Welcome to the Global Detention Project’s blog tracking the latest developments in migration-related detention practices and policies, urgent appeals, and emerging situations across the globe.
Please write to us at research@globaldetentionproject.org should you wish to submit information or contributions.
Bulgaria’s extremely long immigration detention of a Saudi law student and human rights activist reveals the degrading conditions in which migrants and asylum seekers are detained in the country. It also reflects a broader trend in Europe and globally: the de facto use of immigration detention for purposes that may have nothing to do with […]
The West African migration route leading to Spain’s Canary Islands saw a major spike in traffic in 2023, increasing by 161 percent compared to 2022, according to the European Union border agency, Frontex. As most of these crossings originate in Senegal and involve mainly young migrants, many under the age of 18, the country’s efforts […]
After a Trinidad and Tobago court recognised “shocking and appalling” treatment of a Venezuelan child at the Chaguaramas Heliport detention facility, some are calling for the controversial facility to be closed. Previously, detainees have protested the conditions they were forced to endure at the facility, and human rights activists in the country have argued that […]
In February, a detainee protest concerning harmful living conditions and health risks in a detention centre in Milan was met with violent repression. This latest event, one of a string of similar incidents in Italy’s network of CPRs (Centro di Permanenza per il Rimpatrio), has raised broader concerns about the disregard for human rights across […]
On 1 February, 131 (mainly Rohingya) refugees escaped from an immigration detention centre in the Malaysian state of Perak following reported riots in the facility, called the Bidor Temporary Immigration Depot. This is the second mass escape in two years from a Malaysian detention centre, which observers say underscores the inhumane conditions that immigration detainees […]
In December, UNHCR expressed “grave concern” at the disappearance of an asylum seeker in Kyrgyzstan and his refoulement to his country of origin. Similar incidents have been reported in recent years, with rights observers also decrying the country’s shrinking asylum space. According to UNHCR, on 16/17 October an asylum seeker was arrested by security services […]
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. […]
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 […]
Amid a rise in the number of irregular arrivals intercepted at the country’s border, the Slovenian government has introduced increased border controls along its Croatian and Hungarian borders and announced plans to establish a migrant “handling facility” at the Obrežje border crossing. According to Slovenian police, 60,587 people were intercepted while attempting to enter Slovenia […]
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. […]
In response to what authorities have described as “instrumentalised migration” at its eastern frontier, in November Finland took the extraordinary step of closing its entire border with Russia. The government has also permitted the Immigration Service to establish “registration centres” where arrivals can be held for up to seven days. In November, Finland recorded a […]
A new white paper from students at Cornell’s Brooks School of Public Policy (State Policy Advocacy Clinic) provides a detailed look into immigration detention policies in the state of New York. […]
Since our last update in December 2022, the Dominican Republic has continued to step up its policy of mass deportations of Haitians, violating the rights and dignity of non-nationals despite numerous calls for authorities to moderate their actions. To facilitate these deportations, the General Directorate of Immigration has announced plans to establish a new immigration […]
On 17 December, Chileans will head to the polls to decide if they approve a new draft of the country’s constitution, to replace that which has been in force since Pinochet’s dictatorship. Amongst the proposed new constitution’s articles, written by a right-wing dominated committee, is one requiring the expulsion of irregular migrants from the country. […]
Two weeks after the UK’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the government’s plan to outsource asylum processing to Rwanda is unlawful, the UN Committee against Torture expressed concerns about Denmark’s plans to externalise asylum processing to Kigali. […]
In a landmark decision, Australia’s High Court has ruled that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful–overturning a previous decision from 2004. The case concerned a stateless Rohingya man who faced the prospect of lifelong detention as no country would resettle him. […]
So far this year, 233,500 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe’s Mediterranean region, compared to 159,410 during the whole of 2022. Several EU states–including the EU’s three largest economies, Germany, France, and Italy–have focused on intensifying detention measures as a tool for responding to these growing challenges, raising concerns about the region’s faltering commitment […]
In March, the Malawi government issued a directive ordering all refugees in the country living in urban or rural areas to relocate to the country’s already overcrowded Dzaleka Refugee Camp. Since then, authorities have forcibly relocated thousands to the camp, often detaining them temporarily in prison. Forced relocation According to the 27 March directive, all […]
