Barcelona’s Immigration Plan is a very transcendental fact for Barcelona, both socially and politically. All the groups represented in Barcelona’s City Council have been working for longer than a year, in a discre- te but continuous, ordinate and constant way . I would like to express my gratitude and satisfaction for this agreement. This previous effort in finding contact political points and elements is not very common, so we can say with deep conviction that we have a shared plan, as well as we have renounced transforming this topic in a partisan manifestation – which, as you know, would involve an important social risk -. In fact, we have seen how, as a result of this, in some European and American cities and societies, the quality of the cohabitation has suffered a very concrete degradation. I can only remember a previous similar antecedent, the Drugs Plan, in a moment when drug addic- tion, mainly to heroine, shocked our society so radically that an effort to get a political agreement was neces- sary, and comprehensible for society. There is time for everything, and so must be in a democracy. I mean that expressing different opinions is legitimate, logical and our obligation as political parties, in concrete topics. That is the essence of demo- cracy. But sometimes, political responsibility means the contrary, coming to agreements. And both things have the same moral category. Expressing disagreement, when it must be done, and making the effort to reach agreements, as in this case, have the same moral category. And I am pleased to see that in the city Barcelona we are able to do so. Barcelona City Council is the first political institution of effective government which reaches an agre- ement of this kind. The agreement reached in el Parlament is a very estimable precedent, but parliamentary 136 english reflections and mechanisms have another nature. We are a government and act directly upon the territory and things. We have a direct incidence, without the intervention of any other scope, in the modification of people’s life conditions. Which is very important, that is why this agreement is so relevant. I would like to thank the different political groups their effort, as I know that nobody is completely satisfied with the text, as everyone has given up part of what they would have liked to express to the citi- zens of Barcelona. As in this topic, which is crucial for the future of the city, the political groups have made the effort to do a deepest analysis of the causes and consequences of the evolution and its previsions, and decided to work together to design a better future which will depend, obviously, on the increase or growing evolution of immigration. We are facing a new phenomenon, which, from my point of view, will be equivalent to the immigra- tion waves of the 20th Century, one before Spanish Civil War, and a second one during the 1950’s and 1960’s. The situation is the following: in 1996 there were 30.000 immigrants, in 1997, when I was inves- ted as Major, there were from 37.000 to 38.000, and, this year, in November, there were around 159.000 immigrants. Thus, immigrants are reaching a 9 % or 10 % of the censed population in the city of Barcelona. So that, we are facing a new immigration wave and I use the term “wave” as it has been a sudden and numerous phenomenon. The figures are very high in a short period, so that, there is an objective change of the situation and conditions. The second difference, or the second thing to be stressed, is that this immigration wave is very diffe- rent to those of the 20th Century, as it brings new cultures which are very distant to ours in different aspects: linguistic, religious, cooking and hygienic habits. It means, clearly different and far cultures. An aspect which is basic for some of the points that we have agreed. Culturally we are not a clean sweep, we are not a neutral society. We have an existing culture, Catalan culture, our way of cohabiting, attitudes of the people from Barcelona towards life, our way of being, beha- ving in the street, driving, blowing one’s horn, dirtying the street, celebrating parties, talking or shouting. These things are part of the way of being of our community and now we have the presence of new people with different habits and cultures. This subject is very important, as people do not manifest themselves neutrally towards a life style but affirmatively. A very important issue are rights and duties. It is clear that all citizens, regardless of their race or cultu- re of origin, and independently of the time or reason why they are here, have the same rights and duties.. There is another aspect, justice and equity. We want to grow in justice and equity. We want a fair and equitable society and, so that, a welfare state which provides the same services to everybody. The concept 137 of non-positive discrimination towards immigrants, but an equal treatment is very important. The only english problem is that it is very easy to be said and to de defended from a theoretical approach but it must be applied to reality. We, from the City Council, can not guarantee equality for all the citizens in the world, because we do not have the means or resources to do so, furthermore, sometimes, we do not have the means or resources to do it in our city, not only for new comes but for those who already lived in Barcelona. Thus, it must be applied and involves a change of our cultural appreciation of cohabitation. It means that the justice and equity that we want for our city must be applied concretely. There are very concrete issues, such as rights and duties, how worship intention and needs are interpreted, or how the attempt to help everybody who needs it is interpreted and applied in our city, despite they are in an irregular situation. We want to deal with all this issues in an ordered and quiet way. Security is also very important. People do not talk about this issue very often as it is very complex and complicated. But the fact that we can guarantee security to all the citizens, immigrants and locals is crucial. So that, the concept of non-positive discrimination means that the treatment in front of justice must be the same for everybody. And we know that some things must change if we want to improve security in our city, precisely for most of the immigrants, who do not have any connection with security problems. We are facing a change in our city, which has a 9% or 10% of immigration from other cultures of origin, which means a change in the statu quo. And this is the change that we want to face with the convic- tion that we have done an important previous task of political agreement in the best possible way. In other words, avoiding too easy attitudes strictly limited to good wills, but performing concrete proposals and measures. In the Plan, there are 90 measures and actions, and I truly believe that this is very relevant. It is the best we can offer to the citizens of Barcelona. The fact that, before the political campaign, taking profit of the quiet reflection and a dialogue without double or triple meanings, we have made the sincere effort to reach an agreement, giving up our partisan positions, favouring a consensus to achieve a plan which may allow us facing such an important and difficult issue. I would like to thank the presidents of the different groups and all those who have worked in it, , Eduard Spagnolo, Ernest Maragall, Núria Carrera, because you have fulfilled a great task which will be incre- ased and continued by means of the plan and works that must be performed in a near future. Joan Clos i Matheu The Mayor of Barcelona 138 english 139 english 1.1. General considerations PREMISE 1: In a globalized world with severe differences, migration movements of great scope take place As a result of the European socioeconomic situation, as well as those of the other strongly developed countries, a “calling” effect acts upon the population of a lot of African, Latin American, Asian and Eastern European countries. This situation is triggered by the poverty and, in some cases, the situations of violence that affect these countries, which generate an “expelling“ effect towards their population. Nowadays, the sociodemographic situation and the precariousness of many countries tends to “expel” a part of their popu- lation who expect an improvement of their expectations in other areas of the planet. In most cases, forced by the circumstances of their countries of origin. According to United Nations, an 80% of the population of the world live in developing countries. The World Bank points out that, on a population of 6,000 million people, 2.800 millions live with daily incomes below 2 dollars and 1,200 millions survive with less than 1 dollar a day. A 20% of the babies born in deve- loping countries have a life expectancy below 5 years and malnutrition affects a 50% of the under-age youngsters from poor countries. While the illiteracy rate is a 1.3% in Europe, in the developing countries it reaches 26,3% and a 40% in Africa. The immigration phenomenon has increased during the last years in such a way that it forces the different levels of a government, from EU to local, to adopt an attitude with regard to it. It should be, never- theless, the result of a debate and a calm reflection regarding which is the current situation, its evolution and which horizons are set for a near future, in contrast with a reactionary stance which would become criti- cally conflictive. If we compare the growth rate of the population from different areas of the world and its forecast for the following years, we will see the dimension of a process that will keep on growing and also affect the population of the countries of origin that due to their formation, health or vital incentives can travel to other countries to improve their life conditions. The fact that the population who leave a country are outstanding, in other words, it is not the people who are in a worst socioeconomic position, must be taken into account. The appearance of a non-desired economic rescission situation in the European Union would not change this tendency, moreover, the fact that this situation takes place only in a single country is not proba- 140 english ble. Nevertheless, a European crisis would not modify the unbalance with the developing countries, so that, the main reasons for migration movements would prevail. However, the real risk of a European recession would mean a growth of the social tension in the countries of reception. 1 INTRODUCTION Geographical area Population Growth Growth Rate in 2000 Rate Estimation (millions of inhabitants) (1985-2000) (2000-2015) Whole World 6,055 1.5 1.1 Africa 784 2.5 2.1 North America 310 1.0 0.7 Latin America 519 1.7 1.3 Asia 3,682 1.6 1.1 Europe 729 0.2 0.1 Oceania 30 1.4 1.1 Source: United Nations Influences of world population. 