Statewatch

Act now! Contact your MPs and MEPs and tell them to oppose further migration cooperation with Libya. Earlier this week, the so-called Libyan coast guard opened fire on the humanitarian search-and-rescue ship, Sea-Watch 5 (@seawatchcrew ). While under fire, the crew and the 90 survivors they had on board from a recent rescue were even threatened with abduction. The so-called Libyan coast guard is part of the EU's cooperation with Libya. And yet, the EU hasn't taken any reasonable action to stop aggression like this from continuing. We need a more humane approach to migration, not more cooperation with violent militias. Help us stop it by contacting your MEPs and sharing this document and our message with friends and family, asking them to do the same. Link in bio. Sea-watch 5 footage credit: Leo Spartacus

The latest issue of the Institute of Race Relation's publication "Race & Class" reviews a supposedly “green” and “pro-women’s safety” UNHCR project. The project is a part of their Refugee Environmental Protection (REP) Fund and uses refugee labour in the Global South to generate carbon credits to be traded on global markets. The Race & Class issue argues that what the project is really doing is abusing refugee labour to generate carbon credits. It is directly and indirectly using the labour of those displaced to maintain their own displacement while actually worsening environmental and climate outcomes. Right now, 1.5 per cent of the global population now forcibly displaced. Around a fifth ending up in camp stays from 10 to 15 years. And instead of helping this problem, projects like these increase the likelihood of long-term containment within ‘camps’ governed by the wider logic of the securitisation of migratory flows. So, if you or anyone you know believes in the ‘greening of refugee camps’ you need to read this: .uk/article/the-mobilisation-of-refugee-labour-for-carbon-credits-as-maladaptive-practice/

The UK is trialling a 'neighbourhood' policing strategy that has historically been used as a counterinsurgency tactic by the US military and other colonising forces. While it has been re-branded as a successful, community-centric approach, "Clear, hold, build" (CHB) has resulted in police targeting of some of society’s most marginalised groups. A historical analysis we just published makes it clear: CHB's imperial doctrine represents the introduction of colonial military methods meant to dominate, rather than uplift, local communities. Read the analysis by Aron Pandian and statement by @lambethcopwatch at link in bio. Videos sourced from the youtube accounts of: The Police Foundation (ThePoliceFdnUK) Nottinghamshire Police (nottinghampolice) Suffolk Constabulary (SuffolkConstabularyUK) South Yorkshire Police (SYPCommunications) Joe Rogan Experience (joerogan)

The 16th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now. As always, it contains a lot of documents that we've (mostly) gotten from the Council of the European Union about all the ways that Europe is trying to keep people out and get people out. In this issue, one document makes it clear Frontex will likely start deporting people between non-EU countries. Another urges member states make sure they’ve got people locked down at the border so they don’t stray too far from the state’s grip. In a third, the EU council presidency is asking delegates whether they want more cooperation on migration control with Libya’s coastal militias. Another casually concedes that unaccompanied children might be thrown in detention. On that particularly stood out was this one on AI in border control. This discussion document for one of the Council’s externalisation working groups gushes over all the possible uses of AI for border purposes. These include: search and rescue, ID verification, processing data-sets, predicting trends and qualitative case-file analysis to inform asylum decisions. Find the document and read the latest issue, here: /outsourcing-borders-monitoring-eu-externalisation-policy/bulletin-15/

We've just published the Commission's proposal for EU-US data exchange. What they suggest would violate EU law. Since December 2025, the European Union and the United States of America have been negotiating an agreement to exchange information. Anyone’s data exchanged under this proposed agreement could be used for a wide range of purposes. This includes preventing or arresting people travelling to the USA who have voiced opposition to US policies in Europe, or for automated discriminatory profiling of travellers. Access the document and read the full analysis by Romain Lanneau (@romainthering ): /analyses/2026/eu-us-data-exchange-proposal-in-conflict-with-eu-laws/

The UK has had a Labour party government for nearly two years. In their manifesto, they promised that change would "begin immediately". Yet, under Prime Minister Keir Starmer's watch the government has continued—and even intensified—the same crackdown on civil liberties begun by its Conservative predecessors. The results? More surveillance. Greater potential for police abuse. The criminalisation of nearly all meaningful forms of protest. We've laid out the full timeline of the government's actions since 2024, which you can find at link in bio

