17 February 2015 — http://www.statewatch.org/ • e-mail: office@statewatch.org
NEWS
http://www.statewatch.org/news/
1. NETHERLANDS: DATA RETENTION: Dutch DPA post-ECJ data retention Bill: “disproportionate infringement of private life”
2. EU: “FORCED RETURNS”: Frontex stats report: 74,262 “forced returns” in last year
3. EU: CJEU: Advocate General (AG): Opinion: person charged with criminal offence can be removed
4. CoE: Survey of European prisons
5. EU: Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA): Criminalisation of migrants in an irregular situation
6. EU: IRR report: High price paid by asylum seekers on reaching Europe’s affluent nations
7. GREECE: AI and Greek Council for Refugees: Ending indefinite detention
8. A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE: emails, documents and photos at risk
9. European Parliament: Study: Cross-border parental child abduction in the EU
10. MACEDONIA: Mass surveillance endangers freedom of expression
11. Statewatch Analysis: Bringing the Panopticon Home: UK joins the SIS
12. EU: MEPs break deadlock on airline passenger bill
13. EU: Council of the European Union: DP Regulation: One-stop-shop
14. EU: Council of the European Union: Law enforcement personal data exchange Directive
15. EU: Council of the European Union: Judicial response to terrorism
16. UK: INQUEST: Deaths in Mental Health Detention
17. EU: European Commission: State of Play: Readmission and “facilitation”
18. European Parliament: Terrorist Finance Tracking Program:: Legal Service Opinion
19. EU’s Intelligence Centre (INTCEN): Overseas embassies to have new intelligence “security attaches”
20. Joint Call: No to wall of shame in Calais!
21. EU: COUNTER-TERRORISM: Council: Informal meeting of Heads of State
22. UK: Government plans to give security and intelligence agencies direct access to computers
23. UK: Policing and mental health
24. EU: Council of the European Union: LIMITE documents: Overstayers in the EU
25. EU: EUROJUST: View on foreign fighters
26. UK: Police need judge’s permission to access journalists phone and email records
27. New research resources available on undercover policing
28. UK: Police ask for names of hose attending university debate on fracking
29. UK: House of Commons Justice Committee: Joint Enterprise report
30. EU: Council: LIMITE documents: Dublin III & children, Handbook on THB and VIS extension countries
31. EU: European Commission: Detailed: Annexes: Schengen Border Code
32. UK: POLICE EXPLOIT LAW TO COLLECT 18 MILLION FACIAL IMAGES
33. EU: SYSTEMATIC SCHENGEN CHECKS & RISK PROFILING
34. /European Parliament: STOA Study: Ten technologies that could change our lives
35. EU: Statewatch Analysis: Is readmission linked to development?
36. EU: Informal Justice and Home Affairs Ministers meeting in Riga, Latvia 29-30 January
37. Mediterranean: Spain, France, Italy and Portugal:”C4″ security conference
EU-UK-GCHQ-USA-NSA SURVEILLANCE
http://www.statewatch.org/eu-usa-data-surveillance.htm
1. Is your child a terrorist?
2. USA: National Security Strategy 2015
3. UK-GERMANY: Britain threatens to stop sharing data with Germany
4. USA-NSA-FBI:SPYING ON THE REST OF THE WORLD: New rules on surveillance of “non-US persons”
5. USA: Feds had a hand in PRISM
And see: NEWS DIGEST (84 links so far in February): http://www.statewatch.org/news/Newsinbrief.htm
USING THE STATEWATCH WEBSITE
NEWS
http://www.statewatch.org/news/
1. NETHERLANDS: DATA RETENTION: Dutch DPA opinion about post-ECJ data retention bill: “disproportionate infringement of private life” (link): “”The Dutch DPA notes the government holds on to a general data retention obligation. The Dutch DPA therefore concludes the infringement of the private life of virtually all Dutch citizens is too big and disproportionate. See also: Dutch DPA says government’s data retention plans still illegal – Watchdog wants legislation canned (The Register, link)
2. EU: “FORCED RETURNS”: Frontex quarterly report (FRAN: Frontex Risk Analysis Network): statistics on irregular migration(2MB, pdf) shows there were 74,262 “forced returns” in the last recorded year (p61).