2000. PREMISE 2: The pressure of the migration flows to countries of the European Union is a structural situation which will keep on growing during the following years Its is not, as some years ago, a process of movement between countries (in most cases as a result of the old processes of decolonisation and the preferential relationship with southern countries) but a more global reality which affects western countries directly. In the European case, the creation of the European Union, with different laws regarding the arrival of people from other countries, as well as the relaxation or elimination of internal borders, is another element which makes the arrival and stay of people easier, in many cases in an irregular administrative situation as it is set in the different laws of the countries of the European Union which regulate the entrance and presen- ce of immigration. Both borders control and deportation policies have a limited efficiency as well as the first attempts to create a common policy regarding immigration. Spain due, among other reasons, to its geographical situation, is on the lead regarding immigrant people reception. Last year, a 24% of the foreigners who entered the European Union did it through Spain. Nevertheless, the positive aspects of immigration towards the hosting countries must be stated, such as the growth in the birth rate, the amount of social contributions, the contribution of working and professional skilled people or the enrichment of cultural relationships. However, when analysing immigration in the city , the fact that different territorial divisions -The city 141 of Barcelona, The Metropolitan Area, Catalonia, Spain And Europe- are superimposed in present context can english not be avoided, as well as the fact that some decisions must be taken at all levels to be able to perform inte- grative and efficient immigration policies. PREMISE 3: Immigration is a phenomenon which affects mainly cities and metropolitan areas Urban areas are the main destination of a population seeking for opportunities in areas of the world where economy is going trough a strong process of tertirization. The service sector is the emerging nucleus of jobs, although other production sectors (specially construction industry) attract a lot of immigrant people yet. Agricultural sector also attracts an important amount of population but temporarily and most of them move to urban areas later. Moreover, the fact that the immigration that affects us is mostly immigration from city to city must be taken into account, because internal migrations in developing countries gather progressively in cities. Cities present a greater scope of working opportunities than rural areas ,and are, at the same time, a more diverse living space to focus strategies in order to look for opportunities, although settlement proces- ses of immigrant population in rural areas should not be underestimated. The incorporation of the immigrants to the working market in a more vulnerable situation than locals forces them to work in the less qualified jobs, which seems to have a stacking effect, if not devaluation, in 1 the salaries . This fact has, of course, an incidence upon the balance and social cohesion. PREMISE 4: Immigration that arrives with the idea of staying Most immigrant population arrived to the European Union comes with the idea of building up new expectations that they lacked in their countries of origin. Although the “return myth” is always present in migration processes, and the return also takes place sometimes, the settlement of new population and the total number of birth of immigrants children shows how the tendency to stay takes place clearly in Barcelona. The combination of the “calling” and the “expelling” effects generates a wish to stay in the hosting country and, more concretely, in the cities with good conditions for stability. However, immigrant population tends to settle firstly in the more declined neighbourhoods, with lower rents, a greater social problematic and, as a consequence, more possibilities of social conflict. 142 english PREMISE 5: Immigration travels with real and complex problems Part of the immigrants who arrive to Barcelona are dogged by a socioeconomic situation which affects 1 According to V. Pérez Díaz in “Spain in front of the immigration”, the estimation of the National Research Council of the National Science Academy, the fact that immigration in the USA has reduced a 44% the salary of less skilled workers between 1980 and 1994 is very probable. 1 INTRODUCTION social cohesion and welfare (pensions, unemployment, social services, health care, etc.) making their limita- tions clear. This forces to guarantee access to all citizens in equal conditions social policies must be reinfor- ced and resources increased with this finality. The growing arrival of people with needs means a rise in the demands with the risk of relegating locals attended by welfare institutions if more resources are not allocated to attend the growth of this population in need. Another aspect related nowadays with immigration to take into account is the incidence of crime rela- ted to people traffic networks, which must be contemplated due to its transcendence and links to the social problematic of some people. PREMISE 6: All cities, like Barcelona, are able to assume a given and limited increment of new comers The hosting capacity of a city does not depend exclusively on the amount of new comers but also on its economic and social reality. When this is exceeded, both because of a massive affluence of people or their gathering in a concrete zone of the city, tensions may appear. If the new come population belongs to another cultural domains, with different habits and standards in contrast with the hosting society, the pressure of the migration movements may lead to conflicts, with the outbreak of prejudices and xenophobia. The presence of people in irregular situation and their difficult inte- gration may result in conflictive situations that the municipal government must solve without having the necessary legal resources. Nevertheless, Barcelona’s society must work actively to favour cohabitation in a future scenario of great cultural diversity, and be able to face difficulties and challenges to transform them in new opportuni- ties and sources of enrichment. 1.2. Situation data Evolution of foreign population 143 In Barcelona, censed immigrant population has been increasing very quickly during the last years. From english 40,000 censed immigrants in 1999 the city has gone to 113,000 at the end of December 2001 and 139,189 at the end of June 2002. This mean, for example, a growth percentage between march 2001 and march 2002 of a 52.1%, with more than a 3% per month. While the percentage of foreigners from developed countries has grown during this period (march 2001- march 2002) a 27.1%, the percentage from other countries has grown a 58.2%. This quick growth, which also affects Catalonia, means that if in 1999 foreigner population in the city was a 2.7%, on January 2001 it reached a 4.9%, on January 2002 a 7.6% and at the end of June de 2002 it has reached a 9.2%. Censing has been growing from last January in the ratio of 4,000 peoples a month. Regarding foreigner population in administrative irregular situation, both the demands of regulariza- tion and Health Care Identification Cards can give an estimation of their real dimension. In the first case, the measures of the government have made thousand of people in administrative irregular situation come to the surface, specially as a consequence of the denegation of residence permit and unresolved expedients that force wide collectives of immigrant people to leave the country and while they do not, whether for a lack of will or incapacity to do so, they are forced to leave in precarious situations. During the data collection of the regularisation process of 2001, in the province of Barcelona 153,820 solicitudes were presented, from which 64,577 (42%) were refused and 89,243 (58%) were approved. As well, 44,891 settlement files were presented from 15,569 were granted. The Permanent Immigration Observatory calculated on 31/03/2.002 in 218,201 the amount of foreig- ner people living in the province of Barcelona with valid residence permit. Te impact of immigration can be measured up by means of the number of births, which obviously is higher where there is a greater settlement of immigrants, thus, the most relevant case is Ciutat Vella where a 31% of the babies born between 1995 and 1999 have a foreign mother. In Barcelona, the total amount of babies of a foreign mother mean a 17.8% from the total births in 2001. This shows the existence of settled foreign families who make their residence steady in our city, and clarifies the existence of integration processes in the community, as well as the necessity to guarantee them access to Health, Social and Educational Services with the same conditions than local citizens, as well as increasing the resources allocated to this new citizenry. Non communitarian most numerous collectives in Barcelona 144 english The diversity in the immigrant collective has been growing during the last years, although it is not expected to keep on growing at the same rate. The logic of the immigration, the different national legisla- 1 INTRODUCTION tions and the opportunities have defined the different profiles of immigrants in each country. In the case of Spain and cities like Barcelona, Latin-American population has substituted progressively the population from the north of Africa and other areas of the world. Population from central and South America represent a 52% of the total number of censed immigrants in the city. 1.3. Normative-jurisdictional frame Below, there is a brief approximation to the distribution of competences regarding immigration with a special stress in towns. Firstly, what is established in the Spanish Constitution and the Catalan Statute of 2 Autonomy and, later, laws which were passed subsequently . Main nationalities of censed immigrants in the city Nationalities % regarding Increase June 2002 the total amount (31/3/2001 a of immigrants. June 2002 31/3/2002) Ecuador 23,230 16.7 90.7 Colombia 11,909 8.6 96.4 Morocco 10,777 7.7 36.2 Peru 9,883 7.1 24.9 Pakistan 8,343 6.0 92.0 Argentina 7,156 5.1 90.9 Dominican Republic 5,530 4.0 20.1 Philippines 4,419 3.2 20.3 China 4,046 2.9 34.6 Other countries 53,896 38.7 42.1 Total foreigners BCN 139,1898 100 52.1 Source: Municipal Census. July 2002. 1. Jurisdictional regime regarding immigration according to the Spanish Constitution and the Catalan Statute of Autonomy Spanish Constitution confers exclusive competence as regards immigration, emigration, status and 145 rights of foreigners to the national government (art. 149.1.2 SC) which implies that the national government english must fulfil both normative and executive functions as regards this subjects, although they may also be execu- ted by the organs that belong to the Autonomic Government. 2 E Drawn up by the central law services of Barcelona City Council. La Generalitat de Catalunya also has competences on subjects that may affect immigration. So that, it has normative and executive functions in culture (art. 9.4 CSA), urbanism and housing (art. 9.9 CSA), social services (art. 9.25 CSA), employment (art. 11.2 CSA), teaching (art. 15 CSA) and health (art. 17 CSA). It also has executive functions in employment, except for interior and exterior migration without affecting what is set in the national normative (art. 11.2 CSA). As it is known, local organisations don not have competences allocated by the EC or the CSA but by a specific legislation, both sectorial and local. However, the immigration phenomenon affects municipal inte- rests too, so that, by means of the municipal autonomy principle (art. 137 SC) there is a requirement that the legislation bears towns in mind whether to allocate them competences and/or guarantee their partici- pation in decision-taking when they affect them in terms of immigration. Moreover, constitutional guaran- tee of monetary sufficiency must be bear in mind in order to increase the benefits of municipal and auto- nomic services as regard immigration (articles 142 and principles established in the articles 150.2 and 158 of the SC). In terms of the Plans, the importance of two law texts at a European level must be stressed: the European Union Fundamental Rights Charter, passed in Tampere in 1999, and the Relative Green Book for communitarian policy of extradition of illegal immigrant, which are nowadays being elaborated. 2. Jurisdictional regime regarding immigration according to legislation Below, we will see the jurisdictional regime regarding immigration established in legislation with a special emphasis in municipal competences. As we have said, we will take the competences of the autono- mies and towns regarding subjects that affect immigrants social integration, as well as reflecting the addi- tional disposition 9 Royal Decree 864/2001, on 20 July, rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain and their social integration “Competent Public Administrations will be able to apply their competences in matters that affect social integration of foreigners in Spain”. 