Migrant detention in Europe and beyond: What perspectives?

FRIDAY 6 DECEMBER 2013
From 9am to 1.30pm

International Meeting
Organised by Migreurop and the Observatoire de l’Enfermement des Etrangers

CISP Maurice Ravel
6 avenue Maurice Ravel
75012 PARIS

Underground station: Porte Dorée (line 8) or Porte de Vincennes (line 1)

For the last ten years, the number of migrant detention centres within the European Union (EU) and at its (southern and eastern) borders has been increasing. The detention of those considered "undesirable" has become a prime tool for the "management" of immigration and asylum. On the territory of the EU only, every year, nearly 600,000 migrants are deprived not only of their freedom but also of accessing legal advice and healthcare and of their right to live with their family... These human rights violations remain largely hidden: everything is done in order to keep these places and their detainees away from the public eye so as to avoid any criticism of these devices. The "Open Access Now" Campaign, launched in 2011 by the networks Migreurop and European Alternatives, continues to advocate for unconditional access of civil society and journalists to these places.

In this context,Migreurop in partnership with the Observatoire de l’Enfermement des Etrangers (France) invites you to an international meeting on "Migrant detention in Europe and Beyond: What perspectives?", which will be held on December 6th. The meeting will look at various emerging issues related to migrant detention in certain European and Mediterranean countries and will critically assess civil society mobilisations in this field, in order to encourage further and stronger links between them.

The opacity surrounding detention centres and the difficulties in accessing information about these devices for associations, researchers, relatives of prisoners and citizens in general, are hindering possible contacts with detainees as well as the implementation of support actions and advocacy, claim-making and awareness-raising initiatives on this topic.

From this observation, the network Migreurop came up with the idea of establishing a database and of creating a "Dynamic map of migrant detention" in order to promote access to information regarding administrative detention and its impact on the lives and rights of migrants for the greatest number of people.

The meeting of 6 December 2013 will be an opportunity to launch this ambitious and participatory project: the beta version of the web site closethecamps.org will be presented in the morning.

For more information:
oaconference6dec@gmail.com – 0033 (0)1 53278781

Find attached the invitation & program of the conference

Photo: Sara Prestianni http://www.flickr.com/photos/saraprestianni/