This week, on 19 and 20 October, the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) will consider the fifth periodic report of the Republic of Korea. Amongst various concerns, numerous NGOs–including the GDP’s partner, the Association for Public Interest Law–have called on the committee to examine the country’s immigration detention practices and policies. Concerns include the detention […]
Between 5 and 9 September, immigration detainees in Poland’s Przemysl detention centre (Guarded Centre for Aliens) held a hunger strike against “arbitrary detention” and their prolonged detention in the centre. Taking place against a backdrop of growing anti-migrant rhetoric in the run up to the country’s October elections and referendum, this was the largest collective […]
Amidst a crackdown against undocumented Afghans residing in the country, Pakistan’s authorities have ordered all undocumented Afghans to leave by 1 November or face deportation. In recent weeks, hundreds of refugees have been arrested and detained on the grounds that they do not have adequate paperwork. According to reports, at least four refugees have died […]
As Djibouti’s role as a source and transit point for migrants and asylum seekers attempting to travel to the Arabian Peninsula increases, so do the perils facing migrants both in Djibouti–where they face arrest and detention–and after their departure from the country, during dangerous journeys across the Gulf of Aden. The “Eastern Route” According to […]
In a new report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) details the horrific killing of hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers at the Saudi-Yemen border. According to the report, Saudi border guards have used explosive weapons and shot at groups of people–largely Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers–killing hundreds, amongst them women and children. Those who survive have […]
Authorities in Uttar Pradesh have launched a crackdown on Rohingya refugees, leading to the arrest and detention of dozens of people apprehended during raids at camps. The arrests are part of a wider, nationwide policy targeting refugees from Myanmar. With no legal limits on detention, refugees can be held indefinitely. Recently, when a group who […]
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. […]
Amidst tensions between the Philippines and Kuwait concerning migrant worker rights, some 700 Filipino workers were deported from Kuwait between April and July this year. Abused by Employers An estimated 268,000 Filipinos live and work in Kuwait–many of whom are employed as domestic workers. Due to the country’s Kafala system, workers are legally tied to […]
On 14 June, hundreds of refugees and migrants lost their lives in the Mediterranean’s deadliest shipwreck in nearly a decade. As many as 750 individuals are believed to have been in the boat when it capsized, but just 104 were found alive. Taken ashore, survivors were met not with protection and sanctuary, but detention in […]
On 19 and 20 July, the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) considered the third periodic report of Romania. In its concluding observations following its review, CAT noted several concerns regarding the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers in the country, including the immigration detention of vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied children and victims of torture; […]
Ethiopian authorities must halt the mass deportation of Eritrean refugees, UN experts say. The country, which has hosted thousands of Eritreans for years, has also been accused of arbitrarily detaining large numbers of Eritreans, often on the ground that they lack documentation–despite the fact that the country’s Refugee and Returnee Service (RSS) stopped registering newly […]
Tunisia has come under renewed criticism from rights groups after authorities rounded up sub-Saharan migrants and asylum seekers and forcefully relocated them to a buffer zone between the Tunisian and Libyan border. Videos shared online show men, women, and children–some with injuries–stranded close to the sea, reportedly without any food or water. Surging Discrimination According […]
By Anne-Rachelle Boulanger On 16 June 2023, two decisions were taken in Canada with important implications for immigration detention. First, the province of Ontario confirmed that it would no longer allow the federal government to detain migrants in its provincial prisons, in line with recent decisions in other provinces. But just a few hours after […]
In 2022, the EU announced plans to fund a new detention unit within the grounds of a Temporary Reception Centre near Bosnia’s north-western border with Croatia. In recent months, however, significant confusion and controversy has emerged surrounding the centre. […]
In a recent report to the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights, a group of NGOs highlight a growing pattern of human rights violations across Southeast Asia involving trafficking rackets that are fuelled by scam online employment schemes. The report echoes recent information that the Global Detention Project has received from sources in Cambodia about […]
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 […]
In an effort to reach recruitment targets for its war in Ukraine, Russia has been attempting to coerce or force foreign migrants to fight. Authorities and private military companies have attempted to enlist foreigners in migration offices, workplaces, prisons, worker dormitories, and mosques. According to several reports, immigration detainees have also been targeted for enlistment. […]
