JRS websites
Jesuit Refugee Service - International: www.jesref.org
Jesuit Refugee Service - Europe: www.jrseurope.org
Detention of Refugees in Europe: www.detention-in-europe.org
Detention training project: www.accompanydetainees.org
Other relevant websites
Internationl Detention Coalition: www.idcoalition.org
International Committee of the Red Cross: www.icrc.org
UNHCR: www.unhcr.ch
Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org
Amnesty International: www.amnesty.org
EU Anti-Discrimination: www.stop-discrimination.info
Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights: www.lchr.org
European Network Against Racism: www.enar-eu.org
Read more about detention in Malta:
Cardinal Martino’s statement at the launch of the International Detention Coalition
European Parliament LIBE Committee report on Malta
Commitee for the Prevention of Torture report and government response
Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner report 1
Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner report 2
Ombudsman report 1
Ombudsman report 2
FIDH report
Glossary
Some useful definitions:
Asylum: the grant, by a State, of protection on its territory to persons from another State who are fleeing persecution or serious danger. A person who is granted asylum is a refugee. Asylum encompasses a variety of elements, including permission to remain on the territory of the asylum country, and humane standards of treatment.
Asylum seeker: someone who claims to be a refugee and whose request or application for asylum has not been finally decided on by a prospective country of refuge. An asylum seeker must usually undergo a legal procedure in which the host country decides if he qualifies for refugee status. International law recognises the right to seek asylum, but does not oblige states to provide it.
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees: a Convention that establishes legal standards for the protection of refugees. The Convention was adopted in July 1951 and entered into force in April 1954. To date, there are 137 States who are parties to the 1951 Convention and/or the 1967 Protocol.
De facto refugee: someone accepted as a refugee because of the circumstances of their country of origin, without having to prove individual persecution.
Detention: confinement within a narrowly bounded or restricted location, including prisons, closed camps, detention facilities or airport transit zones, where freedom of movements if substantially curtailed, and where the only opportunity to leave this limited area is to leave the territory.
Humanitarian protection: An increasing number of people, although falling outside the scope of the legal definition of the term 'refugee' are still in need of protection. The Refugees Act grants humanitarian protection to such asylum seekers who, in the opinion of the national Refugee Commissioner, cannot return safely to their country. It is a temporary form of protection, so far granted primarily to people fleeing countries torn apart by civil strife and characterised by complete breakdown of law and order. The status of humanitarian protection does not entail any rights and benefits, which may be problematic if persons have to stay for a longer period in Malta.
Local integration: when it is not safe for refugees to return home after a prolonged period in exile, a host government may decide to allow refugees to integrate locally, in the first-asylum country.
Migrant: A person who has left his country with the intention of settling in another country.
Non-refoulement: a core principle of refugee law that prohibits States from returning refugees in any manner whatsoever to countries or territories in which their lives or freedom may be threatened. The principle of non-refoulement is part of customary international law and is therefore binding on all States, whether or not they are parties to the 1951 Convention. Preventing asylum seekers from entering territory to ask for refuge is a violation of the principle of non-refoulement.
Persecution: generally refers to any severe violation of human rights. In the refugee context, ?persecution? refers to any act which fundamental rights are severely violated for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group.
Refoulement: the removal of a person to territory where she/he would be at risk of being persecuted, or of being moved to another territory where she/he would face persecution. Refoulement constitutes a violation of the principle of non-refoulement, and is therefore a breach of refugee law and of customary international law. This includes turning back people who turn up at the airport without valid documents.
Recognised refugee: Someone who has fled his or her country because he fears persecution based on race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinion. Recognised refugees are granted protection by governments under the provisions of the 1951 Convention.
Refugee status determination procedures: legal and administrative procedures undertaken by UNHCR and/or States to determine whether an individual should be recognised as a refugee in accordance with national and international law.
Repatriation/reintegration: the process by which refugees resume a normal life in their country of origin. Ideally, reintegration should follow from the durable solution of voluntary repatriation.
Resettlement: the transfer of refugees from the country in which they have sought refuge to another State that has agreed to admit them. The refugees will usually be granted asylum or some other for of long-term resident rights and, in many cases, will have the opportunity to become naturalised citizens.
Voluntary repatriation: When conditions in the home country have changed so much that refugees no longer believe their lives or liberty are threatened, so they may return home voluntarily.
UNHCR: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR is mandated to co-ordinate the worldwide protection of refugees.
Undocumented/irregular/illegal immigrant: All terms used to describe a vast category of people who travel from one country to another in an irregular or clandestine matter, as well as those whose stay in a country is illegal, meaning not according to national and international laws and regulations governing travel and stay.
Unaccompanied minors: children under 18 years of age who have been separated from both parents and are not being cared for by an adult who, by law or custom, is responsible to do so. Many unaccompanied minors are refugees or displaced people.
