Home page: www.statewatch.org/
What’s News: www.statewatch.org/whatsnew.htm
News Online: www.statewatch.org/news/
Observatories: www.statewatch.org/observatories.htm
1. EP study: A Review of the increased use of CCTV and video-surveillance
2. EU: FRA: European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey
3. VIDEO: Convention on Modern Liberty: database state
4. EU: SANCTIONS: Informal virtual discussion forum for EU officials
5. European Commission: international law instruments – illegal immigration by sea
6. SPAIN: BERRIA 03.18.09: Martin Scheinin: Interview UN Rapporteur
7. UK: Electronic Communications: The Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009
8. Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission report: Our Hidden Borders
9. EU: Guidelines exchange of information and intelligence between LEAs
10. EU: Terrorism Working Party and Passenger Name Records (PNR)
11. EU: Council Decision on extradition EU-USA and mutual legal assistance
12. CIA-USA: CIA torture exemption ‘illegal’
13. UK: The Home Office has launched a consultation on surveillance powers
14. EU: Access to documents: Latest Council draft positions
15. EU-PNR (Passenger Name Record): Council draft position
16. EU: EP study: A Comparison of Border Security Systems in the EU and the USA
17. EU: Europol Terrorism Report for 2009: EU terrorism situation and trend report
18. UK: Police order tourists to delete photographs of bus station
19. UK: Ex-defence chief says attack on liberties is bowing to terrorists
20. SOUTHALL, UK: 23 April 1979: Remembering Blair Peach: 30 years on
21. EU: Biometric passport Regulation adopted
22. UK: Childrens Commissioner: Detention of children ‘must stop’
1. EU: European Parliament study: A Review of the increased use of CCTV and video-surveillance for crime prevention purposes in Europe by Clive Norris:
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/ep-study
-norris-cctv-video-surveillance.pdf
2. EU: Fundamental Rights Agency: EU-MIDIS: European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (link):
fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/eu-midis/index_en.htm
and EU-MIDIS at a glance Introduction to the FRA’s EU-wide discrimination survey (pdf):
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/eu-fra-midis-glance.pdf
3. VIDEO: Convention on Modern Liberty 28.2.2009 London: How dangerous is the database state and “transformational government to our civil liberties? (link): With Guy Herbert, General Secretary, NO2ID, Tony Bunyan (Statewatch), Sam Talbot Rice (Centre for Policy Studies), Simon Davies (Privacy International) and Christina Zaba (Freelance Industrial Council of the National Union of Journalists):
blip.tv/file/1883559
4. EU: SANCTIONS: Presidency proposal to set up an informal virtual discussion forum for EU officials dealing with specific implementation, application and enforcement of restrictive measures:
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/eu
-sanctions-forum-5657-rev2-09.pdf
and Monitoring and evaluation of restrictive measures (sanctions) in the framework of CFSP – Establishment of a ‘Sanctions’ formation of the Foreign Relations Counsellors Working party (RELEX/Sanctions):
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/eu-sanctions-mandate.pdf
5. European Commission: Commission Staff Working Document: Study on the international law instruments in relation to illegal immigration by sea (2007):
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/eu-com
m-ill-imm-by-sea-sec-2007-691.pdf
6. SPAIN: BERRIA 03.18.09: Martin Scheinin: Interview UN Rapporteur: As Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, he has analysed Spanish legislation and has provided various critiques to the Spanish executive branch to improve the legal safeguards:
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/martin-scheinin-interview.pdf
7. UK: Electronic Communications: The Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009 (Statutory Instrument: 2009 No. 859):
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/uk-si-dat-ret.pdf
This covers all communications and extends the data to be collected and stored to cover internet usage namely: “The IP address, whether dynamic or static, allocated by the internet access service provider to the communication, and The user ID of the subscriber or registered user of the internet access service.” Unlike data collected for phone calls that gathered on internet usage effectively reveals the content of the communication (the pages looked at and documents downloaded).
8. Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission report: Our Hidden Borders: The UK Border Agency’s Powers of Detention:
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/Our%20Hidd
en%20Borders%20April%202009.pdf
“The Human Rights Commission will today (20 April 2009) at its annual conference launch a new investigation report on the work of the UK Border Agency in Northern Ireland. The report entitled ‘Our Hidden Borders: The UK Border Agency’s Powers of Detention’ examines the extent to which human rights are protected in the decision to detain individuals who are not nationals of the UK and how those detained can have their rights better protected. The findings of the report highlight a range of human rights concerns and as a result the Commission has made a number of recommendations to government that will make the experience of those coming into contact with UKBA officials compliant with international human rights standards.”
9. EU: Guidelines on the implementation of Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA of 18 December 2006 on simplifying the exchange of information and intelligence between law enforcement authorities of the Member States of the European Union:
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/eu-council
-swedish-iInitiative-guidelines-8083-09.pdf
10. EU: Contribution of the Terrorism Working Party to the discussion on European system of collecting and analyzing Passenger Name Records (PNR):
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/eu-
pnr-scheme-terrorism-8667-09.pdf
See Statewatch Observatory on EU surveillance of passengers (PNR)
www.statewatch.org/eu-pnrobservatory.htm
11. EU: Council Decision on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the Agreement on extradition between the European Union and the United States of America and the Agreement on mutual legal assistance between the European Union and the United States of America:
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/eu-usa-
mla-extradition-agreements-7746-09.pdf
12. CIA-USA: CIA torture exemption ‘illegal’ (BBC News, link):
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8006597.stm
“US President Barack Obama’s decision not to prosecute CIA agents who used torture tactics is a violation of international law, a UN expert says. The UN special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, says the US is bound under the UN Convention against Torture to prosecute those who engage in it.”