Amidst festering economic crisis and political stalemate, Lebanese authorities have stepped up their efforts to remove Syrian refugees from the country. In recent weeks, hundreds have been arrested, detained, and summarily deported by Lebanon’s army intelligence unit. Since early April, the Lebanese army has conducted multiple raids across the country, arresting hundreds of Syrians who […]
On 7 March, Japan’s cabinet passed a bill amending the country’s immigration and asylum legislation. The bill, which has been slated by rights groups, reinforces the country’s ability to indefinitely detain migrants and asylum seekers. It is now due to be voted on by the country’s parliament. With regards to detention, the amendment bill to […]
In the morning of Saturday 8 April, a male immigration detainee was found unconscious in his cell in Geneva’s Favra detention facility. His death has prompted renewed calls for authorities to close the controversial centre. According to a press release from the Department of Security, Population and Health (DSPS), the man (reportedly a Tunisian awaiting […]
In an important ruling, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found that Italy breached Articles 3, 4, and 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in its treatment of four Tunisian claimants who were detained and deported in October 2017. In October 2017, four Tunisians attempted to travel to Italy from […]
By Anne-Rachelle Boulanger In a move that could augur fundamental changes in Canada’s immigration detention system, four provinces—British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Alberta, and Manitoba—have announced that they will end the Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) use of their provincial jails for detaining migrants by June 2023. In doing so, these provinces may help roll back […]
The horrific deaths of more than 40 migrants and asylum seekers in a fire while padlocked inside a cell in Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez migrant detention centre (“Estacion Migratoria”) have spurred calls to close the country’s notorious detention centres and led to the opening of a homicide investigation into detention centre staff. In the aftermath of […]
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. […]
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 […]
The GDP has joined 39 Canadian and international organisations in an open letter calling on Canadian authorities to cease detaining migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in provincial jails. As the GDP has previously documented, Canada has regularly attracted criticism for its persistent use of jails for immigration detention – and in particular, for its placement […]
The catastrophic earthquake that hit southeastern Türkiye and neigbouring Syria on 6 February 2023, as well as the dozens of aftershocks that have hit the region since, have had a devastating impact on millions of people in the region and caused the death of more than 40,000 people. The Turkish government has declared a state […]
The recent death of a Uyghur asylum seeker detained in the Bangkok Immigration Detention Centre (Suan Phlu) has prompted renewed calls for Thailand to release a group of 49 ethnic Uyghurs who have now been detained in the country for nine years. Aziz Abdullah, 49, died on 11 February after he collapsed in a cell […]
The brutal treatment of refugees and migrants in Libya has been widely condemned and reported. Intercepted by the country’s coastguard and returned to Libyan “disembarkation zones,” non-nationals are placed in immigration detention facilities where conditions are inhuman. They face indefinite detention with frequent water and food shortages; overcrowding; physical mistreatment and torture; forced labour and […]
In December, Sri Lankan authorities were praised for their quick and successful rescue of 104 Rohingya refugees, stranded at sea when their boat encountered mechanical difficulties. The GDP is concerned to learn, however, that soon after they were brought to dry land, the refugees were placed in two immigration detention facilities in Colombo–one of which […]
On 25 January, Denmark announced that it was pausing its controversial plan to outsource asylum processing to Rwanda. However, the country has expressed its intention to collaborate with other EU states in establishing a processing facility outside Europe. First proposed by the Social Democrat party in the run-up to the country’s 2019 general election, the […]
Important reforms are due to be implemented at Norway’s Trandum Detention Centre, raising hopes for improved treatment of people in immigration procedures in the country, according to the 2022 Annual Report of Trandum’s independent oversight board. Among the proposed reforms are several harm-reducing proposals identified by the Global Detention Project in our 2018 report commissioned […]
On December 11, 27 people were found dead in an agricultural area north of Zambia’s capital, Lusaka. The dead, dumped one on top of the other in the street, are presumed to be Ethiopian migrants. According to a police spokesman who spoke to the BBC, the migrants are believed to have “suffocated to death while […]
The GDP has received alarming reports detailing the detention of 44 non-nationals in Ukraine’s Volyn detention centre (Volyn PTPI). Conditions in the facility are reported to be dire, raising serious concerns for detainees’ safety and wellbeing. (The GDP previously reported about the situation at Volyn, see our 29 April 2022 blog entry below.) Located in […]