2.1. National Administrations As we have already mentioned, National Administrations have the functions which regard immigra- tion directly as, for example, stay and residence permits, work permits, granting asylum, sanctioning juris- 146 english diction, expelling and devolution. The National Government also must host foreigners in irregular situation in the following cases : 1 INTRODUCTION • Department of Work and Social Welfare, to fulfil social integration finalities, it must have a “Public net of immigration centres” to perform functions of attention, hosting, social intervention or deriva- tion of immigrants who are in a vulnerable situation or in a risk of social exclusion (art. 145 a 147 del Royal Decree 864/2001). • The ingress in internment centres of foreigners going through administrative sanctioning processes for different serious infringement who are proposed to be expelled (art. 62 LO 4/2000, on 11 January, rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain–according to the modification of the LO 8/2000- and their social integration and the 127 Royal Decree 864/2001). Despite the General Administration of the Nation has the competences, law authority must: • Authorizing the ingress of the immigrant in internment an centre of foreigners. • Authorizing the extradition decided by the administration when the foreigner is accused in a sanc- tioning process for offences with a sentences inferior to 6 years, expect crimes related to people traf- fic networks typified in the art. 312, 318 B, 515.6, 517 and 518 the penal code (art. 57.7 LO 4/2000). • Expelling immigrants in irregular situation condemned whether as a substitution of custodial senten- ces inferior to 6 years or as a substitution to custodial sentences inferior to 6 when a minimum of 3 quarters of the condemn have been served (art. 89 penal code). • Expelling immigrants in irregular situation condemned whether as a substitution of custodial senten- ces (for example, internment in psychiatric or drugs detoxification centre) accorded for those foreig- ners which have not been able to be condemned because a responsibility exception cause set in the sections 1 to 3 of the art. 20 of the penal code (art. 96 and 108 of the penal code). Finally, it must only be stated that the penal code of 1995 (with modifications introduced by Organic Law 4/2000 and 8/2000) presents different crimes which typify some actions against immigrants whether crimes against worker rights (art. 312, 313, 314 and 318), against the exercise of fundamental rights and public freedom (art. 510, 511, 512, 515, 517.1 and 518), against international community (art. 607), against people and protected goods in case of an armed conflict (art. 611) and against the rights of foreign citi- zens(art. 318 B). 2.2. Generalitat 147 As we have already mentioned, la Generalitat has normative and executives function in the mentio- english ned subject. The Decree 188/2001, on 26 June, the foreigners and their social integration in Catalonia, has concreted and widened the benefits of some public services linked to the rights of immigrants, such as free law assistance, education, work, health care, aids in homing, social services and facilities. As well as the exer- cise of some jurisdiction of inspection in working matters . Concretely, the art. 9.2 Decree 188/2001 has concreted that foreigners in irregular situation have the right to most primary social attention services (basic primary services of social attention, home attention, dinning halls, residences of limited stay, open centres for children and teenagers) and added urgent social aid. This implies a widening of the social services available for foreigners in irregular situation as it goes beyond the basic services of primary social attention services to gather all primary social attention. This concretion and widening carried out by the art. 9.2 Decree 188/2001 is possible upon the base of a consti- tutional and statuary regime and the distribution of competences between the National Government and la Generalitat mentioned, as la Generalitat must define the social services, it has exclusive jurisdiction in social services matters (art- 9.25 CSA). A concretion of these competences may be the agreement reached by IMSERSO and la Generalitat to finance a net of hosting for immigrant in vulnerable situations. 2.3. Towns Below, we present the most important municipal competences regarding immigration matters. a) Municipal census management City councils must incorporate, and keep actualised, in the municipal census the information that regards foreigners leaving in the town, as it is required in the art. 6.3 of the LO 4/2000. In fact, it is a remin- der of what is disposed in the Law 7/1985, on 2 April, which regulates the basis of municipal regime. According to the art. 15 of this Law, “every person that lives in Spain must be registered in the municipal census of the town where one lives regularly” and the art. 17 presents that “the formation, maintenance, revision and care of the municipal census is an obligation of the City Council, according to what is establis- hed in the National Legislation”. Apart from the duty of the city councils, the register of foreigners in the municipal census has the following consequences. • It may be a mean to prove the stay in order to request a residence permit. • It permits foreigners in regularised situation receive the rights established by the local regime legis- 148 english lation (art. 6.2 LO 4/2000 and 2 Decree 188/2001). • It permits foreigners in irregular situations receive some rights such as health care (art. 12.1 LO 4/2000 and 7.1 Decree 188/2001), aids in homing if it is to attend emergency social situations and 1 INTRODUCTION specify regulation basis of aids (art. 8.2 Decree 188/2001). It also provides access to foreigners in irre- gular situation to non obligatory education and formation centres for adults (art. 4.6 Decree 1888/2001). b) Municipal report to show the availability of homing for people who apply for regrouping and their family. This report must be required by the immigrant directly to the City Council and attached as another document to the family regrouping application which is responded by the National Administration. To this effect, the possibility to sign agreement between the national and municipal administrations is forecast. Nevertheless, it is not a perceptive report because it may be substituted by an affidavit if this is the immi- grant choice (art. 44.4 del Real Decree o 864/2001). c) The specific case of Barcelona: The Municipal Charter 1. Giving the services and basic social benefits Foreigners in regularised situation have the same rights as far as social services and benefits are concerned. While foreigners in irregular situation only have the right to basic social services and benefits, as set in the national immigration laws (art. 14.3 LO 4/2000). To know the extent of these basic social services and benefits, the legislation of la Generalitat regar- ding social services must be consulted, as it must define the different social services according to its compe- tences regarding social services (art. 9.25 CSA), as stated previously. So that, we must consult the Legislative Decree 17/1994, on 16 November, regarding social services and, concretely, art. 11 which defines the diffe- rent levels of social services in first level or primary attention social services and second level or specialised attention social services. Regarding the first ones, section a) of art. 11 established that: “The first level is formed by primary social attention services. In this level of action there must be at least the following: 149 a.1 primary social attention services. english a.2 home attention services. a.3 limited stay hosting services a.4 dinning hall services a.5 technical assessment primary social attention services a.6 opened centres for children and teenagers services . “ We can see, so that, that foreigners in irregular situation en would only have the right to basic social attention services as it is the closet notion to the one used by the national laws consisting in basic social services and benefits. It must be taken into account, however that on 26 June, la Generalitat de Catalunya broadened the rights to access social services and benefits for foreigners, independently of their administrative situation (Decree 188/2001 de la Generalitat de Catalunya art. 9.2), levelling them to the conditions of the rest of citi- zens to primary social attention services. This expansion was done without taken into account what is expressed in the Laws on Aliens, passed subsequently on 20 July 2001, which in the article that regards the public net of migration centres (art. 145) gives an answer to this situation, as these centres are thought to fulfil the functions of attention, hosting, social intervention and, if needed , derivation of foreigners with the condition of asylum applicant, displa- ced, refugees, stateless or immigrants in a vulnerable situation or in risk of social exclusion. This precautionary measure has been already signed in the agreement between IMSERSO and la Generalitat de Catalunya to give attention and temporal hosting to immigrant in a very vulnerable situation. Nevertheless, the complexity of this approach makes an external institutional agreement advisable, which implies the City Council, Spanish Government and la Generalitat de Catalunya. A transparent policy of migratory flows should be propelled within this frame, among other subjects, the possible transference of competences to la Generalitat de Catalunya, an the necessary financing for the viability of the actions perfor- med, the design of the integration programs, not only its application. These actions should mean an elevation and improvement of social benefits, as well as an improvement of the level of the welfare estate in our society. 2. Other complementary activities of social integration for foreigners in irregular situation It is necessary to comment that Barcelona Municipal Charter forecasts that the City Council can perform complementary activities in subjects such as woman promotion (art. 112), health and environmen- 150 english tal protection (art. 102 and 103), youth (art. 111), sport (120-122) and culture (art. 113 y 114). In the case of employment and the fight against unemployment, the exclusive competence of the Spanish government makes a possible municipal action impossible. 1 INTRODUCTION Immigration laws recognize the possibility of City Councils to go further than their assigned compe- tence. First of all, administrations (and, consequently, towns too) must promote actions to encourage social integration and participation of immigrants in the political, social, economical and cultural life of Catalonia (art. 10 Decree 188/2001, on 26 June, foreigners and their social integration in Catalonia). And, public admi- nistrations (and, consequently, towns too) must ensure that foreigners can exercise their rights and freedoms (art. 11 Decree 188/2001). 3. The creation of Councils forecast in Barcelona Municipal Charter in social services, health and education, among others, will permit both administrations (City Council and la Generalitat) be corresponsables of the planning and application of the policies regarding this matters in the city e) Primary social attention benefits for temporary immigrants workers with a working permit City Councils competent in matters that regard primary social attention should watch over that temporary immigrants workers with a working permit are hosted in hygienic and decent conditions and should promote the assistance of suitable social services in order to guarantee their social attention during the season or campaign (art. 9.3 Decree 1888/2001). Another extension of the social services that Barcelona City Council should offer for immigrants is found here, which makes necessary that the needed funding for the benefits is transferred by Spanish Administrations or la Generalitat as a consequence of the constitutional principle of economical suffi- ciency.(article 142 SC). f) Participation in coordination organs Another modality to imply towns is their participation in subjects that affect municipal interests such as immigration, as it is forecast, for example, in the creation of the Immigration Policies Superior Council and organ where the Spanish Government, the different autonomic and municipal governments are represented. Its forecast functions are generic and consist in coordinating the actions of administrations with competen- ces on immigrants integration and establishing the basis and global criteria that regard immigrants social 151 integration and work although there is a regulation reference to concrete its functions and compositions (art. english 68 Law 4/2000). Anyway, there must be a previous audience to the annual establishing of the Spanish Government contingents (art. 39 de la Law 4/2000). g) It must ensure immigrants the exercise of their rights and freedoms Public administrations (and, consequently, towns too) must ensure immigrants the exercise of their rights and freedoms (art. 11 Decree 188/2001). 