Armenia

Detains migrants or asylum seekers?

Yes

Has laws regulating migration-related detention?

Yes

Refugees

34,634

2022

Asylum Applications

580

2022

International Migrants

190,349

2020

Population

2,800,000

2023

Overview

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

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Last updated:

DETENTION STATISTICS

Total Migration Detainees: Flow + Stock (year)
Not Available
2019

DETAINEE DATA

Total Number of Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
0
2017

DETENTION CAPACITY

ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA

PRISON DATA

Criminal Prison Population (Year)
4,873
2016
4,771
2013
Percentage of Foreign Prisoners (Year)
3.2
2015
2.6
2013
Prison Population Rate (per 100,000 of National Population)
162
2016
160
2013

POPULATION DATA

Population (Year)
2,800,000
2023
3,000,000
2020
3,018,000
2015
International Migrants (Year)
190,349
2020
190,159
2019
191,200
2015
International Migrants as Percentage of Population (Year)
6.42
2020
6.3
2015
Refugees (Year)
34,634
2022
34,728
2021
107,910
2020
17,980
2019
17,970
2018
17,972
2017
17,873
2016
19,319
2015
17,640
2014
Ratio of Refugees Per 1000 Inhabitants (Year)
5.91
2016
5.87
2014
Asylum Applications (Year)
580
2022
181
2021
136
2020
254
2019
127
2016
59
2014
Refugee Recognition Rate (Year)
100
2014
Stateless Persons (Year)
672
2022
878
2021
672
2020
848
2018
773
2017
512
2016
238
2015

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS

Gross Domestic Product per Capita (in USD)
3,873
2014
Remittances to the Country
2,159
2014
Unemployment Rate
2014
Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) (in Millions USD)
265.3
2014
Human Development Index Ranking (UNDP)
85 (High)
2015

MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

Does the Country Detain People for Migration, Asylum, or Citizenship Reasons?
Yes
2023
Yes
2020
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Yes
2023
Yes
2006

GOVERNANCE SYSTEM

Legal Tradition(s)
Civil law
2017

LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Do Migration Detainees Have Constitutional Guarantees?
Yes (Constitution of Armenia) 1995 2015
1995 2023
Detention-Related Legislation
Law on Foreigners as Amended in June 2019 (2006) 2019
2006
Law No. HO-211-N of 2008 on Refugees and Asylum (2015) (2008) 2015
2008
Additional Legislation
Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (2021) 2022
2021

GROUNDS FOR MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

Immigration-Status-Related Grounds
Detention for unauthorised entry or stay
2023
Detention to effect removal
2023
Detention during the asylum process
2023
Criminal Penalties for Immigration-Related Violations
Yes (Yes)
2023
Grounds for Criminal Immigration-Related Incarceration / Maximum Length of Incarceration
Unauthorized entry (1095)
2023
Has the Country Decriminalised Immigration-Related Violations?
Yes
2023
Children & Other Vulnerable Groups
Unaccompanied minors (Prohibited)
2023
Accompanied minors No
2015

LENGTH OF MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

Maximum Length of Administrative Immigration Detention
Number of Days: 90
2023
Maximum Length of Incarceration for Immigration-Related Criminal Conviction
Number of Days: 1095
2023

MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION INSTITUTIONS

Types of Detention Facilities Used in Practice
2015
2015

PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS

Procedural Standards
Information to detainees (Yes)
2023
Right to legal counsel (Yes)
2023
Access to consular assistance (Yes)
2023
Access to asylum procedures (Yes)
2023
Right to appeal the lawfulness of detention (Yes)
2023
Independent review of detention (Yes)
2023
Access to free interpretation services (Yes)
2023

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

Bilateral/Multilateral Readmission Agreements
Bulgaria (2009)
2017
Czech Republic (2011)
2017
Denmark (2004)
2017
Germany (2008)
2017
Norway (2010)
2017
Lithuania (2004)
2017
Sweden (2009)
2017
Switzerland (2005)
2017
Belarus (2001)
2017
Russian Federation (2011)
2017
Ukraine (1997)
2017
EU (2014)
2017