3. EU: CJEU: Advocate General (AG) Sharpston: Opinion: 12 February 2015, Case C.554/13 (pdf): The AG says that if an undocumented person is suspected of a criminal offence then the authorities do not need to wait for the legal process to be completed in order to deport the person
4.CoE: Survey on European prisons – The economic crisis hampers improvement of conditions in European prisons (link) and see: Penal statustics (pdf) and Executive Summary (pdf)
5. EU: Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA): Criminalisation of migrants in an irregular situation and of persons engaging with them (pdf): “FRA research has highlighted the risk that domestic EU Member State legislation on the facilitation of entry and stay may lead to the punishment of those who provide humanitarian assistance…”
6. High price paid by asylum seekers on reaching Europe’s affluent nations – Institute of Race Relations questions commitment to human rights after analysis of people who died in detention (Guardian, link): “Analysis by the London-based Institute of Race Relations thinktank found that the highest numbers of deaths of asylum seekers and migrants were in some of the most affluent countries, with the UK having the third largest death toll, during a period mostly governed by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition.”
7. GREECE: Joint statement by Amnesty International and Greek Council for Refugees: New government’s announcement of ending the policy of indefinite detention a step in the right direction (pdf):
“The Greek Council for Refugees and Amnesty International welcome the announcement by Giannis Panousis, the Deputy Minister for Public Order that the authorities will cease to detain third country nationals held under return orders indefinitely. The Deputy Minister for Public Order made the announcement two days ago in his first policy speech before the Greek Parliament.”
8. A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE: Google boss warns of ‘forgotten century’ with email and photos at risk – Digital material including key historical documents could be lost forever because programs to view them will become defunct, says Vint Cerf (Guardian, link)
“Piles of digitised material – from blogs, tweets, pictures and videos, to official documents such as court rulings and emails – may be lost forever because the programs needed to view them will become defunct, Google’s vice-president has warned….
The warning highlights an irony at the heart of modern technology, where music, photos, letters and other documents are digitised in the hope of ensuring their long-term survival. But while researchers are making progress in storing digital files for centuries, the programs and hardware needed to make sense of the files are continually falling out of use.”
9. European Parliament: Study: Cross-border parental child abduction in the European Union (4.5 MB, 415 pages, pdf): “a “jointdecision” reached through the active cooperation of specialised national courts within the EU is proposed. This involves special judicial training – with language and intercultural skills – for international family disputes.”
10. MACEDONIA: Mass Surveillance Endangers Freedom of Expression in Macedonia (pdf)
11. Statewatch Analysis: Bringing the Panopticon Home: the UK joins the Schengen Information System (Word file): by Steve Peers, Professor of Law, University of Essex:
“Over two hundred years ago, British philosopher Jeremy Bentham devised the concept of the ‘Panopticon’: a prison designed so that a jailer could in principle watch any prisoner at any time. His theory was that the mere possibility of constant surveillance would induce good behaviour in prison inmates. In recent years, his idea for a panopticon has become a form of shorthand for describing developments of mass surveillance and social control.”
12. EU: MEPs break deadlock on airline passenger bill (euobserver, link). The European Parliament voted for a Resolution on anti-terrorism (pdf) with the following Amendment (pdf) which, contrary to the headline, shows there is still a very long way to go, in particular the amendment::
“urges the Commission to set out the consequences of the ECJ judgment on the Data Retention Directive and its possible impact on the EU PNR Directive; encourages the Council to make progress on the Data Protection package so that trilogues on both – EU PNR Directive and Data Protection Package – could take place in parallel. ” [emphasis added]
And see: Press release: Passenger Name Record and data protection talks should go hand in hand, MEPs say (pdf)
“To protect the EU against terrorist attacks and yet safeguard citizens’ rights, MEPs advocate de-radicalisation programmes, stepping up checks at Schengen area external borders, and better information exchange among EU member states, in a resolution voted on Wednesday. They urge member states to make faster progress on the Data Protection Package, so that talks could proceed in parallel with those on an EU Passenger Name Record proposal and thus deliver a full set of EU data protection rules.
