Le Défenseur des droits, Jacques Toubon, constate que l’intensification des mesures d’éloignement à l’égard des personnes les plus vulnérables ne cesse de s’accroitre.

La politique d’externalisation des frontières, initiée il y a plusieurs décennies a conduit récemment à confier à la Turquie le soin de décider de qui peut prétendre à l’asile en Europe.  L’Union européenne est amenée aujourd’hui à transiger avec l’Afghanistan et encourage les Etats à accélérer le retour des Afghans vers leur pays d’origine.

A travers les réclamations qu’il reçoit, le Défenseur des droits constate que ces renvois se multiplient, qu’ils se fassent directement vers l’Afghanistan ou via des pays européens, en application du règlement « Dublin III ».

Le Défenseur des droits constate aussi que les étrangers malades sont eux aussi particulièrement visés. Alors qu’il y a 20 ans, avant même l’instauration d’un droit au séjour pour soins, le législateur avait estimé indispensable de prémunir les personnes gravement malades d’un éloignement qui aurait conduit pour beaucoup à une mort certaine, les obstacles actuels à l’admission au séjour pour soins sont de plus en plus fréquents. A cet égard, les éloignements des personnes porteuses du VIH vers la Côte d’Ivoire, l’Angola et la Guinée, inédits avant 2013, et dont le Défenseur des droits est saisi, marquent une régression particulièrement terrible et une atteinte au droit fondamental le plus essentiel, le droit à la vie.

 

Au regard des traitements inhumains ou dégradants que risquent de subir ces ressortissants en cas de renvoi dans leur pays d’origine le Défenseur des droits demande au gouvernement :

- la suspension immédiate de l’application de l’Accord UE/Afghanistan

- l’arrêt des mesures d’éloignement des personnes gravement malades dans des pays dont on sait qu’elles ne pourront accéder aux traitements nécessaires à leur survie.
 

Dans le cadre de la préparation de la prochaine loi de finances 2018, le Défenseur des droits a été auditionné par la commission des Finances de l’Assemblée nationale sur le volet intitulé « Immigration, asile et intégration ».

Dans cet avis au Parlement publié ci-après, les diverses observations et recommandations du Défenseur des droits portent sur les questions de l’hébergement, la prise en charge des mineurs non accompagnés, l’accueil en préfecture ou encore la réduction des délais d’instruction des demandes d’asile.

Rappelant son rapport d’observation relatif au démantèlement des campements de décembre 2016, le Défenseur des droits a réitéré sa demande de suspension de l’application du règlement « Dublin III », intrinsèquement inéquitable et parfois mal connu de ceux qui l’appliquent.

Pour les mineurs non accompagnés (MNA), le Défenseur des droits réaffirme la nécessité de prévoir dans le Calaisis un centre d’accueil de jour où espace de repos, accès aux soins et information sur les droits des mineurs non accompagnés seraient disponibles. Pour rappel, le Défenseur des droits a été saisi de situations individuelles ou collectives concernant les mineurs non accompagnés réparties sur 56 départements ; les saisines concernant les MNA représentant 15% du total des saisines relatives aux droits des étrangers.

Au sujet de l’accueil des étrangers en préfecture, le Défenseur des droits recommande d’adapter les possibilités de rendez-vous afin d’éviter des délais supérieurs à deux mois entre la délivrance de la convocation et la date du rendez-vous lui-même. De plus, le Défenseur des droits rappelle que l’accueil dématérialisé et la mise en ligne d’une plateforme de rendez-vous ne peuvent valablement s’envisager que si la garantie est donnée que ces dispositifs ne seront pas sources de discrimination. Par ailleurs, ces mêmes dispositifs ne doivent pas conduire à une suppression de l’accueil physique. Des alternatives devront toujours être proposées aux personnes qui, par exemple, n’ont pas accès à internet ou encore ne maîtrisant pas suffisamment la langue française.

Pour la procédure d’asile, le Défenseur des droits attire l’attention sur la nécessité de ne pas trop réduire de manière excessive les délais de procédure entre l’Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides (Ofpra) et la Cour nationale du droit d’asile, et ce du fait même de la nature des demandes (dossiers complexes, etc.). A l’inverse, il lui semble primordial de réduire les délais actuellement observés entre l’accès à la procédure, via la plate-forme d’accueil des demandeurs d’asile, et la prise en compte des demandes par le guichet unique des demandeurs d’asile.

Le Défenseur des droits conclut cet avis en exprimant de nouveau ses vifs regrets pour la validation, par la loi du 29 juillet 2015, de la possibilité de maintenir des mineurs non accompagnés en zone d’attente et de placer des enfants en centres de rétention d’enfants. Ce dernier point consacre la présence non souhaitable d’enfants dans des lieux d’enfermement, et ce en l’inscrivant dans la loi.
 

Deputy Ombudswoman, Tena Šimonović Einwalter, was elected Equinet Chair of the Executive Board 2017-2019 on October 11 2017, at the first meeting of this new board, immediately after the General Assembly of Equinet Members.

„This is a great honour for me and the Ombudsman institution as well as for Croatia since this is a network which gathers institutions and organisations from the entire Europe, and which has been performing enormous work in creating equality. My goal is to proceed in the same direction towards enhanced protection of diversity and at the same time equality of citizens, irrespective of their ethnicity, age, religion, gender and other characteristics“, stated Šimonović Einwalter.

Given the fact that Ombudswoman Lora Vidović until 2019 chairs the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), this is the first time that officials from the same institution chair two biggest human rights networks in Europe.

Tena Šimonović Einwalter, Deputy Ombudswoman since 2013, graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb and finished the post-graduate studies of European and Comparative Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford. She is currently a representative of Croatia in the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe.

