The tiny country of Andorra, located in the Pyrenees between France and Spain, has one of the highest percentages of international migrants in the world, which as of 2017 accounted for more than 50 percent of the country’s population of some 80,000. To date, the GDP has not identified any dedicated immigration removal facilities, and […]
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DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
LENGTH OF DETENTION
Maximum Length of Administrative Immigration Detention
Yes
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
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2006
2017
CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
2013
2013
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 8/19
Individual Complaints Procedures
Acceptance Year
ICCPR, First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 19662006
2006
CEDAW, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 19992002
2002
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Treaty Body
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Recommendation Year
2023
Recommendation Excerpt
40. the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Enact national legislation on asylum that is in line with international
standards, ensure child-sensitive asylum procedures in line with the principle of the best interests of the child and provide safeguards against refoulement;
(a) Enact national legislation on asylum that is in line with international
standards, ensure child-sensitive asylum procedures in line with the principle of the best interests of the child and provide safeguards against refoulement;
Sources
Committee on the Rights of the Child, "Concluding observations on the combined third to fifth periodic reports of Andorra*" 17 October 2023, United Nation General Assembly, (paragraph 40 a, b & C), https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/document/ca52b8a5-086d-4d4d-bfb5-2049b2895db5
Treaty Body
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
Recommendation Year
2019
Recommendation Excerpt
§ 42. In line with its general recommendation No . 32 (2014) on the gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women, the Committee recommends that the State party accede to the following treaties: the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto, the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The Committee also recommends that the State party adopt national asylum legislation.
Sources
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women," Concluding observations on the fourth periodic report
of Andorra,"CEDAW/C/AND/CO/4, 13 November 2019, https://uhri.ohchr.org/Document/File/e7a92ecc-83e3-4125-bd5f-f82578c486d6/D427806A-38F5-452A-9BB1-B9C50D456A22
Treaty Body
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Recommendation Year
2019
Recommendation Excerpt
§ 30. The State party: (a) Adopt a law on asylum that is in line with international standards and put in place procedures for granting refugee status to persons who could qualify for that status; (b) Provide information indicating to what extent the principle of non-refoulement is respected and whether appropriate information, interpretation services, free legal aid, humanitarian assistance and judicial remedies are available to asylum seekers; (c) Ratify the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.
Sources
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination," Concluding observations on the combined initial and second to sixth periodic reports of Andorra," CERD/C/AND/CO/1-6, 22 May 2019, https://uhri.ohchr.org/Document/File/43783802-adee-4862-8fc8-0ce80e15d3b4/D569379C-3D08-4928-BACA-0BFB372E2154
Treaty Body
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Recommendation Year
2012
Recommendation Excerpt
§ 44. "The Committee recommends that the State party enact legislation on asylum seekers and refugees in conformity with the international standards, including by taking into account its general comment No. 6 (2005). The Committee recommends that the State party accede to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness... 51. Noting that a very few number of children are incarcerated in detention centres, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that children are accompanied and cared by professionals, and that they are always held entirely separate from the adult detainees, including when they are permitted to use common areas of the detention facility... 52. The Committee recommends that the State party, in order to further strengthen the fulfilment of children's rights, ratify the following treaties: The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Communication Procedures, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol."
Sources
Committee on the Rights of the Child, "Concluding Observations on the Second Periodic Report of Andorra, Adopted by the Committee at its Sixty-First Session (17 September -5 October 2012)," CRC/C/AND/CO/2, 3 December 2012, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2fC%2fAND%2fCO%2f2&Lang=en
> UN Special Procedures
> UN Universal Periodic Review
Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2015
Sources
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Andorra, A/HRC/30/9, 15 July 2015, https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/andorra/session_22_-_may_2015/a_hrc_30_9_e.pdf
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2011
Sources
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Andorra, A/HRC/16/8, 4 January 2011, https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/andorra/session_9_-_november_2010/ahrc168andorrae.pdf
Recommendation Issued
Yes
Year Issued
2020
Sources
Human Right Council, "Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Andorra," A/HRC/46/11, 24 December 2020, https://uhri.ohchr.org/Document/File/35d0918b-9bb4-435a-b582-78dd6a3c970f/45B99869-2E91-484D-A70E-801822E114B2
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
ECPT, European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment1997
1997
2017
ECHRP7, Protocol 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights (amended by protocol 11)2008
2008
2017
CPCSE, Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse2014
2014
2017
ECHRP1, Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights (amended by protocol 11)2008
2008
2017
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
HEALTH IMPACTS
COVID-19
Country Updates
The tiny country of Andorra, located in the Pyrenees between France and Spain, has one of the highest percentages of international migrants in the world, which as of 2017 accounted for more than 50 percent of the country’s population of some 80,000. To date, the GDP has not identified any dedicated immigration removal facilities, and there appears to be little publicly available information about Andorra's Covid-19-related measures with respect to immigration detention. On 26 March 2020, the government announced temporary measures to extend visas for temporary workers who could not return to their country of origin due to border closures. Residence permits and healthcare benefits were also extended. As of mid-August 2020, the country had recorded nearly 1,000 cases of Covid-19.
Government Agencies
Department of Migration and Foreign Affairs, https://mfandorra.com/
Ministry of Justice and Interior, https://www.govern.ad/ca/ministeris-i-secretaries-d-estat/ministeri-de-justicia-i-interior
Ombudsman, https://www.raonadordelciutada.ad/en/home/
International Organisations
UNHCR - https://www.unhcr.org/
IOM - https://www.iom.int/
NGO & Research Institutions
Caritas Andorra - https://www.caritas.eu/caritas-andorra/
CItizen's Ombudsman of Andorra, https://ennhri.org/our-members/andorra/
Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/europe-and-central-asia/western-central-and-south-eastern-europe/andorra/