The joint resolution was approved by 532 votes to 136, with 36 abstentions.”
13. EU: Council of the European Union: Regulation on Data Protection: One-Stop-Shop
• UK: British delegation: To: Working Group on Information Exchange and Data Protection (DAPIX) Subject: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation) – The one-stop-shop mechanism (LIMITE doc no 5572-15, pdf): “We thank Ireland, the French and German delegations and the Presidency for the papers they have submitted. We have studied these and appreciate their constructiveness, outlining possible qualitative and quantitative filters that seek to prevent an EDPB being overloaded by cases.”
• Irish Delegation (LIMITE doc no 5545-15, pdf)
• Austrian delegation (LIMITE doc no: 5571-15, pdf)
• General Data Protection Regulation – The one-stop-shop mechanism (LIMITE doc no: 5315-15, pdf) From German and French delegations
14. EU: Council of the European Union: New Directive on the “Free movement” of personal data between law enforcement agencies
Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, and the free movement of such data (LIMITE doc no 15391-14,145 pages, pdf) With 615 Member State positions
15. EU: Council of the European Union: Judicial response to terrorism = State of play and next steps (LIMITE doc no: 5917-15, pdf)
16. UK: INQUEST: Deaths in Mental Health Detention: An investigation framework fit for purpose? (pdf):
17. EU: European Commission:State of Play: Readmission and “facilitation”: International agreements in the process of negotiation DG HOME – European Commission (pdf)
18. European Parliament: Terrorist Finance Tracking Program:: Legal opinion on the European Ombudsman’s access to documents concerning Europol’s activities under the TFTP Agreement (pdf)
19. EU’s Intelligence Centre (INTCEN): Overseas embassies to have new intelligence “security attaches”: No new mandate for EU intelligence centre (euobserver, link): “the bulk of its work is based on classified briefs which it receives from around 10 member states’ national intelligence agencies. It also collates information from the EU’s overseas embassies, which are to have new security attaches, from the EU’s civilian and military crisis missions, and from the EU’s joint police and border control agencies – Europol and Frontex. It hoovers up open source information from the internet.”
The European External Action Service is responsible for running 139 EU Delegations and Offices operating around the world.
See: Statewatch Analysis: Secrecy reigns at the EU’s Intelligence Analysis Centre (pdf)
20. Joint call: No to the wall of shame in Calais! (Migreurop, link): “Is France going to have its very own Ceuta and Melilla in Calais, 12 years after the closure of the Sangatte refugee camp? The growing number of migrants who have been in the Calais area for a few months is leading our rulers to take a dangerous step that contravenes migrant freedom and respect for their rights.” and in French(link)
21. EU: COUNTER-TERRORISM: Council of the European Union: Informal meeting of the Heads of State or Government – Draft statement of the Members of the European Council (LIMITE doc no 6010-15,, 6 February 2015, pdf): including:
“adequate measures to be taken to detect and remove internet content promoting terrorism or extremism, including through greater cooperation between public authorities and the private sector at EU level, working with Europol to establish internet referral capabilities”
and Draft Council Conclusions on Counter-Terrorism (LIMITE doc no 5897-15, 6 February 2015, pdf): including: “Exploring the possibility of creating a Round of Eminent Persons from Europe and the Muslim world, to encourage more intellectual exchanges and promote wider thematic dialogues on the roots and ramifications of terrorism and radicalisation on our societies.” and “Reinforcing, within the existing parameters, the role of EU INTCEN [Inteligence Centre] as the hub for strategic intelligence assessment at EU level, including on counter-terrorism.”
22. UK: Government plans to give the security and intelligence agencies direct access to computers to by-pass encryption and to use “remote access” to “obtain information.. in pursuit of intelligence requirements” or to “remove or modify software”
– the code applies to “any interference (whether remotely or otherwise)”
– to “locate and examine, remove, modify or substitute equipment hardware or software”
– to “enable and facilitate surveillance activity by means of the equipment” (p5)
In language strikingly similar to GCHQ;’s 4Ds (pdf) “Deny/Disrupt/Degrade/Deceive” the Home Office Security Minister said on 6 February 2015 the purpose was to: “identify, track and disrupt the most sophisticated targets”.
