Submissions

Foreigners in Tunisia, particularly those from sub-Saharan Africa, face endemic racism, little or no possibility of seeking asylum because the country has yet to adopt a refugee protection regime, and pushbacks into Libya and Algeria. There is little transparency with respect to detention conditions of migrants and refugees or their treatment in border regions. Although the country had begun implementing measures in March 2020 to safeguard staff and inmates at the country’s prisons in response to the Covid-19 crisis, no such measures appear to have been taken with respect to people detained for immigration reasons.

The year 2019 marked the final year of the GDP’s first Strategic Plan. In this Annual Report, we discuss in detail how our strategy has shaped our activities and led us to become more engaged with activists, practitioners, policy-makers, scholars, and—critically—detainees and their families.

In 2018, the Trump administration initiated a “zero‐tolerance” border policy wherein they criminally prosecuted all individuals who were apprehended crossing the border without proper authorisation. The policy change resulted in numerous migrant children being separated from their parents. In an article for Symbolic Interaction, GDP advisor Matthew Flynn and Eric O Silva (both of Georgia Southern University) examine each side’s aligning activity through a qualitative content analysis of 1,500 YouTube comments made in response to CNN and ProPublica news coverage.

As the coronavirus pandemic changes the lives of societies around the world, so too must it spur consideration for how countries are choosing to treat people in their custody for immigration- or asylum-related reasons. This need is all the more pressing given how leaders in many countries have begun capitalising on the disease’s spread to fuel […]

This book offers a unique comparative assessment of the evolution of immigration detention systems in European Union member states since the onset of the “refugee crisis.” By applying an analytical framework premised on international human rights law in assessing domestic detention regimes, the book reveals the extent to which EU legislation has led to the adoption of laws and practices that may disregard fundamental rights and standards.

OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS Immigration Detention in the Republic of Korea: Penalising People in Need of Protection Over the last two decades, South Korea has implemented increasingly restrictive asylum and migrant worker policies. The government does not provide adequate data about detention, making it challenging to assess trends in the country, but observers report that this […]

The Netherlands places increasing numbers of foreigners—including asylum seekers, families, and children—in detention. The country’s Caribbean territories—specifically, Aruba and Curaçao—have also ramped up their removal efforts in recent years as thousands of Venezuelans have sought refuge on the islands.

Over the last two decades, South Korea has implemented increasingly restrictive asylum and migrant worker policies. Although the government does not provide adequate data about immigration detention, making it challenging to assess trends in the country, observers have reported that in recent years this crackdown has grown in scale and intensity. Children, victims of trafficking, and other vulnerable groups can be subjected to indefinite detention, often in facilities where detainees have reported instances of abuse; asylum seekers can find themselves stranded for months in privately operated airport “holding areas”; and national and international human rights bodies have repeatedly called for reforms in the country’s immigration detention centres.

On 7 March, GDP Director Michael Flynn joined Abdul Aziz Muhamat (2019 Martin Ennals Prize Winner), Ilse Van Velzen (filmmaker), Ruth Hopkins (investigative journalist), Agnès Callamard (UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and Director of “Freedom of Expression”), and journalist Luc Hermann to discuss the privatisation of prisons and administrative detention in […]

Submission to the Working Group on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice (WGDW) in preparation for its visit to Romania on 24 February to 6 March 2020. The Global Detention Project (GDP) is an independent research centre based in Geneva, Switzerland, which investigates the use of detention as a response to international immigration. […]

OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS Immigration Detention in Austria: Where the Refugee “Crisis” Never Ends Austria’s domestic politics have been heavily influenced by a divisive debate over the treatment of migrants and refugees. This has had an important impact on the country’s immigration detention practices. Despite years of declining detainee numbers prior to the onset of Europe’s […]

Austria’s domestic politics have long been overshadowed by a divisive and bitter public debate over the treatment of migrants and refugees. This has had an important impact on the country’s detention practices. Despite years of declining detainee numbers prior to the onset of Europe’s short-lived refugee “crisis,” the increase in asylum applications that the country experienced during 2015-2016 became a cause célèbre for resurgent xenophobic political forces, who used the issue to rally support for numerous controversial policies and agendas. These developments have translated into persistent increases in detention numbers long after the “crisis” ended and asylum applications began to plummet to their lowest levels in years.

OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS Physical Fences and Digital Divides: Final Report of the Global Detention Project Special Investigation into the Uses of Electronic Media in Today’s Migration Journeys Smartphones, social media platforms, and other tech tools are today “migrant essentials” that can assist people in making life-saving decisions and bring public attention to abuses that migrants and […]

This essay addresses challenging questions surrounding efforts to promote “alternatives to immigration detention” in the context of children in administrative removal proceedings. Although there are important provisions in international law that provide protections for children in these procedures and arguably limit states’ resort to detention, there is no provision that expressly forbids the immigration detention […]

The “refugee crisis” helped spur a “tech turn” in how people travel across borders and how governments and others respond to these movements. Everyone from civil society organisations—including the Global Detention Project—and individual activists to humanitarian technologists, government officials, and international bureaucrats have experimented with social media and other new forms of digital technology to […]

Private Prison Labour: Paradox or Possibility? Evaluating Modern-Day Systems and Establishing a Model Framework Through the Lens of the Forced Labour Convention. UCL Journal of Law and Jurisprudence , 8 (2) , Article 4. Overcrowding, deteriorating conditions, ever-increasing costs, recidivism. These are the terms that come to mind when thinking of the world’s punitive justice systems. Ostensibly, […]

On 20 November, the UN Independent Expert on Children Deprived of Liberty, Manfred Nowak, released the Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty. This study is the result of years of work by Nowak, with assistance provided by numerous external advisers and experts, including GDP staff members, evaluating all forms of deprivation of liberty of […]

In an article for International Migration, GDP Researcher Izabella Majcher explores how immigration detention is addressed in the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), and investigates the potential implications of the compacts on existing legal framework regulating the use of immigration detention. While Objective 13 of […]

To pave the way for Romania’s entrance into the Schengen area, the EU has helped finance the county’s efforts to boost border controls and restrict how many people it lets in. Nevertheless, Romania’s treatment of refugees and migrants arguably compares favourably to that of its Visegrad neighbours, like Hungary. Observers point to a number of concerns about conditions in Romania’s immigration detention facilities, including their prison-like regimes, lack of mechanisms to identify vulnerable persons, inadequate medical services, and insufficient provision of legal assistance.

In her new book “The European Union Returns Directive and its Compatibility with International Human Rights Law: Analysis of Return Decision, Entry Ban, Detention, and Removal” (Brill, 2020), GDP Researcher Izabella Majcher undertakes a thorough human rights assessment of the EU Returns Directive. The overarching human rights framework, which circumscribes state prerogatives in the context […]

Today marks 30 years since the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The adoption of the convention marked a critical milestone in global efforts to ensure that the human rights of children are respected, including the rights of migrant and refugee children deprived of their liberty. At the heart […]

United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights Geneva, 25-27 November 2019 On 27 November, the GDP’s Michael Flynn will join a panel organised by the Working Group on the use of mercenaries to discuss the use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) in immigration detention, as part of the United Nations Forum on […]

Joint Submission to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in Preparation for its Mission to Greece in December 2019 The Global Detention Project (GDP) and the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) are pleased to provide the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) the following submission in preparation for its visit to Greece in December 2019. […]

20th Anniversary Conference of the Mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants Mexico City, 12-13 November 2019 On 12-13 November, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants (SRHRM) held an event in Mexico City (at the Universidad Iberoamericana), commemorating the mandate’s 20 years of work protecting the […]

On 23 October, 39 people were found dead in the back of a refrigerated lorry in Essex, South East England. The truck had crossed The Channel from Belgium – a route which is increasingly used by migrants seeking to enter the UK, as well as by trafficking networks. Initially, police said that the 31 men […]

Immigration Detention in Italy (2019 Report): An important European destination for asylum seekers and migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Africa, Italy has been an aggressive proponent of draconian migration control practices, spurring accusations that the country has been complicit in grave human rights violations. During the tenure of notorious former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, Italy […]

The GDP and MYLA are pleased to provide the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) the following submission in preparation for its visit to North Macedonia in 2019. The submission concerns detention of migrants and refugees.

During the 2nd cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of Croatia (22nd session, May 2015), the immigration detention policies and practices of Croatia do not appear to have been raised. However, as the GDP has documented in its reports on Croatia, as early as the mid-2000s, international and regional human rights observers have documented serious concerns about the country’s immigration detention practices.

Bulgaria has served as a transit country into the European Union (EU). While it received an important number of arrivals during the refugee “crisis,” the number of irregular non-citizens apprehended in the country has decreased dramatically, including a 90 percent drop between 2015 and 2017. Despite this decrease, immigration detention has remained a key tool in Bulgaria’s response to migration and asylum flows, in addition to other measures such as the construction of a border fence.

Since the beginning of the 2011 civil war in Libya, the country has experienced on-going armed conflict between rival militias and government forces. The resulting lawlessness has enabled armed groups, criminal gangs, smugglers, and traffickers to control much of the flow of migrants, sometimes with the direct backing of Italy and other European countries. As the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recently concluded, “Despite the overwhelming evidence of human rights violations and abuses, Libyan authorities have thus far appeared largely unable or unwilling to put an end to violations and abuses committed against migrants and refugees.”

Ireland: Issues Related to Immigration Detention Submission to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) in Preparation for its Visit to Ireland The Global Detention Project (GDP) is an independent research centre based in Geneva, Switzerland, that investigates the use of detention as a response to […]

Qatar: Issues Related to Immigration Detention Joint Submission with Migrant-Rights.org to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in Preparation for its Mission to Qatar on 3-14 November 2019 The Global Detention Project (GDP) and Migrant-Rights.org are pleased to provide the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) this joint submission in preparation for the WGAD’s visit […]

“Internazionale a Ferrara” – Ferrara, Italy Saturday 5 October – 11:00 – Teatro Comunale On 5 October, the GDP’s Executive Director Michael Flynn will participate in a public debate organised by Medecins Sans Frontières (MSF) concerning immigration detention policies around the world. The debate, “The World Behind Bars,” is part of the Italian news weekly Internazionale’s […]

At the end of June, Mariette Grange, the GDP’s long-time advisor and senior researcher, retired after a distinguished decades-long career as a Geneva-based human rights advocate specialising in the rights of migrants and refugees. Mariette has been a part of the GDP team since its inception: first as an advisor to and then member of […]

OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS Immigration Detention in Cyprus: Reception Challenges in Europe’s New Gateway Although the Republic of Cyprus is one of only a small number of EU member states that have yet to join the Schengen visa-free zone, the country is quickly becoming an important gateway for migrants and refugees as other routes into the EU […]

On 2-11 September the UN Committee on Migrant Workers will hold its 31st session in Geneva, during which it will consider reports on Argentina, Colombia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The GDP will participate in a CMW-organised meeting with NGOs and civil society on 2 September and the meeting with governments on 4 September. More information […]

Immigration Detention in Cyprus (2019 Report): Although the Republic of Cyprus is one of only a small number of EU member states that have yet to join the Schengen visa-free zone, the country is quickly becoming an important gateway for migrants and refugees as other routes into the EU have been blocked. With a small […]

Immigration Detention in Ireland (2019 Report): Compared to other EU countries, Ireland does not detain large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers—typically less than a dozen people at any given moment. However, the country’s use of prisons and police stations for immigration purposes has spurred widespread criticism for years. Human rights watchdogs, including from the […]

On 13 August, the GDP attended a Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) civil society meeting in Geneva. The open meeting provided an opportunity for civil society to exchange ideas with the WGAD on issues related to the group’s mandate.

