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| Latest Updates |
The ECLN is not responsible for the content of external links |
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ECLN notice - publications/research - added 28 July 2010 |
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AI/Greece: Irregular migrants and asylum-seekers routinely detained in substandard conditions
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The Greek authorities should undertake a comprehensive overhaul of the legislative framework, policies and practices regarding the detention of irregular migrants and asylum-seekers, including in particular the treatment of unaccompanied children. These are the key conclusions in this report which shows that currently, immigration related detention in Greece is used without regard to its necessity or proportionality, and not as a measure of last resort.
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Greece July 2010
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announcement Amnesty,
report (pdf)
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Amnesty International |
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ECLN notice - meetings/conferences - added 28 July 2010 |
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PleinOpenair Brussels
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Two weekends of free culture in the center of Brussels to draw attention to the fact that public space is becoming ever less 'public', 'gated communities' versus undocumented inhabitants, and the technology of control. 1st weekend july 30/31 at the Museum of Natural Science (Rue Vautierstraat 29), second weekend August 07/08 at Dudenpark/Laîné-square
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Brussels July 30-August 8
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Cinema Nova
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Cinema Nova |
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ECLN notice - campaigns/open letters - added 27 July 2010 |
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Ian Tomlinson Family launch fighting fund
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The Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to bring any criminal charges over the death of Ian Tomlinson, who died during the protests against the G20 summit in London on 1 April 2009. The
Tomlinson family launched a 'fighting fund' that will help to make decisions about the direction of the campaign without always having to worry about the financial costs, especially when the emotional ones are tough enough already.
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website family campaign,
Inquest lawyers Group
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Ian Tomlinson Family Campaign |
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ECLN notice - campaigns/open letters - added 27 July 2010 |
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Civil society groups call for end to telecommunications data retention |
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More than 100 organisations from 23 European countries asked EU Commissioners Malmström, Reding and Kroes in a joint letter to "propose the repeal of the EU requirements regarding data retention in favour of a system of expedited preservation and targeted collection of traffic data". Among the signatories are civil liberties, data protection and human rights associations as well as crisis line and emergency call operators, professional associations of journalists, jurists and doctors, trade unions, consumer organisations and industry associations. |
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Letter at Privacy International
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Privacy International |
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ECLN notice - campaigns/open letters - added 27 July 2010 |
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Clandestino Day 2010 |
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Carta magazine promotes the second edition of the Clandestino Day to respond to discrimination against migrants. The issues it highlights include refoulements at sea, racist laws, the point-based residence permit and violation of the right to seek asylum. It seeks to build upon a large demonstration held on 17 October 2009 and the "day without migrants" celebrated on 1 March 2010 to build a popular mobilisation. |
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Clandestino Day 2010,
Carta
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Carta |
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ECLN notice - campaigns/open letters - added 27 July 2010 |
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Solidaridad con Noura |
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Demonstration by the campaign against foreigners' detention centres to protest against the expulsion of Noura, a Moroccan national who was arrested for not having a residence permit and placed in a police station where she claims that she suffered sexual abuse. After 40 days in Zapadores detention centre, she was expelled to Morocco on 12 July, and was thus unable to testify although a criminal investigation into the case was underway. |
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Solidaridad con Noura. Information statement,
Campana por el cierre de los centros de internamiento para extranjeros blog
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Campana por el cierre de los centros de internamiento para extranjeros |
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ECLN notice - demonstrations - added 20 July 2010 |
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Stop Surveillance Mania!" on 11 September 2010 - International Action Day "Freedom not Fear2010"
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A broad movement of campaigners and organizations is calling on everybody to join action against excessive surveillance by governments and businesses. On 11 September 2010, concerned people in many countries will take to the streets, the motto being "Freedom not fear 2010 – Stop Surveillance Mania!".
Civil rights campaigners are calling on everybody to join the demonstration against excessive surveillance by governments and businesses. On Saturday, 11 September 2010, we will take to the streets, under the motto “Freedom not Fear 2010 – Stop Surveillance Mania!” (“Freiheit statt Angst – Stoppt den Überwachungswahn!”). The rally will start at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin at 1 p.m. (1300 CEST = 1100 GMT). It is part of the international “Freedom not Fear” action day, which will see worldwide protests against surveillance on citizens.
