Lesotho

Detains migrants or asylum seekers?

Yes

Has laws regulating migration-related detention?

Yes

Refugees

308

2023

Asylum Applications

321

2023

International Migrants

12,060

2020

Population

2,300,000

2023

Overview

Lesotho; Lesotho detains migrants and asylum seekers, with laws regulating migration-related detention. It periodically launches enforcement campaigns aimed at identifying and removing undocumented foreigners.

Types of facilities used for migration-related detention
Administrative Ad Hoc Criminal Unknown

Lesotho: Covid-19 and Detention

In June, a report from the UN Development Program estimated that approximately 93,000 people had returned to Lesotho as a result of COVID-19. The implementation of strict measures in neighbouring South Africa, which impacted the livelihood of migrant workers, helped spur this influx. Since October, migrant workers holding a permit are allowed to travel outside […]

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Ethiopian Airlines Plane With Millions of Medical Supplies Donated by Jack Ma Arrives in Lesotho, (Supplied,
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DETENTION STATISTICS

Migration Detainee Entries
Not Available
2019
Reported Detainee Population (Day)
Not Available (25) December Not Available
2019

DETAINEE DATA

Total Number of Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
0
2017

DETENTION CAPACITY

Total Immigration Detention Capacity
0
2019
Immigration Detention Capacity (Specialised Immigration Facilities Only)
0
2019

ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA

PRISON DATA

Criminal Prison Population (Year)
2,073
2014
2,498
2010
2,852
2007
3,173
2004
2,699
2001
2,232
1998
2,062
1995
2,260
1992
Percentage of Foreign Prisoners (Year)
0.9
2009
Prison Population Rate (per 100,000 of National Population)
92
2014
115
2010
135
2007
154
2004
135
2001
116
1998
114
1995
132
1992

POPULATION DATA

Population (Year)
2,300,000
2023
2,100,000
2020
2,135,000
2015
International Migrants (Year)
12,060
2020
6,928
2019
6,600
2015
International Migrants as Percentage of Population (Year)
0.56
2020
0.3
2015
Refugees (Year)
308
2023
296
2021
271
2020
143
2019
57
2018
56
2017
36
2016
31
2015
44
2014
Ratio of Refugees Per 1000 Inhabitants (Year)
0.02
2016
0.02
2014
Asylum Applications (Year)
321
2023
121
2019
9
2016
5
2014
Refugee Recognition Rate (Year)
100
2014
Stateless Persons (Year)
0
2022
0
2016
0
2015

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS

Gross Domestic Product per Capita (in USD)
1,034
2014
Remittances to the Country (in USD)
456
2014
Unemployment Rate
2014
Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) (in Millions USD)
103.6
2014
Human Development Index Ranking (UNDP)
161 (Low)
2015

LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Does the Country Detain People for Migration, Asylum, or Citizenship Reasons?
Yes
2021
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Yes
2023
Detention-Related Legislation
Lesotho Refugee Act (1983)
1983
Aliens Control Act num. 16 of 1966 (1966)
1966
Do Migration Detainees Have Constitutional Guarantees?
No ((1) Every person shall be entitled to personal liberty, that is to say, he shall not be arrested or detained save as may be authorised by law in any of the following cases, that is to say - (i) for the purpose of preventing the unlawful entry of that person into Lesotho, or for the purpose of effecting the expulsion, extradition or other lawful removal of that person from Lesotho or for the purpose of restricting that person while he is being conveyed through Lesotho in the course of his extradition or removal as a convicted prisoner from one country to another.) 1993 1993
1993
Legal Tradition(s)
Customary law
Common law

GROUNDS FOR DETENTION

Immigration-Status-Related Grounds
Detention to effect removal
2015
Detention for unauthorised entry or stay
2015
Children & Other Vulnerable Groups
Accompanied minors (Not mentioned) Yes
2015
Women (Not mentioned) Yes
2015

LENGTH OF DETENTION

Maximum Length in Custody Prior to Detention Order
Number of Days: 14
2015

DETENTION INSTITUTIONS

PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS

Procedural Standards
Access to consular assistance (Yes)
2015
Right to legal counsel (Yes)
2015

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
ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
2013
2017
ICCPR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
1992
2017
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2001
2017
CRC, Convention on the Rights of the Child
1992
2017
ICRMW, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
2005
2017
CRPD, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
2008
2017
CRSR, Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
1981
2017
CRSSP, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
1974
2017
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2003
2017
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2004
2017
CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
1995
2017
ICERD, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
1971
2017
VCCR, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
1972
2017
ICESCR, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
1992
2017
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 15/19
Treaty Reservations
Reservation Year
Observation Date
CEDAW Article 2 1995
1995
2017
Individual Complaints Procedures
Acceptance Year
ICCPR, First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 2000
2000
Ratio of Complaints Procedures Accepted
Observation Date
0/9
2017
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee on Migrant Workers "§30. recalls that administrative detention should be used only as a last resort, and recommends that the state party consider alternatives to administrative detention. it recommends that the state party: (a) include in its second periodic report detailed disaggregated information on the number of migrant workers detained for immigration offences and the place, average duration and conditions of their detention; (b) ensure that migrant workers detained for violations of immigration law are not detained with persons accused or convicted of a crime; (c) ensure that the minimum guarantees enshrined in the convention are assured with regard to criminal or administrative procedures against migrant workers and members of their families." 2016
2016
2017

> UN Special Procedures

> UN Universal Periodic Review

Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
No 2015
2017
No 2010
2017
No 2020

> Global Compact for Migration (GCM)

GCM Resolution Endorsement
Observation Date
2018

> Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)

GCR Resolution Endorsement
Observation Date
2018

REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
APRW, Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) 2004
2004
2017
ACRWC, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 1999
1999
2017
ACHPR, African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights 1992
1992
2017

HEALTH CARE PROVISION

HEALTH IMPACTS

COVID-19

Country Updates
In June, a report from the UN Development Program estimated that approximately 93,000 people had returned to Lesotho as a result of COVID-19. The implementation of strict measures in neighbouring South Africa, which impacted the livelihood of migrant workers, helped spur this influx. Since October, migrant workers holding a permit are allowed to travel outside the country, and several restrictions were lifted. The prime minister had urged prison officials to “minimise congestion” in March. However, in September, the conditions in Maseru prison were denounced by two former prisoners. They described the overcrowding and the lack of sanitary measures. The GDP was unable to confirm if any measures had been taken for asylum-seekers during the pandemic.