In a statement released today, the United Nations Network on Migration has condemned the attack on Tajoura Detention Centre, Tripoli, which has killed at least 40 people and left more than 130 injured.

OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS Immigration Detention in Portugal: Resettling Refugees, Detaining Asylum Seekers Unlike most EU states, Portugal has welcomed the arrival of refugees—even after the onset of the “refugee crisis” in 2015—and has announced ambitious resettlement schemes. On the other hand, Portugal’s detention policies have been the subject of repeated criticism. Asylum seekers lodging applications at […]

In the last two months, the number of suicide attempts on Manus Island—home to Australia’s notorious offshore migrant facility where more than 800 refugees and asylum seekers are stranded after spending years in detention—has skyrocketed. According to @Shamindan, an asylum seeker documenting life inside the facility, there have been some 90 suicide attempts and self-harm incidents […]

ISHR Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Programme Geneva, 20 June 2019   On 20 June, GDP staff met with participants from ISHR’s Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Programme. The 18 rights defenders are currently attending ISHR’s training programme which is designed to equip them with the knowledge and skills to make strategic use of the international human rights system. […]

Immigration Detention in Portugal (2019 Report): Unlike most EU states, Portugal has welcomed the arrival of refugees—even after the onset of the “refugee crisis” in 2015—and has announced several ambitious resettlement schemes. On the other hand, Portugal’s detention policies have been the subject of repeated criticism. Asylum seekers lodging applications at ports of entry are systematically […]

Privatising Migration: A Solution for the European Union? University of Nottingham, 17-18 June 2019    The trend towards outsourcing migration control operations—including to private companies, international organisations, militias, and other non-state actors—has helped states to distance themselves from, and evade, human rights obligations. In light of the documented abuses that have occurred at the hands […]

The Externalisation of Refugee Policies in Australia and Europe: The Need for a Comparative Interdisciplinary Approach Prato, 12-13 June 2019   Efforts by major destination countries to evade their obligations to refugees and other non-citizens are leading to the creation of burgeoning detention regimes on the periphery of the Global North. However, as states increasingly […]

Immigration Detention in Malta (2019 Report): Malta’s heavy-handed response to irregular maritime arrivals—including refusing to allow rescue ships to dock and assisting Libyan authorities in intercepting asylum boats—has placed the country at the centre of a bitter EU-wide debate concerning search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean. This restrictive approach is also reflected in its detention […]

RLI 4th Annual Conference: Rethinking the “Regional” in Refugee Law and Policy London, 3-5 June 2019   On 3-5 June, GDP Researcher Izabella Majcher participated in the 4th Annual Conference of the Refugee Law Initiative (RLI), whose theme this year was “Rethinking the ‘Regional’ in Refugee Law and Policy.” Majcher presented her work on the […]

In the EU response to the so-called refugee crisis, it was the return policy, rather than refugee protection, that received most prominence. The European Commission (EC) argued that promoting the effectiveness of returns would help solve the “crisis,” – and this “effectiveness” related to the number of returns, rather than compliance with fundamental rights. Although […]

Earlier this month, it came to light that due to delays in payments from UN member states and travel budget cuts for UN representatives, six of the UN human rights treaty bodies are facing severe and unexpected budget cuts that are likely to result in the cancellation of the reviews of states parties scheduled for […]

Immigration Detention in Latvia (2019 Report): Although Latvia does not experience significant migratory pressures, the number of immigration detainees and the average length of detention have steadily increased. In 2017, the country opened a second detention facility, misleadingly called an “accommodation centre.” The law provides for the detention of non-citizens for up to 10 days without […]

Immigration Detention in Lithuania (2019 Report): Asylum applications in Lithuania have decreased significantly in the last few years even as entry refusal rates at the country’s borders have skyrocketed, increasing by some 80 percent since 2013. The country’s restrictive asylum legislation, which provides for the detention of asylum seekers, has received criticism from several UN human […]

In April, the GDP submitted information to the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families (CMW) following a call for stakeholders to provide inputs on a detailed questionnaire to be used in drafting General Comment No.5 on Migrants’ Rights to Liberty and Freedom from Arbitrary Detention. The CMW […]

Immigration Detention in Bulgaria (2019 Report): Although the number of irregular non-citizens apprehended in Bulgaria has plummeted in recent years, detention remains a key tool in the country’s response to migration and asylum flows. It has also spent some 85 million EUR to construct a fence along its border with Turkey. Bulgaria’s detention centres reportedly lack […]

✅Shrinking space for independent monitoring in Croatia
✅Bulgaria’s reliance upon detention
✅The year in review – the GDP Annual Report
✅ Objective 21 of the Global Compact for Migration

What conditions do asylum seekers, migrants, and refugees face in detention around the world? What countries have reformed their migration policies and what countries are still using unnecessary immigration detention? What progress has been made and what still needs to be done? The GDP’s 2018 Annual Report takes a look.

Last summer, people across the globe expressed outrage as U.S. immigration officials forcibly separated children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Overlooked in much of the criticism was the fact that children are detained for immigration reasons in dozens of countries across the globe, all of which—with the notable exception of the United States—have […]

As part of the Refugee Law Initiative’s blog series exploring the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), GDP Researcher Izabella Majcher addresses Objective 21 (“Cooperate in facilitating safe and dignified return and readmission, as well as sustainable reintegration.”) Majcher proposes focusing on six indicators, which draw from the provisions of binding international treaties, including the Convention against […]

Immigration Detention in Croatia (2019 Report): Traditionally a transit country for people attempting to reach Western Europe, Croatia took on new importance for refugees and migrants in late 2015 when the main migrant route shifted through the country. Since then, the government has grown increasingly security-focused, albeit while maintaining a humanitarian narrative. Non-citizens may be […]

Consultation of the UN Network on Migration with Civil Society Geneva 4 April 2019    On 4 April, the GDP participated in the inaugural “Consultation of the UN Network on Migration with Civil Society.” The Network on Migration was established by the UN to assist Member States in implementing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular […]

12th European Forum on the Rights of the Child: “Where We Are And Where We Want To Go” European Commission, Brussels 2-3 April 2019   GDP Executive Director Michael Flynn participated in the Annual EU Forum on the Rights of the Child held in Brussels on 2-3 April. The forum gathers key actors from EU […]

✅ Immigration detention in Niger, and the EU’s involvement in migration management within the country
✅ A look at how immigration detention is addressed in human rights law
✅ GDP on the record

Immigration Detention in Niger (2019 Report): Niger has been a principal migration hub for people criss-crossing the Sahel region of Africa for generations. It has also served as an important transit country for migrants and asylum seekers on the Central Mediterranean route through Libya to Europe. More recently, the country has begun receiving third-country nationals who […]

Migrants’ Rights at a Crossroads: Seizing the Moment(um) of the UN Global Compact on Migration and the SDGs 2030 to Forge a New Path for the Protection of Migrants’ Rights University of Leicester – Leicester Law School 22 March 2019 With the recent adoption of the UN Global Compact on Migration (GCM), and the integration […]

On 20 March, the GDP was invited to make a presentation about our report “Harm Reduction in Immigration Detention” at the annual meeting of the Global Working Group of National Societies Working in Immigration Detention, a gathering of National Societies of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement co-hosted by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

On 12 March, GDP Senior Researcher Mariette Grange was invited to address a group of students from the University of Oxford’s MSc Refugee and Forced Migration Studies programme who were visiting Geneva to learn about the work of relevant international organisations and research institutions based here. Discussing the issue of immigration detention around the world, […]

Last week, reports emerged concerning a 24-year-old Honduran woman’s premature labour and subsequent delivery of a stillborn baby while in custody at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre in Texas. While officials were quick to offer the awkward qualification that “for investigative and reporting purposes, a stillbirth is not considered an in-custody death,” the incident nevertheless added fuel to the growing criticism of the Trump administration’s treatment of vulnerable individuals in detention.

Immigration Detention in Slovenia (2019 Report): A key transit country for refugees and migrants travelling the “Balkan Route,” Slovenia witnessed a significant increase in the number of border crossings during the “refugee crisis.” Citing fears of a “humanitarian catastrophe,” the country tightened immigration controls, erected wire fencing along its border with Croatia, and introduced stringent new […]

✅ Detention conditions in #Slovakia
✅ The rise in detention of asylum seekers at the #EU’s external borders
✅ Putting the “Global Compacts” to Work

On 2 February 2019, the GDP’s Senior Researcher, Mariette Grange, was invited to participate in an Expert Workshop on the International Organization for Migration (IOM) at the Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford. Her presentation, “IOM and Detention Practices,” unpacked the consequences of the IOM’s use of euphemistic language and what she described as “norm-setting by stealth.” By […]

Documenting the shift from “reception” to “detention” of asylum seekers at EU borders and the erosion of a fundamental right at the heart of European democracy, the right to liberty. The Red Line Project is a collaborative initiative led by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and including the Global Detention Project, the Bulgarian Foundation for Access to Rights, the Greek Council for Refugees, and the Italian Council for Refugees.

✅ Detention conditions in Slovakia
✅ The rise in detention of asylum seekers at the EU’s external borders
✅ GDP on the record

Led by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC), the “Red Line” project is working to reduce unnecessary and unlawful use of detention as a deterrence measure for asylum-seekers and irregular migrants in Europe, with a particular focus upon four key irregular migrant entry states: Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy. In many such countries, “reception” has morphed […]

Immigration Detention in Slovakia (2019 Report): Since the onset of the “refugee crisis,” Slovakia has pursued restrictive immigration policies and employed anti-migrant rhetoric, despite the fact that the country has not faced the same migratory pressures as its European neighbours. Rarely granting alternatives to detention due to strict eligibility criteria, non-citizens are held in facilities that […]

Michael Flynn is the Executive Director of the Global Detention Project in Geneva.

