Exceptionalism and its impact on the Euro-Mediterranean Relations

Objectives

The main objective of this workpackage will be to analyse the impact what exceptional policies have upon liberties and security of European citizens. The goal of this project is to underpin to what extent European States (EU 25) are breaking citizen liberties and security when using emergency policies. This phenomenon has dramatically increased since 11th of September 2001. After this date, we have seen a drastic hardening of the legislation against irregular immigrants, and also that related to international and domestic terrorism, as we can see how the Spanish, the Italian an other Mediterranean countries have enhanced their criminal legislation.

The data collected and analysis carried out within the framework of this workpackage will be used also to inform the observatory.

Description of work

To develop this objective, we will undertake an analysis of citizens’ liberties and security restrictions due to exceptional policies, mainly after September the 11th 2001. The methodological approach will be interdisciplinary, because also the Research activities of the Barcelona Group imply this feature. Therefore we will use different methodological instruments: documentary analysis as well as empirical one. On the first level it will be taken in account a comparison between the Spanish legislation and that from the neighbour countries, likewise France and Italy, and also decisions of the European Court for Human Rights. On the second level, just as an example, we will collect those registered cases through NGOs of immigrants expulsion related to Human Rights violations.

The research will contend the followed analysis:

In several European Countries (EU25) the situation about citizen liberties and security, related to immigration and terrorism, is quite similar. Therefore, the workpackage will take the situation of the EU 25 as the point of departure in order to compare the Spanish one, particularly the Catalan (Barcelona) area, as it has been informed below. Barcelona will be the main target because it is not only the place in which the Observatori del Sistema Penal i els Drets Humans de la Universitat de Barcelona (OSPDH) is situated, but also is a presumptive area in which violations of Human Rights register a high rate. This presumption must to be verified through empirical research.

As a methodological way in order to get precise information about the violations of fundamental rights of immigrants, the Barcelona Group will gather information in other different cities and areas of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia (i.e. Girona, Lleida, Tarragona and Barcelona) in which the OSPDH has particular concern, but this information could be also compared with other Autonomus Community within the Spanish State. This kind of information might be produced through interviews with relevant actors who could give data about the type, modes, lengths, etc. of the violations. But, it will be also taking in consideration information from official statistics and reports.

Research on social and economical backgrounds of immigrants in order to know reasons which have motivated them to take part in immigration flows. This type of research must be developed through live histories as a methodological instrument.

In order to know how immigrants are victimized, it must be developed particular analysis of victims registered by official institutions and NGOs as such, who were involved in racism acts, provoked by domestic or abroad citizens.

The same type of research as in number 4 must be undertaken related to terrorism acts by analyzing the information from Spanish victim associations and also particular cases of people accused or sentenced of terrorism acts.

It must be also researched changes occurred in terrorist legislation as also in agencies practices (police, courts and prisons) on this kind of phenomenon.

It is also important to get information about images of immigrants and terrorists constructed by the population (through the annual informations of e.g. the Spanish Center for Sociological Research (CIS).

One important activity of the workpackage will be that of getting in touch with other groups involved in this Project (like those from the University of Kings & Keele; Sciencies-Po, Culture et Conflits, France; University of Genoa) concerned on the same or similar objectives of this project. First of all must be collected data about the qualities, numbers and compositions of this type of groups. Secondly it must be organized contacts and meetings with those groups engaged in these activities.

Other special activity to be undertake is that related to research in Spanish and Catalan newspapers libraries about how have been treated information about crimes committed by immigrants and terrorists, in order to know how social immigrants and terrorist images are being constructed by the media.

It is also important to verify if the fundamental Rights of immigrants and people accused of terrorist acts are really being respected by agencies of Criminal Justice System which are engaged with the treatment of these individuals.