience, what will?
:: List of 13824 documented refugee deaths through 'Fortress Europe' (pdf 523 KB)

For more information please contact:
UNITED for Intercultural Action
phone +31-20-6834778
fax +31-20-6834582
20june (at) unitedagainstracism.org
www.unitedagainstracism.org

Source UNITED media release 18/06/10, INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE DAY - 20 JUNE 2010, http://www.unitedagainstracism.org/pages/MReleaseRFC_10.htm