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Berlin 20 July 2010
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Freedom Not Fear,
wiki with information
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Freedom not Fear |
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ECLN notice - publications/research - added 20 July 2010 |
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New Book: Big Brother in Europa
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Ralf Jespers describes the tools and institutions that are used to monitor European civilians. Big Brother in Europa describes European institutions like Europol, Eurojust, Frontex , e-border concepts and Galileo, European 'web checks', a European police academy and special methods for detection and gathering intelligence. The book also describes the technical developments, like RFID-chips, camera-surveillance, DNA-kits, spy ware and data banks with algoritmprograms, spy satellites...According to author Ralf Jespers the European Union is developing a dangerous architecture of security to serve the freedom of the market economy. Citizens are seen as potential threats and the war on terror provides the alibi to curb their rights. There is urgent need for a new European Charter to protect fundamental rights. The book is in Dutch, published by EPO.
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Brussels 20 july 2010
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publisher
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Ralf Jespers/EPO |
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ECLN notice - demonstrations - added 13 July 2010 |
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Demonstrations against Libya's treatment and deportation of Eritreans |
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There were nationwide demonstrations on 8 July 2010, following news of the ill-treatment suffered by Eritreans in Libyan detention centres and in particular of a group of 200 of them, some of whom were refouled by Italy in last year's notorious mass refoulements at sea. The news surfaced shortly after UNHCR was made to leave Libya, and the Eritreans were facing expulsion back to their country where they risked inhumane punishment. The incident has been an embarrassment for Italy, whose cooperation with Libya over the past years has had a devastating effect on the human rights of migrants, particularly as regards their possibilities of fleeing persecution and seeking asylum. |
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Rome 8 July 2010
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Account of the demonstration,
Come un uomo sulla terra website,
Photographs of the demonstration by Sara Prestianni
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Come un uomo sulla terra |
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ECLN notice - publications/research - added 13 July 2010 |
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De l'autre cote de la frontiere. Suivi des refoulements. |
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This report is a testimony from Anafe, an association that lends assistance to foreigners at border points, and deals with the problems faced by asylum seekers kept in airport waiting areas, particularly with regards to filing asylum claims and the situation of unaccompanied minors. It covers the period running from 2007 to 2009 and describes Anafe's attempts to monitor what happens to people who are returned to their countries of origin or transit countries after deportation. In spite of its limited ability to do so, its findings are a cause of concern. |
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Paris April 2010
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Anafe homepage,
Anafe statement presenting the report,
De l'autre cote de la frontiere. Suivi des refoulements
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Association nationale d'assistance aux frontieres pour les etrangers (ANAFE) |
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ECLN notice - publications/research - added 13 July 2010 |
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La tortura en el Estado Espanol 2009 |
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This is the sixth report on torture in Spain by the network comprising 45 activist, neighbourhood and civil society organisations. It monitors instances of abuses committed by officers from police and law enforcement agencies, including deaths in custody, and monitors the legal proceedings that they lead to and their outcomes. The report contains detailed descriptions of cases, exhaustive statistics and a breakdown of incidents on the basis of where they happen, who was responsible and what people were on the receiving end of such violence were. |
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Spain June 2010
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Informe sobre la tortura en el Estado Espanol 2009,
Section of the report on Andalucia,
Coordinadora para la prevencion de la tortura website
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Coordinadora para la prevencion de la tortura |
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ECLN notice - campaigns/open letters - added 13 July 2010 |
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Welcome! Indietro non si torna |
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Welcome! indietro non si torna (Welcome! there's no going back), is a campaign against all refoulements and in favour of the right of asylum, whose launch involved demonstrations in ports on the Adriatic coast including Venice, Ancona, Bari and, across the sea in Greece, in Patras and Igoumenitsa on 20 June 2010. |
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Full listing of the campaign's initiatives to date,
Welcome! campaign presentation
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Melting Pot |
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ECLN notice - meetings/conferences - added 10 July 2010 |
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Annual conference. 30 year anniversary Grundrechtekomitee. 'The fight for human rights in the age of uncontrolled capitalist globalisation - its ambivalences, limits and perspectives' |
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The German civil liberties organisation Grundrechtekomitee is organising its annual conference - which coincides with its 30 anniversary - in the name of human rights. The human rights discourse is used to justify a variety of different political positions and demands, for example,, by states to justify supranational politics, but also by critics thereof. The critical question is whether these rights are dependent on states or whether they are inalienable and independent thereof, and can be used to question state politics and societal power relations. This conference will hear a variety of speakers and discussions in working groups, focusing on themes such as social movements, asylum and flight, health, food and social justice.
