Denmark has entered talks with Rwanda to establish a deal similar to the controversial one Rwanda made with the United Kingdom in mid-April concerning the transfer of asylum seekers to the country. Denmark’s immigration minister said that the deal would “ensure a more dignified approach than the criminal network of human traffickers that characterises migration […]
Rwanda: Covid-19 and Detention
Despite having a much-criticised track record concerning its treatment of refugees, Rwanda has signed deals with both the United Kingdom and Denmark that involve receiving deported asylum seekers and irregular migrants from both the countries for processing and potential permanent relocation. In mid-April, Rwanda and the UK finalised an “economic development partnership” whose centrepiece is […]
United Kingdom: Covid-19 and Detention
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on 14 April that “from today, anyone entering the UK illegally as well as those who have arrived illegally since January 1 may now be relocated to Rwanda. Rwanda will have the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead.” The UK claims that the […]
Colombia: Covid-19 and Detention
Colombia hosts the largest number of Venezuelans outside Venezuela. According to the World Food Programme, there are some 1.8 million Venezuelans residing in Colombia and another 500,000 are expected to arrive in the coming months. By 2020, according to UNHCR, Colombia had 957 refugees, 19,933 asylum seekers, 8,252,788 internally displaced persons, and 1,729,537 Venezuelans “displaced […]
UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW: Immigration Detention in India, Morocco, Poland, South Africa
In March, the GDP worked with partners in four countries—Poland, India, South Africa, and Morocco—to prepare submissions for the 41st Session of the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR). […]
Foreign nationals held under aliens’ legislation (from report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture 2022 visit to Poland)
1. Preliminary remarks; (Read full CPT report) 25. The border crisis between the European Union and Belarus, which had begun in the summer of 2021, saw thousands of people, mostly from the Middle East, trying to enter the European Union through Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland from neighbouring Belarus. In response to an unprecedented increase in […]
SOUTH AFRICA: Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review
For the 4th cycle UPR review of South Africa, the GDP teamed up with Lawyers for Human Rights to highlight numerous shortcomings in South Africa’s treatment of refugees and migrants. Despite important progress that has been made in implementing judicial control over immigration detention operations, the submission highlights South Africa’s failure to improve poor detention conditions and prevent abuses in the Lindela privately-run immigration detention centre. […]
MOROCCO: Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review
Morocco has consistently faced criticism for its treatment of migrants and refugees. In particular, collaboration between Europe and Morocco has increased the vulnerability of migrants to a range of human rights abuses, including forced displacements and ad hoc detention. In a joint submission to the Universal Periodic Review, the GDP and GADEM highlight key areas of concern and urge the Government of Morocco to take numerous vital steps to protect the rights of non-citizens. […]
INDIA: Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review
The GDP’s submission on India, made in partnership with the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), highlights human rights concerns within India’s immigration detention system, including lack of judicial review and indefinite detention, lack of legal aid for detainees, and poor detention conditions. […]
Joint Submission to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Preparation for its Visit to Poland
The submission highlights concerns regarding Poland’s discriminatory detention practices of non-Ukrainian refugees, inhuman and degrading conditions in “Guarded Centres for Foreigners,” abuses of non-citizens on the border with Belarus, and the country’s increasing detention of children for migration purposes. […]
