Der grosse Libyen-Bericht zur Situation der MigrantInnen und Flüchtlinge und zur Italien- / EU-Kooperation mit Libyen wird veröffentlicht:

Claude Moraes (S&D) and Amnesty International invite you to the lunch event

S.O.S. Europe
The Human Cost of Defending Our Borders

Screening of the award-winning documentary
Closed Sea
and panel discussion

Thursday, 18 October 2012, 12.00 – 14.00
European Parliament, ASP A3H-1
Sandwich lunch will be provided

PANELISTS:
Claude Moraes, hosting MEP, S&D
Stefano Liberti, director of ‚Closed Sea‘
Abu Kurke, Ethiopian refugee, push-back witness and boat survivor
Diana Eltahawy, Libya researcher Amnesty International

Practical information:
Please RSVP to Anna Maria Leichtfried at asylumigration@amnesty.eu confirming your attendance. If you require accreditation to the European Parliament, kindly provide your name, date of birth, nationality and type and number of your ID at the latest by Thursday 11 October. At the day of the event, please be present at the Altiero Spinelli entrance of the European Parliament between 11.00 and 11.45.

Background to the event:
In an attempt to prevent „irregular migration“ from Africa to Europe, some European countries implement border control measures outside their own territory, at sea and on land. States have reached agreements to intercept boats at sea and return people to countries in West and North Africa, in circumstances that expose people to serious human rights violations. As there is an almost complete lack of transparency surrounding many European countries‘ border management practices and agreements with North and West African states, these violations go unchecked.

The award-winning documentary „Closed Sea“ gives a unique insight into the consequences of migration control policies for real people. It aims to tell the story of a group of African refugees who were pushed back to Libya by the Italian authorities. In the documentary, the witnesses of these push-back policies talk about what happened to them on the boats and after they were returned to Libya. The makers met their witnesses in Shousha refugee camp, at the border between Libya and Tunisia, and in two reception camps for asylum seekers (C.A.R.A.) in southern Italy. The interviews constitute the main part of the documentary, along with a session of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, in the landmark case Hirsi Jamaa and others v. Italy. In the final judgment delivered in February 2012, the European Court of Human Rights found that a push-back operation conducted by Italy in May 2009 violated the European Convention on Human Rights.

Amnesty International organises this event as part of its campaign “When you don’t exist”, which aims to improve the protection of human rights for migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in Europe and its borders. Under the slogan “S.O.S. Europe”, Amnesty’s campaign seeks to shine a light on human rights violations at the borders of Europe and aims to hold those who are responsible to account. Find out more about the campaign at www.whenyoudontexist.eu.
____________________________________

Anna Maria Leichtfried

Assistant Asylum and Migration
Amnesty International European Institutions Office,
Rue de Trèves, 35 Boite 3 B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
phone (direct line) 32-2-5482774, (switchboard) 32-2-5021499, fax 32-2-5025686
Email: asylumigration@amnesty.eu

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