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Bildungs- und Begegnungszentrum Clara Sahlberg (ver.di), Koblanckstr. 10, 14109, Berlin-Wannsee, Germany 24-26 September 2010
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more information
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Komitee für Grundrechte und Demokratie |
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ECLN notice - publications/research - added 07 July 2010 |
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'One Day we will be Reunited': experiences of refugee family reunion in the UK |
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This report marks the winding down of the Scottish refugee Council’s Family Reunion Service through lack of funding in May 2009, and is designed to “capture the family reunion needs and experience of refugees and the views of professionals working in this area. Sections 4 and 5 set out the international and European context of family reunion and how family reunion currently operates in the UK. A short review of the literature is presented in Section 6, while Section 7 presents the findings from questionnaires sent to professional respondents. Section 8 sets out findings from interviews with refugee respondents who have engaged to different extents with the family reunion process. |
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April 2010
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Report on Website of the Scottish Refugee Council
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Judith Connell, Gareth Mulvey, Joe Brady and Gary Christie. Scottish Refugee Council |
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ECLN notice - publications/research - added 07 July 2010 |
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Rapport de la ligue grecque des droits de l’homme sur les structures de détention des immigrants sans documents de voyage et de séjour, dans les départements frontalières de Rodopi et d’Evros en Grèce |
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This report stems from a visit by a Hellenic League of Human rights delegation to Evros and Rodopi on 25-29 November 2009 which visited a number of detention facilities. Conditions in all of them are described as “below the standards envisaged by law”, with border police detention facilities in Venna (Rodopi) and the border police station of Tyhero (Evros) singled out for their “shameful” conditions for a country that claims to respect basic human rights. The shortcomings highlighted include a lack of light and ventilation, little possibility of walking in the open air due to overcrowding and lack of personnel, the detention of men, women, children and unaccompanied minors in the same cells, inadequate nourishment, a lack of knowledge by detainees of their rights, of translators and of information about asylum procedures, incomplete application of legislation concerning unaccompanied minors, a disrespectful attitude by officers towards detainees, and a lack of coordination between FRONTEX and Greek authorities. It includes detailed reports on their visits to centres, the conditions found therein and the people they interviewed. The filthy conditions, skin disease among many detainees and the presence of rats and cockroaches in the Venna centre are mentioned, with detention conditions deemed reminiscent of “cages from the Middle Ages”. The worst conditions were found in the Tyhero detention facilities, the presence of children in cells in the different centres appeared to be commonplace, and in the Fylakio-Kyprinos detention centre (Evros), detainees reportedly complained about their treatment by the police and the lack of medical care. |
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Thessalonica December 2009
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English summary,
Full report in French
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Hellenic League of Human Rights |
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ECLN notice - publications/research - added 06 July 2010 |
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Voces desde y contra los centros de internamiento de extranjeros (CIE). Para quien quiera oír |
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Three organisations with different backgrounds (anti-racist, medical and migrant support activity from social movements) that have been visiting detainees in Aluche detention centre in southern Madrid over the last few years, have put together this detailed report to document the conditions that exist there. It is divided into sections on judicial safeguards and guarantees during proceedings; detention conditions; the right to family intimacy, and regimes for visits and communication; cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment; the right to health; social care and the experiences of foreign families; the access of NGOs to detention centres, and expulsions, transfers and returns. The report seeks to explain the conditions in the centre through the testimony of 40 people detained there, because: "The situation we discovered behind the centre’s walls made us consider the need to criticise its existence in public and make people aware of the daily life of the people enclosed there through this document. |
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Madrid October 2009
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Voces desde y contra los centros de internamiento de extranjeros (CIE). Para quien quiera oír (Spanish)
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Ferrocarril Clandestino, Médicos del Mundo, SOS Racismo |
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ECLN notice - publications/research - added 05 May 2010 |
