23 Oct AGAINST “HOT REFOULEMENTS”/SPAIN
Since four yours ago, the CONFER (Conference of Religious) of Spain, together with other ecclesiastical bodies such as Caritas, SJM and the Bishop’s Sub-commission on Migration formed the Red Migrantes con Derechos (Network: Migrants with Rights), a network of Church organizations that work with migrants and refugees.
This network has focused its advocacy on the problem of the immediate refoulement – “hot” refoulements.
For several years the Network carried out the work of denunciation and defense in the face of the violation of rights on the Border; as well as, with other Church entities, accompanying the persons who are refouled “massively in group”
Foreigners who enter Spain through the barrier of Ceuta and Melilla do not gain access through a border post, and the Immigration Law states that, in these cases a disciplinary proceeding must be opened, and it is handled through an administrative procedure of refoulement. In this procedure, some guarantees of Protection of Human Rights must be complied with, but they are not.
* The persons are not identified, therefore, we do not know if they are minors or asylum seekers
* They do not have access to a lawyer nor to appeal that decision.
*There is no translator, then: How can we know their personal situation, its origin and the reason for which they came?
* The persons are defenseless. Formerly there used to be people and organizations that documented what happened. Now, this is punished by a harsh fine. WE NEVER DIRECTLY FIND OUT WHAT IS HAPPENING.
