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 […]
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
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. […]

Mandatory Detention for all Irregular Arrivals, and Funding a Detention Centre in France? The Latest from the UK
Over the past week, the UK has proposed a number of controversial and extraordinary measures aimed at stopping irregular migration, including proposing new legislation that imposes mandatory detention for anyone crossing the Channel by boat as well as a joint initiative with France that includes helping pay for a new detention centre there. On 7 […]

“THIS IS A SLOW DEATH”: An Urgent Appeal on the Plight of Afghan Refugees Indefinitely and Arbitrarily Detained in the UAE
For a year and a half, thousands of Afghan refugees fleeing Taliban persecution have been trapped in a de-facto detention facility in the United Arab Emirates. Evacuated from Afghanistan by private actors, the refugees have languished in prolonged arbitrary detention at an emergency evacuation compound in Abu Dhabi called the “Emirates Humanitarian City”. Evacuated, But […]

TÜRKIYE: Joint Submission to the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families
Together with the International Refugee Rights Association, the GDP has submitted information to the Committee on Migrant Workers concerning Türkiye’s immigration detention laws and practices. In particular, the submission highlights reports of ill-treatment and limited access to health care; the detention of vulnerable groups; and the treatment of migrants identified as Yabancı Terörist Savaşçı. […]

Joint Submission to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Preparation for its Visit to Poland
The submission highlights concerns regarding Poland’s discriminatory detention practices of non-Ukrainian refugees, inhuman and degrading conditions in “Guarded Centres for Foreigners,” abuses of non-citizens on the border with Belarus, and the country’s increasing detention of children for migration purposes. […]

Oral Submission: Testimony on Lithuania’s Treatment of Migrants at the Border with Belarus at the UN Committee against Torture’s 72nd Session
The Human Rights Monitoring Institute and the Global Detention Project presented reports about mistreatment and disappearances of migrants and asylum seekers detained near the border with Belarus at the 72nd Session of the UN Committee against Torture. […]

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. […]

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: 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. […]
