Bolivia has been strongly affected by the Covid-19 crisis. By 31 July, Bolivia had more than 75,000 cases of Covid-19 and 2,894 deaths related to the disease. Faced with the pandemic, the government took several measures including declaring a state of emergency, closing borders, imposing fines and detaining people who do not respect quarantine or […]
Last updated:
DETAINEE DATA
DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS
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
OP ICESCR, Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
2012
2018
ICRMW, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
2009
2009
ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
2008
2008
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2006
2006
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2006
2006
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1999
1999
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 18/19
Individual Complaints Procedures
Acceptance Year
CRC, [Third] Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child establishing a communications procedure, 2011
2013
2013
ICESCR, Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 2008
2012
2012
CEDAW, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 1999
2000
2000
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee on Migrant Workers
44, Committee urges the State party to:
(a) Ensure that the detention of migrants is an exceptional measure of last
resort, that the grounds are specified in each case, with specific reasons given as to why
alternative measures cannot be taken, and that the measure is reviewed within 24 hours
by an independent and impartial judicial authority;
(b) Adopt alternatives to administrative detention for migrant workers and
members of their families during proceedings relating to their entry into or expulsion
from the country.
46, Committee urges the State party to:
(d) Enforce the ban on collective and arbitrary expulsions; conduct an
objective assessment of the individual circumstances of each migrant, taking into
account any potential protection needs; respect the principle of non-refoulement; and
provide alternatives to expulsion, including asylum, complementary protection,
residence on humanitarian grounds and regularization on other grounds.
48, Committee urges the State party to:
(d) Ensure that the principle of non-refoulement is respected, that individuals
in need of international protection are identified and that, where appropriate, foreign
nationals are informed of the asylum procedure on arrival in the State party and receive
legal aid.
2022
2022
2022
Human Rights Committee
28.The Committee notes the information provided about the current legislation on refugees and non-refoulement and about the ongoing training for migration and border officials. However, it is concerned by allegations that: (a) there have been cases where persons who wished to apply for asylum were turned back at the borders or at airports; (b) in practice, people arriving at the borders or at airports are not informed about the refugee determination procedure or how to file for asylum with the National Commission for Refugees; and (c) the National Commission for Refugees receives applications for asylum only at its central office in La Paz (arts. 2, 7 and 12–14).
29. The State party should redouble its efforts to:
(a) Accelerate refugee determination procedures;
(b) Ensure that all requests for international protection made anywhere in the country, including at the borders and at airports, are effectively received, registered and transmitted promptly to the processing authorities;
(c) Continue and increase the provision of training to migration and border officials in identifying persons in need of international protection and informing them of asylum procedures;
(d) Ensure that the principle of non-refoulement is respected in practice.
2022
2022
2022
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
19. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Develop, as a matter of priority and within a specific time frame, a strategy to prevent violence against women, with the participation of various stakeholders, including high-level government officials, and considering the special situations of risk to indigenous and Afro-Bolivian women, women with disabilities, migrant and refugee women and women in detention;
2015
2015
2015
Committee on Migrant Workers
§31. The Committee recommends that the State party should take the necessary steps to ensure that its consular services respond more effectively to protect and promote the rights of Bolivian migrant workers and members of their families where necessary and that, in particular, they provide the necessary assistance to any of them who are in detention or subject to an expulsion order.
2013
2013
2013
Committee on Migrant Workers
§26. The Committee recommends that the State party ensures that migrants or members of their families when detained for violation of provisions relating to migration are deprived of their liberty for as short a time as possible and that it take steps to guarantee that they are held separately from convicted persons or persons detained pending trial, in accordance with article 17, paragraph 3, of the Convention.
2008
2008
2008
> UN Special Procedures
> UN Universal Periodic Review
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
APACHR, Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
2006
2006
CBDP, Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belem do Para)
1994
1994
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
HEALTH IMPACTS
COVID-19
Country Updates
Bolivia has been strongly affected by the Covid-19 crisis. By 31 July, Bolivia had more than 75,000 cases of Covid-19 and 2,894 deaths related to the disease. Faced with the pandemic, the government took several measures including declaring a state of emergency, closing borders, imposing fines and detaining people who do not respect quarantine or confinement measures. Bolivia has also imposed restrictions on citizens wishing to return from abroad. Bolivians in Chile, for instance, must spend 14 days in quarantine prior to returning. Some 1,300 Bolivian nationals--including pregnant women, elderly persons, and children--have been stranded in Chile and hundreds of them have been forced to sleep in freezing conditions with little food and water. For its part, by April the Chilean government had transported approximately 1,000 Bolivian nationals to Colchane, a town near the border, where they were accommodated in schools, with sanitary and basic services.
Government Agencies
- Ministro de Gobierno
- mingobierno@mingobierno.gob.bo
- (591-2) 2440466
- Dirección General de Migración
- Migracion-comunicacion@gmail.com
- (591)-2-2110960
International Organisations
- IOM Bolivia
- iomlapaz@iom.int
- +59.12 236 90 44
- UNHCR Bolivia
NGOs and Research Institutions
- Diakonia
- Amnesty Bolivia
- https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/bolivia/report-bolivia/
- Americas Media Manager, duncan.tucker@amnesty.org
- Ombudsman (Defensoría del Pueblo)
- +591 211 3600
- tsubieta@defensoria.gob.bo
Media
- Los Tiempos Bolivia
