Human Rights Watch denounces French police's 'degrading' treatment of Calais migrants

Migrants are seen at a make shift camp in the vicinity of the former 'Jungle' camp site, near the northern French port city of Calais on February 18, 2019.
Migrants are seen at a make shift camp in the vicinity of the former 'Jungle' camp site, near the northern French port city of Calais on February 18, 2019. Copyright PHILIPPE HUGUEN / AFP
By Euronews
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The report accuses the police of mass evictions, harassment, and restricting access to humanitarian assistance for migrants on the northern French coast.

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Human Rights Watch released a new report Thursday on France's "degrading" treatment of migrants around Calais.

The 79-page document comes five years after authorities demolished the sprawling Calais migrant camp often referred to as "The Jungle". But many people are still in the area, aiming to cross the Channel and reach England.

It claims more than 1,000 people are staying in various encampments in and around the coastal town. HRW writes of repeated mass eviction operations, near-daily police harassment, and restrictions on the provision of and access to humanitarian assistance.

The report, named "Enforced Misery: The Degrading Treatment of Migrant Children and Adults in Northern France", claims authorities carried out what the organisation called "abusive practices with the primary purpose of forcing people to move elsewhere, without resolving their migration status or lack of housing, or of deterring new arrivals".

Watch the full video report in the player above.

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