Morocco has long prided itself for defending the rights of migrants and asylum seekers, a reputation it sought to reprise when it took a leadership role in the negotiations over the Global Compact for Migration, adopted in Marrakech in 2019. However, this reputation has repeatedly been tarnished as criticism has grown over its treatment of asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants […]
United Kingdom: Covid-19 and Detention
A surge in COVID-19 cases notwithstanding, UK authorities are continuing to arrange deportation flights. On 21 July, a flight to Zimbabwe departed with an estimated 14 persons on board. The first mass-deportation to Zimbabwe in years, media reports state that the flight marked the start of a planned “summer season” of deportations organised by the […]
Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review: Zimbabwe
This submission has been prepared by the Global Detention Project (GDP) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) for the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Zimbabwe in January 2022. […]
Malta: Covid-19 and Detention
As of 1 July 2021, all asylum seekers and other non-EU residents in Malta became eligible for receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. Previously, only people who could provide a valid residence permit were eligible, according to the European Commission: “From 1 July only an identity document and provision of personal details (which are kept strictly confidential) […]
Australia: Covid-19 and Detention
As COVID-19 cases rise again in areas of Australia – including New South Wales – prompting fresh lockdowns, a new report from the Australian Human Rights Commission has highlighted the serious risks that COVID-19 poses to people in the country’s immigration detention network. Although no immigration detainees have, to-date, tested positive in the country (although […]
South Africa: Covid-19 and Detention
In March 2020, shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa announced plans to construct a 40-kilometre fence between South Africa and Zimbabwe, which was intended to “ensure that no undocumented or infected persons cross into the country. However, observers have pointed out that COVID-19 cases have been far higher in South Africa […]
NEWSLETTER: Stricter Control of Administrative Detention in South Africa; The Impact of COVID-19 on Migrants
Immigration detention in South Africa; the impact of COVID-19 on the human rights of migrants; the GDP’s latest submission to the UN Committee against Torture, and more… […]
Submission to the Committee against Torture: Guatemala
The GDP welcomes the opportunity to provide information relevant to the list of issues prior to the presentation of Guatemala’s report with respect to the implementation of the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Convention against Torture), ratified by Guatemala in 1990. […]
Immigration Detention in South Africa: Stricter Control of Administrative Detention, Increasing Criminal Enforcement of Migration
Long an important destination for migrants and refugees from across Africa and Asia, South Africa has increasingly viewed cross border movements through the lens of national security and criminality. The country’s Border Management Act, adopted in 2020, reflects this embrace of a securitisation agenda, say observers, who worry that the country’s policies will encourage an […]
Turkey: Covid-19 and Detention
A fire broke out at Turkey’s Izmir Harmandali Removal Centre on 23 June 2021 because of an electrical problem at the facility, according to information provided to the Global Detention Project by a non-governmental actor in Turkey. The fire started on the fifth floor of the centre where refugees are held. Firefighters evacuated the floor, […]
