The Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland), one of the smallest countries in Africa, is a landlocked country in southern Africa with a population of 1.1 million people. Similar to other countries, Eswatini restricted the movement of refugees after the onset of the pandemic as a purported measure to stop the spread of COVID-19. […]
Covid-19
Immigration Detention in Colombia: At the Crossroads of the Americas
Located at the juncture between South and Central America, Colombia has become an important transit point for migrants and asylum seekers from across the Americas and elsewhere in the world. It is also a key destination for Venezuelans fleeing the turmoil in their country, hosting more than 1.3 million by 2019. During 2010-2014, a national […]
Immigration Detention in Paraguay: The Non-Detention Norm Versus Mandatory COVID Quarantine
While Paraguay’s laws provide for the detention of non-nationals for migration-related reasons, detention appears to be rarely applied. There is little information, however, about how often people are detained or the conditions of their detention. […]
Submission to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers: Draft General Comment No.5 on Migrants’ Right to Liberty and Freedom from Arbitrary Detention
In a submission to the Committee on Migrant Workers ahead of the publication of its Draft General Comment No.5, the GDP has submitted information regarding the General Comment’s treatment of the role of necessity and proportionality in immigration detention decision-making, and in particular the function of ATDs in establishing whether detention is both necessary and proportionate in all cases. […]
Places of Quarantine as Places of “Detention”
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the GDP has received increasing numbers of reports detailing the detention of non-nationals as a quarantine measure. In Bangladesh for example, more than 300 Rohingya refugees have been confined in prison-like facilities on the remote island of Bhasan Char since April–a detention situation that has been billed by […]
Azerbaijan: Armed Conflict, Pandemic, and Immigration Detention
Azerbaijan lauds the operations at its immigration detention centres, which opened less than a decade ago. But with civil society tightly controlled, there are few independent reports detailing detention conditions. Important monitoring bodies like the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture have also yet to fully investigate this issue. […]
Submission to the Universal Periodic Review: Paraguay
Paraguay has not traditionally been a country of concern with respect to the treatment of migrants, refugees, or asylum seekers. This is reflected in the fact that during the previous two UPR cycles. However, the COVID-19 pandemic requires a renewed scrutiny of this issue. […]
Submission to the Universal Periodic Review: Niger
Despite being a central focus for EU migration “management” strategies, limited detailed information regarding Niger’s detention of migrants and asylum seekers is available. In a submission to the Universal Periodic Review, the GDP highlights key recommendations that should be made. […]
Submission to the Universal Periodic Review: Singapore
Despite its reliance on foreign labour, Singapore continues to restrict migrant workers’ rights. During the COVID-19 crisis, residents of migrant worker dormitories have suffered disproportionately, with thousands locked up in substandard and unsanitary conditions. […]
Paraguay Direccion General de Migracion Covid-19 Survey II (Información sobre Covid-19 y detención)
In a follow up to Paraguay’s official response to the GDP’s Covid-19 survey, the Direccion General de Migracion informed the GDP that it does not maintain statistics on the number of people placed in immigration detention nor does it have facilities for this purpose. […]
