Benin, which as of 25 June 2021 had recorded more than 8,000 COVID-19 cases and 104 deaths, launched a national vaccination campaign in March 2021 with support from the COVAX Facility. However, it is unclear if migrants, refugees, or other non-citizens are included in the vaccination campaign or whether the country has taken any specific […]
Benin: Covid-19 and Detention
There is little available information about the treatment of migrants or asylum seekers in enforcement procedures in Benin. Shortly after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, on 21 March 2020, visits to prisons were suspended. In early May, more than 400 inmates were released to limit the spread of the virus. At the prison in […]
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DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
Criminal Penalties for Immigration-Related Violations
LENGTH OF DETENTION
DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS
COSTS & OUTSOURCING
COVID-19 DATA
TRANSPARENCY
MONITORING
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)
GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES
INTERNATIONAL DETENTION MONITORING
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
ICRMW, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
2018
2018
ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
2017
2018
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1992
2017
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2004
2017
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2004
2017
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 15/19
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee on Migrant Workers
34. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(c) Ensure that migration detention is used only as an exceptional measure of last resort and for as short a time as possible, that adequate and decent conditions are provided in places of detention and, where appropriate, that migrants in administrative detention are effectively segregated from those under criminal investigation;
(d) Adopt alternative measures to detention for children of migrant workers, unaccompanied children, children separated from their parents and children in conflict with the law.
2024
2024
2024
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
28. The Committee recommends that the State party expedite the adoption of the
bill on the status of refugees and stateless persons in Benin and pursue its asylum policy
in a manner that promotes integration and non-discrimination. It invites the State party
to provide comprehensive and up-to-date information on reception conditions for
asylum-seekers and refugees in its next periodic report.
2022
2022
2024
Committee against Torture
§ 15. The State party should ensure that national legislation regulating asylum and expulsion, and all mutual legal assistance agreements to which it is a party, expressly recognize its obligation not to expel, return ( “ refouler ” ) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected to torture or ill-treatment. Refoulement decisions should be subject to judicial review on a case-by-case basis and should carry a right of appeal that has suspensive effect. The State party should also include in its next report to the Committee information on the number of persons expelled or extradited, specifying to which countries, the number of judicial decisions overruling or cancelling expulsion orders on the basis of the principle of non-refoulement, and any other relevant measures taken.
2019
2019
2019
> UN Special Procedures
> UN Universal Periodic Review
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
HEALTH IMPACTS
COVID-19
Country Updates
Benin, which as of 25 June 2021 had recorded more than 8,000 COVID-19 cases and 104 deaths, launched a national vaccination campaign in March 2021 with support from the COVAX Facility. However, it is unclear if migrants, refugees, or other non-citizens are included in the vaccination campaign or whether the country has taken any specific measures to safeguard those populations.
The GDP has been unable to establish the extent to which migration-related detention measures are used in Benin as part of immigration enforcement procedures. There is also no publicly available information concerning COVID-19 related measures taken for those in immigration or police custody.
According to UNHCR data, in 2020, there were 1,401 refugees and 464 asylum seekers in the country and 1,238 refugees and 373 asylum-seekers in 2019. The country has ratified several international human rights treaties including the Convention against Torture; the Convention on the Rights of the Child and most recently in July 2018, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. In its concluding observations in 2019, the Committee against Torture recommended that the country: (a) “improve material conditions in all places of detention, ensuring that prisoners receive the medical care and medicines necessary for their health in a timely manner and without charge, have access to nutritional and sufficient food, and enjoy adequate sanitary conditions and sufficient bedding; (b) take measures to end prison overcrowding by making greater use of alternatives to detention.”
The country took some measures to prevent COVID outbreaks in prisons, with assistance from non-governmental actors. In May 2020, a private foundation donated 130 boxes of face masks, 20 disinfectant sprays, 100 cans of bleach, 50 cans of soap, and 50 bottles of hydroalcoholic gel to the country’s prison administration. In addition, on 10 June 2020, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) gave Benin’s prison authority 110 hand-washing stations, 5,000 liters of bleach, 2,000 liters of hydroalcoholic gel and the ingredients necessary to make 30,000 liters of soap. The UNDP has estimated Benin’s prison occupancy rate as being as high as 170 percent capacity, which has helped lead to poor hygiene and a heightened risk of COVID-19 transmission. In October 2020, the UNDP deployed ten UN volunteers, including seven doctors and three psychologists, in Benin’s prisons to improve the quality of health services.
There is little available information about the treatment of migrants or asylum seekers in enforcement procedures in Benin. Shortly after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, on 21 March 2020, visits to prisons were suspended. In early May, more than 400 inmates were released to limit the spread of the virus. At the prison in the city of Natitingou, social distancing has been reportedly impossible to maintain due to overcrowding. All detainees have been requested to wear masks. Newly arrived individuals are quarantined, and are administered chloroquine for ten days.
Government Agencies
Ministère de l'Intéerur et de la Sécurité Publique - https://interieur.gouv.bj/
Directorate of Immifration and Emigration - https://www.dgpr.bj/dgpr/organigramme/directions-techniques/direction-de-lemigration-et-de-limmigration/
Ministère d'Affairs Étrangéres - https://diplomatie.gouv.bj/fr
International Organisations
UNHCR Benin Office - https://www.unhcr.org/where-we-work/countries/benin
IOM Benin Office - https://www.iom.int/countries/benin
NGO & Research Institutions
Médicateur de la Republique du Bénin - https://www.aomf-ombudsmans-francophonie.org/benin-mediateur-de-la-republique-du-benin/
Human Rights Watch - https://www.hrw.org/africa/benin
Amnesty International - https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/africa/west-and-central-africa/benin/report-benin/