152 english 1 INTRODUCTION 153 english The present plan is based on the following that lead the group of strategic lines and actions described: Equality The plan defends equality of everybody in face of the Law, as well as equality of rights, obligations and opportunities for all the citizens of Barcelona independently of their place of origin, gender, religion or socio-economical condition. Social Cohesion Social cohesion, understood as the bonds of the members of a community among themselves and as a group, is another of the main factors to guarantee our society welfare. The compromise of our identity is one of the cohesion factors of our society. Nowadays, after a long and conflictive way, social cohesion in Europe is based on maintaining these 3 4 bonds from the principles of equality of opportunities and conditions that form the legal regulations of rights, universal social policies and fiscal policies directed to redistribute richness. Cohabitation A peaceful cohabitation has been, through history, one of the main factors regarding cultural, social and economical development in our society. In a probable future scenario, defined by the presence in the same territory of a mixture of different religions, beliefs and cultures, an administrative and axiological frame must be created in order to make cohabitation easier and permit dealing with inherent conflicts, in peace, in the fact of cohabiting. Cohabitation is based in the existence of an aconfessional state sanctioned by the constitution based on the primacy of individual rights upon groups and the respect to plurality of options, as well as personal and community projects if they do not attempt against this principle. Cultural Diversity 154 english Acceptation of cohabitation and an active interchange of the cultures present in our city is the refe- rence to articulate the different proposals that regard immigrants integration, with respect and recognising their cultural diversity, if it does not attempt against individual rights. This mean a decided rejection to any 3 Every person has the same possibilities and risks to improve their social condition independently of ones origins. 4 Reduce privileges or needs derived from distances between social positions. 2 GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE PLAN kind of discrimination and also the promotion of mutual respect among people from different cultures and places of origin. Barcelona, as the capital of Catalonia, will ensure an effective integration of immigrants in Barcelona, as well as promote the knowledge and respect of the culture and symbols of the city and the nation. Normalization A main goal of the Plan is attending people in the frame of existing services without creating parallel structures. However normality must be applied with special care to different needs and diverse situations of each person who want to integrate in Barcelona’s society. Normalization policies imply: Guarantying all citi- zens access to municipal services. As a factor of normalization, the progressive adaptation of new comers to Barcelona’s society, means guarantying access and use of the city basic services, the exercise of the rights offered to citizenry to give response to new social phenomenon and resize the offer of services regarding new needs and demands. Participation The participation of the group of social actors is an indisputable point to the development of the Plan. The municipal leadership comes together with dialogue and collaboration of the different social organisa- tions that work directly or indirectly for the immigrants integration, with a special stress in those which work together with immigrants. Citizenry participation is one of the main ways of the Plan to be successful which way permit managing the change in diversity. Temporality Integration of immigrants in Barcelona is a future target which can not be solved in one day. Even defending the maximum celerity, the plan is configured as a plan to middle and long term that must go through periodical modifications and adaptations to the reality of each moment. Preventive approaches and future preventions are essential elements. Thus, reality must be watched over to prevent social changes in order to allow the city getting new technical, human and economical resources in order to face them. 155 Obliquity english The global frame that the Plan presents implies that obliquity is the coherent point of the different actions. Immigrants integration must take place in all ambits of city life which needs a coordinated and trans- versal work between the different municipal areas and the other implied sectors. Consensus The environment of strong impact of present migration processes and the changes in supralocal normative make acting with consensus advisable in order to achieve the goals of the Plan. The agreement must be political, between the different options in the City Council, but also civic, between the group of different social organisation. Joint responsibility between all those actors must be an inherent element to the consensus. 156 english 2 GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE PLAN 157 english The main goal of the immigration plan is real integration of immigrants in all levels of the city life in Barcelona. This goal can only be achieved guarantying social cohesion, by means of a progressive incorporation of immigrant population in The city of Barcelona, The Metropolitan Area and Catalonia, together with decent working and housing opportunities, and the access to rights and obligations of citizens according to their administrative situation. As most population movements are triggered by working reasons, we must be aware that any inte- grative initiatives needs, first, working insertion, and this is only possible for immigrants in regular adminis- trative situation with a working and residence permit. To assume the challenge of the new immigration and keep a good management of daily activities a Social Agreement on Immigration must be boosted based in three sections: • External Agreement, institutional agreement advisable, which implies the City Council, Spanish Government and la Generalitat de Catalunya. A transparent policy of migratory flows should be propelled within this frame, among other subjects, the possible transference of competences to la Generalitat de Catalunya, and the necessary financing for the viability of the actions performed, the design of the integra- tion programs, not only its application. These actions should mean an elevation and improvement of social benefits, as well as an improvement of the level of the welfare estate in our society. • Internal Agreement, political, among all the political parties of the Council, that, in despite of the different starting points, permits the necessary consensus about the actions to be performed, based in the commitment of no partisan instrumentation of migration. • Agreement of social agents, worker’s unions, employers’ associations, political parties, associative entities which work in matters regarding immigration, including immigrants associations, with the commit- ment of achieving, spreading and applying the Plan from their capacity and responsibility, taking the work of the Municipal Immigration Council into account. The City Council, from its leading position in society, must incorporate, when possible, the different sensibilities to ensure the maximum approbation and adhesion in each level from the agreement and joint 158 english responsibility. Thus, the Plan proposes making this agreement official as Barcelona’s Municipal Pact. 3 MAIN GOAL 159 english The Immigration Plan of Barcelona City Council expects gathering the different actions performed nowadays by different administrations and those forecast in short and long term from local government, coordinating from common action principles set in matters that regard migration and social integration. Maintaining the democratic principles of the society from Barcelona and Catalonia is the starting point to ensure cohabitation, social cohesion and governability in the city. Actions of the municipal government are defined by the integration model that characterises the city. Nevertheless, it comes from the respect to the present legislative frame, which limits and configures the working lines, responsibilities of each administration and legal conditions of basic rights and obligations of people. The model of integration represents a vision of the future of the city comes from the defined frame, present situation and political will to coordinate in the context of the city, different forecast initiatives and the program GRECO and the Interdepartamental Plan of la Generalitat, and focus the municipal strategy in the following: 3 main strategic lines • Favouring integration in the frame of social cohesion. • Defending and spreading the values of diversity and cohabitation. • Cohabitation and prevention of conflictive situations. These lines gather a series of actions which validate and make operative programs. 4.1. Favouring the integration in a frame of en social cohesion Integration of immigrants in the city need the display of instruments which facilitate a total insertion. Usually, immigrants go through a situation of inequality due to their economic and working conditions. To ensure social cohesion and complete integration, new citizens must focus the strategies which facilitate cohabitation and avoid segregation and social exclusion tendencies. We can not forget any of the aspects which are a part of the city life, such as work, housing, or the 160 english satisfaction of universal rights like health, education and security. 4 STRATEGIC LINES The integration program focuses its actions, within the present normative frame, in the following directions: 1. Favouring the acquisition of the official languages. Aspects top take into account: • Language is the main vehicular instrument and an essential tool to facilitate the integration of immi- grants in Barcelona. 1.1. Boosting the offer of courses of the official languages Boosting an offer of intensive teaching language courses of the official languages in Catalonia, Catalan and Spanish, as an essential integration tool, in collaboration with social entities and the Consorci de Normalització Lingüística de Catalunya. 1.2. Boosting coordination and collaboration with the civil net Favouring the realization of courses for worker’s unions and other organisms which work with immi- grants. 2. Guarantying access to people attention resources Aspects to take into account: • Ways to host and canalise towards integration mechanisms in the society of arrival. • Guarantying access to services. • Presence of people in irregular administrative situation. • Ways to recognise and make rights and obligations of immigrants visible. 2.1. Hosting Plan Guarantying the access to services of information, orientation about legislation and resources regar- 161 ding integration in the city for new comers and refugees, offering assessment and help for the proceedings. english Making hosting services available from any information point of the city, whether through the SAIER or any district or service point of the city. 2.2. Reinforcing the immigrant attention services - SAIER Boosting central information services of the SAIER, reinforcing and adapting services diversity in the circuit of attention to immigrants. The SAIER is the First Host Centre for immigrants in the city of Barcelona and reinforces the role of collaborator entities in the processes of attention and integration. They will be given, among other documents, the Hosting in Catalonia Guide elaborated by la Generalitat. 2.3. Social Rights Charter Establishing the guarantee of basic rights and social services offered to everybody in a situation of social urgency (hosting, showers, clothes and upkeep) and maintaining quality parameters in any service, in spite of taking the differences between rights establish in the Spanish legislation (Law 8/2000 and Laws on Aliens) and the Fundamental Rights Charter of the European Union. 3. Adapting and taking city services accessible Aspects to take into account: • Need to know the flows of immigrants in the city and citizens. • Ways to facilitate access to services, making the criteria of normalisation real, in spite of stressing the different situations of people. 3.1. Active Municipal Census Establishing following mechanisms in all the city in order to promote the municipal census of immi- grant people according to criteria established by competent authorities regarding present Censing Laws, with the double goal of: • facilitating present and future access to people services and rights. • forecasting the covering of needs and their social and economic impact in the city. 162 english The City Council considers necessary knowing the amount of population, their distribution in the territory and mobility, both inside the city and to the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona, in order to establish with precision the covering of needs and security in the city. This must be done to guarantee confidentiality in personal data. 4 STRATEGIC LINES Moreover, it will establish a continue working relationship with other Diversity observatories in its envi- ronment: CRID, Observatori de la Generalitat, of the Spanish Government and the European Union. 