
In Europe, JRS is chiefly concerned about immigration detention and
forcibly displaced people who face destitution. With national policies
throughout the region prescribing the detention of undocumented
arrivals, stringent asylum laws and practices, and a hostile reception
to asylum seekers as likely as not, JRS offices in Europe have their
work cut out for them. There are 14 national offices as well as contact
persons in another seven countries.
Although JRS Europe was
officially established as a region only in 1994, Jesuits had been
reaching out to refugees across the continent long before that. One of
the very first projects set up by JRS, in 1981, was Centro Astalli in
Rome. The first Jesuit charged with the international coordination of
JRS, Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ, recalls: "We recognised a severe
refugee problem with Eritrean and Somali refugees right on our own
doorstep in Rome. So we set up Centro Astalli to provide food and
shelter, in the basement of the same building where St Ignatius and his
companions had helped the victims on the famine in 1538." Centro Astalli
continues its work today, serving hundreds of refugees.
Apart
from offering support in the community, JRS teams started to work in
immigration detention from early on. Today, JRS teams in Belgium,
Germany, Ireland, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Romania, the United
Kingdom, and in the western Balkans regularly visit detention centres
to offer psychosocial, pastoral and legal support. In most of these
places, and in France and Italy, services are also provided in the
community, including food, lodging, social services, healthcare, legal
aid, language and computer courses and help to find work.
Externalisation
is another pressing concern. In 2008, JRS expanded to accompany asylum
seekers who are stuck on the external borders of the EU, unable to reach
Europe. Projects were set up in Morocco and Ukraine: a kindergarten and
safe place for women in Casablanca and safe accommodation and legal
counselling in Lviv, western Ukraine.
In Brussels, the JRS Europe
office is active in advocacy at EU level, monitoring and analysing laws
on asylum and migration, coordinating regional research, and taking
every opportunity to connect refugees’ experiences to policymaking.
As part of the Advocacy Network for Destitute Forced Migrants (ANDES), in 2010, JRS published a report,
Living in Limbo,
on forced migrant destitution in 12 EU countries plus Ukraine. The
research reveals that destitution is a European-wide problem often
caused by state policies that aim to exclude large categories of
migrants from society.
The year 2010 was also marked with the
completion of research on vulnerability in detention. The conclusion is
that detention is a very negative measure that increases everyone’s
susceptibility to further harm, not only persons with officially
recognised vulnerabilities but otherwise healthy persons as well.
Europe
Philip Amaral
europe.advocacy@jrs.net
+32 2 250 3223
http://www.jrseurope.org
JRS Europe is one of 10 geographic regions of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), an international Catholic organization sponsored by the Society of Jesus. The regional office serves refugee and other displaced persons in more than 14 countries in Europe. Services include: offering support to asylum seekers in detention; giving legal advice to asylum seekers and irregular migrants; counselling to those traumatised by persecution and flight; serving as chaplains in open reception or accommodation centres, as well as, in closed facilities or premises (detention); and providing food and shelter to destitute migrants.
Europe: put human rights protection into border controls
Brussels, 11 July 2012 – In a letter sent to the Civil Liberties committee of the European Parliament, a group of human rights NGOs expressed concerns that the planned establishment of a European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) fails to provide safeguards for asylum seekers seeking protection in the continent.
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Europe: Court judgment major step forward in refugee protection
Brussels, 28 February 2012 – The judgment by the European Court of Human Rights will go a long way towards strengthening the protection of persons fleeing persecution and other human rights violations, according to a statement from JRS Europe.
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Europe: Human Rights Court strengthens refugee rights
(Brussels) February 24, 2012 — The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday unanimously held that several human rights of the migrants forcibly returned to the countries of persecution had been violated, including the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment and the right to judicial remedies.
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Europe: EU states need not detain migrants
(Brussels) December 22, 2011 — Detaining migrants is unnecessary because more humane non-custodial alternatives exist, according to the latest Jesuit Refugee Service report, From Deprivation to Liberty. JRS Europe launched their new report the European Union Parliament, at an event which included members of the parliament and representatives from the Belgian Migration Office and NGOs.
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International: JRS report highlights systematic policy hindering refugee arrivals
Rome, Brussels, 7 December 2011 – In its latest report, Safe and Secure: How do Refugees Experience Europe's Borders?, JRS finds ample evidence that European governments actively hinder refugee arrivals. JRS field offices confirm these deplorable practices are not limited to Europe; they are rapidly becoming the norm throughout Asia and Africa.
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Europe: governments failed to protect forced migrants, say human rights groups
Brussels, 15 September 2011 – The Jesuit Refugee Service has urged EU states to prioritise the protection of human rights and life over border security, in response to findings of the latest Amnesty International report, The Battle for Libya: Killings, Disappearances and Torture.
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Europe: quality of students projects on refugees exceptional
Brussels, 17 July 2011 – The work of this year's winners of the Jesuit Refugee Service Pedro Arrupe Award, raising awareness of refugee issues, were of exceptional high quality, according to former Belgian prime minister, Jean-Luc Dehaene MEP.
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Italy: detention to be used as last resort, court rules
Brussels, 28 April 2011 – The Jesuit Refugee Service has welcomed the latest decision by the European Court of Justice against the security measures introduced by the Italian authorities allowing for the imprisonment of persons solely on the basis of their undocumented status.
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Europe: governments must end discrimination against migrants, JRS says
Brussels, 30 March 2011 – The rights of all migrants must be protected, regardless of their legal status. This was the central message expressed by participants at a JRS conference held yesterday in Brussels on the destitution of migrants in Europe.
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Europe: states violate the basic rights of migrants
Brussels, 28 March 2011 – Throughout Europe thousands of migrants are deprived access to education, healthcare, housing and social welfare services, and employment opportunities. Tomorrow morning, JRS will present first-hand evidence of how government policies directly contribute to the destitution of migrants on the continent.
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Italy: rights of migrants arriving from North Africa must be protected
Brussels, Rome, 24 February 2011 – Following the upheaval in Tunisia which has prompted thousands of migrants across the region to flee, the Jesuit Refugee Service has urged the European Union and its member states to respect the rights of those arriving on its shores.
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Europe: conference on destitute migrants
Brussels, 11 February 2011 – Throughout Europe, thousands of forced migrants are deprived of their basic needs and denied their fundamental rights.
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Europe: Court ruling prevents transfer of asylum seekers to unsafe states
Brussels, 21 January 2011 – The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Belgium and Greece have each violated the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR).
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Europe: EU border policies lead to collapse of over-worked asylum systems
Rome, 14 January 2011 – Greece has announced plans to build a wall along the border with Turkey to stop unwanted immigration.
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