Madagascar

Not Available

Immigration detainees

2019

No Data

Detained children

Overview

(February 2021) Madagascar hosts a small number of asylum seekers and refugees, who mainly come from Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia. There is no functioning asylum system, so although the Ministry of Interior is responsible for immigration matters it does not provide protection or assistance for asylum seekers. In 2018, the UN Committee on Migrants Workers noted with concern that the country employs immigration detention without properly assessing the necessity or proportionality of this measure in individual cases or providing adequate information or data about the extent of its use.

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

21 December 2020 – Madagascar

After its confirmation of the first cases of COVID-19, in March 2020, the government cancelled all international flights and announced a lockdown in the capital, starting on 22 March. Authorities gradually relaxed these measures, allowing schools and stores to reopen and reducing curfews. This was followed by a surge in new COVID-19 cases across the […]

Read More…

A Health Official Spraying a Shop Front in Toamasina in June 2020, (Rijasolo, AFP,
Last updated:

DETENTION STATISTICS

Total Migration Detainees: Flow + Stock (year)
Not Available
2019

DETAINEE DATA

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

DETENTION CAPACITY

ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA

PRISON DATA

Criminal Prison Population (Year)
22,000
2016
18,507
2012
17,703
2009
17,495
2006
19,971
2004
19,962
2001
20,109
1999
21,926
1996
18,370
1992
Percentage of Foreign Prisoners (Year)
0.1
2009
Prison Population Rate (per 100,000 of National Population)
88
2016
87
2012
89
2009
95
2006
116
2004
125
2001
135
1999
160
1996
154
1992

POPULATION DATA

Population (Year)
27,700,000
2020
24,235,000
2015
International Migrants (Year)
34,934
2019
32,100
2015
International Migrants as Percentage of Population (Year)
0.1
2015
Refugees (Year)
113
2019
44
2018
43
2017
22
2016
10
2015
11
2014
New Asylum Applications (Year)
172
2019
34
2016
9
2014
Refugee Recognition Rate (Year)
100
2014
Stateless Persons (Year)
0
2016
0
2015

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS

Gross Domestic Product per Capita (in USD)
449
2014
Remittances to the Country
432
2014
Unemployment Rate
2014
Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) (in Millions USD)
583.1
2014
Human Development Index Ranking (UNDP)
154 (Low)
2015

MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

Does the Country Detain People for Migration, Asylum, or Citizenship Reasons?
Yes
2018
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Unknown
2022

GOVERNANCE SYSTEM

Legal Tradition(s)
Civil law
2017
Customary law
2017

LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

GROUNDS FOR MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

LENGTH OF MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION INSTITUTIONS

PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS

DETENTION MONITORS

> National human rights monitoring bodies

> National Preventive Mechanisms (Optional Protocol to UN Convetion against Torture)

> Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

> Governmental monitoring bodies

> International detention monitoring

TRANSPARENCY

READMISSION/RETURN/EXTRADITION AGREEMENTS

COVID-19

HEALTH CARE

COVID-19 DATA

Has the country released immigration detainees as a result of the pandemic?
Unknown
2022

Has the country used legal "alternatives to detention" as part of pandemic detention releases?
Unknown
2022

Has the country Temporarily Ceased or Restricted Issuing Detention Orders?
No
2021

Has the Country Adopted These Pandemic-Related Measures for People in Immigration Detention?
COVID-19 Testing: UnknownVaccinations: UnknownProvision of Masks: UnknownProvision of Hygiene Supplies: UnknownSuspension of Visits: Unknown
2022

Has the Country Locked-Down Previously "Open" Reception Facilities, Shelters, Refugee Camps, or Other Forms of Accommodation for Migrant Workers or Other Non-Citizens?
Unknown
2022

Have cases of COVID-19 been reported in immigration detention facilities or any other places used for immigration detention purposes?
Unknown
2022

Has the Country Ceased or Restricted Deportations/Removals During any Period After the Onset of the Pandemic?
No
2021

Has the Country Released People from Criminal Prisons During the Pandemic?
Yes
2020

Have Officials Blamed Migrants, Asylum Seekers, or Refugees for the Spread of COVID-19?
Yes
2021

Has the Country Restricted Access to Asylum Procedures?
Not Applicable
2021

Has the Country Commenced a National Vaccination Campaign?
Yes
2021

Have Populations of Concern Been Included/Excluded From the National Vaccination Campaign?
People in Immigration Custody (including legal in "alternatives to detention" or at open reception centres): UnknownRefugees: UnknownUndocumented Migrants: UnknownAsylum Seekers: UnknownStateless People: Unknown
2022

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2017
2017
ICERD, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
1969
2017
ICESCR, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
1971
2017
ICCPR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
1971
2017
CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
1989
2017
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2005
2017
CRC, Convention on the Rights of the Child
1991
2017
ICRMW, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
2015
2017
CRPD, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
2015
2017
VCCR, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
1967
2017
CRSR, Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
1967
2017
CRSSP, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
1962
2017
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2005
2017
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2005
2017
ICRMW, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
2015
2016
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 15/19
Treaty Reservations
Reservation Year
Observation Date
ICESCR Article 13 1971
1971
2017
Individual Complaints Procedures
Acceptance Year
ICCPR, First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 1971
1971
Ratio of Complaints Procedures Accepted
Observation Date
1/9
2017
Relevant Recommendations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee on Migrant Workers §36. "The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Ensure that the detention of migrants is an exceptional measure of last resort applied for the shortest possible time, that grounds are specified in each case, giving the reasons why alternative measures cannot be implemented, and that the measure is reviewed in under 24 hours by an independent and impartial judicial authority; (b) Adopt alternatives to immigration detention for migrant workers and members of their families who have violated migration legislation and for those who are awaiting expulsion from the national territory; (c) Ensure that, in exceptional cases where detention cannot be avoided, migrant workers and members of their families are placed in special facilities, that they are held separately from ordinary prisoners and that conditions of detention comply with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), in accordance with the commitments made in 2014 as part of the universal periodic review process (A/HRC/28/13, para. 108.118); (d) Include, in its next periodic report, detailed information, disaggregated by age, sex, nationality or origin or both, on the number of migrant workers currently held in administrative detention for immigration offences and on the place, average duration and conditions of their detention." 2018
2018
2018

NON-TREATY-BASED INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Relevant Recommendations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
No 2010
2017
No 2014
2017
Yes 2019

REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
ACHPR, African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights 1992
1992
2017
ACRWC, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 2005
2005
2017

DETENTION COSTS

OUTSOURCING

FOREIGN SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR DETENTION OPERATIONS