Since early 2025, Crete and the nearby island of Gavdos have seen a sharp increase in the number of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants arriving from Libya. The islands have quickly become the newest frontline to Greece’s increasingly hardline approach to migration: in July, the government suspended all asylum claims for anyone arriving irregularly from North Africa for a three-month period. At the same time, a new legislative proposal is being considered which would tighten migration rules in line with the new, but not yet adopted, EU Return Regulation. This would introduce a slate of amendments, including the introduction of broader grounds for detention and an extension of the maximum length of detention. […]
Legal Reform
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, […]
FRANCE: New Immigration Law Ends Detention of Children but Eases Deportation
A controversial new immigration law has come into force in France that prohibits detention of children while at the same time limiting access to social assistance for migrants and facilitating removal procedures. […]
Policy and Practice Updates From the Gulf
In the past year, detention and deportation operations have been on the rise across the Gulf region. The GDP’s partner in the region, Migrant-Rights.org, has been documenting and reporting on these campaigns. They have detailed how every week “hundreds of migrant workers [are] detained in searches and raids. Most workers are detained for having inaccurate […]
Russian Legislators Introduce Amendments to Administrative Code
In December Russia introduced important amendments to its Code of Administrative Offences–including limiting the maximum period of detention in immigration detention facilities to 90 days, and permitting detainees the right to apply to a court to verify the legality of their detention. […]
Estonia’s Detainee Mobile Phone Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
In June, Estonia’s Supreme Court ruled against a ban on immigration detainees using their mobile phones. Challenging restrictions on detainees’ ability to access the internet, the court also held that access to the internet is a human right which must be upheld by detention centre management. […]
Chile: Human Rights Monitoring Bodies Denounce Proposed Legal Reforms Increasing Detention Measures for Undocumented Migrants and Asylum Seekers
In a communication to Chile, a group of UN experts have condemned proposed reforms to the country’s migration and asylum legislation. If approved, the reforms would provide criminal penalties for irregular entry and stay, including prison sentences and fines, and increase administrative detention measures for people awaiting deportation. The effort also reflects policy proposals in […]
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. […]