✅ Immigration detention in the Czech Republic
✅ Examining the Global Compact for Migration, immigration detention, and the IOM
✅ GDP on the record

The Czech Republic (Czechia) became an important transit country for asylum seekers attempting to reach Europe during the height of the “refugee crisis.” Like in its Visegrad neighbours, this new-found status spurred a sharp public backlash in the country, which was fed by anti-migrant political rhetoric. The government significantly ramped up the country’s detention capacity […]

✅ Harm Reduction in Immigration Detention
✅ Detention of migrants in Qatar
✅ GCM’s Objective 21: Returns, Readmissions, and Reintegration
✅ Social Media, Human Rights, and Migration

The GDP’s Michael Flynn was an invited participant at a workshop hosted by the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at the Geneva Press Club entitled “Infectious Disease: Stigmatization of Refugees and Vulnerable Migrants.” The event, which took place on 27 November, explored the impact of stigma on the opportunities and protections offered to migrants, […]

On 22 November, GDP Researcher Izabella Majcher participated in a workshop exploring Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF)  role in detention settings, which took place in Rome. Majcher’s presentation examined the international human rights framework governing immigration detention, and highlighted instances of these standards being violated.

This past summer, people across the globe watched in outrage as children were forcibly separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border and placed in hastily set up camps and cages. Overlooked in much of the criticism, however, was the fact that children are locked behind bars for immigration-related reasons in dozens of other counties across the globe, all of whom—with the notable exception of the United States—have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

On 15 November, the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) and the Global Detention Project (GDP) hosted a briefing and discussion for NGOs, IGOs, and diplomatic missions on the role social media and other new digital technologies play in migration journeys, with a special emphasis on their use in the context of detention and migration control in North Africa and the Mediterranean.

Foreigners account for nearly 90 percent of Qatar’s 2.2 million population, and thousands – including pregnant women and their children – have been detained in recent years, sometimes for periods lasting more than a year and in overcrowded conditions. The GDP and Migrant-Rights.Org’s latest submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination highlights the conditions migrants face, and presents key concerns that Qatar should address.

In mid-December, UN Member States will meet in Morocco to adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. As part of a Refugee Law Initiative blog series assessing the final draft of the GCM, GDP Researcher Izabella Majcher examines the Compact’s Objective 21, concerning cooperation in facilitating safe and dignified return and readmission, […]

This Global Detention Project Special Report systematically compares conditions and operations at detention centres in five European countries—Norway, France, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland—to identify practices that may be used to develop “harm reducing” strategies in detention.

✅ Changes to France’s Immigration Detention Laws
✅ Systematic Family Detention in Poland
✅ Social Media Use in North Africa and the Mediterranean
✅ Detention of Minors in Luxembourg

In 2013, following its examination of the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Luxembourg, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recommended that Luxembourg adopt legislation to prevent the detention of unaccompanied children. Today, however, the country’s legislation continues to allow for their detention. In our latest submission to the CRC, the GDP poses key questions that Luxembourg should be urged to address.

France has one of Europe’s oldest and more widespread administrative immigration detention regimes, which extends from continental Europe to overseas territories in the Indian Ocean and the Americas. Nearly 47,000 people were placed in detention during 2017, about half of whom were detained in facilities located in the outré-mer. The country has budgeted more than […]

Poland has experienced a sharp drop in the numbers of people applying for asylum since 2017. Yet, anti-immigrant rhetoric dominates public discourse, foreigners are viewed as security threats, and pushbacks are common along the border with Belarus. While material conditions in detention centres appear to meet basic standards, Poland rarely considers “alternatives to detention,” systematically […]

On 19 October, the GDP’s Executive Director participated in a roundtable exploring the criminalisation of migration and the detention of migrants as part of a training seminar organised by Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection entitled “Core Training on Refugees, IDPs, and Forced Migrants: Protection in Law and Practice.” More information is available here. 

Part II of the GDP’s Special Series investigates how new information and communications technologies are used during irregular migration. Featuring on-the-ground reports, the paper examines the diverse ways migrants and refugees put social media to use during their journeys and helps address gaps in current literature regarding the role of digital platforms in contemporary migration contexts.

On 5-6 October, GDP Researcher Izabella Majcher will participate in the IV CINETS Conference 2018—“Mobility and Security in an Era of Globalisation: Crimmigration at the Crossroads?”—hosted by Queen Mary, University of London. Her presentation, “Detention and Restriction of Movement of Asylum Seekers under EU Law: Deterrence, Incapacitation and Surveillance,” will take place on Friday 5 October, at 14:45-16:30. […]

✅ Human Rights Abuses in Egypt’s Detention Centres
✅ A Regional View of Detention in Scandinavia
✅ GDP On The Record

Egypt has long been a destination and transit country for refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants from across the Middle East and Africa. Its Mediterranean coast has served as an important staging point for people attempting to reach Europe irregularly. Observers have repeatedly expressed concerns about Egypt’s use of police stations and prisons for immigration detention […]

Finland immigration detention

Welcome to the Global Detention Project’s monthly newsletter. For any questions about our content, please contact us at: admin@globaldetentionproject.org OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS   Immigration Detention in Sweden: Increasing Restrictions and Deportations, Growing Civil Society Resistance Sweden used to be lauded for its comparatively humane treatment of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. However, since the onset of the […]

Sweden used to be lauded for its comparatively humane treatment of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. However, since the onset of the “refugee crisis,” the country has introduced a series of restrictive immigration control measures and the domestic political environment has become increasingly hostile. Even as the numbers of refugee applicants have steadily fallen, the […]

Detention Centres in the Global South: The Global Detention Project at the Refugee Law Initiative Conference (London 2018) On 18-19 July, Global Detention Project Executive Director Michael Flynn and Researcher Izabella Majcher participated in the third Refugee Law Initiative Annual Conference in London. Hosted by the University of London’s School of Advanced Study, the conference reflected on the apparent […]

In June, Antonio Vitorino was elected Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Formerly a minister in the Portuguese government of the Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, Vitorino is only the second non-American director in the IOM’s history. Given the historical and political proximity between the IOM and the U.S. government, his election is a notable development. In this article for “The Conversation” (France), GDP Researcher Mariette Grange and Antoine Pécoud (Paris 13 University) examine the IOM’s relations with the U.S. and the organisation’s involvement in migration control “dirty work.”

The 15th IMISCOE Annual Conference took place in Barcelona on 2-4 July 2018. Organised by the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, the conference brought together the European migration scholarship community to draw attention to geographical dimensions of migration and to provide a forum for methodological discussions linking Mediterranean and migration studies. GDP Researcher Izabella Majcher gave a presentation on data […]

Niger has long been a country of origin as well as of transit. More recently, there has been a steady flow of return migration as well as evacuations from North Africa. In its humanitarian plan for Niger for 2018, UNICEF explains that “Multi-sectoral humanitarian interventions will cover new areas, including those affected by the Malian border crisis and locations registering increasing numbers of vulnerable migrant children returning from Algeria and Libya.”

DETAINED ON WORLD REFUGEE DAY   Over the past six weeks, the Trump administration has forcibly taken approximately 2,000 children away from their parents at the U.S-Mexico border. Condemned by the UN as well as by politicians on all sides of the political spectrum, this “zero tolerance” policy has seen children as young as 18 […]

While there is a growing international consensus that the best interests of the child must be respected by ending the practice of child detention, many countries around the world continue to place children in detention facilities. This week, the GDP’s Senior Researcher, Mariette Grange, spoke on the theme of children in detention at the Geneva Summer School […]

Throughout 2018, the Global Detention Project’s researchers documented the conditions non-citizens face in detention facilities around the world to ensure that systematic information about the treatment migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers face in detention is made available to advocates and so that governments can be held accountable.

Notions of the unwanted “other,” the “illegal” migrant, and the “bogus” refugee are increasingly prominent in public discourse, lending support to stringent border control policies whereby states are increasingly relying upon the use of detention to control the movement of foreigners. The detrimental impact of these trends on the health and wellbeing of migrants and […]

Although Canada has experienced increasing immigration pressures, including receiving in 2017 the highest number of asylum claims in its history, the country has not witnessed the same acrimonious public debate over immigration seen elsewhere. It has adopted important reforms, including the introduction of a National Immigration Detention Framework aimed at improving detention conditions and reducing […]

GDP Researcher Mariette Grange gave a workshop to government representatives, academics, representatives of international and non-governmental organisations, and representatives of national human rights institutions as part of the “Protecting the Rights of Migrants: International Norms Facing Contemporary Challenges” course in Sanremo, Italy. Organised by the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL) in partnership with the Organisation Internationale […]

Denmark has pursued increasingly restrictive immigration and asylum policies. During the past three years, the country has adopted some 70 immigration-related amendments aimed at intensifying restrictions, dramatically cut back its asylum recognition rate, and called for detaining as many failed refugees as possible. Observers have repeatedly criticised the penitentiary-like conditions of Denmark’s main immigration detention […]

Welcome to the Global Detention Project’s May 2018 newsletter. For any questions about our content, please contact us at: admin@globaldetentionproject.org  OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS   Immigration Detention in Denmark: Where Officials Cheer the Deprivation of Liberty of “Rejected Asylum Seekers” Denmark has pursued increasingly restrictive immigration and asylum policies. During the past three years, the country has adopted […]

Since the “refugee crisis” exploded across the international media and political landscapes, the role of social media has been repeatedly dissected, argued over, and—more often than not—misunderstood. This special report explores how people use social media during their migration journeys, with a special emphasis on their use in the context of detention and migration control in North Africa and the Mediterranean. Part I, “Exposing the ‘Crisis,’” charts the historical relationship between migration and social media, reviewing the various tech responses to the “crisis” and highlighting the importance of human-centred design of new technologies.

