In recent weeks, the Global Detention Project has received several testimonies from a group of people held in immigration detention in Sri Lanka, depicting troubling detention conditions and instances of indefinite immigration detention. The accounts of their treatment at the Welisara Detention Centre reflect wider concerns about the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers in the country, including the arbitrary detention of children and asylum seekers. […]
Arbitrary detention
Sudanese Refugees in Egypt: “Voluntary” Returns Amidst Intensified Detention and Deportation Campaign
Egypt has recently returned hundreds of Sudanese nationals as part of a new “voluntary” transportation scheme that is jointly administered by Egypt and Sudan. Although officials describe the initiative in humanitarian terms, the returns–in addition to the hundreds of thousands of additional “voluntary” returns that have been reported since last year–coincide with larger efforts by Egypt to ramp up the targeting of refugees and asylum seekers for detention and deportation. The crackdown is creating a climate of fear amongst refugee communities and has raised questions about whether the returns can be considered “voluntary.” […]
Submission: Türkiye’s Implementation of the ECtHR’s Judgements Concerning “Akkad vs Turkey”
Since the ECtHR’s 2022 judgement concerning the case of Akkad v. Turkey, there continue to be important gaps in Turkish law, as well as between legal frameworks and day-to-day practice. In this submission, the GDP, CESSMA, and Mülteci-Der call on the Committee of Ministers to ensure Turkiye’s effective implementation of the judgement’s general measures. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
![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]](https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vietnam-prison-hard-labour.jpg.webp)
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, […]