3.2. Services of interprets and translation Consolidating a service which facilitates access and communication of the immigrants to the different services while they are not proficient in one of the two official languages of Catalonia collaborating with immigrants entities of the city using the potentiality of new technologies. 4. Guarantying access and right to education as the most effi- cient integrative tool Aspects to take into account: • Concentration in schools of children from other cultural domains. • Difficulties in linguistic and formative adaptation. • Curricular designs not very adapted to cultural diversity. • Few participation of immigrant collectives in the schooling process. • Giving support and reinforcing educative centres that gather new come students from other cultu- res, as the dispersion of immigrant students to other schools without taking the location of the fami- lies into account. • Boosting the insertion of immigrants in assisted schools. • Reinforcing the obligatory nature of education and scholar stay. • Introducing and promoting the use of residential stability factor as a criteria of access to the offer of non obligatory education. • Establishing a reception program for new students in the schools of the city and a formative program for parents of immigrants in schools to explain them the educative system and make them contem- plate Catalan and Spanish teaching, an environmental knowledge and social functioning rules, as well as available social resources. • Establishing educative help and adjusting programs in primary and secondary school to facilitate a progressive adaptation of the new established educative cycles in order to facilitate educational deve- lopment of children with less learning skills. • Boosting revisions of some curricular contents to adapt them to the reality of these new students. 163 • Designing specific educative instruments and resources to support formation of professionals of the english city educative centres which gather immigrants. • Carrying out campaigns about cultural diversity in schools and establishing a net of relations betwe- en the school and the community in non scholar timetable. • Reinforcing the role of the Professional Formation Council and the Young Occupational Plan for a future social and working insertion of underage immigrants. • Boosting participation of immigrants en school Councils in order to make clear that Education is one of the keys of integration.. • Ensuring the effective exercise of the right to obligatory education without gender discriminations. 5. Guarantying the right to health and social care access Aspects to take into account: • Lack of accessibility to health benefits in order to make them available for all the population of the city. • Impact of migration in psychological health of the immigrant community. • Risks of propagation of imported illnesses and new risk factors. • Problems when interpreting the symptoms. • Problems related to social cared derived from cultural models. • Guarantying information and guidance for all immigrants in order to obtain health benefit. • Developing translation and intercultural mediation services during the access and use of primary health care. • Increasing services of mental care and psychological attention. • Promoting specific programs of health promotion addressed to immigrant population. • Reinforcing the mechanisms of epidemiological vigilance and tropical illnesses control. • Boosting the formation of professional and giving them instruments to work with population from other cultures. • Reinforcing the vigilance and control of nutritive hygiene and zoonosis, for example, slaughtering following certain cultural practices with health guarantees. • Emphasising children and women health, as well as the binding of women rights regarding her health and physical integrity. 6. Guarantying municipal social services attention Aspects to take into account: 164 english • Increase of social need situations in our city. • Apparition of an important volume of people in irregular situation with severe social insertion difficulties. • Increase of marginalizing processes. 4 STRATEGIC LINES • Increase of immigrant population in social service centres. • Providing social services centres with translation and intercultural services in order to solve individual and familiar problematic, as well as boosting preventive projects in territories and familiar mediation projects. • Beginning formation processes in social, linguistic and working skills for people in formalities to get their permits. • Increasing and promoting the function of Non Governmental Organisations regarding attention to population in irregular situation. • Promoting the formation of professionals in tasks regarding immigrant population. • Increasing and adapting resources addressed to immigrant population care, stressing mediation processes in the territories. • Making an exhaustive following of immigrant population attended by social services and their needs to be able to introduce correcting mechanism in attention systems if it is needed. 7. Facilitating immigrants access to the working market Aspects to take into account: • Deterioration of the working market that occupies immigrant workers. • Difficulties to enter the regular working market. • Irregular situation prevent entering the regular working market. • Non adequate professional qualifications for Barcelona’s working market. • Adapting, widening and making the offer of occupational formation more accessible with Barcelona Activa and social entities of the city. • Creating a circuit of access to occupational formation courses. • Facilitating access to normalised employment offices in collaboration with Barcelona Activa, entities and worker’s unions. • Making a special mention to the importance of the incorporation to public administration jobs and, particularly, those that are directly used by immigrants. • Designing, together with worker’s unions, formulas to follow immigrant working conditions and insisting to responsible administrations to fight against irregular occupation, specially in those sectors where it is prevailing. • Designing specific integration and working insertion for youngsters over 16 and other specific immi- 165 grant groups with special difficulties according to the strategies Young Occupational Plan. english • Favouring the development of a program of supporting self-sufficiency micro-credits and initiative to new enterprising. • Asking the EU to study suitable ways and procedures in order to put tittles for the professional exer- cise in the same level with absolute quality guarantees. • New occupational seams must be an opportunity for new groups. 8. Facilitating homing access intermediation for immigrants Aspects to take into account: • Difficulties to home access in the city and the Metropolitan Area for people with little purchasing power. • Detection of situations of collecting, sub-standard housing and territorial concentration. • Discrimination in the access to housing to people because of their condition. • Lack of ground for building new official protection houses. • Concentration of immigrant population and local population movements. • Stimulating and boosting the need of home access services, specially renting, civil responsibilities guarantees by the Spanish Government and helps to pay rents. • Mixing sensitising and cooperation strategies with land agents and owners of properties to avoid risky situations as well as promoting the offer of access to housing for immigrant population. • Designing specific projects to rehabilitate renting flats to be offered to people with difficulties to enter the normalised renting market. • Offering incentives to rehabilitate houses in zones with deteriorated houses in order to improve avai- lable houses. • Reinforcing the inspections and security compliance and habitability of Barcelona’s homes and incre- asing the quality control of houses and habitability bond. • Offering renting houses together with land agents and la Generalitat to mediate between those who look for a house and private market, as well as favouring an easier access to houses and better distri- bution all over the territory of the RMB. • Promoting the redefinition of adjudicating criteria of official protection houses. • Promoting investment to buy decline and declining housing in concrete areas. • Avoiding any kind of discrimination in the adjudicating criteria of public promotion renting houses. 9. Guarantying immigrants access to hosting culture 166 english Aspects to take into account: • Cultural Ignorance about the arrival country. 4 STRATEGIC LINES • Difficulties to interpret and understand cultural keys of Barcelona’s society. • Difficult access to city cultural offer of immigrant population. • Facilitating access and use of civic centres and other cultural equipments to facilitate the divulgation and expression of different cultures. • Promoting the participation of different cultures in Forum 2004. • Stressing solidarity culture, Peace and Human Rights. • Facilitating Catalan language and culture knowledge. • Extending all immigrants the rights Charter and Cultural Duties. 10. Guarantying the improvement of immigrant women situa- tion Aspects to take into account: • Growing Feminisation of the migration flows. • Bigger vulnerability of immigrant women. • Women are a very important social cohesion factor. • Elaborating a Plan or specific actions for immigrant women, together with Barcelona Women City Council, in order to promote concrete actions to improve their situation. 4.2. Defence and diffusion of the values of diversity and cohabitation Immigration is a challenge and a chance for Barcelona’s society. It is a challenge because it means diffe- rent realities to those that we are used to, realities that shock the ways and the reality of the city and forces to look for new alternatives and public action strategies. However, its is also an opportunity because it gives us the chance to grow and enrich our society both social and culturally. However, challenges and opportuni- ties must be articulated upon the recognition of rights and duties of all the people who live in the city. To define these new strategies correctly, reality must be observed, in order to know the present situa- tion of immigration in the city, both from a demographical point of view and territorial, working, legal, educative, housing, social insertion and rights and duties of all citizens. 167 english To be able to perform this target the following projects and actions will be started: 1. Studying migration and implantation phenomenon in the city Aspects to take into account: • Lack of information and monitoring of migration flows, entries and reality of immigration in the city • Lack of knowledge and systematisation of other cities policies. 1.1. Permanent Immigration Observatory • Developing present resources in order to, within the Immigration Plan, an exhaustive following of immigration reality in the city may be developed and its levels of integration in order to carry out diffe- rent action proposals. • Developing new following lines of the immigration impact in the city of Barcelona. • Designing new research lines related to immigration phenomenon and diversity management. • Promoting the interchange of practices and knowledge with other European cities. 1.2. Attitudes and perceptions of inhabitants of Barcelona • Designing and carrying out periodic surveys to test the state of opinion of the citizenry of Barcelona (Municipal Omnibus). 2. Actions to recognize civic rights of the hosting society and new comers Aspects to take into account: • Occasional Lacks of guarantees and recognition of rights. • Latent tendencies of discrimination, and, in some occasions, racism an xenophobia. • Ignorance of rights and duties on parts of immigrants. • Lack of information on parts of immigrants. 168 english 2.1. Vigilance Observation for non-Discrimination (RADAR BCN) Consolidation of an Observatory (Office for Non-Discrimination) which may permit prevention of 4 STRATEGIC LINES discriminatory situations that would take place in the city of Barcelona, its analysis, control and immediate action against them, as well as preventing discrimination in the city. 2.2. Rights and duties of citizenry Facilitating information to all the city and explain that immigrants have the same rights that all the other citizens, with a special mention to human rights matters, equality and freedom of speech. So that, citi- zenry must be prepared to recognize and take on the process of social change that we are going through, stressing positive aspects without forgetting, however, difficulties. 