Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM)

⭐ SPECIAL ISSUE ⭐ What do EU parties say about migration? Read our article before you vote! As the EU elections approach, we've searched the manifestos of the most important EU parties to find out what they say about migration. Read this special issue of The Migration Papers and find out which of these parties: 😭 mentions "illegal migrants" the most 😊 supports a European-wide campaign for regularisation 😭 wants to increase Frontex powers and budget 😊 supports universal access to health care and education ...and much more! 🗳 Then get out and vote! ❤️ #migration #humanrights #EUelections

🔔 Exciting post this way! We're looking for an experienced professional who will work closely with our Director to provide leadership in strategic planning, funding, and implementing our programmes and priorities.   The Deputy Director is an important leadership role that supports the Director in overseeing our daily operations and strategic planning, in line with the decisions of the Board and General Assembly. Participating in the Board and Management Committee meetings and working closely with the Director and Finance Director, the Deputy Director leads the strategic development and implementation of PICUM’s planning, monitoring, reporting, evaluation and fundraising policies, and is responsible for the supervision of select team members. 📆 Deadline for applications: 12 August 2024, 9:00 a.m. CEST. 📝 All info on the position and how to apply on https://picum.org/join-us/ #jobs #jobfairy #jobalert #hiring #migration #humanrights

🎉 This weekend, French progressives stopped the far-right from dominating the parliament. Their programme brings hope for people in migration. The New Popular Front (Nouveau Front Populaire, NFP) is composed by four main parties: La France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, the Ecologists, and the French Communist Party. Together, they won 182 seats (out of 577) in the French Assemblée Nationale, making it the first group by size. Here's what their joint programme says about migration: ⭐ repeal asylum and immigration laws introduced by the current administration ⭐ set up a sea and land rescue agency ⭐ provide social support and authorisation to work for asylum seekers ⭐ facilitate access to visas, regularise the status of workers, students, parents of school-going children and introduce a ten-year residence permit ⭐ establish a status for people displaced by climate change ⭐ improve reception conditions for exiles in Mayotte and remove the conditions that prevent people from moving between Mayotte and the rest of the country ⭐ create safe and regular migration routes ⭐ revise the EU Migration Pact to ensure migrants are welcomed in dignity ⭐ end derogations concerning the examination of asylum claims ⭐ strengthen co-development policies to serve populations ⭐ guarantee access to state medical aid ⭐ guarantee full jus soli for children born in France and ease access to French nationality Whether these proposals will become a reality will largely depend on the political will and courage of all republican forces in the French parliament. With our members, we'll continue to support the work of all those who want a fairer France and Europe for everyone, whatever their papers. Source: https://lnkd.in/dggCvfGb #migration #humanrights #france

💰 NEW RESEARCH 💰 EU border funds are booming. How they’re spent is often opaque and harmful. Our new study, jointly produced with the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), examines how the Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI) is funding tools and operations that risk harming people crossing borders. Monitoring of these funds is often lacking. The Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI) currently budgets around 6.2 billion euros for 2021 – 2027. Overall, member states have so far received 4 billion euros, an increase of 45% compared to the resources received for 2014 – 2020. Despite the European Commission ruling out the possibility to use these funds to build fences and walls, some countries are using BMVI funding for border surveillance technology to either complement or replace physical surveillance. 💶 Estonia will spend 2 million euros on mobile remote sensing systems to increase border surveillance in areas “where it is not economically feasible to build a permanent infrastructure”. 💶 Poland aims to “reduce the physical surveillance of the border” by investing in light-detecting systems on watch towers, alarm systems, portable thermal and night vision devices, and motion-activated security cameras at the borders with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. 💶 Croatia, Lithuania, Poland and Spain have acquired or are planning to acquire sniffer dogs to help border guards in patrolling borders and chasing and apprehending people who have crossed the border. In Croatia, dogs have already been used to threaten and bite migrants to push them back to the border. 💶 Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania and Slovakia will invest in new vehicles equipped with integrated thermal imaging cameras, satellite communication, and x-ray identification systems, with off-road capabilities. In Lithuania, EU resources will allow the purchase of a stationary search detector for persons hidden in vehicles. Member states monitor the implementation of the BMVI programme through dedicated national monitoring committees, which should include experts in fundamental rights. But our research finds that civil society organisations are often underrepresented in monitoring committees and are not given the means to contribute meaningfully. Crucial information on the assessment of such programmes and how the Commission addressed risks of rights violations was only accessible for this research through freedom of information requests. Read the full report on https://lnkd.in/dECDABsQ #migration #humanrights

🔔 Looking for a job in migration in Europe? Here's the latest roundup from our network and partners:   [Belgium] SAAMO provincie Antwerpen, Communications officer (communicatiemedewerker) – 15 August https://lnkd.in/eM_ysZyQ   [Czechia] People in Need, Talent for Assessment Centre People in Need – 15 August https://lnkd.in/dWbszRT7   [Netherlands, Poland, Spain] Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), Consultants | Participatory Action Research (PAR) with Migrants in Food Supply Chain Labour Markets – 12 August https://picum.org/join-us/ [remote] Quaker Council for European Affairs, Consultancy to complete handbook of peaceful approaches to migration - 29 July https://lnkd.in/djwurD75   [Spain] Accem, Técnico/a de apoyo - protección internacional – 5 July https://lnkd.in/dsHkBEBA   [UK] Anti-Slavery International, Philanthropy Manager – rolling basis https://lnkd.in/d7-8azK [UK] European Network on Statelessness, Communications Coordinator - 16 July https://lnkd.in/eYk-hw8X [UK] Focus On Labour Exploitation (FLEX), Comms Officer – 7 July https://lnkd.in/e_QbJnEG   [UK] Maternity Action, Senior Employment and Social Security Policy Officer (part-time) – 15 July https://lnkd.in/eTaTf_ge   [UK] Migrants Organise, Access to Healthcare Organiser – 14 July https://lnkd.in/eAAmtmS6   [UK] Migrants Organise, Arabic Bilingual Caseworker – 9 July https://lnkd.in/eAAmtmS6   [UK] Migrants Organise, Community Programme Casework Trainee – 14 July https://lnkd.in/eAAmtmS6 [UK and remote] Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), Policy Officer - 14 July https://lnkd.in/daySgmCS   #jobs #jobfair #migration #humanrights

