Submission to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture: Austria

The GDP is pleased to provide the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) the following submission in preparation for its visit to Austria in 2021. The submission concerns the detention of migrants and refugees. As such, it is informed by the CPT’s relevant standards as included in “Foreign Nationals Detained Under Aliens Legislation” (7th General Report of the CPT, CPT/Inf (97)10, 1997) and “Safeguards for Irregular Migrants Deprived of their Liberty” (19th General Report of the CPT, CPT/Inf (2009)27, 2009). […]

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Immigration Detention in the European Union

This book offers a unique comparative assessment of the evolution of immigration detention systems in European Union member states since the onset of the “refugee crisis.” By applying an analytical framework premised on international human rights law in assessing domestic detention regimes, the book reveals the extent to which EU legislation has led to the adoption of laws and practices that may disregard fundamental rights and standards. […]

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Austria Immigration Detention Data Profile (2020)

Austria Detention Data (2020) The latest detention-related data from Austria, including immigration and detention-related statistics, domestic laws and policies, international law, and institutional indicators. View the Austria Detention Data Profile Related Reading: Austria: Country Page Report: Immigration Detention in Austria: Where the Refugee “Crisis” Never Ends (2020) Book: Immigration Detention in the European Union […]

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Austria – Ministry of Interior – COVID-19 Survey Response

The Austrian Ministry of Interior’s (Bundesministerium für Inneres) official response to the Global Detention Project’s COVID-19 survey. The GDP submitted information requests to government agencies, international organisations, National Human Rights Institutions, and NGOs requesting information pertaining to the treatment of immigration detainees during the pandemic. Responses were documented on our COVID-19 Immigration Detention Platform. More information […]

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Immigration Detention in Austria: Where the Refugee “Crisis” Never Ends

Austria’s domestic politics have long been overshadowed by a divisive and bitter public debate over the treatment of migrants and refugees. This has had an important impact on the country’s detention practices. Despite years of declining detainee numbers prior to the onset of Europe’s short-lived refugee “crisis,” the increase in asylum applications that the country experienced during 2015-2016 became a cause célèbre for resurgent xenophobic political forces, who used the issue to rally support for numerous controversial policies and agendas. These developments have translated into persistent increases in detention numbers long after the “crisis” ended and asylum applications began to plummet to their lowest levels in years. […]

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Immigration detention in Austria

Austria has sharply increased the number of people it places in immigration detention after years of declining detainee populations. While it continues the controversial practice of placing immigration detainees in “Police Detention Centres,” the country opened a new dedicated immigration detention centre in 2014, which is partly operated by the controversial multinational security company G4S. […]

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Statement to the Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries Panel on “PMSCs in places of deprivation of liberty and their impact on human rights”

Statement to the Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries Panel on “PMSCs in places of deprivation of liberty and their impact on human rights” Michael Flynn, Global Detention Project 27 April 2017   I am the Director of the Global Detention Project, a research center based in Geneva that documents the use of detention […]

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Capitalism and Immigration Control: What Political Economy Reveals about the Growth of Detention Systems: GDP Working Paper #16

Assessments of the political economy of detention point to a key challenge that is common to countries across the globe: how economic insecurities of host population’s translate into xenophobia and ethno-nationalist demands for more deportations, detentions, and walls. […]

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Austrian Ministry of Interior – Access to Information Request, 30.09.2013

The Austrian Ministry of Interior’s official response to an information request submitted by the Global Detention Project and Access Info Europe in 2013 as part of a joint project to map access to migration-related detention data in several dozen countries in Europe and North America. The results of the investigation were reported in the joint […]

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