2.3. Close Information • Ensuring and providing Citizenry Information Offices with the means to facilitate new comers with the necessary information to have access to the different resources of the city. • Elaborating documents which contain necessary information to facilitate access to the city resources by means of using diffusion channels. 3. Giving visibility to cultural diversity Aspects to take into account: • Few contacts and relationship between the different existing cultures in Barcelona and between these and local population. • Ignorance of basic cultural identity elements which give social cohesion to the city. 3.1. Promoting divulgating acts of cultural diversity Promoting the development of initiatives and programs that facilitate interchange and diffusion of local population cultures with the participation of immigrant entities of the city. 3.2. Supporting identity elements Diffusing identity elements of the hosting culture facilitating mutual knowledge and respect, as well 169 as mentioning practises and cultural habits. english 3.3. Reinforcing the role of the Municipal Immigration Council Having the participation of most collectives in the Municipal Immigration Council and reinforcing its dialogue, debate and interlocution capacity. 4.3. Cohabitation and prevention of conflict situation policies Cohabitation is a fundamental element and the prove of the success of integration. However, coha- bitation is not always as easy as it should be desirable in a city. The phenomenon of immigration brings rich- ness to a city but, sometimes, it also carries out a group of problems which are sometimes related to it. The conflict is inherent to any situation of social change. The program of cohabitation directs its actions to the different directions: 1. Promoting cohabitation in public spaces and communitarian mediation Aspects to take into account: • Social tensions in public located spaces. • Ghettization of concrete zones. • Presence of discriminatory or xenophobic elements. 1.1. Promoting civic education and respect for public space Revising, adapting, if needed, and informing about the municipal legislation regarding the use of public spaces and establishing coordination circuits between different municipal services promoting the use of mediation services in order to solve conflicts. 1.2. Promoting the use of new playful spaces Facilitating a greater playful use and interaction of different social collectives in public spaces with 170 english more gathering of immigrants in the city, proposing, moreover, the use of alternative playful space, with a lower population density and, consequently, with a greater potential use. 4 STRATEGIC LINES 1.3. Campaign against xenophobia and discrimination Starting instruments of active fight against xenophobia and discrimination, both from the city and each district, with special incidence in the use of public spaces. 1.4. Elaborating Territorial Immigration Plans Promoting the elaboration of Territorial Plans by the ten districts of the city to concrete and adapt the measures of the plan to the specific reality and needs of each territory of the city. 1.5. Boosting integral reforming planes for decline or declining zones Boosting plans of integral reforming and adapting the measures to rehabilitate those zones of the city in deficient conditions from an urban, service or housing point of view and, consequently, may not be in optimum conditions for a good social cohesion. 2. Reinforcing citizen society and guarantying institutional coordination with this finality Aspects to take into account: • insecurity of the public and crime. • Necessity of a better coordination and formation of police corps. • The repetition of situations of irregularity may become a risk for citizen security. 2.1. Acting more firmly and efficiently against crime • Claiming all the administrations an intensification of the fight against criminal facts that, when committed by immigrants, tarnish the image of this group and trigger xenophobic and prejudiced reactions, which are not desirable at all to achieve integration. • Demanding more police resource in the city of Barcelona. • Promoting the formation of police corps regarding the phenomenon of immigration and cultural diversity. 171 • Promoting the role of local justice and everything stated in the Municipal Charter, to be passed by english the Spanish Government. • Reinforcing the role of Local Police as a proximity police in the city of Barcelona. • Promoting legislative changes in order to facilitate a working permit to those who undergo an expe- lling order while this is not executed. 3. Promoting social normalization and integration of locals devoted to religious worshiping Aspects to take into account: • Conflicts for the concurrence around some worshiping places. • Lack of a specific normative regarding the use of worshiping places. No need of licence to open them. • Lack of proper spaces in certain worshiping places. • Difficulties related to uses and habits derived from some religious interpretations. 3.1. Respecting beliefs and promoting interreligious dialogue • Favouring peace culture, respecting religious practises and democratic values of the society, as well as promoting interreligious dialogue. • Reaching agreements with different religious authorities in Catalonia regarding adjustments and possible uses of worshiping places. • Spanish Administration must deal with religious manifestations as any other collective citizen mani- festations, as it is stated in the Municipal Charter. 3.2. Normalizing the relationships of worshiping places • Ensuring that worshiping places have the best conditions of healthiness that any public space must fulfil. • Facilitating information of the suitability of certain settlements. • Promoting the importance of social integration of worshiping places in their close environment. • Boosting a municipal policy about worshiping places which should be common to all the places of the different religions. • Religious centres, as community equipments, must be included in town planning forecasts regarding their social rooting and applying criteria of proximity and citizen cohabitation. 172 english 4 STRATEGIC LINES 173 english 1) Favouring integration in a social cohesion frame. 2) Defending and spreading diversity and cohabitation. 3) Cohabitation and prevention of conflict situations. 174 english 5 THE 3 STRATEGIC LINES OF THE PLAN 175 english 1. Favouring the acquisition of the official languages. 2. Guarantying access to people attention resources. 3. Adapting and taking city services accessible. 4. Guarantying access and right to education as the most efficient integrative tool. 5. Guarantying the right to health and social care access. 6. Guarantying of municipal social services attention. 7. Facilitating immigrants access to the working market. 8. Facilitating homing access intermediation for immigrants. 9. Guarantying immigrants access to hosting culture. 10. Guarantying the improvement of immigrant women situation. 11. Studying migration and implantation phenomenon in the city. 12. Actions to recognize civic rights of the hosting society and new comers. 13. Giving visibility to cultural diversity. 14. Promoting cohabitation in public spaces and communitarian mediation. 15. Reinforcing citizen society and guarantying institutional coordination with this finality. 16. promoting social normalization and integration of locals devoted to religious worshiping. 176 english 6 THE 16 GOALS OF THE PLAN 177 english Boosting the offer of courses of the official languages 1. Boosting an offer of intensive teaching language courses of the official languages in Catalonia, Catalan and Spanish, as an essential integration tool, in collaboration with social entities and the Consorci de Normalització Lingüística de Catalunya. Boosting coordination and collaboration with the civil net 2. Favouring the realization of courses for worker’s unions and other organisms which work with immigrants. Hosting Plan 3. Guarantying the access to services of information, orientation about legislation and resources regar- ding integration in the city for new comers and refugees, offering assessment and help for the proce- edings. Making hosting services available from any information point of the city, whether through the SAIER or any district or service point of the city. Reinforcing the immigrant attention services - SAIER 4. Boosting central information services of the SAIER, reinforcing and adapting services diversity in the circuit of attention to immigrants. The SAIER is the First Host Centre for immigrants in the city of Barcelona and reinforces the role of collaborator entities in the processes of attention and integration. Making language teaching accessible 5. Boosting an offer of intensive teaching language courses of the official languages in Catalonia, Catalan and Spanish, as an essential integration tool, in collaboration with social entities and the Consorci de Normalització Lingüística de Catalunya. Social Rights Charter 6. Establishing the guarantee of basic rights and social services offered to everybody in a situation of 178 english social urgency (hosting, showers, clothes and upkeep) and maintaining quality parameters in any servi- ce, in spite of taking the differences between rights established in the Spanish legislation (Law 8/2000 and Laws on Aliens) and the Fundamental Rights Charter of the European Union. 7 THE 90 MEASURES OF THE PLAN Active Municipal Census 7. Establishing following mechanisms in all the city in order to promote the municipal census of immi- grant people according to criteria established by competent authorities regarding present Censing Laws, with the double goal of: • facilitating present and future access to people services and rights. • forecasting the covering of needs and their social and economic impact in the city. Services of interprets and translation 8. Consolidating a service which facilitates access and communication of the immigrants to the diffe- rent services while they are not proficient in one of the two official languages of Catalonia collabora- ting with immigrants entities of the city using the potentiality of new technologies. Guarantying access and right to education as the most efficient integrative tool 9. Giving support and reinforcing educative centres that gather new come students from other cultu- res, as the dispersion of immigrant students to other schools without taking the location of the fami- lies into account is not considered a good option. 10. .Boosting the insertion of immigrants in assisted schools. 11. Reinforcing the obligatory nature of education and scholar stay. 12. Introducing and promoting the use of residential stability factor as a criteria of access to the offer of non obligatory education. 13. Establishing a reception program for new students in the schools of the city and a formative program for parents of immigrants in schools to explain them the educative system and make them contemplate Catalan and Spanish teaching, an environmental knowledge and social functioning rules, as well as available social resources. 14. Establishing educative help and adjusting programs in primary and secondary school to facilitate a progressive adaptation of the new established educative cycles in order to facilitate educational development of children with less learning skills. 15. Boosting revisions of some curricular contents to adapt them to the reality of these new students. 16. Designing specific educative instruments and resources to support formation of professionals of the city educative centres which gather immigrants. 179 17. Carrying out campaigns about cultural diversity in schools and establishing a net of relations english between the school and the community in non scholar timetable. 18. Reinforcing the role of the Professional Formation Council and the Young Occupational Plan for a future social and working insertion of underage immigrants. 19. Boosting participation of immigrants in school Councils in order to make clear that Education is one of the keys of integration. 20. Ensuring the effective exercise of the right to obligatory education without gender discriminations. Guarantying the right to health and social care access 21. Guarantying information and guidance for all immigrants in order to obtain health benefit. 22. Developing translation and intercultural mediation services during the access and use of primary health care services. 23. Increasing services of mental care and psychological attention. 24. Promoting specific programs of health promotion addressed to immigrant population. 