In February 2017, the European Commission (EC) adopted a specific Recommendation to guide EU states in the interpretation of the Returns Directive, stressing that detention can be essential in enhancing the effectiveness of the return system. However, despite its administrative label, pre-removal detention as interpreted by the EC contains punitive elements. GDP Researcher Izabella Majcher […]

France has one of Europe’s oldest and most widespread immigration detention systems, and within the Council of Europe, it detains the largest number of non-citizens—in 2016, it placed a record 46,000 foreigners in detention. However, during the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture’s (CPT) last visit to France in 2015, members did not visit […]

  Welcome to the Global Detention Project’s April Newsletter. For any questions about our content, please contact us at:  admin@globaldetentionproject.org    OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS   Immigration Detention in Luxembourg: Systematic Deprivation of Liberty Although Luxembourg has a very small immigration detention system, the number of detainees has risen in recent years. Since opening a dedicated detention […]

Immigration policy has catapulted to the forefront of public debate around the world as governments resort to increasingly restrictive measures to block migrants and refugees. While severe border policies are by no means new, this surge in migration control raises questions about the forces driving national policies. This chapter in the new book Immigration Policy in the Age of Punishment advances an actor-oriented analysis that views detention systems as complex organisations that rely on deeply rooted institutional structures to buttress their existence, multiple sources of financing to grow operations, and support from a broad array of social actors.

Immigration Detention in Luxembourg: Although Luxembourg has a very small immigration detention system, the number of detainees has risen in recent years. Since opening a dedicated detention facility in 2011, observers have noted a general improvement in material conditions. On the other hand, detention appears to be systematically applied as officials regularly conclude that apprehended migrants […]

The GDP’s Michael Flynn participated in the University of Oxford’s Border Criminologies 5th birthday conference—“Beyond Critique”—on 19/20 April 2018. With support from the Bonavero Human Rights Institute at the University of Oxford and the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute, the two-day conference brought together an international group of artists, scholars, policy-makers, practitioners, […]

Saudi Arabia Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council 31st session, November 2018 The Global Detention Project (GDP) is a non-profit research centre based in Geneva, Switzerland, that investigates the use of detention in response to global migration. The GDP’s aims include: (1) providing researchers, advocates, and journalists with a […]

This themed blog series organized by GDP Researcher Izabella Majcher for the Oxford University-based Border Criminologies examines the EU hotspot approach from the perspective of the right to liberty and freedom of movement, highlighting the unclear division of roles and responsibilities between EU agencies and host member states, the blurred line between detention and reception, substandard material conditions, a lack of transparency, and differential treatment based on nationality, among a host of other concerns.

Malaysia Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council 31st session, November 2018   The Global Detention Project (GDP) is an independent research centre based in Geneva that investigates the use of detention as a response to international migration. Its objectives are to improve transparency in the treatment of detainees, to encourage […]

Welcome to the Global Detention Project’s March 2018 newsletter. For any questions about our content, please contact us at: admin@globaldetentionproject.org   OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS    Immigration Detention in Ireland: Will Better Detention Mean More Detention?  The number of individuals placed in immigration detention in Ireland is relatively low. However, as the GDP’s latest country profile […]

Immigration Detention in Ireland: Ireland does not emphasize detention in its migration and asylum policies, nor s. Nevertheless, because the country fails to separate its few immigration detainees, who are placed in prisons, from people in criminal procedures, the country has faced significant international criticism. Officials have long-standing plans to open a dedicated immigration detention facility, […]

  Algérie: Problèmes Liés Á La Détention Des Migrants Information à destination du Comité des travailleurs migrants (CMW) 28ème Session (9-20 avril 2018) Genève, mars 2018 Le Global Detention Project (GDP) et le Collectif Loujna Tounkaranké apprécient l’occasion qui leur est offerte de fournir des informations en amont de l’examen du deuxième rapport périodique de l’Algérie […]

Adopted in 1990 and in force since 2003, the UN Migrant Workers Convention is the most comprehensive international treaty in the field of migration and human rights. In this chapter, Mariette Grange details how the convention safeguards migrants against arbitrary detention. She explains, however, that as the convention has only been ratified by 51 states—none of which are industrialised, migrant-receiving countries—the full potential of the convention remains to be tested.

Welcome to the Global Detention Project’s February 2018 Newsletter. For any questions about our content, please contact us at: admin@globaldetentionproject.org   OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS   Immigration Detention in Lebanon: Deprivation of Liberty at the Borders of Global Conflict Faced with extremely complex regional mobility dynamics and buffeted by the competing strategic goals of numerous global […]

Immigration Detention in Norway: While asylum applications are decreasing in Norway, the number of deportations is rising. Since 2012, when amendments to the Immigration Act were introduced extending the list of grounds for detention, detention has increasingly been used in order to make return policies more efficient. Between 2012 and 2016, the number of people placed […]

Immigration detention in Lebanon: Although Lebanon does not consider itself a country of asylum, it has the world’s highest per-capita concentration of refugees, most of whom have fled conflict in neighbouring Syria. Refugees are increasingly treated as a security threat and economic burden, and they have found themselves under growing surveillance and restrictions. The country is […]

Ahead of a key meeting of EU institutions and member states on issues relating to immigration and asylum, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued an urgent plea for EU countries to bring an end to the migration-related detention of children. “EU law should not allow for child immigration detention, even as a last […]

In February 2018, with discussions under way at the United Nations on crafting a Global Compact on Migration, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released this open letter encouraging states to adhere to their commitment to develop “a compact that explicitly recognises and fully conforms to the existing international human rights framework as the authoritative protection agenda […]

Following the recent publication of the Zero Draft for a UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, 17 expert academics—including GDP Researcher, Izabella Majcher—provide commentary on the positive and negative aspects of the Objectives, as well as the necessary follow up.

Europe reflects a variety of policy responses to the growth of the immigration control industry – from the privatisation of the management of entire immigration detention estates to keeping all detention facilities in official hands and employing private non-profit groups. In this chapter, Michael Flynn, Matthew Flynn, and Eryn Wagon detail the variety of levels and forms of privatisation adopted across the region, as well as the challenges that the outsourcing of immigration controls posits.

Saudi Arabia Global Detention Project and Migrant-Rights.org joint Submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 69th session (19th February – 9 March 2018) Geneva, January 2018 Issues related to immigration detention     The Global Detention Project (GDP) and Migrant-Rights.org welcome the opportunity to provide information relevant to the consideration of […]

Immigration Detention in Greece (2018 Report) Greece is a key focus in Europe’s efforts to halt irregular migration flows. However, the country’s immigration detention laws and practices have been repeatedly denounced by observers, who have pointed to numerous abuses, including the systematic use of detention of vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers, the failure to apply alternatives […]

As the main European destination for asylum seekers and undocumented migrants crossing the Central Mediterranean by boat, Italy confronts considerable migration challenges. It has responded by ramping up its domestic detention system, implementing the controversial “hotspot” approach to process maritime arrivals, boosting interdiction efforts, and adopting new legal measures that restrict avenues for asylum. The […]

The Annual Conference of the Association of Global South Studies, held in Marrakech 14-16 December, featured a presentation from the GDP’s director entitled “How the Global North is turning the Global South into an immigration detention gulag,” as well as a presentation of the new GDP volume, “Challenging Immigration Detention: Academics, Activists and Policy-Makers.” More […]

GLOBAL DETENTION PROJECT NEWSLETTER October 2017 New Publications News & Activities GDP on the Record   NEW PUBLICATIONS Immigration Detention in Germany Germany’s immigration detention system has undergone major changes since a 2014 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union condemning the country’s use of prisons for immigration purposes. Since then, the […]

Germany’s immigration detention system has undergone major changes since a 2014 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union condemning the country’s use of prisons for immigration purposes. Since then, the country’s detention infrastructure has shrunk from more than 20 to seven long-term facilities, even as new laws have broadened the grounds justifying […]

Portugal implements many strict immigration control measures despite facing comparatively minor migratory pressures. It detains asylum seekers lodging applications at ports of entry; the number of non-EU citizens ordered to leave the country has steadily increased; and it allows the detention of families with children in facilities that the country’s ombudsman considers deficient for this […]

The GDP’s Michael Flynn gave a presentation on the challenges of pursuing an end to the immigration detention of children through advocacy of “alternatives to detention” at a colloquium at the University of Geneva titled “Migrations, State Obligations, and Rights in a Globalized Context.” The event, which took place on 12 October 2017, was part of Geneva’s […]

Mariette Grange gave a course on “Détention et autres entraves à la liberté de circulation” during the first course on the rights of migrants held in French by the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in partnership with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. Some fifty participants, mainly from francophone Africa, attended the course, entitled: « […]

GLOBAL DETENTION PROJECT NEWSLETTER September 2017 New Publications New Book News & Activities GDP on the Record Job Announcement   NEW FROM THE GDP Global Compact on Migration The GDP submitted comments to the UN Special Representative for International Migration as part of the preparatory phase for the Secretary-General’s report on the Global Compact for […]

Immigration Detention of Children: Coming to a Close? The GDPs Michael Flynn participated in this two-day conference co-hosted by the Council of Europe and the Czech Ministry of Justice(25-26 September 2017). Information about the event is available here. Flynn’s presentation was titled “Are There ‘Alternatives’ for Children?” “Are There ‘Alternatives’ for Children?” By Michael Flynn […]

Izabella Majcher gave a presentation titled “Immigration Detention in the European Union: Research and Advocacy” at the Open Society Initiative for Europe‘s (OSIFE) Protection and Rights of Migrants Grantee Convening “Between Politics And Enforcement: Safeguarding And Advancing Migrant Rights In Europe.” Madrid, 18 – 19 September 2017.

Izabella Majcher presented a paper on the the EU detention regime and its compatibility with international human rights law at the Migration Law Section of the 2017 Society of Legal Scholars (SLS) Conference taking place in Dublin on 5-8 September.  

Mariette Grange Mariette Grange, Senior Researcher at the Global Detention Project, is a researcher and human rights practitioner. She co-established the Amnesty International office to the United Nations in Geneva and later provided leadership to Human Rights Watch during the institution-building years of the Human Rights Council. She worked on migrants and refugee operations at […]

Germany Joint Global Detention Project and Jesuit Refugee Service Germany Submission to the Universal Periodic Review 30th session of the UPR Working Group, May 2018   Submitting organisations The Global Detention Project (GDP) is an independent research centre based in Geneva, which investigates the use of detention as a response to international migration. Its objectives […]

The GDP submitted comments to the UN Special Representative for International Migration as part of the preparatory phase for the Secretary-General’s report on the Global Compact for Migration. The submission focuses on immigration detention, improved transparency and data collection on the human rights of migrants, and concerns about the human rights commitments of international organizations involved in global migration governance.

Governments increasingly rely upon detention to control the movement of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers. Approaching detention from an interdisciplinary perspective, this new edited volume brings together leading writers and thinkers to provide a greater understanding of why it is such an important social phenomenon and suggest ways to confront it locally and globally.