Abuse of Power: The Bush Administration’s Secret Legal Memos (link to ACLU):
www.aclu.org/safefree/general/olc_memos.html
Obama exempts CIA ‘torture’ staff (BBC News, link):
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8003537.stm
and ACLU statement and Call on the Justice Department to Appoint a Special Prosecutor (ACLU, link)
https://secure.aclu.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=
Nat_Petition_SpecialProsecutor_SEM&s_s=0416_GO
13. UK: The Home Office has launched a consultation on surveillance powers used under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000: “Tell us what you think about covert investigation” a lengthy document has been put out: RIPA 2000: Consolidating Orders and Codes of Practice: A Public Consultation Paper (124 pages):
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/uk-ho-c
onsult-ripa-2000-use%20of%20powers.pdf
14. EU: Access to documents: Latest Council draft positions: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (recast) (dated 16.4.09):
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/eu-access-reg-council-8751-09.pdf
and Proposals by Finland, Lithuania and Slovenia for deletion of Articles 2.5 and 2.6 and – proposal by Denmark, Estonia and the Netherlands for amendment to Article 3(a) (dated 17.4.09):
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/eu-access-reg-council-8778-09.pdf
It should be noted that in the former document the Council is only considering what it calls “Technically admissible European Parliament amendments”, thus leaving out most of them from its discussions.
For full background and documentation see: Observatory: the Regulation on access to EU documents: 2008-2009:
www.statewatch.org/foi/observatory-access-reg-2008-2009.htm
15. EU-PNR (Passenger Name Record): Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on the use of Passenger Name Record (PNR) for law enforcement purposes (17.4.09, EU doc no: 5618/1/09): www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/eu-pnr-council-5618-rev1-09.pdf
For full background documentation see: Observatory: EU surveillance of passengers (PNR)
www.statewatch.org/eu-pnrobservatory.htm
16. EU: Study for the European Parliament: A Comparison of Border Security Systems in the EU and the USA:
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/mar/eu-usa-borders.pdf
17. EU: Europol Terrorism Report for 2009: EU terrorism situation and trend report:
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/europol-te-sat-2009.pdf
Of the 515 attacks carried out or only planned, 397 were by separatist movements, of which 97 percent were in Spain and France. The press release says: “The overall number of terrorist attacks in the EU in 2008 decreased by 23 percent in comparison with 2007. For 2008, seven member states reported a total of 515 failed, foiled or successfully perpetrated terrorist attacks. Thirteen member states arrested a total of 1,009 individuals for terrorism.”
18. UK: Police order tourists to delete photographs of bus station (Guardian, link)
www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/apr/17/police
-tourist-photos-walthamstow/print
19. UK: Ex-defence chief says attack on liberties is bowing to terrorists (Guardian, link):
www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/24/civil
-liberties-surveillance-terrorism/print
and link to Debate/Hansard:
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809
/ldhansrd/text/90423-0007.htm#09042350000688
Lord Craig of Radley, a former marshal of the Royal Air Force, in a House of Lords debate:
“Pets were already being routinely fitted with electronic chips detailing their owners addresses. The EU wants all sheep to be similarly tagged. Unacceptable for humans today, but after another decade or more – I wonder? If all were to be chipped at birth, this information could be used for a whole variety of applications favoured by the state such as national identity cards.”
20. SOUTHALL, UK: 23 April 1979: Remembering Blair Peach: 30 years on (IRR link): “Blair Peach, killed by a member of the Special Patrol Group in Southall during a demonstration against the National Front (NF) on 23 April 1979" www.irr.org.uk/2009/april/bw000024.html
The political legacy of Blair Peach (IIR, link): “From the death of Blair Peach on 23 April 1979 emerged a series of political struggles, which must never be forgotten.”:
www.irr.org.uk/2009/april/ha000025.html
21. EU: Biometric passport Regulation adopted: Regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States:
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/eu
-passports-biometrics-regulation.pdf
and Council press release:
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/eu-passports
-biometrics-regulation-coun-prel.pdf
The Council expresses it disagreement with the age at which children are to be fingerprinted – it wanted 6 years old and above, the European Parliament insisted on 12 years and above. Moreover, the Council continues to insist that this is only a “technical” question not a moral and political one:
“On a provisional basis children under the age of 12 years will be exempt from the requirement to give fingerprints. The Commission will submit a report no later than three years, on the reliability and technical feasibility of using the fingerprints of children under the age of 12.”
22. UK: Childrens Commissioner: Detention of children ‘must stop’ (BBC News. link): news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8019667.stm
and the full report: The Arrest and detention of children subject to immigration control: A report following the Children’s Commissioner for England’s visit to Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre:
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/apr/uk-
children
-comm-detention-centres.pdf