25. Reinforcing the mechanisms of epidemiological vigilance and tropical illnesses control. 26. Boosting the formation of professionals and giving them instruments to work with population from other cultures.. 27. Reinforcing the vigilance and control of nutritive hygiene and zoonosis, for example, slaughtering following certain cultural practices with health guarantees. 28. Emphasising children and women health, as well as the binding of women rights regarding her health and physical integrity. Guarantying of municipal social services attention 29. Providing social services centres with translation and intercultural services in order to solve indivi- dual and familiar problematic, as well as boosting preventive projects in territories and familiar media- tion projects. 30. Beginning formation processes in social, linguistic and working skills for people in formalities to get their permits. 31. Increasing and promoting the function of Non Governmental Organisations regarding attention to population in irregular situation. 32. Promoting the formation of professionals in tasks regarding immigrant population. 33. Increasing and adapting resources addressed to immigrant population care, stressing mediation processes in the territories. 34. Making an exhaustive following of immigrant population attended by social services and their 180 english needs to be able to introduce correcting mechanism in attention systems if it is needed. 7 THE 90 MEASURES OF THE PLAN Facilitating immigrants access to the working market 35. Adapting, widening and making the offer of occupational formation more accessible with Barcelona Activa and social entities of the city. 36. Creating a circuit of access to occupational formation courses. 37. Facilitating the access to normalised employment offices in collaboration with Barcelona Activa, entities and worker’s unions. 38. Making a special mention to the importance of the incorporation to public administration jobs and, particularly, those that are directly used by immigrants. 39. Designing together with worker’s unions, formulas to follow immigrant working conditions and insisting to responsible administrations to fight against irregular occupation, specially in those sectors where it is prevailing. 40. Designing specific integration and working insertion for youngsters over 16 and other specific immigrant groups with special difficulties according to the strategies Young Occupational Plan. 41. Favouring the development of a program of supporting self-sufficiency micro-credits and initiati- ve to new enterprising. 42. Asking the EU to study suitable ways and procedures in order to put tittles for the professional exercise in the same level with absolute quality guarantees. 43. New occupational seams must be an opportunity for new groups. Facilitating homing access intermediation for immigrants 44. Stimulating and boosting the need of home access services, specially renting civil responsibilities guarantees by the Spanish Government and helps to pay rents. 45. Mixing sensitising and cooperation strategies with land agents and owners of properties to avoid risky situations as well as promoting the offer of access to housing for immigrant population. 46. Designing specific projects to rehabilitate renting flats to be offered to people with difficulties to enter the normalised renting market. 47. Offering incentives to rehabilitate houses in zones with deteriorated houses in order to improve available houses. 48. Reinforcing the inspections and security compliance and habitability of Barcelona’s homes and increasing the quality control of houses and habitability bond. 49. Offering rent houses together with land agents and la Generalitat to mediate between those who 181 look for a house and private market, as well as favouring an easier access to houses and better distri- english bution all over the territory of the RMB. 50. Promoting the redefinition of adjudicating criteria of official protection houses. 51. Promoting investment to buy decline and declining housing in concrete areas. 52. Avoiding any kind of discrimination in the adjudicating criteria of public promotion renting houses. 53. Promoting availability of public ground to build public promotion rent housing. Guarantying immigrants access to hosting culture 54. Facilitating access and use of civic centres and other cultural equipments to facilitate the divulga- tion and expression of different cultures. 55. Promoting the participation of different cultures in Forum 2004. 56. Stressing solidarity culture, Peace and Human Rights. 57. Facilitating Catalan language and culture knowledge. 58. .Extending all immigrants the rights Charter and Cultural Duties. Guarantying the improvement of immigrant women situation 59. Elaborating a Plan or specific actions for immigrant women, together with Barcelona Women City Council, in order to promote concrete actions to improve their situation. Permanent Immigration Observatory . 60. Developing present resources in order to, within the Immigration Plan, an exhaustive following of immigration reality in the city may be developed and is levels of integration and carry out different action proposals. 61. Developing new following lines of the immigration impact in the city of Barcelona. 62. Designing new research lines related to immigration phenomenon and diversity management. 63. Promoting the interchange of practices and knowledge with other European cities. Attitudes and perceptions of inhabitants of Barcelona 64. Designing and carrying out periodic surveys to test the state of opinion of the citizenry of Barcelona (Municipal Omnibus). Vigilance Observation for non-Discrimination (RADAR BCN) 182 english 65. Consolidation of an Observatory (Office for Non-Discrimination) which may permit prevention of discriminatory situations that would take place in the city of Barcelona, its analysis, control and imme- 7 THE 90 MEASURES OF THE PLAN diate action against them, as well as preventing discrimination in the city. Rights and duties of citizenry 66. Facilitating information to all the city and explain that immigrants have the same rights that all the other citizens, with a special mention to human rights matters, equality and freedom of speech. So that, citizenry must be prepared to recognize and take on the process of social change that we are going through, stressing positive aspects without forgetting, however, difficulties. Close Information 67. Ensuring and providing Citizenry Information Offices with the means to facilitate new comers with the necessary information to have access to the different recourses of the city. 68. Elaborating documents which contain necessary information to facilitate access to the city resour- ces by means of usual diffusion channels. Promoting divulgating acts of cultural diversity 69. Promoting the development of initiatives and programs that facilitate interchange and diffusion of local population cultures with the participation of immigrant entities of the city. Supporting identity elements 70. Diffusing identity elements of the hosting culture facilitating mutual knowledge and respect, as well as mentioning practises and cultural habits. Reinforcing the role of the Municipal Immigration Council 71. Having the participation of most collectives in the Municipal Immigration Council and reinforcing its dialogue, debate and interlocution capacity. Promoting civic education and respect for public space 183 72. Revising, adapting, if needed, and informing of the municipal legislation regarding the use of english public spaces and establishing coordination circuits between different municipal services promoting the use of mediation services in order to solve conflicts. Promoting the use of new playful spaces 73. Facilitating a greater playful use and interaction of different social collectives in public spaces with more gathering of immigrants in the city, proposing, moreover, the use of alternative playful space, with a lower population density and, consequently, with a greater potential use. Campaign against xenophobia and discrimination 74. Starting instruments of active fight against xenophobia and discrimination, both from the city and each district, with special incidence in the use of public spaces. Elaborating Territorial Immigration Plans 75. Promoting the elaboration of Territorial Plans by the ten districts of the city to concrete and adapt the measures of the plan to the specific reality and needs of each territory of the city. Boosting integral reforming planes for decline or declining zones. 76. Boosting integral reforming plans and adapting the measures to rehabilitate those zones of the city in deficient conditions from an urban, service or housing point of view and, consequently, may not be in optimum conditions for a good social cohesion. Acting more firmly and efficiently against crime 77. Claiming all the administrations an intensification of the fight against criminal facts that, when committed by immigrants, tarnish the image of this group and trigger xenophobic and prejudiced reactions, which are not desirable at all to achieve integration. 78. Demanding more police resource in the city of Barcelona. 79. Promoting the formation of police corps regarding the phenomenon of immigration and cultural diversity. 80. Promoting the role of local justice and everything stated in the Municipal Charter, to be passed by the Spanish Government. 81. Reinforcing the role of Local Police as a proximity police in the city of Barcelona. 82. Promoting legislative changes in order to facilitate a working permit to those who undergo an expelling order while this is not executed. 184 english 7 THE 90 MEASURES OF THE PLAN Respecting beliefs and promoting interreligious dialogue 83. Favouring peace culture, respecting religious practises and democratic values of the society as well as promoting interreligious dialogue. 84. Reaching agreements with different religious authorities in Catalonia regarding adjustments and possible uses of worshiping places. 85. Spanish Administration must deal with religious manifestations as any other collective citizen manifestations, as it is stated in the Municipal Charter. Normalizing the relationships of worshiping places 86. Ensuring that worshiping places have the best conditions of healthiness that any public space must fulfil. 87. Facilitating information of the suitability of certain settlements. 88. Promoting the importance of social integration of worshiping places in their close environment. 89. Boosting a municipal policy about worshiping places which should be common to all the places of the different religions. 90. Religious centres, as community equipments, must be included in town planning forecasts regar- ding their social rooting and applying criteria of proximity and citizen cohabitation. 185 english The Hosting Plan is the deployment of one of the action lines of the Immigration Municipal Plan. The targets of the Hosting Plan are: • Facilitating and guaranteeing new comers and refugees normalised services. • Making services accessible from any informative points, whether through the SAIER, Districts any servi- ce of the city. • Giving information and assessment about the rules and the integration resources existing in the city. • Giving assessment and support in formalities. • Promoting coordination of the different actors and hosting services of the city. • Promoting participation of new comers in the hosting service. Hosting offers fulfilling these subjects taking into account the fact that migration processes have a basic impact over the cities and local governments, despite of lacking specific resources to perform it, are forced to have a leading role in immigrant people hosting. Services offered in the Hosting Plan are: Information and communication • Existing resources in the city. • Functioning of the city. • Managements, formalities (¿What to do?). • Benefits and services. • Ways to access to the services (hosting, health and working market...). • Rights and Duties (cohabitation manual). • Juridical Information. • Links with origin communities. Formation • Language skills. • Social skills and cultural knowledge. • Knowledge of the environment and the city. • Occupational formation. 186 english Attention • Basic Social Attention to immigrants and refugees. 