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How the extreme Right hijacks direct democracy: 2 briefing papers from the IRR |
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On 29 November 2009, Switzerland became the first country in Europe to vote to curb the religious practices of Muslims when a referendum, banning the construction of minarets on mosques, was backed by a strong majority. ERA Briefing Paper no. 1, 'The Swiss referendum on minarets: background and aftermath', provides a comprehensive documentation of the Swiss referendum. ERA briefing paper no. 2 puts the Swiss vote in context. In 'Direct democracy, racism and the extreme Right', ERA documents forty cases, involving either petitions or citizens' initiative referenda, that have been held to curtail the basic rights of BME communities, asylum seekers, migrant workers, foreign residents and European Muslims. Both papers draw attention to the ways in which extreme-Right and anti-immigrant parties - like the Italian Northern League, the Austrian Freedom Party, the French Front National and the Swiss People's Party - are manipulating particular forms of direct democracy in ways that put representative democracies under threat. |
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11 February 2010
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Download ERA Briefing Paper no.1: 'The Swiss referendum on minarets: background and aftermath',
Download ERA Briefing Paper no.2: 'Direct democracy, racism and the extreme Right',
IRR Homepage
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Institute of Race Relations European Race Audit (ERA) |
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ECLN notice - publications/research - added 05 May 2010 |
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Interception of telecommunications increases by 389 % in 4 years in the Netherlands |
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Statistics compiled by the National International Management Association of Internet Providers (NBIP) show that the Ministry of Justice and secret services have spied on around 1.5 million internet users in 2009 alone with a total of 3350 interception requests for internet or voip connections. The mean duration of a tap is 27 days. The NBIP (Nationale Beheersorganisatie Internet Providers) was set up to carry out interception requests for the authorities after the Netherlands enforced the Data Retention Directive in 2001, which compels service providers to retain their customers' data. |
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Netherlands 3 March 2010
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Webwereld news item (Dutch),
Nationale Beheersorganisatie Internet Providers (NBIP)
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Webwereld.nl |
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ECLN notice - meetings/conferences - added 05 May 2010 |
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‘Ten years on’: A Multi-perspective Evaluation of the Human Rights Act – Salford Human Rights Conference 2010 |
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This conference offers a multi-perspective evaluation of the impact of the Human Rights Act over the last 10 years. It includes both a domestic and international analysis of the effectiveness of the Human Rights Act. Key features: * A multidisciplinary overview of the Act, including legal, philosophical, political, sociological and psychological themes. * Speakers from across the spectrum, including policy-makers, professionals, academics, lay presenters and activists. * Personal testimonies. * A timely event, taking place just after the general election, which presents an ideal opportunity to consider future developments in policy and practice. * An evaluation of a future Bill of Rights. |
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University of Salford – Salford, Greater Manchester, UK. M5 4WT Friday & Saturday 4-5 June 2010
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Programme and Registration
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Salford Law School |
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ECLN notice - campaigns/open letters - added 05 May 2010 |
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German civil society calls for a definitive end to telecommunications data retention |
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On 19 April 2010, more than 40 organisations called on the German Federal Minister of Justice to "push for the abolition of EU telecommunications data retention requirements", which compel phone and Internet companies to collect data about their customers' communications. According to the open letter, data retention puts confidential activity and contacts, for example to journalists, crisis lines and business partners, at risk of disclosure by way of data leaks and abuses. It is expensive and damages the freedom of communication. Among the 48 signatories of the letter are German civil liberties, data protection and human rights associations as well as crisis line and emergency call operators, professional associations of journalists, jurists and doctors and major trade unions. On 2 March 2010 the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled the German data retention provisions unconstitutional, following complaints from over 34,000 German citizens. However a 2006 EU directive compels member states to implement a data retention regime. The European Commission is currently reviewing this directive. |
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Open Letter
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German Working Group on Data Retention |
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