Immigration Detention in Ireland: Ireland does not emphasize detention in its migration and asylum policies, nor s. Nevertheless, because the country fails to separate its few immigration detainees, who are placed in prisons, from people in criminal procedures, the country has faced significant international criticism. Officials have long-standing plans to open a dedicated immigration detention facility, […]
Human Rights
International Women’s Day: Exposing the Plight of Women in Immigration Detention
This International Women’s Day, dozens of women are on hunger strike at the Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre in the UK. As they protest against the government’s “offensive” immigration practices, like the detention of people who came to the UK as children and the detention of survivors of torture, these women—some of whom are themselves victims of sexual abuse and trafficking—are being held indefinitely at a privately operated facility that has a long history of accusations of sexual abuse by its staff. […]
The Migrant Workers Convention: A Legal Tool to Safeguard Migrants Against Arbitrary Detention
Adopted in 1990 and in force since 2003, the UN Migrant Workers Convention is the most comprehensive international treaty in the field of migration and human rights. In this chapter, Mariette Grange details how the convention safeguards migrants against arbitrary detention. She explains, however, that as the convention has only been ratified by 51 states—none of which are industrialised, migrant-receiving countries—the full potential of the convention remains to be tested. […]
Immigration Detention in Norway: Fewer Asylum Seekers but More Deportees
Immigration Detention in Norway: While asylum applications are decreasing in Norway, the number of deportations is rising. Since 2012, when amendments to the Immigration Act were introduced extending the list of grounds for detention, detention has increasingly been used in order to make return policies more efficient. Between 2012 and 2016, the number of people placed […]
Immigration Detention in Lebanon: Deprivation of Liberty at the Frontiers of Global Conflict
Immigration detention in Lebanon: Although Lebanon does not consider itself a country of asylum, it has the world’s highest per-capita concentration of refugees, most of whom have fled conflict in neighbouring Syria. Refugees are increasingly treated as a security threat and economic burden, and they have found themselves under growing surveillance and restrictions. The country is […]
UN Child Rights Experts Call for EU-Wide Ban on Child Immigration Detention
Ahead of a key meeting of EU institutions and member states on issues relating to immigration and asylum, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued an urgent plea for EU countries to bring an end to the migration-related detention of children. “EU law should not allow for child immigration detention, even as a last […]
Open Letter from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Global Compact on Migration
In February 2018, with discussions under way at the United Nations on crafting a Global Compact on Migration, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released this open letter encouraging states to adhere to their commitment to develop “a compact that explicitly recognises and fully conforms to the existing international human rights framework as the authoritative protection agenda […]
First Perspectives on the Zero Draft for the UN Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
Following the recent publication of the Zero Draft for a UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, 17 expert academics—including GDP Researcher, Izabella Majcher—provide commentary on the positive and negative aspects of the Objectives, as well as the necessary follow up. […]
Immigration Detention in Greece
Immigration Detention in Greece (2018 Report) Greece is a key focus in Europe’s efforts to halt irregular migration flows. However, the country’s immigration detention laws and practices have been repeatedly denounced by observers, who have pointed to numerous abuses, including the systematic use of detention of vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers, the failure to apply alternatives […]
Immigration Detention of Children: Coming to a Close?
Immigration Detention of Children: Coming to a Close? The GDPs Michael Flynn participated in this two-day conference co-hosted by the Council of Europe and the Czech Ministry of Justice (25-26 September 2017). “Are There ‘Alternatives’ for Children?” By Michael Flynn Summary: Is it possible to develop “alternatives to detention” in a way that does not […]
