In late September, Tunisian human rights organisations shared footage of Tunisian officials apparently transporting a group of migrants to the border with Libya and abandoning them in the desert. The group, who had initially been intercepted at sea, included approximately one hundred men, women and children, including at least three pregnant women. One of the […]
Africa
Algeria: Covid-19 and Detention
As increasing numbers of Algerians seek to flee their country and make the hazardous passage across the Mediterranean to Spain, concerns are growing about the plight of migrants and refugees located in Algeria’s land borders, particularly those shared with Morocco and Niger, which have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and political tensions across […]
Immigration Detention Expanding in Western Libya
There have been numerous recent reports of mass raids targeting migrants and asylum seekers across Libya, resulting in thousands of people being detained in western Libya during the first week of October. According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 5,152 migrants were detained in the raids, which were described by Libyan authorities as part […]
Libya: Where Immigration Detention Has Become a Crime against Humanity
The UN’s Independent Fact-Finding Mission to Libya has found that over the past five years, both state and non-state actors have committed such extreme levels of violence and abuses against migrants and refugees that there are reasonable grounds for concluding that war crimes have been committed as well as crimes against humanity. The mission, which […]
Egypt: Covid-19 and Detention
On 10 September, reports from human rights groups and independent journalists began circulating about Egypt’s efforts to remove two asylum seekers who had been detained for several years but who had purportedly been cleared for deporation back to Eritrea–in violation of Egypt’s international treaty obligations–where they would likely face torture and possibly execution. According to […]
Morocco: Covid-19 and Detention
Migrant workers and asylum seekers in Morocco have faced a number of increasing hardships since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, including as a result of their lost access to work during lockdowns. Large numbers of migrants, particularly those who are undocumented, also lack any form of assistance or support in the country. In April […]
NEWSLETTER: Welcoming new GDP team members; UNHCR Afghan Non-Removal Advisory; Immigration detention in Morocco, Zimbabwe, UK and more
The GDP’s Summer 2021 Newsletter: including the latest on detention in Morocco, Zimbabwe, and the UK; welcoming new colleagues, and more… […]
Ethiopia: Covid-19 and Detention
In 2020, the GDP highlighted several reports documenting the dire detention conditions and appalling ill-treatment that thousands of Ethiopian migrants had faced in Saudi Arabia (see, for example, 6 October 2020 Saudi Arabia update). Following international pressure–including from the European Parliament, as well as groups such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) who urged Saudi Arabia […]
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. […]
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 […]