See: Codes of practice under Pursuant to section 71 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000:
– Equipment Interference Code of Practice (pdf)
– Interception of Communications Code of Practice (pdf)
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch Director, comments:
“The adoption of such sweeping new surveillance powers should be the subject of primary legislation and not sneaked through in a Code of Practice under RIPA 2000 – which is not limited to terrorism and serious crime but covers all crime. They would allow the intelligence and security agencies to access any computer or smartphone not just to carry out surveillance but also to alter and/or change the content..
The wealth of examples from the Snowden revelations concerning GCHQ, the finding of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal of the unlawful data exchange with the NSA, the judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union in April 2014 that the Mandatory Data Retention Directive was unlawful since it was adopted in 2006 (and we still await any response from the European Commission) and, DRIPA 2014 which legalised the gathering of IP address – confirms the view of seasoned observers that governments are not in control of their intelligence and security agencies, that the agencies will use all available technologies even if there is no legal basis, and that when court judgments find against present practices the law is simply changed to make the “unlawful lawful”
And what guarantees are there that that these new surveillance powers will only be used against terrorists and serious organised criminals and that “function creep”, which has happened time and again since 2001, will not see them used against all suspected crimes?”
See on law enforcement agencies use of “remote access” Statewatch analysis: EU agrees rules for remote computer access by police forces – but fails, as usual, to mention – the security and intelligence agencies by Tony Bunyan (pdf) and EU: Welcome to the new world of the interception of telecommunications (Statewatch database)
See also: Security services capable of bypassing encryption, draft code reveals (Guardian. link)
GCHQ: UK-US surveillance regime was unlawful ‘for seven years’ – Regulations governing access to intercepted information obtained by NSA breached human rights laws, according to Investigatory Powers Tribunal (Guardian, link):
“The regime that governs the sharing between Britain and the US of electronic communications intercepted in bulk was unlawful until last year, a secretive UK tribunal has ruled.
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) declared on Friday that regulations covering access by Britain’s GCHQ to emails and phone records intercepted by the US National Security Agency (NSA) breached human rights law…. The critical judgment marks the first time since the IPT was established in 2000 that it has upheld a complaint relating to any of the UK’s intelligence agencies. It said that the government’s regulations were illegal because the public were unaware of safeguards that were in place. Details of those safeguards were only revealed during the legal challenge at the IPT.”
See: IPT Judgment (pdf) and IPT Order (pdf)
and see: ‘Enemy within’ GCHQ monitoring declared unlawful; and their sister organisations? (undercoverinfo, link)
and GCHQ-NSA intelligence sharing unlawful, says UK surveillance tribunal (Privacy International, link): “While we welcome today’s decision, Privacy International and Bytes for All disagree with the tribunal’s earlier conclusion that the forced disclosure of a limited subset of rules governing intelligence-sharing and mass surveillance is sufficient to make GCHQ’s activities lawful as of December 2014. Both organisations will shortly lodge an application with the European Court of Human Rights challenging the tribunal’s December 2014 decision.”
23. UK: Detention of mentally ill people in police cells needs to end, say MPs – ‘These people are not criminals,’ says home affairs committee chairman Keith Vaz of the more than 6,000 detained last year (Guardian, link).
See Home Affairs Select Committee report: Policing and mental health (pdf)
24. EU: Council of the European Union: LIMITE documents: Overstayers in the EU
Overstayers in the EU: methodology of gathering statistics; preventive measures; penalties (LIMITE dco no: 5194-15, pdf): The Council Presidency is looking at the harmoinsation of laws on dealing with people who overstay their visitors permint and who may enter the EU through one Member State and exit through another “without an appropriate sanction” . In 2013 there:
“were 344,888 detections of illegal stay in the EU….The overstayers detected in the EU are third-country nationals who have exceeded the authorised period of stay, most of them being short-stay visa holders”
25. EU: EUROJUST: Foreign Fighters: Eurojust’s Views on the Phenomenon and the Criminal Justice Response: Updated Report (pdf)
26. UK: Police will need judge’s permission to access journalists’ phone and email records – David Cameron accepts recommendation for judicial oversight of police use of anti-terror powers to snoop on reporters (Guardian, link):
“Sir Anthony May, the interception of communications commissioner, said police forces “did not give due consideration to freedom of speech” and Home Office guidelines do not sufficiently protect journalistic sources.”
