E/CN.4/2004/76/Add.2 page 11 required by law was demanded and entry was refused arbitrarily, on the basis of circumstantial information and without due deliberation concerning each case. 33. The most recent amendment of the Aliens Act establishes the obligation for carriers to ensure that passengers’ documents are valid and up to date; failure to do so constitutes an offence carrying heavy penalties. The Special Rapporteur considers that the control function should be carried out by the State authorities and not by private entities, whose aim is commercial and which do not have the necessary expertise to ensure respect for the rights of migrants and asylumseekers. 34. Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar in pateras, (small boats) is another form of illegal entry less significant in numbers, but more significant in terms of its serious consequences. In Cádiz she was told that deaths in the strait over the past 12 years have, according to the most optimistic estimates, numbered 2,000. Between January and September 2003 there were 162 fatalities. The Special Rapporteur was informed that many of the people arriving in small boats have injuries or wounds caused by the difficulties of the journey. In Andalucia she was informed that the number of fatalities had been reduced through the setting-up of the Integrated External Surveillance System (SIVE), which will be extended to the whole of southern Spain by 2005. She visited the SIVE facility, where the Civil Guard described its work of keeping watch on the coasts and rescuing small boats crossing the strait. 35. The Special Rapporteur was informed of the change in the routes taken by illegal immigrants as a result of the system of interception, a change which entails a longer and more dangerous journey. She visited the Islas de las Palomas reception centre in Tarifa, where first aid is given to migrants arriving in boats and details of individual cases are recorded. At the Barranco Seco and El Matorral detention centres, the Special Rapporteur noted the large number of migrants awaiting expulsion. She also interviewed women in various detention centres who were awaiting a response to their asylum application; some of them had lost relatives in their country of origin or when the small boats were shipwrecked. The Special Rapporteur noted that the mental health of these persons is seriously affected by the uncertainty surrounding their future. 36. The Special Rapporteur finds that the existence of a large number of illegal migrants is due, inter alia, to the fact that deportation orders are not carried out. This often results from the impossibility of documenting the migrants, either because their country does not have a consulate in Spain or because they claim to come from a different country in order not to be sent back. When the expulsion order is not carried out, they are generally placed in detention pending execution of the order; when the time limit for execution has elapsed, they are released with orders to leave Spain, which they normally do not do. This pattern contributes to the creation of a large number of illegal migrants in the country. 37. The Special Rapporteur noted that the security forces responsible for enforcing the law are not always fully aware of the difference between return and expulsion, or of the various guarantees accompanying these procedures. In practice, it is tacitly understood that return applies only to Moroccans, since Morocco does not accept migrants of other nationalities if it cannot be demonstrated that they passed through its territory. In the case of illegal migrants of other nationalities, the Special Rapporteur noted that even where conditions for implementing return existed, in practice the expulsion procedure was often directly initiated. 38. As a result of the changes in legislation, the People’s Advocate detected greater delays in processing permits in immigration offices and pointed out that there is a problem of discrepancy