On 1 February, 131 (mainly Rohingya) refugees escaped from an immigration detention centre in the Malaysian state of Perak following reported riots in the facility, called the Bidor Temporary Immigration Depot. This is the second mass escape in two years from a Malaysian detention centre, which observers say underscores the inhumane conditions that immigration detainees […]
Asia-Pacific
Reports of Refoulement in Kyrgyzstan Amidst Fears of Shrinking Asylum Space
In December, UNHCR expressed “grave concern” at the disappearance of an asylum seeker in Kyrgyzstan and his refoulement to his country of origin. Similar incidents have been reported in recent years, with rights observers also decrying the country’s shrinking asylum space. According to UNHCR, on 16/17 October an asylum seeker was arrested by security services […]
Australia’s High Court Rules Indefinite Detention Unlawful
In a landmark decision, Australia’s High Court has ruled that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful–overturning a previous decision from 2004. The case concerned a stateless Rohingya man who faced the prospect of lifelong detention as no country would resettle him. […]
NGOs Urge UN Human Rights Committee to Assess the Republic of Korea’s Immigration Practices and Policies
This week, on 19 and 20 October, the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) will consider the fifth periodic report of the Republic of Korea. Amongst various concerns, numerous NGOs–including the GDP’s partner, the Association for Public Interest Law–have called on the committee to examine the country’s immigration detention practices and policies. Concerns include the detention […]
Malaysia: Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review
Malaysia’s immigration enforcement regime—including detention, forced removals, criminal prosecution, and corporal punishment—is one of the world’s more punitive, arbitrary, and harmful systems. In a submission to the UPR, the GDP and APRRN highlight areas of particular concern. […]
China: Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review
In a submission to the Universal Periodic Review, the GDP and APRRN raise a number of concerns regarding immigration detention practices in Hong Kong – including the ongoing detention of children, arbitrary detention without established time limits, and the significant number of recent deaths and suicides in detention. […]
Cambodia & Southeast Asia: Cyber Scam Trafficking Victims Facing Detention and Prosecution
In a recent report to the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights, a group of NGOs highlight a growing pattern of human rights violations across Southeast Asia involving trafficking rackets that are fuelled by scam online employment schemes. The report echoes recent information that the Global Detention Project has received from sources in Cambodia about […]
A Missed Opportunity in Japan
On 7 March, Japan’s cabinet passed a bill amending the country’s immigration and asylum legislation. The bill, which has been slated by rights groups, reinforces the country’s ability to indefinitely detain migrants and asylum seekers. It is now due to be voted on by the country’s parliament. With regards to detention, the amendment bill to […]
Republic of Korea: Indefinite Detention Without Due Process Guarantees Ruled Unconstitutional
In an important ruling, the Republic of Korea’s Constitutional Court has found that the country’s policy of indefinitely detaining migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers without due process guarantees is unconstitutional. […]
Asylum Seeker’s Death Highlights Brutal Impact of Thailand’s Detention Policies
The recent death of a Uyghur asylum seeker detained in the Bangkok Immigration Detention Centre (Suan Phlu) has prompted renewed calls for Thailand to release a group of 49 ethnic Uyghurs who have now been detained in the country for nine years. Aziz Abdullah, 49, died on 11 February after he collapsed in a cell […]
