Detained non-citizens in the UAE frequently face arbitrary arrests, poor conditions of detention, an inability to access information about their cases, and deportation without recourse to legal remedies. Their treatment may amount to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, prohibited by Article 16 of the UN Convention against Torture. […]
Publications & Events
NEWSLETTER: Global Tools, Local Impact
The GDP’s May 2022 newsletter shines a spotlight on our Annual Report – “Global Tools, Local Impact” – with highlights including the launch of our new webinar series on international human rights mechanisms; expanding partnerships; and our collaborative efforts with partners to raise awareness of human rights violations in key global hotspots. […]
2021 Annual Report: Global Tools, Local Impact
Just as the COVID-19 pandemic revealed important lessons about the harm caused by migration-related detention, so too has Russia’s war on Ukraine revealed Europe’s selective humanitarianism. We have sought to engage these challenges proactively, effectively, and in partnership with allies and advocates at all levels, from local advocacy groups to networks spread across the international community. A common thread that ties our work together over the past year is our effort to ensure that global tools have local impact. […]
TURKEY: Joint Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
As Turkey has stepped up immigration controls there have been increasing reports of human rights abuses in detention centres and in other sites along its borders. Women have been subjected to abuses and gender-specific violations, including reports of rape of refugee women in some removal centres as well as humiliating strip searches. […]
Immigration Detention amidst War: The Case of Ukraine’s Volyn Detention Centre
In early March, shortly into Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Global Detention Project (GDP) began receiving email messages and videos from individuals claiming to know people who remained trapped in an immigration detention centre inside Ukraine, even as the war approached. … […]
“AND SO ADVOCACY BECAME HEALING”: A GDP Q&A with Abdul Aziz Muhamat
Abdul Aziz Muhamat languished in detention on Manus Island for nearly six years, but throughout that time he was an indefatigable advocate for those trapped in Australia’s offshore detention system. Today, Aziz lives in Switzerland, where he was granted asylum after receiving Geneva’s prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2019. The GDP spoke to Aziz about his experiences, challenges he sees in making advocacy more effective, and his plans for the future. […]
UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW: Immigration Detention in India, Morocco, Poland, South Africa
In March, the GDP worked with partners in four countries—Poland, India, South Africa, and Morocco—to prepare submissions for the 41st Session of the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR). […]
SOUTH AFRICA: Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review
For the 4th cycle UPR review of South Africa, the GDP teamed up with Lawyers for Human Rights to highlight numerous shortcomings in South Africa’s treatment of refugees and migrants. Despite important progress that has been made in implementing judicial control over immigration detention operations, the submission highlights South Africa’s failure to improve poor detention conditions and prevent abuses in the Lindela privately-run immigration detention centre. […]
MOROCCO: Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review
Morocco has consistently faced criticism for its treatment of migrants and refugees. In particular, collaboration between Europe and Morocco has increased the vulnerability of migrants to a range of human rights abuses, including forced displacements and ad hoc detention. In a joint submission to the Universal Periodic Review, the GDP and GADEM highlight key areas of concern and urge the Government of Morocco to take numerous vital steps to protect the rights of non-citizens. […]
INDIA: Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review
The GDP’s submission on India, made in partnership with the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), highlights human rights concerns within India’s immigration detention system, including lack of judicial review and indefinite detention, lack of legal aid for detainees, and poor detention conditions. […]