On 7 December, a Filipino worker reportedly died while carrying out repairs at a training facility in Qatar used by the Saudi Arabian football team, marking the latest in a series of work-related incidents connected to the Qatar World Cup. According to the Guardian, approximately 6,500 migrant workers from five countries have died since Qatar […]
Recent protests in China over strict zero-covid policies made headlines across the globe because of their rarity and intensity. However, missed in much of the coverage were public protests of foreign migrant workers, who have been particularly impacted by the zero-covid policy, including being subject to lengthy quarantine and detention measures. According to one report, […]
In the past three months, Dominican Republic authorities have significantly stepped up migration controls and forced removals of Haitians, including amongst them pregnant women arrested in hospitals, prompting international condemnation. The country, which has historically pursued a policy of mass deportations, removed more than 60,204 people to Haiti between 1 August and the end of […]
While Egypt has been courting world leaders in Sharm el Sheikh as the host for COP27, it has continued to arbitrarily and indefinitely detain thousands of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Many are also being forcibly deported to countries where they may face persecution or torture. Egypt has a track record of detaining non-nationals for […]
Sharp increases in the numbers of unauthorised border crossings from Slovakia into neighboring Czechia have led to tensions between the two countries. Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger planned to meet with his Czech counterpart in Prague on 10 November to discuss Czechia’s introduction of border controls, which Slovakia claims may undermine Schengen freedom of movement […]
A short-term holding facility for newly arrived migrants and asylum seekers has been denounced for “catastrophic overcrowding” and “grotesque treatment,” with the country’s Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration reporting that he was left “speechless” by the conditions he observed inside. Thousands are currently detained in Manston Processing Centre where rights groups argue a “humanitarian […]
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel has welcomed large numbers of Ukrainian and Russian Jews within the scope of its Law of Return. Its treatment of these groups, however, stands in stark contrast to that experienced by other refugees and asylum seekers–many of whom face detention and deportation. Most recently, the country’s Interior Ministry announced […]
Latvia has violently pushed back and arbitrarily detained scores of refugees and migrants, including children, in secretive tented camps along its border with Belarus, says a recently published Amnesty International report. The rights group contends that authorities have used undue force including torture to stop “illegal crossings” since declaring a state of emergency in mid-2021. […]
On 7 October, Australia’s Commonwealth Ombudsman (CO) and Human Rights Commissioner (HRC) published a joint statement expressing concern regarding the country’s use of hotels for detaining refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers–in some cases for years on end. Drawing on observations gathered by the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman in its role as Australia’s National Preventive […]
The number of victims of trafficking detained in the UK has likely tripled in the past five years, says a new report published by the Helen Bamber Foundation in early October. Despite broad recognition of the vulnerabilities faced by trafficking and slavery victims, the report says, the UK government is treating survivors as criminals rather […]
Japan’s treatment of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants within its immigration detention estate is again under intense scrutiny after a court ruled that authorities had failed to protect the health of a detainee. The detainee – a 43-year-old Cameroonian asylum seeker – died in detention in 2014. Suffering from diabetes and other health issues, the […]
On 20 September, the GDP’s Türkiye-based partner – the International Refugee Rights Association (IRRA) – delivered a virtual presentation to the UN Committee on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW) during its 35th session. This oral submission, which followed a joint written submission to the committee from both the […]
In recent weeks, Tajik authorities have been arbitrarily detaining Afghan refugees and asylum seekers and forcibly returning them across the border into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. UNHCR reports that since 2021 there have been numerous cases of Afghan refugees being detained and deported in the country. Most recently, on 23 August 2022, it documented the arrest of […]
On 30 August, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) released Concluding observations concerning its periodic review of US implementation of the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Committee highlighted the discriminatory application of immigration enforcement measures, stating that mandatory detention measures have a “disparate impact on asylum seekers of […]
In a historic move, British Columbia’s Public Safety minister announced in July that the province will end the use of provincial jails for confining immigration detainees. The announcement, which followed a review of the province’s contract with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to facilitate the use of provincial correctional facilities for detaining migrants, is […]