This paper surveys research on immigration detention conducted using geographical methods, highlighting how geography’s conceptualization of detention as a form of spatial control offers tools to scholars and activists working to contest this form of immigration control.

Why hasn’t South America witnessed the same growth in immigration detention regimes that has occurred in the rest of the world? This Global Detention Project Working Paper discusses developments across the region through the lens of international human rights standards.

GLOBAL DETENTION PROJECT NEWSLETTER August 2017   NEW FROM THE GDP Immigration Detention in Malta Malta is the most densely populated country in the European Union and has one of the highest concentrations of refugees in the world. Although at one time it served as a key destination for migrants and asylum seekers crossing the […]

Malta is the most densely populated country in the European Union and has one of the highest concentrations of refugees in the world. Although at one time it served as a key destination for migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Mediterranean Sea en route to Europe, increased efforts to interdict boats have led to a […]

Staff Michael Flynn, Executive Director Michael Flynn, Executive Director of the Global Detention Project, holds a BA in Philosophy from DePaul University and a PhD in International Studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. He is coauthor (with Izabella Majcher and Mariette Grange) of Immigration Detention in the European Union: In the […]

 Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers 27th Session (4-13 September 2017) List of issues under the simplified reporting procedure – Libya Geneva, August 2016   Issues concerning immigration detention   The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information relevant to the list of issues under the simplified […]

Executive Committee Roberta Cecchetti, President  George Kourous (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), Vice President Yves Klein (Monfrini Bittol Klein), Secretary Pierre Simon (Processus Immobilier), Treasurer Meghna Abraham (Amnesty International), Board Member Megan Gray Paterson-Brown (Webster University) Seta Hadeshian (Middle East Council of Churches) Luke McCallin (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) Fernand Melgar (Filmmaker/Climage.ch) Alejandro […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 76th Session (11 – 29 September 2017) Consideration of State Report – Denmark (fifth period report) Geneva, 10 August 2017   Issues concerning immigration detention   The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information for consideration of […]

GLOBAL DETENTION PROJECT NEWSLETTER JULY 2017   NEW FROM THE GDP  Global Detention Project Annual Report 2016 Available here. Joint Submission with Migrant-rights.org to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: United Arab Emirates. Read the submission here.   PUBLICATIONS AND EVENTS Kidnapped, Trafficked, Detained? The Implications of Non-state Actor Involvement in Immigration […]

The Global Detention Project completed its second full year as an independent association in 2016. This annual report details the GDP’s key accomplishments and developments during the year.

This article critically assesses a range of new non-state actors who have become involved in the deprivation of liberty of migrants and asylum seekers, describes the various forces that appear to be driving their engagement, and makes a series of recommendations concerning the role of non-state actors and detention in global efforts to manage international migration.

 United Arab Emirates Global Detention Project – Migrant-rights.org Joint Submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) 93 Session (31 Jul 2017 – 25 Aug 2017) Geneva, July 2017   The Global Detention Project (GDP) is an independent research centre based in Geneva, Switzerland, that investigates the use of detention as […]

Funders The Global Detention Project (GDP) is an independent non-profit association under Swiss law. It receives funding and in-kind support from members, charitable foundations, academic institutions, and private individuals. Among the institutions that have generously supported the GDP, including those that provided support when the GDP was based at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (2007-2014), are:

In follow up to participation in the Council of Europe hearing on the draft legal instrument codifying the existing standards related to the conditions of administrative detention of migrants, held in ​ Strasbourg 22-23 June 2017 the GDP submitted written comments to European Committee on Legal Co-operation on 12 July 2017. See details on the […]

Global Detention Project Newsletter June 2017   NEW FROM THE GDP Immigration detention in Macedonia The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has been an important transit country along the Balkan migration route, which has made it a critical country to European migration policy and debate. Read the report here. Submission to the UN Committee […]

France Universal Period Review – 3rd Cycle Submission to the Universal Periodic Review by the Global Detention Project (Geneva, Switzerland)   29th Session of the UPR Working Group, January-February 2018   Submitted on 29 June 2017 The Global Detention Project (GDP) is an independent research centre based in Geneva, Switzerland, that investigates the use of […]

United Arab Emirates Universal Period Review – 3rd Cycle Submission to the Universal Periodic Review by the Global Detention Project (Geneva, Switzerland)   29th Session of the UPR Working Group, January-February 2018   Submitted on 28 June 2017 The Global Detention Project (GDP) is an independent research centre based in Geneva, Switzerland, that investigates the […]

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has been an important transit country along the Balkan migration route, which has made it a critical country to European migration policy and debate. The EU and FRONTEX have pressured the country to halt migration flows. It currently uses one main detention facility, euphemistically labelled the “Reception Centre […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Pre-sessional Working Group for the 69th session (24-28 July 2017) Saudi Arabia Geneva, June 2017   Issues related to immigration detention   The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information relevant to the Consideration of the Combined […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Pre-sessional Working Group for the 69th session (24-28 July 2017) Malaysia Geneva, June 2017   Issues related to immigration detention   The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information relevant to the Consideration of the combined third […]

Global Detention Project Newsletter MAY 2017   NEW FROM THE GDP  Austria Immigration Detention Profile Austria has sharply increased the number of people it places in immigration detention after years of declining detainee populations. While it continues the controversial practice of placing immigration detainees in “Police Detention Centres,” the country opened a new dedicated immigration detention […]

What can we learn from the interdisciplinary study of immigration detention regimes? Michael Flynn explains in this essay for Oxford University’s “Border Criminologies” research network.

Belgium has long received scrutiny for its immigration control policies, in particular its controversial use of forced deportation flights. However, the numbers of people placed in detention annually has declined substantially during the past 15 years, even as the detention of asylum seekers at borders has increased. The country has also pioneered the promotion of […]

The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion interviews the GDP’s Mariette Grange about the detention of stateless persons and the importance of international human rights standards in safeguarding the rights of this vulnerable population.

Austria has sharply increased the number of people it places in immigration detention after years of declining detainee populations. While it continues the controversial practice of placing immigration detainees in “Police Detention Centres,” the country opened a new dedicated immigration detention centre in 2014, which is partly operated by the controversial multinational security company G4S. […]

EXAMEN PERIÓDICO UNIVERSAL – 3º CICLO APORTE AL EXAMEN DE ARGENTINA Derechos de las personas migrantes Estimados y estimadas: Nos dirigimos a Uds. en representación de Abogados y Abogadas del Noroeste Argentino en Derechos Humanos y Estudios Sociales (ANDHES)[1]; el Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)[2]; el Colectivo para La Diversidad (COPADI)[3]; la Comisión […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) 61st Session (29 May – 23 June 2017) Geneva, May 2017   Issues related to immigration detention The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information relevant to the Consideration of the fifth periodic report of Australia (due […]

Mariette Grange to give a workshop titled “Measuring and gathering data on immigration detention,” at the European Network on Statelessness Conference Protecting Stateless Persons From Arbitrary Detention, held in Budapest, Hungary, 4-5 May 2017.

Izabella Majcher to give a presentation titled “Trends in Immigration Detention in the European Union,” which outlines the GDP’s ongoing research on immigration detention in EU countries, at the conference When the Exception becomes the rule: European Union Societies on the move, hosted by International Institute for the Sociology of Law, in Oñati, Spain, 4-5 […]

Statement to the Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries Panel on “PMSCs in places of deprivation of liberty and their impact on human rights” Michael Flynn, Global Detention Project 27 April 2017   I am the Director of the Global Detention Project, a research center based in Geneva that documents the use of detention […]

Michael Flynn to give a presentation at the workshop “Immigration Detention in the Age of Migration Control” held at the University of Southern California on 7 April 2017 and co-hosted by the USC Gould School of Law, Border Criminologies at Oxford University, and the UCLA School of Law. Flynn’s presentation is entitled “Analyzing Immigration Detention from […]

Global Detention Project Newsletter March 2017   NEW FROM THE GDP  Immigration Detention, the Right to Liberty, and Constitutional Law: GDP Working Paper No. 22 By Dan Wilsher The right to personal liberty is one of the oldest recognized rights in liberal democracies, which raises fundamental constitutional questions about the use of detention as an […]

The right to personal liberty is one of the oldest recognized rights in liberal democracies, which raises fundamental constitutional questions about the use of detention as an immigration measure. However, as this GDP Working Paper highlights, in common law countries, lengthy immigration detention on a large scale has become the norm and is largely regarded as constitutional.

Czech Republic Joint Global Detention Project, Organization for Aid to Refugees and Forum for Human Rights Submission to the Universal Periodic Review 28th session of the UPR Working Group, October-November 2017   Submitting organisations The Global Detention Project (GDP) is an independent research centre based in Geneva, which investigates the use of immigration-related detention as […]

  ARGENTINA Universal Period Review – 3rd Cycle   Submission to the Universal Periodic Review by the Global Detention Project (Geneva, Switzerland) 28th Session of the UPR Working Group, October-November 2017   Submitted on 30 March 2017   The Global Detention Project (GDP) is an independent research centre based in Geneva, Switzerland, that investigates the […]

Guatemala Global Detention Project Submission to the Universal Periodic Review 28th session of the UPR Working Group, October-November 2017   Submitting organisation The Global Detention Project (GDP) is an independent research centre based in Geneva, which investigates the use of detention as a response to international migration. Its objectives are to improve transparency in the treatment […]

Trinidad and Tobago, one of the wealthiest countries in the Caribbean, has worked to limit unauthorized migration to help boost its tourism appeal. It opened a dedicated immigration detention centre in 2009. The country’s immigration laws also provide criminal penalties for various violations, including six-month prison sentences for re-entry after expulsion.

When the “refugee crisis” surged to the forefront of the EU’s agenda in 2015, it did little to discourage the xenophobic wave that swept across member states. It did just the opposite.

