Legal action taken in Calais
As conditions for refugees in the Calais area continue to deteriorate, we’re one of 12 charities working in the region to take legal action to stop the violation of human rights by the French authorities. Responding on behalf of the refugees, collectively we’re referring our challenge to the Administrative Court in Lille, France.
We witness repeated violations of rights and freedoms of the refugees by the French Authorities and are now urgently asking for a system to be put in place to ensure basic human rights are met in Calais and the surrounding area. Currently, food aid distribution is regularly disrupted, sleeping bags confiscated, tear gas used and park bans enforced – these are just some of the daily encounters and violations faced by vulnerable refugees. We’re also asking for access to toilet facilities, drinking water and the enabling of regular food distribution without disruption.
More than 600 refugees, including many unaccompanied minors, reside in the Calais area in appalling conditions. With no health or social care available, combined with constant police pressure and harassment, refugees fleeing from war torn homes and persecution are forced to live in unacceptable and intolerable conditions. Nothing is currently being done to address these problems and conditions faced by the refugees are deteriorating on a weekly basis.
When the ‘Jungle’ was dismantled in October 2016 the Messrs. Vignon and Aribaud report, commissioned through the Interiors Minister, assured charities that a reception process would be put in place for refugees once the area had been cleared. There is still no much-needed reception centre for refugees in Calais.
Charities taking legal action with us are:
Signatory Associations
L’Auberge des migrants
Legal Shelter
The Cimade
Gynecology Without Borders
Help Refugees
League of Human Rights
The Voyageur Alarm Clock
Salam North Pas-de-Calais
Secours Catholique Caritas France
Utopia 56
We’re hoping for good news and will keep you updated when we know the result.
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