Borderline-Europe publishes report on the implementation of the Returns Directive in Italy, Cyprus and Spain

Date: 
Sunday, February 9, 2014

The report reveals serious shortcomings concerning the implementation of the EU Returns Directive in Spain, Italy and Cyprus and highlights the conditions under which migrants are detained in these countries. It concludes that the use of detention in these three countries fails to both facilitate the effectiveness of the deportation procedure, and protect the human rights of migrants. For example, the report notes that in Italy less than half of the total number of detainees pending removal are actually deported. Spain is criticised for the lack of available data. The common practice in Cyprus is to re-arrest migrants by the end of the maximum 18 month period.

The report emphasises that 18 months of detention as allowed by the Returns Directive is comparable with the kind of punishment for serious criminal offences in many EU countries. In Cyprus, undocumented migrants awaiting deportation are detained together with people serving a criminal sentence, which contravenes the Returns Directive. The report also finds that the detention of undocumented children in Cyprus is a routine and automatic measure.

Read the full report co-ordinated by Borderline-Europe.

Keywords: 
Child Specific Considerations
Detention
Return
Tags: 
NGO
Italy
Spain
Cyprus