The signatory organizations are bringing the matter to national and international bodies to stop violations of rights at the French-Italian border.
Despite numerous alerts from our associations, violations of the fundamental rights of migrants continue at the French-Italian border, from Menton to Briançon. To end these unacceptable breaches, our associations are appealing today to the public prosecutor in Nice as well as the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants.
Illegal Deprivation of Liberty
At the end of June 2019, thirteen reports were filed with the Nice prosecutor by Anafé, Oxfam, WeWorld, and Iris. These reports concern the illegal deprivation of liberty that individuals face before being expelled to Italy. Indeed, every evening, people are locked up all night long in Algeco units adjacent to the border police station in Menton. These Algeco units are 15 square meters containers lacking furniture for lying down, where dozens of people can be held together, deprived of food, for periods far exceeding the “reasonable” four hours of deprivation of liberty admitted by the Council of State.
Minors are regularly detained with adults, and women are not always separated from men.
Testimonies have been brought to the attention of the Nice public prosecutor, who announced the opening of an investigation at the end of 2018 following a report submitted on November 20, 2018, by associations and elected officials about the practices of the French police against migrants, particularly isolated minors, during expulsions to Italy.
Arbitrary detention is one of the violations of fundamental human rights for which our associations, including Amnesty International France, Anafé, La Cimade, Doctors of the World, Doctors Without Borders, Secours Catholique Caritas France, along with many organizations working at the French-Italian border, are calling upon the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights.
In addition to this deprivation of liberty, there are multiple other rights violations, such as the impossibility of seeking asylum, whether at the Montgenèvre or Menton border police posts. Our associations also denounce the lack of protection for isolated minors and the non-compliance with legal safeguards during expulsions to Italy.
Our organizations have invited the United Nations special rapporteur, Felipe González Morales, to come to the field to witness these severe human rights violations committed by the French authorities against exiled persons, and thus make appropriate recommendations which, we hope, will finally enforce rights at the French-Italian border.
This referral has also been sent to the defender of rights, the general controller of places of deprivation of liberty, and the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights.