Following its recent visit to Botswana, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) expressed serious concerns regarding the country’s punitive approach towards refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants. Having visited two detention sites, the Working Group urged Botswanan authorities to revise its policies to ensure that immigration detention is used as an exception, for the […]
On 24 July 2022, 17 Haitian migrants, including a child, were found dead while 25 others were rescued at sea after their ship sank off the coast of the Bahamas. It is believed that the speedboat capsized in rough seas while heading towards Miami with up to 60 people on board. Two people were arrested […]
Since there start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Armenia has experienced an increase in the numbers of people seeking asylum in the country, most of whom are from Ukraine.The country’s migration service reported that from January to March 2022, they had received applications for asylum from 13 countries, including Ukraine, Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Lebanon, and […]
The deaths of 37 migrants and asylum seekers in late June along the border fence separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco have spurred numerous protests across cities in both countries. Thousands of protestors gathered in Barcelona, Malaga, Vigo, San Sebastian, and Melilla to denounce migration policies as well as the militarisation of Spain’s […]
On 24 June 2022, between 1,500-2,000 migrants who had been camping in the mountains surrounding Melilla, descended to the city’s border, hoping to get through the border fences and enter Spanish territory. Many of the migrants were crushed between the fence and Moroccan border guards, who used tear gas and batons on the migrants. Moroccan […]
In June, the Global Detention Project (GDP) and Migrant-Rights.org issued a joint submission to the Committee against Torture concerning issues related to immigration detention in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The submission highlights prolonged detention periods, poor detention conditions, as well as instances of deportation without recourse to legal remedies. The GDP and Migrant-Rights.org encouraged […]
In June 2022, the Global Detention Project (GDP) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) issued a joint-submission to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in preparation for its mission to Botswana from 4-15 July 2022 concerning issues related to immigration detention in Botswana. The submission highlights the gaps in the country’s national refugee legislation, lack […]
In late June, 53 migrants died after being abandoned in a trailer in south-west San Antonio, Texas, marking the highest ever death toll from a human trafficking event near the US-Mexico border. More than half of the victims were originally from Mexico while 14 were from Honduras, seven from Guatemala, and two from El Salvador. […]
In early June, France’s independent detention monitoring agency, the Contrôleur Général des lieux de Privation de Liberté (CGPL), released a report on its work, which heavily criticised operations at the country’s immigration detention centres (centres de rétention administrative or CRA), including highlighting critical problems with respect to COVID-19 measures. The CGPL report found that the […]
As of 23 May 2022, Papua New Guinea had recorded 44,403 COVID-19 cases and 651 deaths. The country’s vaccination rate is very low compared to other countries, with around 2.75 percent of its population having been vaccinated as of 20 April 2022. There appears to be very little data on efforts to assist migrants or […]
The Philippines took measures early in the pandemic to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in detention centres, though measures appear to have targeted prisons rather than immigration centres. In April 2020, authorities announced that some prisoners would be released to alleviate overcrowding and avoid the spread of COVID-19 (see the 18 May 2020 Philippines update). […]
On 20 April 2022, 528 Rohingya refugees–including 97 women, 294 men, and 137 children–escaped from the Relau detention centre in Sungai Bakap. According to a new local news agency, immediately before the escape there had been a “riot” at the detention centre. Most of the detainees were quickly re-detained, though seven–including three children–died while trying […]
Immigration Detention amidst War: The Case of Ukraine’s Volyn Detention Centre A Global Detention Project Special Report In early March, shortly into Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Global Detention Project (GDP) began receiving email messages and videos from individuals claiming to know people who remained trapped in an immigration detention centre inside Ukraine, even as […]
Denmark has entered talks with Rwanda to establish a deal similar to the controversial one Rwanda made with the United Kingdom in mid-April concerning the transfer of asylum seekers to the country. Denmark’s immigration minister said that the deal would “ensure a more dignified approach than the criminal network of human traffickers that characterises migration […]
Despite having a much-criticised track record concerning its treatment of refugees, Rwanda has signed deals with both the United Kingdom and Denmark that involve receiving deported asylum seekers and irregular migrants from both the countries for processing and potential permanent relocation. In mid-April, Rwanda and the UK finalised an “economic development partnership” whose centrepiece is […]
