Amidst a crackdown against undocumented Afghans residing in the country, Pakistan’s authorities have ordered all undocumented Afghans to leave by 1 November or face deportation. In recent weeks, hundreds of refugees have been arrested and detained on the grounds that they do not have adequate paperwork. According to reports, at least four refugees have died […]
08 April 2020 – Pakistan
There are reports indicating that Pakistani authorities have taken some steps to mitigate the impact of the virus on the country’s prison population, which includes non-citizen detainees imprisoned under the 1946 Foreigners Act. The government has suspended visits to penitentiaries and court hearings. On 16 March, the Sindh provincial government began screening inmates and prison […]
Last updated: October 2023
DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS
MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
GROUNDS FOR MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION
LENGTH OF MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION
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
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2010
2010
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 8/19
Relevant Recommendations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee against Torture
34.While commending the State party for hosting millions of refugees, many of them Afghans, the Committee is concerned about recent documented reports of coercion, including threats of deportation and police abuse, extortion, raids and arbitrary detention, to return Afghans, including registered refugees, to their country of origin where they could be at risk of persecution, torture or ill-treatment. The Committee regrets the lack of a legal framework for refugees and asylum seekers (art. 3).
2017
2017
Committee on the Rights of the Child
§ 66. "The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to:
(a) Consider adopting a national refugee law in accordance with international standards and continue to host refugees, especially families with children and unaccompanied children;
(b) Ensure that all children born to refugees, including those who do not hold proof of registration cards, asylum seekers and stateless persons, are registered at birth;
(c) Integrate refugee and asylum-seeking children into national and provincial education systems on equal terms with nationals of the State party;
(d) Provide refugees, in particular families with children, with adequate housing and provide shelter to those who live in the streets;
(e) Enforce legal measures against child and bonded labour involving refugee, asylum-seeking and stateless children;
(f) Prevent and protect refugee, asylum-seeking and stateless children from falling victim to early marriage, abuse, trafficking or religious radicalization;
(g) Ensure the equal implementation of its citizenship laws with a view to extending citizenship to Bengali, Bihari and Rohingya children;
(h) Consider ratifying the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, as well as the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness."
2016
2016
NON-TREATY-BASED INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
DETENTION COSTS
OUTSOURCING
FOREIGN SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR DETENTION OPERATIONS
Government Agencies
Ministry of Human Rights: http://www.mohr.gov.pk/
Ministry of Law and Justice: http://www.molaw.gov.pk/
International Organisations
UNHCR Pakistan: http://unhcrpk.org/
IOM Pakistan: https://www.iom.int/pakistan
Media
Daily Times: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/
NGOs and Research Institutions
Refugee Rights Network Pakistan: http://rrnpk.org/
Pakistan International Human Rights Organization (PIHRO): http://pihro.org/
