Iraq Summarily Deporting Refugees

Numerous news outlets and human rights groups have in recent months reported on Iraq’s increasing detention and deportation of Syrian refugees, in a breach of its non-refoulement obligations. Deportees have included registered asylum seekers with UNHCR documents as well as people with valid Iraqi residence permits. Reports also suggest that there are growing public calls […]

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Syrian refugees in Iraq (Source: The Islamic Republic News Agency - https://en.irna.ir/news/81750922/Iran-photographer-to-share-prize-money-with-Syria-refugees).

United Arab Emirates: Harsh Prison Sentences for Bangladeshi Protesters Reflects Broader Threats to Migrant Workers in the Country

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently sentenced Bangladeshi migrant workers to long-term – and, in some cases, life – prison sentences for demonstrating against a crackdown on anti-government protesters in Bangladesh. The harsh sentences have renewed criticism of the country’s arbitrary and discriminatory treatment of migrant workers.    Long-term Imprisonment and Deportations  Several dozen Bangladeshi nationals […]

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Source: Al Jazeera - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/22/uae-hands-57-bangladeshis-long-term-jail-terms-for-protests).

Tunisia: Detention and “Desert Dumping” of Sub-Saharan Refugees 

With financial support from the European Union, Tunisia is systematically undertaking anti-migrant and racially motivated operations, including “desert dumps” and unlawful arbitrary expulsions of migrants and refugees to remote areas near Libya and Algeria, according to recent reports.  Violence Against Migrants and Arrests of Human Rights Defenders The growing number of reports revealing abuses suffered […]

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Migrants abandoned in remote desert areas. (Source: Lighthouse Reports, https://www.lighthousereports.com/investigation/desert-dumps/).

Persistent Reports of Severe Human Rights Violations in Malaysia’s Immigration Detention Centres 

Malaysia has been repeatedly criticised for having one of the world’s most abusive and punitive immigration detention systems. Yet the government continues to fail to address the international community’s recommendations to protect vulnerable migrants and refugees in the country, as the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recently reported in a […]

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Undocumented migrants detained after an immigration raid in Kuala Lumpur (Source: Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/05/malaysia-abusive-detention-migrants-refugees).

UN Agency Adds Voice to Growing Global Clamour Over Canada’s Immigration Detention Practices

The Canadian government’s plans to use federal prisons for immigration detention has drawn the rebuke of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) as well as the ire of an international coalition of civil society groups, who have launched a petition demanding that Canada abandon the plans.  The battle over prisons Canada is among […]

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Edmonton Institution, a maximum security correctional centre and one of Canada's federal penitentiaries. (Source: CBC News, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/federal-government-plans-on-incarcerating-migrants-in-its-penitentiaries-1.7177094).

Viet Nam: Immigration Detention as Debtors Prison 

There is little information available about Viet Nam’s immigration detention practices though people on online chat rooms and social media platforms have an occasion expressed dismay at the country’s “harsh” treatment of overstayers. There have also been reports about periodic crackdowns on irregular Chinese migrants, who are detained, fined, and then deported back to China, as well as of harassment and […]

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Many inmates of Thu Duc prison worked as labourers, securing reductions in their sentences. But some are still in detention over alleged unpaid debts [Chris Humphrey/Al Jazeera]

Lithuania: Reports of Arbitrary Detention, Physical Abuse, and Pushbacks 

Recent reports highlight ongoing abuses of migrants and asylum seekers by Lithuanian border guards, including arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and pushbacks into Belarus.  The Human Rights Monitoring Institute (HRMI), a GDP partner in Lithuania, recently documented three cases involving unlawful restrictions of migrants’ liberty, abuses by Lithuanian authorities, and pushbacks to Belarus. According to their report, […]

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Source: Human Rights Monitoring Institute - https://hrmi.lt/en/litigation-concerning-the-pushback-policy-of-migrants-and-the-restrictions-of-their-liberty-implemented-in-the-republic-of-lithuania/

Egypt: Detaining and Refouling Sudanese Refugees Fleeing Spiralling Conflict in Sudan

There are increasing calls for Egypt to stop its summary detention and deportation of Sudanese who are fleeing the escalating crisis in their country, as well as growing pressure on the European Union to take steps to prevent its aid to the country from being used to violate the rights of refugees. The conflict in […]

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Screenshot from video of Sudanese detainees reportedly taken from inside an Egyptian military warehouse located near the border town of Abu Simbel (March 2024).

Bulgaria: The Alarming Case of Detained Saudi Journalist Abdulrahman al-Khalidi

Bulgaria’s extremely long immigration detention of a Saudi law student and human rights activist reveals the degrading conditions in which migrants and asylum seekers are detained in the country. It also reflects a broader trend in Europe and globally: the de facto use of immigration detention for purposes that may have nothing to do with […]

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Saudi political activist Abdulrahman al-Khalidi (Source: https://www.menarights.org/en/case/abdulrahman-al-bakr-al-khalidi)

Senegal: Blocking the West African Migration Route

The West African migration route leading to Spain’s Canary Islands saw a major spike in traffic in 2023, increasing by 161 percent compared to 2022, according to the European Union border agency, Frontex. As most of these crossings originate in Senegal and involve mainly young migrants, many under the age of 18, the country’s efforts […]

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Migrants on a boat headed to the Canary Islands, (source: https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/55792/canary-islands-un-steps-in-for-senegalese-teen-held-in-adult-prison)