COVID-19

HEALTH CARE

COVID-19 DATA

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
VCCR, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
1993
2017
ICERD, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
1993
2017
ICESCR, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
1993
2017
ICCPR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
1993
2017
CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
1993
2017
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1993
2017
CRC, Convention on the Rights of the Child
1993
2017
CRPD, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
2010
2017
ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
2011
2017
CRSR, Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
1993
2017
CRSSP, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
1994
2017
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2003
2017
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2006
2006
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 13/19
Individual Complaints Procedures
Acceptance Year
ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, declaration under article 31 2011
2011
ICCPR, First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 1993
1993
CEDAW, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 1999 2006
2006
ICCPR, First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 1993
1993
Ratio of Complaints Procedures Accepted
Observation Date
4/8
2017
Relevant Recommendations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee against Torture 42. The State party should: (a) Ensure that the exemption from criminal responsibility for irregular border crossing for refugees and asylum seekers is strictly enforced in practice and refrain from detaining refugees and asylum seekers on this ground; (b) Establish a legal basis for regularizing the stay of individuals who are eligible to benefit from protection against refoulement under international human rights law but do not fall under the definition of refugee contained in the Law on Refugees and Asylum; (c) Develop and implement a comprehensive mechanism to ensure the rights of persons in penitentiary institutions who may be in need of international protection to access asylum procedures, and address, as a matter of priority, the substandard conditions of detention. 2017
2017
Committee on the Rights of the Child § 44. "The Committee notes that since 28 February 2019 there are no asylum-seeking, refugee or migrant children in regional processing countries but remains seriously concerned that: (a)The State party “is not intending to establish an independent guardianship entity for unaccompanied children” (CRC/C/AUS/Q/5-6/Add.1, para. 59) even though the Minister for Home Affairs is also responsible for granting immigration visas and approvals; (b)The Migration Act still prescribes mandatory detention for persons, including children, involved in irregular migration and that the State party “is not currently considering prohibiting the detention of children in all circumstances” (CRC/C/AUS/Q/5-6/Add.1, para. 60); (c)The amended Migration Act and the amended Maritime Powers Act of 2013 allow for the return of vessels carrying children who may be in need of international assistance; (d)The policy of utilizing regional processing countries and detaining children has not been revoked; (e)The best interests of the child are not a primary consideration in asylum, refugee and migration processes, leading to children going through lengthy assessment and determination procedures, and that the 286 children transferred from Nauru and the many thousands of children before them (the “legacy caseload”) “will not be settled in Australia and are encouraged to engage in third-country migration options” (CRC/C/AUS/Q/5-6/Add.1, para. 62), leaving them in limbo for an undetermined period of time; 45. The Committee refers to its general comment No. 6 (2005) on treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin and to joint general comments No. 3 and No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families / No. 22 and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the human rights of children in the context of international migration and recalls its previous recommendations on asylum-seeking and refugee children (CRC/C/AUS/CO/4, para. 81). The Committee urges the State party immediately: (a) To amend the Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act of 1946 (Commonwealth of Australia) to create an independent position of guardian for children; (b) To amend the Migration Act (Commonwealth of Australia) to prohibit the detention of asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children; (c) To amend the Migration Act and the Maritime Powers Act to ensure respect for the State party ’ s non-refoulement obligations, particularly in the course of maritime interceptions and returns; (d) To enact legislation prohibiting the detention of children and their families in regional processing countries; (e) To ensure that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in all decisions and agreements related to the relocation of asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children within Australia or to other countries; (f) To ensure that children who have been detained in regional processing countries have access to adequate child protection, education and health services, including mental health services; (g) To review migration laws and policies with a view to withdrawing disability as a criterion for rejecting immigration requests; (h) To implement durable solutions, including financial and other support, for all refugee and migrant children to ensure their early rehabilitation, reintegration and sustainable resettlement; (i) To introduce adequate mechanisms for monitoring the well-being of children involved in asylum, refugee and migration processes. (f)There is limited information on access to protection, education and health services, including mental health services, for all these children; (g)Migration laws and policies still allow disability to be the basis for rejecting an immigration request; (h)Inadequate mechanisms for monitoring the well-being of children involved in asylum, refugee and migration processes exist." 2019
2019
Committee on the Rights of the Child § 81. "The Committee urges the State party to bring its immigration and asylum laws into full conformity with the Convention and other relevant international standards. In doing so, the State party is urged to take into account the Committee’s general comment No. 6 (2005) on the treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin. Furthermore, the Committee reiterates its previous recommendations ( CRC/C/15/Add.268, para 64). In addition to that, the Committee urges the State party to: (a) Reconsider its policy of detaining children who are asylum-seeking, refugees and/or irregular migrants; and, ensure that if immigration detention is imposed, it is subject to time limits and judicial review; (b) Ensure that its migration and asylum legislation and procedures have the best interests of the child as the primary consideration in all immigration and asylum processes; and ensure that determinations of the best interests are consistently conducted by professionals who have been adequately trained on best - interests determination procedures; (c) Expeditiously establish an independent guardianship/support institution for unaccompanied immigrant children;" 2012
2012
Committee against Torture The State party should continue to take effective measures to improve conditions in places of detention and to reduce overcrowding in such places. The Committee recommends that the State party increase its efforts to remedy prison overcrowding, including through the application of alternative measures to imprisonment in line with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures ( the Tokyo Rules) and to provide the Committee with information on any probation service to be established in charge of alternative punishment, conditional release and rehabilitation. The State party should take necessary measures to eliminate any form of violence or discrimination against detainees based on sexual orientation or nationality, including all abusive and discriminatory actions taken by prison inmates against other detainees. It should establish a confidential system for receiving and processing complaints regarding torture or ill-treatment and ensure that the system is established in all places of deprivation of liberty. The State party should further ensure that all complaints received are promptly, impartially and effectively investigated, and the perpetrators punished with appropriate penalties. 2012
2012

NON-TREATY-BASED INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Relevant Recommendations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
No 2010
2017
No 2015
2017
Yes 2020

REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
ECHRP7, Protocol 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights (amended by protocol 11) 2002
2002
2017
ECHRP12, Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights 2004
2004
2017
ECPT, European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment 2002
2002
2017
CATHB, Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings 2008
2008
2017
ECHR, Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (commonly known as the European Convention on Human Rights 2002
2002
2017
ECHRP1, Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights (amended by protocol 11) 2002
2002
2017

DETENTION COSTS

OUTSOURCING

FOREIGN SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR DETENTION OPERATIONS