About the GDP Aims The Global Detention Project (GDP) is a non-profit organisation based in Geneva that promotes the human rights of people who have been detained for reasons related to their non-citizen status. Our mission is: To promote the human rights of detained migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers To ensure transparency in the treatment of […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) 26th Session (3-13 April 2017) Egypt Geneva, March 2017 Issues concerning immigration detention   The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information relevant to the list of issues prior to reporting for the second periodic report of Egypt (due in […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) 26th Session (3-13 April 2017) Algeria Geneva, March 2017     Issues concerning immigration detention The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information relevant to the list of issues relating to the second periodic report of Algeria (CMW/C/DZA/2) with respect […]

New EU recommendation on return procedures a “slippery slope” to solve European migration challenges – UN experts Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights GENEVA (9 March 2017) – EU countries must explore alternatives to increased detention and swift returns to uphold the human rights of migrants, UN experts* urge, as the EU […]

Global Detention Project Newsletter February 2017   NEW FROM THE GDP  When Is Immigration Detention Lawful? The Monitoring Practices of UN Human Rights Mechanisms  By Mariette Grange and Izabella Majcher This Global Detention Project Working Paper details the normative framework governing immigration detention established in core international treaties and discusses how human rights bodies apply this […]

Joint Global Detention Project and Pueblos Unidos Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 77 Session, Pre-Sessional Working Group (5-9 June 2017) Consideration of State Report – Spain (combined fifth and sixth period report) Geneva, 28 February 2017   ISSUES CONCERNING IMMIGRATION DETENTION The Global Detention Project (GDP) and Pueblos Unidos […]

Estonia receives among the lowest numbers of asylum seekers in Europe, but it has one of the highest percentages of non-nationals in the EU as well as a large population of stateless persons. While it places fewer people in immigration detention than its Baltic neighbours, in 2016 the country announced construction of a 70 million […]

The authors describe the normative framework governing immigration detention established in core international treaties and discuss how human rights bodies apply this framework when reviewing states’ policies and practices. Their assessment of the impact and implementation of fundamental norms reveals gaps in the international protection regime and highlights how states’ responses to this regime have shaped contemporary immigration detention systems.

Global Detention Project Newsletter January 2017   NEW GDP WORKING PAPER  Reforming Family Detention in the United States By Dora Schriro The prospect of ending the detention of immigrant families in the US appears more remote than ever as the Trump administration begins implementing its restrictive immigration agenda. This paper, authored by the former director of […]

Although it places comparatively few people in immigration detention, Ireland is one of the only countries in Europe that uses its criminal prison system for migration-related detention. Also, Ireland and the United Kingdom are the only European Union countries that do not apply the Returns Directive, which contains important provisions regulating immigration detention.

Despite having only a very small number of unauthorized entries, Latvia has described the situation at its borders with Russia and Belarus as “alarming.” Its law provides for an extended period of detention without court order, allows for the detention of children over the age of 14, and lacks provisions ensuring that the detention of […]

The prospect of ending the detention of immigrant families in the US appears more remote than ever as the new president begins implementing his restrictive immigration agenda. This paper, authored by the former director of ICE’s Office of Detention Policy and Planning, provides an inside look at the failure of the Obama administration to roll back family detention and urges renewed calls for reforms in the face of President Trump’s promised crackdown.

Global Detention Project Newsletter December 2016   PRESS RELEASE FOR INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS DAY–SUNDAY 18 DECEMBER “Children and families should never be in immigration detention – UN Experts” Read Here   NEW DETENTION PROFILE Lithuania Lithuania operates one immigration detention centre, the Foreigners Registration Centre, where several hundred people are confined annually. Despite recently expanding the […]

The global expansion of immigration detention creates an imperative for the mental health community to develop specialized models of care. The authors employ lessons learned from their experiences in Australia to provide a framework for understanding the corrosive nature of immigration detention and suggest clinical approaches that may be adapted to assist detainees in developing resilience to such settings.

Lithuania operates one immigration detention centre, the Foreigners Registration Centre, where several hundred people are confined annually. Despite recently expanding the legal grounds for detaining undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, detainee numbers have remained largely stable. The largest proportion of detainees is from Asia. In 2015, of the 353 people placed in immigration detention 203 […]

Izabella Majcher Izabella Majcher, Researcher at the Global Detention Project, is a researcher in international human rights and refugee law, with expertise in European Union’s immigration and asylum policy. Her research at the GDP focuses on the international legal framework governing immigration detention and detention regimes in European Union and Latin American countries. Izabella is […]

In contrast to many of its European neighbours, the Netherlands has sharply reduced its immigration detention capacity as a result of decreasing numbers of immigration detainees. Some observers argue that these decreases are in part due to the fact that the government “takes the obligation to consider alternatives more seriously” than it did before the […]

The UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries plans to include an assessment of human rights challenges posed by the operations of private security companies in detention centres and prisons in its 2017 report to the UN General Assembly. To assist in the Working Group’s preparatory work, the GDP provided a briefing on various […]

Immigration detention in Spain has declined considerably during the last five years, decreasing by some 50 percent. At the same time, the numbers of “pushbacks” at the borders of Spain’s enclaves in Africa have reportedly increased. The poor treatment of detainees in some detention facilities and the perceived inadequacy of detention as a response to […]

The global expansion of deportation regimes has spurred an analogous expansion of migrant detention. This GDP Working Paper situates the analysis of immigration detention in the framework of contemporary critical theory, interrogating the economy of different conditionalities that undergird the distinct categories of migrants who are subjected to detention power.

Global Detention Project Newsletter November 2016   NEW DETENTION PROFILES Netherlands Although detention numbers have fallen steeply in the Netherlands, they have surged in the Kingdom’s Caribbean islands as Venezuelans flee their country’s failing economy. Spain While “pushbacks” at Spain’s borders in Africa are on the rise, the country’s immigration detention numbers are plummeting and […]

The GDP’s executive director gave a briefing to the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries on the key multinational corporations that operate immigration detention centres around. The Working Group intends to include this issue in its 2017 report to the UN General Assembly report. Information about the list of companies discussed during the […]

The GDP’s senior researcher Mariette Grange was a panelist at the 25th anniversary commemoration of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which took place at the Palais des Nation in Geneva on 28 November 2016. She gave a presentation entitled “Data Collection and Tracking State Detention Practices: Examples of State Legislation and Practices – […]

The authors highlight efforts by undocumented youth in the United States to “infiltrate” immigration detention centres to argue that civil disobedience, a strategy often ignored by allies and advocates of immigrants, can be an effective tool to counter growing detention and deportation systems.

To cope with increased numbers of arriving asylum seekers, Slovenia has tightened its immigration controls, erected wire fencing along its borders, and introduced stringent new asylum legislation. The number of people detained for immigration-related reasons rose from 337 in 2014 to 2,338 in 2015.

The EU’s newest member state, Croatia is a transit country for non-citizens attempting to reach Western Europe. The country has benefited from EU funding aimed at controlling immigration, including for the construction of two detention facilities along its borders with Serbia and Bosnia.

The UK’s immigration detention system, one of the largest and most heavily scrutinized in Europe, has been the target of numerous lawsuits, investigations, and public demonstrations. While a recent Home Office-commissioned report called for reducing “boldly and without delay” the detention of certain groups of non-citizens, the new Immigration Act 2016 fails to include many […]

Three GDP papers were presented at the 3rd Annual CINETS Conference, “Crimmigration in the Shadow of Sovereignty,” held at the University of Maryland on 6-7 October 2016: Galina Cornelisse, “The Constitutionalisation of Immigration Detention“; Matthew Flynn, “Capitalism and Immigration Control“; and Michael Flynn, “Detained Beyond the Sovereign.” Information about the conference is available here.

This paper argues that the increasing regulation of immigration detention in EU law has led to more constitutional protection for detainees, however some new regulations are resulting in more people being detained.

Global Detention Project Newsletter September 2016 NEW DETENTION PROFILES: A Focus on the Visegrad Originally created in 1991 to assist European integration and to support mutual security and socio-economic goals, the Visegrad Group is an alliance of four Central European EU member states, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. Today, they are among Europe’s […]

INDONESIA Global Detention Project Submission to the Universal Periodic Review 27th session of the UPR Working Group, April-May 2017 Submitted on 22 September 2016   Submitting organisation The Global Detention Project (GDP) was founded in 2005 at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. In 2014, it was launched as an independent non-profit […]

The Czech Republic has experienced a surge in negative public attitudes towards Muslims and other foreigners. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, there are credible reports indicating that the country systematically abuses migrants’ rights as part of a deterrent strategy. The number of detained migrants rose from a few hundred in 2013 […]

Although Poland has not faced the same refugee challenges impacting neighbouring countries, it has adopted similar responses. It accepts only a small number of asylum seekers, opposes EU relocation quotas, and has boosted its detention efforts. It recently amended its legal framework, including the adoption of alternatives to detention and restrictions on child detention. It […]

The Slovak Republic has pursued restrictive and discriminatory immigration policies since the onset of the refugee crisis in early 2015, even though the country has not faced nearly the same pressures as its European neighbours. Although the number of immigration-related detained is not very high—reflecting its relatively low apprehension numbers—there are indications of increasing numbers […]

In this chapter for the recent book Intimate Economies of Immigration Detention (Routledge, 2016), Michael Flynn discusses the emergence of new actors in immigration detention systems across the globe and the challenges this poses in efforts to hold states accountable.

Hungary has experienced a surge in xenophobia and anti-migrant rhetoric recently. In 2015, the country constructed more than 200 kilometres of fences along its borders with Serbia and Croatia and amended its law to provide prison terms for those who break though these barriers. Immigration detention constitutes a key element in its deterrence efforts. While […]

New GDP Submissions, Working Papers, and Events

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) 25th Session (29 August – 7 September 2016) Honduras   Geneva, August 2016   Issues concerning immigration detention The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information relevant to the consideration of the initial report of Honduras (CMW/C/HHND/1 19 May 2016) […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) 25th Session (29 August – 7 September 2016) List of issues prior to reporting – Mexico   Geneva, August 2016 Issues concerning immigration detention The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information ahead of submission of the third report of […]

This journal article by a GDP Contributing Researcher assesses post-structuralist approaches to the study of immigration detention, contrasting them with conceptual approaches developed in bureaucratic capitalism, which highlight the various private- and public-sector interests impacting the evolution of detention regimes.

An award-winning New York Times reporter reflects on the challenges journalists face in covering immigration detention and the failure of reform efforts in the United States.

FAQ   hdfhdf dfghdf gd fhdfghdfgdfg 1) Does the Global Detention Project (GDP) research “secret” detention sites that are part of the “war on terror”? 2) What is “immigration-related detention”? 3) Do different countries employ different names for immigration detention centres? 4) Many countries, like France, have holding centres (or “zones d’attente”) in airports and border crossings. Why aren’t these included […]

UNHCR Map of Libya Detention Centres, June 2016 (Sources: Global Detention Project, UNHCR, Noun Project, HDX)

How many children are placed in immigration detention in Switzerland? Where are they detained? What are the conditions of their detention? Is this information even available? In this Special Report, the child rights NGO Terre des hommes, working in collaboration with the Global Detention Project, details important gaps in Switzerland treatment of children in immigration detention.  

We should be shocked that so many countries fail to provide even basic details about their immigration detention practices. And yet, for those who have worked on this issue over the last two decades, the absence of public accountability about detention comes as no surprise.

