The evacuation of foreign militaries from Afghanistan is spurring a new refugee exodus. This “Situation Report” provides an overview of early responses to the crisis in key countries across the globe as well as a summary of recommendations from human rights monitors.
Full Country ProfileNot Available
Immigration detainees
2020
Not Available
Detained children
2017
33
New asylum applications
2019
72,227
Refugees
2019
149,762
International migrants
2019
Morocco has long prided itself for defending the rights of non-nationals. However, this reputation has repeatedly been tarnished as criticism has grown over its treatment of asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants. In particular, increasing pressure from Europe to block the movement of migrants and asylum seekers is encouraging the use of enforcement tactics that violate migrants’ fundamental human rights.
Full Country ProfileNot Available
Immigration detainees
2020
Not Available
Detained asylum seekers
2020
No Data
Detained children
5,621
New asylum applications
2019
6,642
Refugees
2019
South Africa has increasingly viewed cross border movements through the lens of national security and criminality. According to observers, the country's Border Management Act, adopted in 2020, reflects this embrace of a securitisation agenda.
Full Country Profile0
Immigration detainees
Not Available
Detained children
2017
3,074
New asylum applications
2020
78,395
Refugees
2020
2,860,495
International migrants
2020
In recent years, Canada has adopted both progressive refugee policies and restrictive border control measures, including agreeing to accept more refugees than other countries while at the same time adopting policies that restrict asylum eligibility.
Full Country ProfileNo Data
Immigration detainees
138
Detained children
2020
23,900
New asylum applications
2020
101,757
Refugees
2019
7,960,657
International migrants
2019
Every day, tens of thousands of men, women, and children are detained across the globe for reasons related to their immigration status: asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, 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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This submission highlights Lithuania’s treatment of migrants and asylum seekers in response to recent increases in border crossings from Belarus, which has included stranding vulnerable people–including children–in dire conditions in border regions, using ad hoc detention sites, and expanding detention powers. Testimonies provided by detainees include numerous allegations of torture and mistreatment by security officials. […]
On 7 October 2021, the UN Committee on Migrant Workers released its General Comment No. 5 (2021), which provides an authoritative interpretation of articles 16 and 17 and other articles of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, focusing on migrants’ right to liberty and freedom from arbitrary detention. […]
The GDP has provided information to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants in response to his call for input on the impact of COVID-19. The submission primarily focusses on the treatment of people in immigration detention during the pandemic. […]
As we look back at 2020, the dramatic impact of COVID-19 on the lives of migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and other vulnerable non-citizens across the globe appears to overshadow all else. But this Annual Report reveals that even as we sought to steady the GDP ship through this storm, we managed to make important advancements in our core objectives and outputs. […]
This submission has been prepared by the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) and the Global Detention Project (GDP) for the third cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Papua New Guinea (PNG) in November 2021. In preparing this submission, APRRN has drawn on the expertise of two of its members: Refugee Council of Australia and Caritas PNG (which works directly with refugees in PNG through the support of Catholic Bishops Conference of PNG and the Solomon Islands). […]
Since the closure of its transit zones in 2020, Hungary has implemented a new, highly restrictive asylum procedure requiring all applicants to lodge their requests at consulates in Serbia or Ukraine. In a submission to the UPR, the GDP and Hungarian Helsinki Committee draw attention to this issue, along with other concerns related to migration detention and border enforcement measures. […]
