The Changing Landscape of European Liberty and Security (CHALLENGE)

Researchers: R. Bergalli, C. Fernández, A. Manavella, I. Rivera Beiras (coord.)
Period: 01/06/2004-30/05/2009    In process

Funding: VIth Framwork Programme of the European Commission
Divulging activities:organization/participation on international conferences and workshops
Published on: Desafío(s) Journal.
 

Summary: the CHALLENGE Project is a European Union Commission-funded project integrated by 23 European universities that seeks to facilitate a more responsive and responsible assessment of rules and practices of security. It examines the implications of these practices for civil liberties, human rights and social cohesion in an enlarged Europe. The project analyses the illiberal practices of liberal regimes and challenges their justification on grounds of emergency and necessity. Specifically, the OPSHR is in charge of analyzing the impact of emergency policies on Euro Mediterranean relations, particularly regarding immigration and terrorism after the 11-S 2001 and 11-M 2004 attacks in the U.S.A and Spain, respectively.
 

CHALLENGE Project papers:
 

Analysis of terrorist legislation, evolution and practices of penal agencies in that field
Authors: M. Aranda, I. Rivera Beiras.
Summary: analysis of antiterrorist legislation, the evolution and practices of Spanish Criminal System agencies before and after the 11 September 2001 attacks. Specifically, after an overview of the international context regarding terrorism, this paper deepens the analysis of antiterrorist rules and practices in Spain, making a legislative and jurisdictional review and particularly caring about police and penitentiary practices.
 

Spanish immigration policies and legislative evolution in that field as a new exceptional framework
Authors: C. Fernández Bessa, J. M. Ortuño Aix.
Summary: throughout a detailed analysis of Spanish foreign legislation and its modifications from 1985 till now, as for the political context on each moment regarding immigration, we arrive to the conclusion that while the official naming of the “Foreign Law” pretends to guarantee foreign rights and liberties, and their social integration, in practice it’s used precisely for the opposite, since it allows the legal and social construction of “unlawful immigrant”. These persons face a severe restriction of their rights and are frequently forced to live in marginality, becoming “non-persons”.
Published on http://www.libertysecurity.org/article964.htm
 

Working Paper “On regulations against incivilities”
Authors: R. Bergalli, C. Fernández Bessa.
Summary: in Europe and in most of the big Occidental cities, some new criminological perspectives have supposed certain influence over control of urban conflicts. This is the case of the new Ordenança de measures per fomentar i garantir la convivència ciutadana a l’espai public de Barcelona, which came into force in January 2006. This Ordenança is responsible for the introduction of exceptional practices as a reaction before conducts defined as uncivilized and considered as an emergency.
Published on http://www.libertysecurity.org/article968.html
 

Deprivation of liberty and Human Rights in Spain
Authors: F. Cano, C. Fernández Bessa, A. Manavella, J. M. Ortuño Aix, I. Rivera Beiras.
Summary: This is the first report on the deprivation of liberty and human rights in the Spanish State. We also make a review on the prohibition of torture in the international context at a legal and jurisprudential level, as on the impunity practices we are used to in torture cases. Finally, we collect the claims and recommendations of the victims of torture and power abuse and the ones of international organizations.
Published on www.libertysecurity.or
 

The effects of exceptional legislation on criminalization of immigrants and people suspected of terrorism
Authors: C. Fernández Bessa, A. Manavella Suárez, J. M. Ortuño Aix.
Summary: in the current global war against terrorism context, traditional liberties and guarantees of the State of Law are not always abided in the same way for every person. This is the case, for example, of migrants, since they are many times considered “potentially” dangerous. Measures adopted to control immigration and to fight against terrorism dangerously confuse and finish having sad consequences for some persons.
Published on www.libertysecurity.org
 

Report on the situation of the Euro Mediterranean borders (from the point of view of the respect of Human Rights)
Authors: P.Ceriani Cernadas, C.Fernández Bessa, A.Manavella, V.Picco, L.Rodeiro.
Summary: immigration control measures have became a priority for European policies, facing the issue from the security perspective. The specific measures implemented by Spain and European agencies to prevent, to stop and to punish migrants who direct to Europe from Africa by irregular means, imply a violation of a big number of fundamental rights. This situation represents a great challenge for Europe that should be faced with an unrestricted respect of the International Law of Human Rights.
Published on www.libertysecurity.org

The punitive management of urban space
Authors: M. Acosta Vélez, A. Di Masso Tarditti, C. Fernández Bessa, M. Puig Ruiz, A. Roig Forteza, M. Cals i Suñer.
Summary: More than one year after the implementation of the by-law of “Measures to encourage and ensure coexistence among citizens in public spaces in Barcelona” in this report we conclude that it is clear that according this regulation the meaning of “coexistence” is not related with living together and the sharing of the urban space but with the exclusion of some groups of people from the right to the city. This regulation distinguish between those people who has the “right of enjoying the city” from those who could be fined by their anti-social characteristics.
 

The exceptionalism on the Basque peace process in Spain. “From enemies to citizens, or how to get out from exceptionalism and the culture of emergence”
Authors: A. Forero, I. Rivera Beiras, G. Rodríguez Fernández, G. Ubasart González.
Summary: The purpose of this paper is to show how in the present democracy it has been constructed and emergence regarding the Basque conflict aiming "to solve it". In order to do this, an historical review of the last peace process, from the conversations in 2002 to the halting of Arnaldo Otegi in June 2007, has been made. We have analysed the events from the perspective of the different political groups (izquierda abertzale, PSOE, PP, PNV, etc.) And finally we have compared the different speeches around the peace process constructed by the media through the analysis of the news published by the newspapers El País, Gara and El Mundo.