With the new role in EQUINET she will replace Evelyn Collins, Head of the Northern Ireland Equality Commission, who had extremely successfully led the network in the last four years. The same appraisal of the Collins work was expressed by the First Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans in his key note speech at the EQUINET 10th Anniversary event, held on 10th October in Brussels.

Equinet, European Network of Equality Bodies, brings together 46 organizations from 34 European countries, among others, Office of the Ombudswoman, Office of the Ombudswoman for persons with disabilities and Office for Gender Equality. The main Equinet's duty is to promote equality in Europe by providing expert support to national equality bodies, including exchange of expertise, fostering cooperation as well as conducting researches and analysis on actual anti-discrimination issues at the European level.

On the 10th October, Equinet is organizing a conference entitled ‘Together for an Equal Europe’ to mark its 10th anniversary. The conference will bring together high-level speakers and guests from equality bodies, European institutions, international organisations, civil society, national governments and parliaments, academics; many of those with whom Equinet has worked over the years. It will take stock of the progress made and the current challenges in the field of equality, as well as the work of equality bodies in progressing equality and non-discrimination over the past decade. It will create a forum for discussion and shared visions on the perspectives and challenges ahead for equality, particularly the work of national equality bodies in a shrinking space for equality and fundamental rights.

The European Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. Equality and non-discrimination are central to the social aspirations of the European Union and are vital for the development of better societies for all. Yet, despite clear progress made in certain areas, we live in an era when intolerance, inequality and discrimination are growing.

“Equality is a fundamental value of the EU, and the European Network of Equality Bodies is a fundamental part of defending our values against attack and our citizens against discrimination,” according to First Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans.

European equality legislation, if properly implemented and enforced, can counter forces of intolerance, inequality and discrimination. It reflects the core value of equality by ensuring the basic principle of equal treatment, and supporting and protecting people who face discrimination. Member States were required to implement the Racial Equality Directive (2000/43/EC), and the Gender Equal Treatment Directives (2006/54/EC and 2004/113/EC) by establishing or designating an equality body to carry out the competences assigned by this equality legislation.

Equality bodies are on the front line in the work of promoting equality and combating discrimination. They can hear and decide cases of discrimination; provide assistance to victims of discrimination; research, survey and report on discrimination issues; promote good practice for equality; and contribute to an awareness of rights and a societal valuing of equality. They have developed practical experience and expertise in their implementation of equal treatment legislation in their country. At a European level, the combined and diverse learning from the work of the various equality bodies has a valuable contribution to make to promoting equality and combating discrimination, as well as to the mainstreaming of non-discrimination and equality in all policy areas.

Equinet was set up to facilitate these important exchanges and to provide a platform for peer learning for equality bodies. Co-funded by the European Commission and Equinet’s member organisations, Equinet has enjoyed a good and close working relationship with EU institutions and agencies since it was established in 2007. Equinet provides a first point of contact at European level for information relating to equality bodies. Equinet facilitates engagement with national equality bodies across Europe and shares their expertise, experience and recommendations to contribute to the development of equality and nondiscrimination policy and law.

Since Equinet was set up, the impact of the economic and financial crises and the responses to these have made for a complicated context for the goals and work of equality bodies. While some equality bodies have been supported in their work, others have had their effectiveness threatened by significant reductions to their resources. The independence of other bodies has been challenged on the back of political interventions. Some have experienced mergers with other institutions that hold a different remit, which at times has challenged the sustained capacity and impact for the equality mandate. These developments have affected the capacity of some equality bodies to realise their full potential. This is ultimately a loss for the societies within which they work. It undermines the impact and full implementation of EU laws for the benefit of all at national level.

In order to strengthen support for equality bodies and the realization of their potential, in 2016 Equinet launched a call for European standards on independence, effectiveness, functions & powers for equality bodies. The Working Paper on Developing Standards for Equality Bodies outlines the parameters that any such standards would need to cover. This is so important because, as Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe points out, “adequately resourced and independent Equality bodies can achieve societal change for a more equal and inclusive Europe.”

Representatives of 34 Croatian enterprises and organisations have signed the “Diversity Charter Croatia” which obliged them to implement the policy on diversity and antidiscrimination. Croatia is the 19th European country whose enterprises accept the Charter, it was said at the signing event, organised by the Croatian Business Council for Sustainable Development (HR PSOR). It is expected that the signatories abide by the policy on implementation and promotion of diversity and report on undertaken activities with this respect.

There are some big companies and organisations among the Charter’s signatories like INA, Atlantic group, HEP, AD Plastika, Ericsson Nikola Tesla, Coca Cola Croatia, Croatian Telekom and Tele 2, Končar, Podravka, OTP Bank, Pliva, Privredna Bank Zagreb and Splitska Bank.

Deputy Ombudswoman, Tena Šimonović Einwalter, emphasised the fact that almost 40 percent of interviewed citizens highlighted the discrimination as one of the biggest problems in our society; especially in the area of labour and employment. This was indicated in the „Survey on Attitudes and Level of Awareness on Forms of Discrimination“, conducted by the Office of the Ombudswoman, as well as in the citizens’ complaints. "Therefore, I am very pleased that the business community has an opportunity to significantly engage in the struggle against discrimination, including encouragement and promotion of diversity; as they have pledged by signing the Diversity Charter, added the Deputy Ombudswoman Šimonović Einwalter, who also participated in drafting the Charter.

Representative of the European Diversity Platform of the European Commission, Ana Ritz, singled out that antidiscrimination and equal opportunities are among major European Union priorities. She informed that the European Commission has since 2010 launched the "European Diversity Platform", which currently gathers more than  7,100 signatories from 18 countries, thus, at the moment, more than 14 million employees enjoy benefits from implementation of the diversity policy.