See: Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Office: IOCCO inquiry into the use of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to identify journalistic sources (pdf)
This decision still leaves open the question of the surveillance of communications between lawyers and their clients, doctors and other professionals’ guarantee of privacy:
See: Draft Code of Practice: Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Data: Code of Practice Pursuant to section 71 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 Draft for public consultation, 9 December 2014 (55 pages, pdf) which says:
“3.73 However the degree of interference with privacy may be higher where the communications data being sought relates to a personwho is a member of a profession that handles privileged or otherwise confidential information (such as a medical doctor, lawyer, journalist, Member of Parliament, or minister of religion). It may also be possible to infer an issue of sensitivity from the fact someone has regular contact with, for example, a lawyer or journalist
3.74 Such situations do not preclude an application being made..” [emphasis added, p31]
27. New research resources available on undercover policing
The Undercover Research Group (URG) has launched a new website, with the aim of “enhancing public understanding of political policing and undercover surveillance”. The pages have been published to coincide with Domestic Extremist Awareness Day, launched by the UK-based Network for Police Monitoring.
28. UK: Police under scrutiny after seeking to obtain names of people who wanted to attend university debate – Special Branch concerned about public meeting at university to debate fracking, new documents show (Guardian, link) FOI requests lead to more information on the Special Branch’s role:
“Kent Police emailed the university to say :”Kent Police Special Branch are charged with assisting in the maintenance of public order, and to that end, senior management have tasked me to liaise with Christ Church in relation to specific security questions.”
29. UK: House of Commons Justice Committee: Joint Enterprise: Joint enterprise: follow-up: Government Response to the Committee’s Fourth Report of Session 2014–15 (pdf) response to: Joint enterprise: follow-up (pdf)
30. EU: Council of the European Union: LIMITE documents: Dublin III & children, Handbook on THB and VIS extension countries
• DUBLIN III: Unaccompanied children: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 as regards determining the Member State responsible for examining the application for international protection of unaccompanied minors with no family member, sibling or relative legally present in a Member State (LIMITE doc no: 5108-15, pdf) Council Presidency suggested changes and with 22 Footnotes giving Member State positions.
• As above: Preparation for the first informal trilogue (LIMITE doc no: 5587-15, pdf): Council working on its negotiating position
• Handbook on trafficking in human beings – indicators for investigating police forces (LIMITE doc no: 14630-rev1-14, pdf):“The procedures for the identification of potential trafficking victims, which were created in the field by a synergistic blend of police intelligence – some acquired through international cooperation – and information supplied by the NGOs which provide assistance to victims, are therefore fundamental in identifying possible trafficking victims.”
• VISA INFORMATION SYSTEM to be extended to include Ukraine and Russia: VIS – time frame concerning the roll-out in the last regions – Approval of the final compromise (LIMITE doc no: 5731-15, pdf):
“The VIS will be launched on 23 June 2015, for region 17 (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine). The notification by Member States is no longer necessary as all Member States have already notified their technical readiness… The VIS will be launched on 14 September 2015, for region 18 (Russia). Pursuant to Article 48(3) of the VIS Regulation, the Member States who have not done so yet should transmit their notification of readiness at the latest by 1 March 2015…In December 2014, eu-LISA concluded that the VIS Biometric Machine System (VIS/BMS) would be able to support the VIS roll-out for region 17 and beyond,”[emphasis added]
31. EU: European Commission: Detailed: Annexes: ANNEXES to the Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) (codification) (COM 8-2015, ANNEXES, pdf). Including “Standard form for refusal of entry at the border” which says on page 13:
“X is considered to be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of one of more of the Member States of the EU.”