  Global Detention Project Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 64th session (4 – 22 July 2016)   The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information for consideration of the combined seventh and eighth periodic report of France (CEDAW/C/FRA/7- 8) submitted to the Committee on the […]

HUMAN RIGHTS, BUSINESS AND IMMIGRATION DETENTION Parallel event at the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council Thursday 16 June 2016, 2:00pm – 3:00 pm ROOM IV, PALAIS DES NATIONS, Geneva SPEAKERS Surya Deva, UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights Michael Flynn, Global Detention Project (Switzerland) Brynn O’Brien, No Business in Abuse (Australia) […]

New Zealand has adopted stringent laws providing for immigration detention, including the detention of asylum seekers and children in cases of “mass” boat arrivals. The country has also lauded Australia’s offshore detention practices, saying they could help deter asylum seekers. But New Zealand has never experienced the type of migratory pressures that these policies are […]

Angola has vigorously pursued a policy of expelling undocumented migrants for “national security” reasons, claiming that there are more than half a million people in the country illegally who are part of a “silent invasion.” The country has opened several dedicated immigration facilities, where thousands of non-nationals are detained every year to await removal, often […]

The Global Detention Project is pleased to announce that it will be co-hosting a parallel event at the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council at which we will present the GDP’s new website and online database. The event, titled “Tracking Immigration Detention Data Globally: An Introduction to the Global Detention Project Online Database,” […]

Global Detention Project Newsletter June 2016 NEW COUNTRY PROFILES New Zealand New Zealand has adopted stringent laws providing for immigration detention, including the detention of asylum seekers and children in cases of “mass” boat arrivals. The country has also lauded Australia’s offshore detention practices, saying they could help deter asylum seekers. Angola Angola has vigorously […]

In December 2015, the Global Detention Project completed its first fiscal year as an independent association after operating for nearly eight years at the Graduate Institute. This Annual Report details the origins and evolution of the GDP and its efforts to confront the growing use of immigration detention.

In this GDP Working Paper, an inspector from the UK Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons discusses tensions between pushing for short-term progress in the treatment of immigration detainees and long-term reforms. The HMIP focuses on treatment and conditions, not challenging the system, even if immigration detention arguably lacks legitimacy in a way that criminal imprisonment does not. What amounts to “effective” inspection and can inspection promote meaningful change?

The United States operates the world’s largest immigration detention system. On any given day, the country has some 30,000 people in administrative immigration detention at an estimated cost of nearly $150 a day. In 2016, the combined budget of enforcement agencies was $19 billion. The country’s sprawling detention estate counts on some 200 facilities, including […]

GLOBAL DETENTION PROJECT NEWSLETTER MAY 2016 ANNUAL REPORT In December 2015, the Global Detention Project completed its first fiscal year as an independent non-profit association after operating for nearly eight years as an academic project based at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. This Annual Report details the origins and evolution of the GDP […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee 117th Session (20 June – 15 July 2016) Consideration of State Report – Denmark (sixth periodic report) Geneva, 20 April 2016   Issues concerning immigration detention (article 9 and 10 of the ICCPR) The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information for […]

Denmark has introduced increasingly restrictive policies regarding foreigners. An amendment to the Aliens Act provides “special circumstances” for detaining asylum seekers, including the detention of asylum seekers who are part of “massive arrivals.” Other controversial measures include allowing police to seize the valuables of asylum seekers, the temporary postponement of the right to family reunification, […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 72 Session (17 May 2016 – 03 Jun 2016) Consideration of State Report – Slovakia (combined third, fourth, and fifth period report) Geneva, 13 April 2016   ISSUES CONCERNING IMMIGRATION DETENTION The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 72 Session (17 May 2016 – 03 Jun 2016) Consideration of State Report – Bulgaria (Consolidated Third, Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports) Geneva, 14 April 2016   Issues concerning immigration detention The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR) 117th Session (20 June – 15 July 2016) Country Report Task Force for the adoption of the list of issues – Thailand Geneva, 7 April 2016   The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information for the Committee Country Report Task […]

GLOBAL DETENTION PROJECT NEWSLETTER APRIL 2016  ANNOUNCEMENT On Friday 27 May, the Global Detention Project will give a presentation of its new website and online database. The event will take place in the conference room at 1 rue Varembé, Geneva, at 12:30. If you would like to attend, please RSVP at admin@globaldetentionproject.org. NEW DETENTION PROFILES Denmark […]

Liberal democracies betray discomfort at public scrutiny of immigration detention, neglecting to release statistics, cloaking detention in misleading names, and limiting what they define as deprivation of liberty. These countries have also expanded their detention activities and encourageed their neighbors to do the same. What explains this simultaneous reticence towards and embrace of detention?

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) 57 Session (18 Apr 2016 – 13 May 2016)                                                                        […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers 24th Session (11 – 22 April 2016) Consideration of State Report – Turkey Geneva, March 2016   Issues concerning immigration detention The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide further information in follow up to its 2013 submission[1] to the list of […]

  Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) 24 Session (11-22 April 2016) List of issues prior to reporting – Indonesia Geneva, March 2016   Issues concerning immigration detention   The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information relevant to the list of issues prior to the presentation […]

Nauru operates a controversial offshore processing centre for Australia that accommodates asylum seeking men, women, and children. The facility, which is part of Australia’s “Pacific Solution,” has been the focus of global condemnation because of the mistreatment of detainees, high profile cases concerning the detention of children, and Australia’s long track record of employing policies […]

Mariette Grange served as a panelist at this side event to the UN Human Rights Council. The event was organized by Edmund Rice International, Franciscans International, Destination Justice, and ChilOut. Other panelists included Phil Glendenning, Refugee Council of Australia; Mohammad Ali Baqiri, former detainee at the offshore detention centre in Nauru and the 2015 ChilOut Youth […]

For many years, Sweden was lauded for its comparatively humane treatment of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers. However, reflecting a wave of get-tough policies announced by other European countries in the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis, in early 2016 Sweden announced that it was introducing new border controls and planning to deport an estimated 80,000 […]

GLOBAL DETENTION PROJECT NEWSLETTER MARCH 2016 NEW DETENTION PROFILES Sweden For many years, Sweden was lauded for its comparatively humane treatment of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers. However, reflecting a wave of get-tough policies announced by other European countries in the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis, in early 2016 Sweden announced that it was introducing […]

Global Detention Project Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 74th Pre-Sessional Working Group (6-10 June 2016) – Qatar (Third and Fourth Periodic Report) Geneva, 1 March 2016   Issues concerning immigration detention The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide information relevant to the consideration of the Third and […]

Submission of the Global Detention Project for the CMW-CRC General Comment on the Human Rights of Children in the Context of International Migration 29 February 2016 The Global Detention Project (GDP) welcomes the opportunity to provide a written contribution to the Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) and the Committee on the Rights of the Child […]

Guatemala is a source country as well as a key migrant transit state linking North and South America. It has also served as an entry point for thousands of “extracontinental” migrants and asylum seekers who hope to continue their journeys north. Mexico and the United States have long pressured the country to halt the movement […]

This paper argues that private corporations can and should be held responsible for structural injustices that take place in immigration detention regimes in which they operate. It draws on literature from business ethics to evaluate various ethical arguments for assessing corporate responsibility, emphasising models that may lead to the prevention of harm and suffering. In […]

Michael Flynn presented a paper on non-state actor involvement in immigration detention regimes at this conference, which was held at the California Western School of Law in San Diego and cosponsored by the University of California, San Diego, and the Scholars Strategy Network. More information is avaiable here.

This paper examines contributions from the nascent field of “Border Criminologies” in assessing the changing architecture of crime and punishment, focusing primarily on immigration detention. 

GLOBAL DETENTION PROJECT NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2016  NEW DETENTION PROFILE Guatemala Situated at the axis between North and South America and wracked by poverty and conflict, Guatemala is both an important source of migrants and asylum seekers as well as a major transit country. Mexico and the United States have long pressured the country to halt the […]

Thailand hosts more than four million migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. Officials have broad discretionary powers to place non-citizens in detention and there is no detention time limit. Severe overcrowding is endemic at detention facilities and conditions are reportedly abysmal, including for the thousands of foreign children who are detained annually.

Kuwait is an important destination for migrant workers from across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Despite its reliance on foreign labourers, the country has in recent years carried out a series of enforcement actions targeting non-citizens for arrest and deportation, in particular people without valid residence papers or work visas. Successive crackdowns have led […]

Wracked by sectarian conflict and with a growing expat population that now outnumbers citizens, Bahrain has struggled to develop humane policies for its foreign workers. Although the country has adopted labour reforms and set up new rights-related institutions, observers say there is a significant gap between stated intentions and reality on the ground.

An important destination for migrant workers and refugees from Asia and Africa, Oman also has one of the strictest immigration enforcement regimes in the Gulf. It has sought to increase the percentage of citizens in its labour force (“Omanisation”) and implemented mass detention and deportation campaigns, leading to the forced removal of both refugees and […]

Qatar has been under intense scrutiny since it was selected to host the 2022 World Cup games. The international spotlight has brought widespread attention to the abuses that foreign workers face in the country. Despite official promises of reform observers argue that little has changed for most of the country’s 1.5 million migrant labourers, an […]

What we know about immigration detention in Saudi Arabia comes from scattered press accounts and reports by human rights organizations that rely on information provided by former detainees after they have been deported. While our knowledge of the Saudi detention regime remains very incomplete, these reports make clear that detention has become an important tool in the government’s […]

Despite its efforts to cultivate a reputation as a bastion of culture and tourism in the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates imposes harsh conditions on foreign workers, systematically represses those who speak out about abuses, and prevents investigations of its detention and incarceration of non-citizens. What little information is available about detention must be gleaned through […]

Described by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) as “a key transit country for irregular migrant movements,” Indonesia has dozens of immigration detention facilities, many of which have been denounced for their terrible conditions. The growth of Indonesia’s detention capacities has been largely driven by the policies and practices of Australia, with assistance provided by […]

Belize’s immigration detention practices contrast with the policies of neighbouring countries in key ways. In particular, the country provides criminal sanctions for immigration-related infractions and appears to be the only nation in Central America that does not have a dedicated administrative immigration detention facility.