8 HOSTING PLAN • Temporal hosting in social emergency and vulnerable situation. • Juridical assessment. • Translation. • Working Market access. • Management. • Rent Housing access. • Schooling of under age. • Funds for books and dinning halls. • Working assessment. Cooperation • Cooperation with entities and association. • Reinforcing the role of entities in hosting processes. • Links with origin communities. • Boosting associationism. • Boosting intercultural initiatives (funds). Respect to people in irregular situation, taking the componential normative frame into account, is necessary to establish with the rest of public administrations the criteria of action regarding its specific admi- nistrative situation. From a normative point of view, the recommendations of Green Book Regarding a Communitarian Policy of Illegal Immigrants Return of the European Commission and the Spanish. Also, any hypothetical arrival of great immigrant groups must be assumed from this prospective, as it is a State Question that goes beyond the intervention capacity of any city. 187 english The Immigration Plan presents three scopes with different direction: political, participative and execu- tive direction. Political direction is set by means of a Political Immigration Commission, constituted by the leader of each political party represented in the Consistory. The functions of this commission are archiving a consen- sus strategic lines, specific targets which must be developed in a set period and making a global evaluation of the Program. The commission must also propose the presentation of the Barcelona Immigration Plan to the muni- cipal plenary for its corroboration. Participative direction is established by the Immigration Municipal Council, as well as the Refugee and Foreigner Group of the Social Welfare Municipal Council. It will follow the development and execution of the program, and elaborate recommendations and proposals for its approbation to the Social Welfare Municipal Council. Executive direction will be directed by a chosen sectorial manager who will be responsible of the plan- ning, programming, execution and management of the Immigration Program according to the strategic lines approved in the municipal plenary. 188 english 9 DIRECTION AND FOLLOWING 189 english A collective which requires and special attention is Non Accompanied Minor Immigrants (MEINAS), formed, mostly, by maghrebi, most of all Moroccan. They come from the most problematic north African cities, without familiar structures capable to ensure their social and education development. Some have been “homeless kids” in their countries of origin. Their cultural habits and personal circumstances makes them become more “mature” than boys and chil- dren in our cities. Their travel has a double side aspect of a teenager adventure and a project to improve their life conditions, as well as those of their families that, usually, support them to perform it. When they arrive to our cities, integration difficulties inherent in any migration process together with their formative and adaptation lacks, force them to live, sometimes, committing small crimes, usually with reiteration, with an inherent risk for cohabitation and social cohesion as well as a risk for this under age children to become adult citizens. However, the fact that they are under age forces the Administration to declare abandonment and assume their tutelage independently of their country of origin or nationality and apply international treaties regarding childhood protection. In our case, la Generalitat de Catalunya is the competent Administration as it is stated in Laws 11/85, 37/91 y 8/95. Nevertheless, beyond competences scopes, Barcelona City Council, from a collaboration and coordination will, has signed different Institutional agreements. The last one, on 24 July 2002 with la Generalitat de Catalunya to coordinate, manage and finance programs to attend under age immigrants without residence permits and without family bonds contemplates the following measures. The attention and social integration of the MEINAS focuses its actions in the following directions: 1. Guarantying their hosting and immediate docu- mentation to permit them profiting from their rights Aspects to take into account: • Detecting their arrival as soon as possible. • Means to facilitate contact to offer help without rejection. 190 english • Making their identification and documentation better. 10 ANNEXO: LOS MENORES EXTRANJEROS NO ACOMPAÑADOS (MEINAS) 1.1. Street detention and intervention team Its basic functions are: - Prospecting and arresting minor immigrants in the territory. - Contacting with the street context. - Educative management in insertion processes of the minor. - Immediate intervention in conflict situations in the territory. 1.2. Temporal education and residential hosting services To facilitate and act as intermediate for a progressive incorporation of MEINAS to the net of temporal hosting specialised services with a flexible organisation: - Day Attention Services with socio educational, formative, habit formation and socialization functions, as well as covering basic hygienic, care and alimentation needs with a real capacity of 72-82 places distributed betwe- en the Temporal Attention Service of the DGAM, and the Opened Centres Joan Salvador Gavina. - Temporal Residential And Limited Stay Services and Urgencies in night time. With a capacity of 68 places distributed between the Alcor Centre of the DGAM and the Educative Support Centre of the Red Cross. 1.3. Identification and Documentation Services Facilitating identification and documentation of minors as soon as possible, as a condition sine qua non in order to assume their tutelage set by laws, by means of the coordination between the different Administrations in contact with MEINAS: Generalitat de Catalunya, The Office Of the Government in Catalonia, Minors Office and Barcelona City Council. 2. Guarantying the existence of necessary resources for a total integration of MEINAS Aspects to take into account • Giving hosting to minors. 191 • Ensuring their future insertion and autonomy viability by means of facilitating access to the working english market. • Means to adequate services to their personal and cultural characteristics. 2.1. 24 hours Residential Services with educative programs Guarantying hosting and coverage of their basic hygienic, care and alimentation as well as formative and health care needs with a total capacity of 82 places distributed in the Centres el Roure, Lledoners and Vilana, all depending on the DGAM and the Center Al-Qantara which belongs to Caritas Catalunya. Due to the specific characteristics of the groups, these centres will be exclusively used by MEINAS, except some resources which host other under age children. 2.2. Working Insertion Services All the Residential Services described in section 2.1 have programs of formation and access to the working market when the age of the minor permits it legally. Moreover, access to the Young Occupation Plan of Barcelona City Council, which has occupational forma- tion and support for transition to working ,will be guaranteed (20 places). There is another exclusive formation and socio-working formation in el Casal dels Infants del Raval (14 places). 2.3. Transition service for autonomy and social insertion In order to give minors under tutelage who are in a more advanced insertion and autonomy process, and are almost 18, resources for emancipation and integration in the hosting society by means of places in hostels or assisted flats guarantying, as well, a personal following and support. 2.4. Familiar Gathering Program Service When conditions for a family gathering in the country of origin of the minor are present, guarantying a following of the family gathering process by the DGAM., in collaboration with the implied consulates and, with all the guaranties set in the minors coverage and tutelage legislation. guarantying a following of the family gathe- ring process by the DGAM. 192 english 10 ANNEX: NON ACCOMPANIED MINOR IMMIGRANTS (MEINAS) 3. Prevent social cohabitation and social cohesion conflictive situations Aspects to take into account: • Acting against crimes committed by the same minors reiteratively. • Means to treat minors with violent attitudes related to drug consumption. 3.1. Applying the Minor Penal Responsibility Law Applying the group of measures set in the law 5/2000 of Minor Penal Responsibility Law to the MEINAS that break the law, specially when there is relapse and a consequent social alarm. Guarantying the continuity of the socio-educative capacity that defines the law, by means of hosting in insertion services described before, when the time of the corrective measures has been served. 3.2. Dealing with transgressor attitudes related to drug consumption Creating A therapeutic Treatment Centre with attention functions in a residential regime to treat drug addictions addressed to high risk minors, with attitudes related to toxic substances consumption. 193 english Foreigners population by districts January 2001 January 2002 Foreigners % upon % upon Foreigners % upon % upon Growth foreign population foreign population 2001-2002 population population Ciutat Vella 15,513 21.0 18.2 22.517 19.8 26.7 45.1% Eixample 13,386 18.1 5.4 19.780 17.4 8.0 47.8% Sants-Monjuïc 8,585 11.6 5.1 13.572 11.9 8.2 58.1% Les corts 3,320 4.5 4.0 4.339 3.8 5.3 30.7% Sarrià-Sant G. 5,939 8.0 4.6 7.709 6.8 5.8 29.8% Gràcia 4,805 6.5 4.2 7.164 6.3 6.3 49.1% Horta-Guinardó 4,850 6.6 2.9 7.949 7.0 4.8 63.9% Nou Barris 4,961 6.7 2.9 8.494 7.5 5.1 71.2% Sant Andreu 4,057 5.5 3.0 6.503 5.7 4.8 60.3% Sant Martí 7,019 9.5 3.4 11.350 10.0 5.5 61.7% No adress 1,584 2.1 - 4.432 3.9 - 179.8% BARCELONA 74.019 100.0 4.9 113.809 100.0 7.6 53.8% Source: Municipal Source Foreigner population regarding gender present homogeneous characteristics. It is mostly masculine, except in the case of Central and South America where women are predominant. Foreigner population Total June 2002 % Men % Women Central Asia 14,552 76.1 23.9 Middle East 1,200 65.7 34.3 Subsaharian Africa 2,452 64.7 35.3 North Africa and Magreb 12,538 64.9 35.1 Central and meridian Africa 383 55.3 44.7 Central and Western Europe 7,928 51.8 48.2 South America 62,030 45.2 54.8 194 Central America 10,337 36.6 63.4 english Total Population of Barcelona 46.8 53.2 Source: Municipal.Census 11 ANNEX: IMMIGRATION OBSERVATORY: STATISTICS OF THE IMMIGRATION IN BARCELONA Regarding age, most of the immigrants who arrive to Barcelona are adults, between 25 and 64, although family gathering and stay processes of a lot of families increase the rest of groups progressively. Foreigner population by ages. January 2001 0-14 15-24 25-64 65 and over Middle East 13.2 10.5 71.8 4.5 Central Asia 15.3 15.9 67.0 1.8 South East Asia 16.0 12.8 69.3 1.9 North Africa and Magreb 17.2 17.1 64.0 1.7 Subsaharian Africa 11.8 18.8 67.6 1.8 Central and meridian Africa 7.6 15.2 75.5 1.8 Central America 15.9 15.7 66.2 2.2 South America 12.1 15.6 69.4 2.8 Central and Western Europe 15.3 15.0 68.4 1.4 Other countries 9.6 7.8 71.5 11.1 Total number of foreigners 13.1 14.0 68.7 4.2 Total Population 11.9 14.1 53.3 20.7 Source: Municipal Census It must be mentioned that this is not a population with low levels of studies or illiteracy. Moreover, the schooling level of immigrant population is quite high, as a consequence of the fact that people with less social and economical means can not migrate. Foreigners regarding level of studies. January 2001 Primary studies Secondary studies Superior studies Middle East 34,7 36,2 26,8 Central Asia 71,9 18,5 7,2 South East Asia 48,4 31,0 16,6 North Africa and Magreb 72,7 18,3 7,1 Central and meridian Africa 37,9 41,5 17,7 Central America 46,0 31,5 19,7 South America 28,3 45,9 23,9 195 Central and Western Europe 25,8 30,5 32,3 english Other countries 21,9 29,7 46,1 Total number of foreigners 39,7 33,8 24,4 Total Population BCN 43,6 39,3 17,1 Source: Municipal Census Births of children form foreigner mothers are a good indicator of the level of settlement of immigrant families in the city and what is known as “second generation” Births of children form foreigner mothers Year 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Total number of births 11,945 12,161 11,659 12,203 12,573 12,564 Births form foreigner mothers 1,149 1,121 1,123 1,249 1,766 2,234 % Births form foreigner mothers a/total 9,6% 9,2% 9,6% 10,2% 14,0% 17,8% Source: Municipal.Census As well, schooling data shows a growing presence of minors with immigrant parents in schools and, consequently, of families that are settled in our city. Schooling of immigrants in Barcelona schools 4 3,74 3,15 2,92 2,5 2,67 2,2 2 2,24 2,09 1,57 1,57 1,81 1,54 Course 98-99 1,45 0,81 Course 99-00 0 0,75 Course 00-01 Children Primary Secondary Formative High Education Education Education Education School 196 english 11 ANNEX: IMMIGRATION OBSERVATORY: STATISTICS OF THE IMMIGRATION IN BARCELONA 197 english