Somaliland

Detains migrants or asylum seekers?

Yes

Has laws regulating migration-related detention?

Yes

Population

3,600,000

2014

Overview

(July 2016) Somaliland, an autonomous region of Somalia and an unrecognised self-declared state, is a destination, transit, and source country for migrants and asylum seekers in the Horn of Africa. The arrest and detention of undocumented foreigners is common as the authorities seek to restrict the flow of transit migrants. Immigration-related detention tends to last for only a few days and migrants are deported as quickly as possible.

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

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Last updated: July 2016

Somaliland Immigration Detention Profile

    Somaliland, an autonomous region of Somalia and an unrecognized self-declared state, is an origin, destination, and transit country for migrants in the Horn of Africa. Many Ethiopians and Somalis travel through Somaliland to Puntland or Djibouti en route to the Gulf States. Somaliland also serves as a destination for economic migrants and asylum seekers form Ethiopia. The arrest and detention of migrants is common as Somaliland authorities attempt to restrict the flow of migrants and decrease the amount of unauthorized foreigners residing in the territory.[1]

    Undocumented people detained in Somaliland are usually held in police stations. Detention tends to last several days at most because Somaliland authorities do not have the resources to support long-term detention. Authorities seek to either deport intercepted migrants or transfer their care to the International Organization for Migration, which occasionally provides assistance to apprehended migrants in the territory. However, people intercepted in Loya’ada, a border town between Somaliland and Djibouti, face the possibility of unlimited detention depending on when they can be transported back to the Ethiopian border.[2]

    Migrants have reportedly been detained at Loya’ada police station (based on its geographical location, on the border between Djibouti or Somaliland, it is unclear to which territory this facility rightly belongs). Conditions at this station, according to the Somaliland Mixed Migration Task Force, are very poor.[3] Migrants have also been detained at the Central Police Station in Hargeisa. One refugee who was detained at the Central Police Station told Human Rights Watch that six injured refugees detained there “had not received medical assistance for three days before they were released.”[4] The conditions in Somaliland’s prisons, where migrants are also likely detained, have been described as inhumane by the UN Independent Expert for Somalia.[5] Issues include a lack of water, sanitation, and ventilation. In 2013, Somaliland authorities permitted a Prison Conditions Management Committee that had been organized by the UN Development Programme to visit prisons. The UN Assistance Mission in Somalia’s Human Rights Unit has also been allowed to visit prisons.[6]

     

    [1] Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat, Behind Bars: The Detention of Migrants in and from the East and Horn of Africa, 2015, http://www.regionalmms.org/.

    [2] Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat, Behind Bars: The Detention of Migrants in and from the East and Horn of Africa, 2015, http://www.regionalmms.org/.

    [3]  Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat, Behind Bars: The Detention of Migrants in and from the East and Horn of Africa, 2015, http://www.regionalmms.org/.

    [4] Human Rights Watch, “Somaliland: Stop Deporting Ethiopian Refugees,” 4 September 2012, https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/04/somaliland-stop-deporting-ethiopian-refugees.

    [5] UN Human Rights Council, “Report of the Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Somalia, Shamsul Bari,” United Nations, A/HRC/21/61, 22 August 2012, http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session21/A.HRC.21.61_en.pdf.

    [6] U.S. Department of State, Somalia 2014 Human Rights Report, 2014, http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236616.pdf.

    DETENTION STATISTICS

    Migration Detainee Entries
    Not Available
    protprot
    Alternative Total Migration Detainee Entries
    250
    protprot 2024
    Total Migration Detainees (Entries + Remaining from previous year)
    Not Available
    protprot
    Alternative Total Migration Detainees
    Not Available
    protprot
    Reported Detainee Population (Day)
    Not Available
    Not Available
    protprot
    Average Daily Detainee Population (year)
    Not Available
    protprot
    Immigration Detainees as Percentage of Total Migrant population (Year)
    Not Available%
    protprot

    DETAINEE DATA

    Countries of Origin (Year)





    protprot
    Number of Asylum Seekers Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
    Not Available
    protprot
    Number of Women Placed in Immigration Detention (year)
    Not Available
    protprot
    Total Number of Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
    Not Available
    protprot
    Number of Unaccompanied Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
    Not Available
    protprot
    Number of Accompanied Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
    Not Available
    protprot
    Number of Stateless Persons Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
    Not Available
    protprot
    Number of Deaths in Immigration Custody (year)
    Not Available
    protprot
    Cases of Self-Harming and Suicide Attempts in Immigration Custody (Year)
    0
    protprot

    DETENTION CAPACITY

    Total Immigration Detention Capacity
    0
    protprot
    Immigration Detention Capacity (Specialised Immigration Facilities Only)
    0
    protprot
    Number of Dedicated Immigration Detention Centres
    0
    protprot

    ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

    Number of Detainees Referred to ATDs (Year)
    0
    protprot
    Official ATD Absconder Rate (Percentage)(Year)
    0%
    protprot
    Number of People in ATDs on Given Day
    0
    protprot

    ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA

    Percentage of Detainees Released (year)
    0%
    protprot
    Percentage of Detainees Deported (year)
    0%
    protprot
    Number of Deportations/Forced Removals (Year)
    0
    protprot
    Number of Voluntary Returns & Deportations (Year)
    0
    protprot
    Percentage of Removals v. Total Removal Orders (Year)
    %
    protprot
    Number of People Refused Entry (Year)
    Not Available
    protprot
    Number of Apprehensions of Non-Citizens (Year)
    0
    protprot

    PRISON DATA

    Criminal Prison Population (Year)
    2,000
    protprot 2011

    POPULATION DATA

    Population (Year)
    3,600,000
    protprot 2014

    SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS

    LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

    Does the Country Detain People for Migration, Asylum, or Citizenship Reasons?

    Yes

    2022
    Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?

    Yes

    2023
    Detention-Related Legislation
    Name
    Year Adopted
    Last Amended
    Criminal Procedure Code 19
    Somaliland Immigration Law (Law No. 72/1995)
    1995
    Do Migration Detainees Have Constitutional Guarantees?
    Yes/No
    Constitution and articles
    Adopted in
    Last amendend
    Yes
    Articles (25, 26, and 48) of Somaliland constitutions.
    2001
    Expedited/Fast Track Removal

    Yes

    2023
    Summary Removal/Pushbacks

    Yes

    Unknown

    2023
    Legal Tradition(s)

    Muslim law

    2023

    GROUNDS FOR DETENTION

    Immigration-Status-Related Grounds

    Detention for unauthorised entry or stay

    2023

    LENGTH OF DETENTION

    Maximum Length of Detention at Port of Entry

    549

    2013

    DETENTION INSTITUTIONS

    Apprehending Authorities
    Name
    Agency
    Ministry
    Year
    Immigration officers
    Immigration agency
    2023
    Police
    Police
    2023
    Detention Facility Management
    Entity
    Type
    Year
    Police
    Government-local
    2012
    Types of Detention Facilities Used in Practice

    2015

    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

    Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
    Ratio: 0/19

    > UN Special Procedures

    > UN Universal Periodic Review

    > Global Compact for Migration (GCM)

    > Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)

    REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

    HEALTH CARE PROVISION

    HEALTH IMPACTS

    COVID-19