In response to allegations of “failure” and “unacceptable violence” at the brand-new administrative detention facility in Lyon, France, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor expressed its grave concern.
The center, which was constructed by the French government at Lyon Saint-Exupéry airport last year at a cost of 25 million euros, has deplorable living conditions as well as a tense and violent atmosphere, according to the Euro-Med Monitor. It has room for 140 persons, of whom 128 are now undocumented aliens.
Rejected immigrants, those seeking refuge, and former residents whose permits have been canceled are all detained. The people being kept at this facility are either from Eastern Europe or the Maghreb.
The Observatory for Human Rights claims that the detention facility is plagued with structural issues that violate the detainees’ fundamental rights to dignity and endanger their physical and emotional well-being. The center’s structure, which is made of concrete and mesh and is characterized by severe limitations, much like a prison, produces a hostile environment that is rife with tension, fear, and violence.
Despite the fact that there are 200 border police in the facility, he claimed that young immigrants were detained alongside elderly inmates without taking any potential threats into account.
The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory said, “The detainees are only allowed to eat for 30 minutes a day, and they are given an hour for interaction, either with non-governmental organizations to consider appeals, or with medical professionals. Each inmate has their own modest space in the section, but there are no additional opportunities for entertainment.
“The detention conditions at the Centre violate international human rights law, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which guarantee that all detainees are treated with humanity and respect for their dignity,” the man claimed.
The right to liberty and security is protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, which France has accepted. Torture and other cruel or inhumane treatment are also prohibited.
The EU Directive on Return also lays out guidelines for how migrants who are detained should be treated, including providing their access to medical care, legal counsel, and decent housing that respects their human dignity and their right to bodily and mental health.
“The appalling design of the French detention center and the unlivable conditions combined with the fact that future facilities may be modeled after this center indicates a deliberate aim to torture migrants as a measure of deterrence,” said Rami Abdo, the head of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.
The French government should instead treat young people as fellow humans whose fundamental rights to dignity and freedom must be safeguarded, he continued, rather than using their treatment as a deterrent to make an example of them.
The Euro-Med Monitor urged the French government to address problems with the administrative detention facility in Lyon immediately and to guarantee that the rights and human dignity of every detainee are fully respected.
He encouraged officials to reconsider their intentions to construct further detention facilities that are similar to the one in Lyon and to give higher priority to the creation of substitute, non-custodial solutions that would protect these people’s rights and safety and advance social integration.