See also the Commission Decision: COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION of XXX replacing the Annex to Commission Implementing Decision 2013/115/EU on the SIRENE Manual and other implementing measures for the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (pdf)
And see: New measure implementing SIS II: Very detailed, from Commission SIRENE Manual ANNEX to the COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION replacing the Annex to Commission Implementing Decision 2013/115/EU on the SIRENE Manual and other implementing measures for the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (53 pages, pdf)
32. UK: POLICE EXPLOIT LAW TO COLLECT 18 MILLION FACIAL IMAGES: Innocent people’ on police photos database (BBC News, link):
“Police forces in England and Wales have uploaded up to 18 million “mugshots” to a facial recognition database – despite a court ruling it could be unlawful. They include photos of people never charged, or others cleared of an offence, and were uploaded without Home Office approval, Newsnight has learned…
Biometrics Commissioner Alastair MacGregor QC said he was concerned about the implications of the system for privacy and civil liberties. Speaking in his first interview, he told Newsnight that police forces had begun setting up a searchable database of police mugshots last year, without telling either him or the Home Office. Almost every police force in England and Wales had now supplied photographs, he said….
Mr MacGregor said he also had concerns about the reliability of facial recognition technology. “If the facial recognition software throws up a false match, one of the consequences of that could easily send an investigation off into the completely wrong direction,”” [emphasis added]
“Facial images” are a biometric along with DNA and fingerprints. See Office of Biometrics Commissioner (link) and 1st Annual Report (pdf)
Background: EU-UK: Major victory in the European Court of Human Rights: ECHR finds that the UK practice of keeping the fingerprints and DNA of people not convicted of an offence is a violation of Article 8 of the ECHR Convention (Statewatch database)
33. EU: SYSTEMATIC SCHENGEN CHECKS & RISK PROFILING: Informal Justice and Home Affairs Ministers meeting: Riga: Joint Statement following the informal meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Riga on 29 and 30 January (pdf):
“We consider that beyond the current efforts to make full use of existing Schengen framework, a targeted proposal to amend the Schengen Borders Code is a necessary step to reinforce external borders by making it possible to proceed to systematic checks on individuals enjoying the right of free movement against databases relevant to the fight against terrorism based on the common risk indicators”
See: Commission Decision: COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION of XXX replacing the Annex to Commission Implementing Decision 2013/115/EU on the SIRENE Manual and other implementing measures for the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (pdf)
34. /European Parliament: STOA Study: Ten technologies which could change our lives: Potential impacts and policy implications (pdf)
35. EU: Statewatch Analysis: Is readmission linked to development? (pdf) by Steve Peers, Professor of Law, University of Essex:
“In recent years, the EU has been negotiating Partnership and Cooperation Agreements (PCAs) with a number of Asian countries. These agreements replace the previous development policy agreements which the EU had with the countries concerned. Compared to the previous agreements, the PCAs include go into greater detail about the EU’s cooperation with the countries concerned, including the addition of further topics for cooperation.”
36. EU: Informal Justice and Home Affairs Ministers meeting in Riga, Latvia 29-30 January: Agenda (pdf) and Background Note (pdf) including: “strengthening Europol’s role in the monitoring and analysis of social media communication on the internet.”
Europol to become the EU’s “thought police”? See: Chief constable warns against ‘drift towards police state’ Greater Manchester’s Sir Peter Fahy says it is not the police’s job to define what counts as extremism (Guardian, link): “The battle against extremism could lead to a “drift towards a police state” in which officers are turned into “thought police”, one of Britain’s most senior chief constables has warned.”
See also:Counter Terrorism Coordinator: EU CTC input for the preparation of the informal meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Riga on 29 January 2015 (LIMITE, DS doc no: 1035-13, 14 pages, 17 January 2015, pdf)
37. Mediterranean: Spain, France, Italy and Portugal: Papers from ‘C4’ defence and security conferences
The ‘C4 Coloquim’ is an “annual academic collaboration” that that discusses papers from the military studies academies of France (CHEM), Spain (CESEDEN), Italy (CASD) and Portugal (IDN) on the theme of “mutual trust and stability” in the Mediterannean, described as “the ultimate objective of the C4.”