Based on a two-year investigation seeking basic details and statistics about immigration detention practices in 33 countries across Europe and North America, this joint report by the GDP and Access Info Europe reveals that in many countries it is impossible to obtain an accurate picture of the number of migrants and asylum seekers being held […]

Labour migrants are a backbone of the economies of all the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council–Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. While much has been reported on the abuses these workers often suffer, very little is known about what happens to them when they are arrested and detained. […]

Research undertaken by the Global Detention Project indicates that an often over-looked variable shaping detention policies and practices is the response by states to pressure stemming from key international norms relevant to the rights of non-citizens, including the right to liberty and security of the person. Available here.

NEW GDP PUBLICATIONS   IMMIGRATION DETENTION IN THE GULF: Global Detention Project Special Report Labour migrants are a backbone of the economies of all the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council–Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. While much has been reported on the abuses these workers often suffer, very little is known […]

In late November, Michael Flynn participated in a series of lectures and workshops in Buenos Aires organized by the University of Lanus (Centro de Justicia y Derechos Humanos), UNHCR, the IOM, the Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales, as well as several other local and regional organizations around the theme of human rights and migration in […]

On 17 November Izabella Majcher gave a training session titled “Freedom of Movement and Restrictions thereof, including Detention” as part of the International Refugee Law Course for Lebanese officials organized by the International Institute of Humanitarian Law and UNHCR in Sanremo, Italy.

Argentina rarely applies immigration detention measures and the length of detention tends to be very short. In 2015, it adopted regulations aimed at establishing specific immigration detention procedures. There are recent cases of people being detained for long periods in inadequate conditions and new government initiatives seek to boost deportation numbers.

In its ruling in the Skerdjan Celaj case (C-290/14), rendered on 1^st October 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) addressed once again the relation between immigration and criminal law and in particular the compatibility of national penal measures imposed as a punishment for irregular migration with the EU Returns Directive.

Nearly 40 percent of El Salvador’s population lives abroad and yet the country makes a concerted effort to remove undocumented foreigners. Although immigration detention is not properly regulated in Salvadoran law, the country has established a specialised detention facility, which holds more than a 1,000 people a year as they await deportation.

Better known as the source of tens of thousands of undocumented children smuggled to North America in recent years, Honduras also has a long history detaining foreigners transiting its territory, at times with support from the United States. The country reportedly detained 2,526 migrants in 2013 and 1,198 in in 2012.

One of the poorest countries in the Americas, Nicaragua nevertheless has specific immigration detention laws and policies and maintains a dedicated immigration detention in Managua, which it terms an albergue (or shelter). Asylum seekers can be subject to detention while other vulnerable groups, including children and victims of trafficking, tend to be housed in shelters.

An important transit and destination country, Costa Rica began systemically applying immigration detention in the 1990s in response to migratory pressures from neighboring Nicaragua. The country currently operates two dedicated detention facilities, which have been criticized by national rights bodies for having inadequate sanitary conditions.

An important destination country in Central America, Panama has in recent years overhauled its migration policies in part as a response to a landmark case at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights involving the detention of migrants. Since the case was launched, Panama has adopted a new migration law, decriminalized immigration violations, and established new […]

Malaysia is a magnet for migrants and asylum seekers despite its poor human rights record and failure to ratify key human rights treaties. Illegal entry and stay is criminalized and migrants often serve prison sentences before being transferred to one of twelve “immigration depots” while awaiting deportation. Caning, a legacy of British colonial rule, is […]

Prof. Matthew Flynn of Georgia Southern University, a GDP contributing researcher, presented his GDP Working Paper titled “Bureacratic Capitalism and the Immigration Detention Complex” at the Annual Conference of the International Social Theory Consortium, University of Cambridge, 17-19 June 2015 (http://socialtheory.org/2015-annual-conference.html).

This paper argues that post-structuralist approaches to the study of immigration detention present a number of theoretical and conceptual problems. Post-structuralist analyses focusing on discourses divorced from actors present teleological problems in terms of theory. Additionally, poststructural accounts of detention centres using concepts such as homo sacer and Banoptican tend to conflate human rights and citizenship rights, […]

Global Detention Project Newsletter June 2015 NEW GDP PUBLICATIONS Children in Immigration Detention: Challenges of Measurement and Definition Global Detention Project Discussion Paper The campaign to end the detention of children, including child migrants and asylum seekers, has generated impressive global momentum. However, there remain important gaps in this effort, including the absence of an […]

The campaign to end the detention of children, including child migrants and asylum seekers, has generated impressive global momentum. However, there remain important gaps in this effort, including the absence of an adequate definition of the immigration detention of children and inherent problems in developing realistic statistics to measure state activities. The objective of this […]

Mariette Grange gave a presentation on immigration detention practices in Europe at this Jesuit-organized initiative aimed at improving cross-border dialogue, which was held in Madrid on 28 May. More information about this initiative is available here.

Ecuador has been widely lauded for adopting the principle of “universal citizenship” in its 2008 Constitution. However, in recent years, the country seems to have backtracked with respect to its reception of migrants and asylum seekers. Although it is one of the most important countries of refuge in Latin America, hosting tens of thousands of […]

Global Detention Project Newsletter May 2015 NEW GDP DETENTION REPORT ECUADOR Ecuador has been widely lauded for adopting the principle of “universal citizenship” in its 2008 Constitution. However, in recent years, the country seems to have backtracked with respect to its reception of migrants and asylum seekers. Although it is one of the most important […]

With the recent tragic surge in the number of deaths at sea of asylum seekers and other migrants attempting to reach Europe, enormous public attention is being focused on the treatment of these people across the Mediterranean. An important migration policy employed throughout the region is detention, including widespread deprivation of liberty of asylum seekers […]

Submission in relation to the European Ombudsman’s own-initiative inquiry concerning the means through which Frontex ensures respect for fundamental rights in joint return operations.

Michael Flynn gave a presentation at the conference “Detention on a Global Scale: Punishment and Beyond,” hosted by the Yale Law School on 9-10 April. Flynn’s presentation was titled “Liberty or Security? Human Rights and the Expanding Landscape of Immigration Detention.” Other presenters on Flynn’s panel included Mary Bosworth, Allegra McLeod, and Zonke Majodina.

On 20 March Izabella Majcher presented a paper titled “Immigration Detention under EU Law and International Obligations of Member States” at the conference “Regulating ‘irregular’ migration: International obligations and international responsibility,” held at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

This submission is provided in response to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s March 2015 Call for Input on the revised “Draft Principles and Guidelines on remedies and procedures on: The right of anyone deprived of his or her liberty by arrest or detention to bring proceedings before a court without delay, in order that the court may decide […]

Global Detention Project Newsletter March 2015 NEW GDP DETENTION REPORT JORDAN In late 2014, a court in Amman ruled that an Egyptian guest worker whose permit had been terminated by his employer was wrongfully placed in immigration detention and must be compensated for financial and psychological damages. The historic ruling was described by one observer […]

Cecilia Cannon, former research assistant at the GDP, presented a paper she coauthored with Michael Flynn at the ISA’s 56th Annual Convention in New Orleans (18-21 February 2015). The paper was titled “Does Privatization Explain the Poor Treatment of People in Immigration Detention?”

On 6 February 2015, Mariette Grange chaired the session “Introducing the notion of alternatives to detention in the EU policy-making” at the final conference of the Odysseus Network’s “Made Real” Project, “Alternatives to Immigration Detention in The EU: The Time For Implementation,” which was held at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.

Michael Flynn gave a presentation titled “Concealing and Revealing: The Role of Liberal Norms in the Evolution of Detention Regimes” at the Texas International Law Journal Symposium “Immigration and Freedom of Movement” (University of Texas at Austin, 5 February 2015).

Global Detention Project Newsletter February 2015 NEW GDP DETENTION REPORT Libya With Libya experiencing large-scale internal displacement as the country becomes increasingly engulfed in civil war, migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees are finding themselves systematically exposed to arbitrary and indefinite detention. Concerns highlighted by observers include the increasing absence of oversight at detention facilities as […]

Global Detention Project Newsletter January 2015 NEW GDP DETENTION PROFILE Austria In early 2014, Austria opened its first specialized immigration detention facility. The development comes after more than two decades of criticism from national and international observers, who have pressed the country not to detain migrants and asylum seekers in prisons and other criminal facilities. […]

Pre-removal detention is usually considered an administrative measure aimed at the facilitation of the removal of irregular migrants by preventing them from absconding during removal proceedings. The administrative nature of immigration detention implies that persons subject to this measure do not have access to the fair trial guarantees that criminal detainees are entitled to. However, the assessment of pre-removal detention under European Union and Swiss legislation demonstrates the penal nature of such detention despite its formal administrative classification.

Read the blog here.

The Global Detention Project (GDP) announces today that it has re-launched as an independent non-profit research centre after being based for eight years at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.

October 2014 PRESS RELEASE The Global Detention Project announces that it has re-launched as an independent non-profit research centre after being based for eight years at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. Read the press release here. NEW GDP COUNTRY PROFILES Germany Germany’s immigration detention policies contrast sharply with those of its EU […]

Izabelle Majcher and Mariette Grange gave a presentation entitled “Les frontières de la détention administrative” at the University of Geneva conference Frontières et migrations : Chercheurs, praticiens et artistes croisent leurs regards, held on the 17th of September 2014. Read more about the programme here.

Michael Flynn participated to the dialogue examining the global expansion of immigration-related detention hosted by the Center for Migration Studies (CMS) in New York, on July 21, 2014. Read more here.

Can immigration detainees be held in prisons? Can they be confined alongside ordinary prisoners? On 17 July 2014, in its decisions on the joint cases of Bero & Bouzalmate and the case of Pham, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered its opinion on these practices.

As the International Law Association highlights “[power] entails accountability, that is the duty to account for its exercise.” Against this background, the article focuses on the question of accountability of the European Union (EU) border agency Frontex for potential human rights violations that may occur in the course of its operations. The article aims to […]

From Mexico to the Bahamas, Mauritania to Lebanon, Turkey to Saudi Arabia, South Africa to Indonesia, Malaysia to Thailand, immigration-related detention has become an established policy apparatus that counts on dedicated facilities and burgeoning institutional bureaucracies. Until relatively recently, however, detention appears to have been largely an ad hoc tool, employed mainly by wealthy states in exigent circumstances. This paper uses concepts from diffusion theory to detail the history of key policy events in several important immigration destination countries that led to the spreading of detention practices during the last 30 years and assesses some of the motives that appear to have encouraged this phenomenon.

Read more here.

Global Detention Project Newsletter July 2014 NEW GDP COUNTRY PROFILES Lebanon The war in Syria has put Lebanon’s treatment of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in sharp relief. Three years into the conflict, Lebanon has gained the distinction of having the highest per-capita concentration of refugees recorded anywhere in the world in recent history, this […]