Human rights violations at the UK-French border have been widely documented and highly criticised for several years. The UK and France have collaborated in order to keep refugees and displaced persons away from the UK-French border, which has resulted in a system of violent evictions. Human Rights Observers’ (HRO) Annual Report 2019 details the relentless evictions, intimidation and destruction of property refugees and displaced persons face in Calais and Grande-Synthe. The figures relate to the period from 1 January to 31 December 2019, during which HRO observed 875 of a total 961 evictions.
WHAT IS HAPPENING?
The report shows that evictions in Calais and Grande-Synthe account for 85% of known evictions in Metropolitan France. 94% of these evictions have no known legal basis. In Calais, the number of evictions has more than doubled when compared to 2018, with 814 evictions between October 2018 and October 2019 and 961 evictions of informal settlements between 1 January and 31 December 2019. In Grande-Synthe, the number of evictions has more than quadrupled when compared to 2018, with 164 evictions between October 2018 and October 2019 and 178 evictions of informal settlements between 1 January and 31 December 2019.
During these evictions, informal living spaces were destroyed and personal items were confiscated. In all of the evictions observed in Grande-Synthe, all living areas were destroyed (using knives, saws or chainsaws) and items seized included tents, kitchen utensils and books. In 36% of evictions in Calais, basic necessities were seized, including blankets, sleeping bags and mattresses. In 37.2% of evictions, other types of personal belongings were seized, including identity and asylum application documents, telephones and clothes.
Heavy police presence is common at evictions. In Grande-Synthe, national police carry out the majority of evictions with support of riot police and a bailiff. HRO further reports that border police, Police aux Frontieres (PAF), are also present “to control the administrative situation of displaced people”. HRO observed 161 arrests from 24 October to 31 December 2019. In Calais, PAF were present in 46% of observed evictions and 342 arrests were made. These “xenophobic and repressive” operations are carried out solely by law enforcement officials, with no social workers present.
98% of evictions have not been the subject of any alternative shelter proposals. HRO argues that this highlights the “willingness of public authorities to carry out continual harassment and violence against displaced people”. When alternative shelter is provided, it is temporary in nature, as individuals can usually only stay in a shelter for a maximum period of two weeks. In Grande-Synthe in 2019, 1,108 people were sheltered under order of the prefecture and around 1,345 were denied shelter. Of the 2,453 people who presented themselves at an assigned area wishing to be sheltered, almost 55% were refused.
COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the relentless cycle of evictions continues. So far in 2020 there have been over 800 evictions in Calais alone. In November, police were accused of using excessive force after a violent eviction near Paris affected over 2,000 people. Daily evictions continue uninterrupted despite the global health crisis, with a total disregard to fundamental human rights.
CONCLUSION
The violent removal of refugees and displaced persons, coupled with the failure to provide alternative shelter or adequate support for these vulnerable individuals, not only ignores their fundamental human rights, but serves to exacerbate the trauma that these individuals have already suffered. Attempted channel boat crossings have increased by almost 500% between 2017 and 2019, an obvious consequence of this system. In their report, HRO calls on both France and the UK “to implement migration policies that respect the rights of displaced people”, and to act in accordance with their international and European obligations when guaranteeing the right to reception and asylum.
Shannon is an LLB Law with Politics graduate from Queen's University Belfast. Since graduating she has worked for Allen & Overy LLP, where she sits on the Pro Bono Committee. As the Project Coordinator for A&O's Pro Bono partnership with the AIRE Centre, she facilitates a letter writing initiative in order to promote awareness of legal rights and assist people in vulnerable circumstances to assert those rights.