2012’s theme was “The consequences of the Arab spring”, with papers covering:
- Illegal immigration
- Defence cooperation with north African countries
- Assistance in state building
- Aid to economic and social development
EU-UK-GCHQ-USA-NSA SURVEILLANCE
http://www.statewatch.org/eu-usa-data-surveillance.htm
1. Is Your Child a Terrorist? U.S. Government Questionnaire Rates Families at Risk for Extremism (The Intercept, link):
“Are you, your family or your community at risk of turning to violent extremism? That’s the premise behind a rating system devised by the National Counterterrorism Center, according to a document marked For Official Use Only and obtained by The Intercept…
Arun Kundnani, a professor at New York University, said that enlisting communities in the way the administration suggests in the guide, “leads a range of non-policing professionals to cast particular suspicion on Muslim populations and profile them for behaviors that have no real connection to criminality.”
Kundnani also questioned the science behind the rating system. “There’s no evidence to support the idea that terrorism can be substantively correlated with such factors to do with family, identity, and emotional well-being,” he said.”
LInk to Document (link)
2. USA: National Security Strategy, February 2015 (pdf)
“Any successful strategy to ensure the safety of the American people and advance our national security interests must begin with an undeniable truthAmerica must lead. Strong and sustained American leadership is essential to a rules-based international order that promotes global security and prosperity as well as the dignity and human rights of all peoples. The question is never whether America should lead, but how we lead….
We will protect our investment in foundational capabilities like the nuclear deterrent, and we will grow our investment in crucial capabilities like cyber; space; and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance….We have not and will not collect signals intelligence to suppress criticism or dissent or to afford a competitive advantage to U.S. companies.”
3. UK-GERMANY: Britain ‘threatens to stop sharing intelligence’ with Germany – British intelligence officials have threatened to stop sharing information if Germany presses ahead with a parliamentary inquiry into British and American spying, a German news magazine claims (Daily Telegraph, link)
See: German Parliamentary Committee investigating the NSA spying scandal (Wikipedia, link)
4. USA-NSA-FBI:SPYING ON THE REST OF THE WORLD: New rules on surveillance of “non-US persons”: NSA: (U) USSID: Supplemental Procedures for the collection, processing, retention and dissemination of Signals Intelligence information and data containing personal information of Non-United States Persons (pdf) and the FBI (pdf) The NSA conducts surveillance and the CIA and FBI use the products.
Although the FBI does not conduct “signals intelligence activities” it does handle “signals intelligence information in.. finished intelligence products” and “The FBI will disseminate personal information of non-US persons collected pursuant to Section 702 of FISA” (Foreign Intelligence and Security Act). There are lots of very general caveats such as the information will only be used if: “the information is relevant to an intelligence requirement or an authorized law enforcement activity”
See also: White House New Data Spying Policy (Cryptome, link): “Statement by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco: Update on Implementation of Signals Intelligence Reform and Issuance of PPD-28.”
Background: Statewatch analysis: GCHQ is authorised to “spy on the world” but the UK Interception of Communications Commissioner says this is OK as it is “lawful” (pdf)
5. USA: Feds had a hand in PRISM, too (The Register, link) and see: Department of Justice report on FBI (2.5 MB, podf)
Exclusive: CIA Interrogations Took Place on British Territory of Diego Garcia, Senior Bush Administration Official Says (VICE, link):
“Interrogations of US prisoners took place at a CIA black site on the British overseas territory of Diego Garcia, a senior Bush administration official has told VICE News. The island was used as a “transit location” for the US government’s “nefarious activities” post-9/11 when other places were too full, dangerous, insecure, or unavailable, according to Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell’s former chief of staff.
There was no permanent detention facility such as the CIA facility in Poland, he told VICE News in a wide-ranging interview. His intelligence sources indicated to him that the island was however home to “a transit site where people were temporarily housed, let us say, and interrogated from time to time.”
USING THE STATEWATCH WEBSITE
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Statewatch European Monitoring & Documentation Centre on Jutice and Home Affairs in the EU: http://www.statewatch.org/semdoc/
JHA Archive – EU Jutice and Home Affairs documents from 1976 onwards: http://www.statewatch.org/semdoc/index.php?id=1143
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