Malaysia’s immigration enforcement regime is one of the world’s most punitive, arbitrary, and harmful detention systems. Children, like adults, are subjected to these enforcement measures, exposing them to acute risk of abuse and rights violations.
Full Country Profile21,150
Total Immigration Detention Capacity
1,030
Total Number of Detained Children
21
Detention Centres
150
Detainee Deaths
Although conditions in Taiwan’s detention centres have frequently been criticised, they have received little international scrutiny because of China’s opposition to Taiwan’s UN membership.
Full Country Profile10,844
Migration Detainees
4
Number of Detention Centres
Yes
Has laws regulating migration-related detention?
1,418
Total Immigration Detention Capacity
Detention is a key immigration enforcement measure in Hong Kong, despite the fact that detention facilities have long been criticised for poor conditions and complaints of mistreatment.
Full Country Profile5,549
Migration Detainees
4
Number of Detention Centres
52,506
Apprehensions of Non-Citizens
Yes
Has laws regulating migration-related detention?
5,019
Migration Detainees
32
Deportations/Forced Removals
8,111,404
International Migrants
29,511
Refugees
Every day, hundreds of thousands of people are detained across the globe for reasons related to their immigration status, including children, asylum seekers, refugees, trafficking victims, torture survivors, stateless persons, and others. The GDP relentlessly pursues information about where they are locked up and how they are treated to ensure that their human rights are respected.
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Drawing attention to the connection between externalisation and the spread of arbitrary immigration detention practices across the globe, this submission highlights the ongoing violations committed against migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers forcibly removed to third countries under migration and asylum management deals. […]
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has issued a new resolution cautioning against the externalisation of migration governance and urging African States to safeguard the rights and dignity of migrants deported from non-African countries. Adopted amidst a surge in bilateral agreements between African governments and external partners–in particular the United States and the European Union–the resolution echoes similar warnings from other international monitoring bodies and underscores the serious risks associated with externalised migration enforcement schemes. […]
Uganda’s important role in hosting refugees recently received global attention after it agreed to a deal with the United States to accept deported third-country nationals who have pending asylum claims in the United States. While this agreement has raised concerns about Uganda’s commitments to uphold its human rights and humanitarian commitments, it nevertheless follows a pattern of adopting increasingly restrictive policies and practices in recent years, undermining Uganda’s long-held reputation as a welcoming country. […]
In a submission to the UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW) ahead of its adoption of its List of Issues Prior to Reporting during its 41st session, the Global Detention Project addressed concerns about the country’s migration-related detention policies and practices, including its collaboration with Italy in detaining third-country migrants deported by its neighbour. […]
Since 2023, Tunisia has adopted a particularly hardline approach to migration, and observers have documented a surge in violence against African migrants including raids, arbitrary arrests, detentions, and mass deportations to the borders with Algeria and Libya. These practices have coincided with growing European support for the country’s border control and migration “management.” In a joint submission with FTDES, the GDP highlights concerns to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. […]
In a joint submission with the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, the GDP has raised concerns with the UN Committee against Torture over Israel’s detention laws and practices, highlighting new and proposed legislation permitting indefinite detention and deportations in violation of the principle of non-refoulement, the detention of vulnerable groups, inadequate protections for non-nationals during the Iran-Israel war, and the failure to support migrant victims of the 7 October Hamas attack. […]
