Despite having a much-criticised track record concerning its treatment of refugees, Rwanda has signed deals with both the United Kingdom and Denmark that involve receiving deported asylum seekers and irregular migrants from both the countries for processing and potential permanent relocation. In mid-April, Rwanda and the UK finalised an “economic development partnership” whose centrepiece is […]
20 January 2022 – Rwanda
The United Kingdom is reportedly considering sending asylum seekers to Rwanda as part of an offshore resettlement and processing scheme that would be allowed under the UK government’s proposed new Nationality and Borders Bill. Ghana was also named as a possible destination, although Ghana’s foreign minister quickly disavowed such a possibility, saying that the country […]
18 April 2020 – Rwanda
Refugees and migrants, relocated to Rwanda from Libya and subsequently held in Gashora Emergency Transit Centre outside Kigali, have protested against their lockdown. Rwanda has accepted several hundred persons, evacuated from Libya’s notorious detention facilities. Some have been screened and approved for relocation to countries including Canada and Norway, but the lockdown has suspended their […]
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DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION
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
Have Populations of Concern Been Included/Excluded From the National Vaccination Campaign?
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2008
2017
ICRMW, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
2008
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
2006
2017
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 14/19
Relevant Recommendations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee on Migrant Workers
"§24. (a) ensure that detention of migrants for violations of immigration law is used only as a measure of last resort and in s pecial facilities; and that, inso far as practicable, migrants detained for immigration offences are held separately from ordinary prisoners; and
(b) include in its next periodic report detailed information on the number of migrants detained for immigration offences and on the place, average duration and conditions of their detention."
2012
2012
Committee on Migrant Workers
27. The Committee notes that Law No. 57/2018 repealed Law No. 04/2011. It also notes the assurances of the State party that detention of migrants for violations of immigration law is used only as a measure of last resort in special facilities, and that the National Commission for Human Rights monitors and may make unannounced visits to places of detention where migrant workers may be held. However, the Committee is concerned about:
(...)
(c) The lack of statistical data on cases involving the placement of migrant workers and members of their families in administrative custody for reasons related to irregular migration;
(...)
28. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(...)
(c) 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;
(...)
2021
2021
Committee on the Rights of the Child
§ 41. The State party: (a) Ensure that all reception centres for asylum-seeking and refugee children are child-friendly and that all unaccompanied and separated children have prompt access to national refugee status determination procedures; (b) Investigate any reports of alleged disappearance of children, in particular adolescent girls, from refugee camps, establish their whereabouts and prosecute those responsible for crimes involved in such disappearance ; (c) Continue to cooperate with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to address the aforementioned issues.
2020
2020
Human Rights Committee
§ 30. […]The State party should ensure that detention pending deportation is only applied if reasonably necessary and proportionate, after due consideration of less invasive means and for the shortest possible period of time, and that individuals detained for immigration-related reasons are held in facilities specifically designed for that purpose.
2016
2016
NON-TREATY-BASED INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