⭐ NEW REPORT ⭐ The new draft Facilitation Directive is meant to fight "migrant smuggling" but will likely increase widespread criminalisation of migration and solidarity instead. The draft Directive: 📌 foresees new grounds which could be used to criminalise people who are crossing borders, and fails to provide legal clarity on the non-criminalisation of people who are smuggled; 📌 fails to exempt solidarity acts from criminalisation in a clear and binding clause; 📌 encourages states to use surveillance tools, which have already been used against migrants’ rights defenders and lawyers, seriously hindering their right to privacy and ability carry on their work; 📌 introduces a new type of offence defined as “publicly instigating” third country nationals to enter, transit or stay irregularly in the EU. This provision is framed very broadly and could apply to civil society organisations and individuals providing legal support and information to migrants; 📌 uses the concept of "instrumentalisation", that is when a state claims another state is pushing migrants at its borders for political reasons, as an aggravated circumstance. This vague concept is already being used in the EU Migration Pact to usher in derogations to rights and safeguards. What's more, the proposal was published without an impact assessment, in violation of the Commission’s own rules. EU lawmakers must reject this text, remove new grounds for criminalisation and strengthen safeguards. Read our new report on: https://lnkd.in/dg-yqNtk #migration #humanrights

📰 In the latest issue of The Migration Papers: what right and far-right forces may do on migration in the new EU Parliament. And also: 🛥 Greek coastguard officers were filmed throwing migrants at sea ⛔ Portugal restricts access to work-based regularisation 📜 Dutch Parliament votes to grant residence permits to undocumented Surinamese ⚖ EU Court of Justice fines Hungary for continued failures in return procedures ...and much more, including: 📚 links to publications from NGOs and institutional bodies; 💻 a selection of interesting articles, videos and podcasts. *** 📲 Read the latest issue of The Migration Papers below - and hit the subscribe button! You'll get automatic notifications from LinkedIn as soon as we publish a new issue. 💌 If you prefer to read The Migration Papers on email, sign up on https://lnkd.in/eTxrmu6d

The far-right is gaining ground across Europe. With our members, we're building resistance. As far-right politics and their anti-migrant messages become more normalised, migration policies become more repressive in a growing number of EU countries. Some of the EU’s recent policies in the area of migration, like the EU Migration Pact, are also aiming to institutionalise them. Last May, we brought together over 60 member organisations at our General Assembly in Madrid to reflect on the current context and strategise about resistance and mobilisation in the next five years. In our latest blog, we share key highlights of our discussions around: ⭐ EU Migration Pact and its harms on people ⭐ Global Compact for Migration ⭐ opportunities for strategic litigation against the EU Pact ⭐ rights violations at borders of Bulgaria, Greece and Spain ⭐ strategic directions for future mobilisation Read more in our blog on: https://lnkd.in/dycS7M47 #migration #humanrights #socialjustice

His name is Satnam Singh. His story of exploitation is but one of hundreds of thousands that happen every day across Europe. Last week, near Rome, Indian farm worker Satnam Singh lost an arm while working on a plastic roller wrapping machine. His employer left him bleeding near his house, without calling for help. Satnam died two days later. Like many others, Satnam was working without a regular work contract and therefore without protections, during extra-long shifts for 5€ an hour. Satnam and his coworkers were obliged to call their employer "master". While the employer is now under investigation, we can't forget that the exploitation Satnam suffered is commonplace in European fields, factories, construction sites, restaurants, streets and houses. If some employers exploit migrant workers, it's because the whole system of how migration and labour migration are managed allows it - and too often relies on such exploitation. Work permits are few. Those that exist often come with restrictions that leave workers at the mercy of exploitative employers. If we truly want to avoid stories like Satnam's from happening again, we must put in place decent work permits across skills and sectors, that let workers stand up for their rights and change employer if they so wish. And no worker should fear detention and deportation if they denounce exploitation in the workplace. A worker is a worker. Whatever the sector, whatever their papers. Read more on The Guardian on https://lnkd.in/dnpteHjT #migration #humanrights #workers

Want to know how the EU spends its border management funds? We're soon launching our new report! Together with European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), we researched how the EU spends money allocated under the Border Management and Visa Instrument and how it controls such spending. In this event (both in person and online), we'll present key findings from the study and recommendations to member states and the European Commission. Join us to hear more about: 💰 facts and figures on the use of the BMVI for border management activities, including comparisons with the previous Multiannual Financial Framework 💸 potential areas of misuse of EU funds 🛡 existing safeguards, particularly in relation to upholding fundamental rights in EU-funded activities at the border 📝 Find more information in the event page below, and make sure to register (for either in-person or online attendance) on https://lnkd.in/dByAUAjE #migration #humanrights