We didn't need a 22-point manifesto to know what Palantir wants—the evidence has been everywhere. As Romain put it last week, after disrupting a Palantir event in Amsterdam: "The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, lists in her report, ‘From economy of occupation to economy of genocide’, Palantir as one of the companies complicit in the genocide in Gaza. The American company had collaborated with Israel long before the genocide. In fact, the company's tech experiment does not stop at complicity in genocide; they also dabble in war crimes. In the early stage of the war in Iran, the US bombed a school with the help of AI. The use of AI in this context could only be done with the infrastructure provided by Palantir. (see the excellent book on AI-powered warfare by Katrina Manson) I can also talk about Elite, the Palantir App ICE uses to identify neighbourhoods to raid. The objective is not precision. It has never been. In the same way that AI is used in Gaza, it is merely an excuse to target a list of people." Credits: Video of Alex Karp from "Palantir CEO Alex Karp Opening Remarks | AIPCon 9" by Palantir on YouTube

Last night, Statewatch researcher Romain Lanneau (@romainthering ) disrupted an event by US surveillance firm Palantir. They highlighted Palantir's complicty in the genocide in Gaza and involvement with American ICE and military. And this is the company the UK government wants in the NHS. Sign the petition to help stop it: .uk/

Europol is in the process of hiring a new director to replace Catherine de Bolle. At the same time, the former executive director of Frontex faces a French court for complicity in crimes against humanity. Both agencies have a history of acting beyond the law to prevent people from migrating to Europe, with little to no repercussions. In fact, Under Catherine de Bolle’s leadership, Europol was reprimanded by the European Data Protection Supervisor for its unlawful data practices. But instead of making Europol change, EU legislators changed the law. If Europol's new director follows suit, the recent reform to the Europol regulation will likely shield them from adequate oversight. Read more in this article by Romain Lanneau: /news/2026/april/europol-seeks-a-new-director-to-shape-the-agency-s-future/

€27.1 million in hidden funds by the EU. Does that sound right to you? Read more about @irpimedia 's investigation and find the full report, "Financing the Violence", produced in collaboration with @sosmediterranee , at link in bio

The UK Labour Party came to power in July 2024 promising change and an end to 14 years of the right-wing rule seen under the Tories. Instead, it has since entrenched some of the Tories’ worst overreaches—and added some more of its own. Statewatch contributor and organiser James Olufemi Anderson ( @joahanderson ) has now mapped the resulting decline of rights, alongside the legal action against of Palestine Action and its supporters. Read more and view the timeline here: /analyses/2026/the-decline-of-rights-under-uk-s-labour-2024-2026/ Image description: UK prime minister Keir Starmer looms behind a timeline mapping the steady decline of rights under his party since 2024. The pictured examples include the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group, sweeping reforms to policing to increase use of biometrics analysis and AI, and the recent arrest of Qesser Zuhrah, the youngest of the Filton 24. The full timeline can be found at the link.

The 15th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now. This month's bulletin includes a document that is almost laughably horrific. In it, the Council Presidency implores the EU’s main border externalisation committee to *mention* human rights more when dealing with non-EU partner countries. Other documents cover the future of Frontex's governance structure, the expanded use of Article 25a sanctions, and Egypt and Europol's plans for exchanging data. • Sketches of future Frontex governance structure We’re slowly getting more details on how Frontex may be governed after its mandate review later in the year. Even though the agency has been implicated in many incidents of abuse against people on the move, it appears the EU is anxious that it doesn’t get too constrained by the new governance and oversight. • Commission opens door for expanded use of Article 25a sanctions ­EU member states are apparently keen to use visa sanctions more against countries that they think are ‘insufficiently’ cooperating with them on deportations. The European Commission has been more than happy to oblige them, and is now suggesting other areas of cooperation the sanctions could be used for. • Egypt and Europol working on exchange of personal data Spotted in the latest Action File for Egypt, it appears that an agreement for personal data exchange is in the works, something that should have rights activists extremely concerned. We’ll be following this one up for sure. The issue also contains the EU's detailed "action files" for several countries: • Egypt • Tunisia • Mauritania • Afghanistan • The Western Mediterranean and Atlantic Route Read the issue at the link in bio