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on 14 April that “from today, anyone entering the UK illegally as well as those who have arrived illegally since January 1 may now be relocated to Rwanda. Rwanda will have the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead.” The UK claims that the […]
Colombia hosts the largest number of Venezuelans outside Venezuela. According to the World Food Programme, there are some 1.8 million Venezuelans residing in Colombia and another 500,000 are expected to arrive in the coming months. By 2020, according to UNHCR, Colombia had 957 refugees, 19,933 asylum seekers, 8,252,788 internally displaced persons, and 1,729,537 Venezuelans “displaced […]
Spain’s detention and removal operations have begun to return to normal operations after major disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had spurred the country to temporarily close all its detention centres shortly after onset of the pandemic in early 2020. Despite this, COVID continues to wreak havoc in detention centres even as the country […]
The UN reported in January that there were more than 12,000 people being detained in 27 prisons and detention facilities across Libya, often in “inhumane conditions in facilities controlled by armed groups or ‘secret facilities.’” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that many of these detainees were being arbitrarily detained after the country undertook security operations […]
On 5 February 2022, the Trinidad and Tobago coast guard opened fire on a boat carrying some 40 people fleeing Venezuela, wounding a woman and killing her nine-month-old baby. The country’s coast guard stated its personnel had opened fire in “self-defence” to prevent being rammed by the boat. Human rights activists as well as the […]
According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, as of January 2022 there were 1,675 people in detention centres across the country (with 972 persons in detention centres for families and the rest in those for men). The Red Cross reported that they had distributed hygiene kits, including personal protective equipment, […]
On 21 January, a Saudi Arabia-led coalition airstrike in Yemen struck a detention centre in the Sa’ad province under the control of rebel Houthi forces, killing at least 82 people and injuring 266 others. Médecins Sans Frontières reported that the al-Gumhourriyeh hospital in Sa’da had taken in around 200 wounded but that there were “many […]
In December 2020, Argentina launched a national COVID-19 vaccination campaign that includes all refugees and migrants irrespective of migration status. However, the country has struggled to acquire sufficient vaccines. According to UNHCR, there were 3,965 refugees, 9,176 asylum seekers, and 171,659 displaced Venezuelans in the country in 2020 and as of mid-2021, there were 4,007 […]
The United Kingdom is reportedly considering sending asylum seekers to Rwanda as part of an offshore resettlement and processing scheme that would be allowed under the UK government’s proposed new Nationality and Borders Bill. Ghana was also named as a possible destination, although Ghana’s foreign minister quickly disavowed such a possibility, saying that the country […]
The Republic of Kosovo, situated in the middle of the Western Balkan migratory route, has become a key transit stop for migrants and refugees seeking passage to Western Europe. According to the European Commission (EC), in 2019 a total of 2,027 people were intercepted entering Kosovo irregularly, representing a 300 percent increase from 2018. This […]
The Maldives relies heavily on a migrant labour force, many of whom are undocumented. Estimates vary widely, from 145,000 to over 230,000 migrant workers present in the country. According to an April 2020 UN report on the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on the Maldives, the country has the largest proportion of migrant workers in South […]
The humanitarian crisis that unfolded–and continues to unfold–on Belarus’s borders with the European Union (EU) in late 2021 sparked widespread scrutiny of that country’s treatment of migrants and asylum seekers (see the 12 November 2021 update on Belarus on this platform). However, the EU has long seen Belarus as an important partner in its efforts […]
Georgia operates a dedicated immigration detention centre in Tbilisi called the Temporary Accommodation Centre. The facility opened in 2014 following negotiations for a visa-free regime with the European Union. An “Action Plan” developed as part of these negotiations provided that Georgia must have “adequate infrastructure (including detention centres)… to ensure… effective expulsion of illegally staying […]
As of 30 November 2021, Thailand had registered more than two million cases of COVID-19 and more than 20,000 related deaths. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported that in September 2021, there were a total of 28,810 cases among migrants from Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Myanmar (CLM) in the country. The number […]
In late September, Tunisian human rights organisations shared footage of Tunisian officials apparently transporting a group of migrants to the border with Libya and abandoning them in the desert. The group, who had initially been intercepted at sea, included approximately one hundred men, women and children, including at least three pregnant women. One of the […]
As increasing numbers of Algerians seek to flee their country and make the hazardous passage across the Mediterranean to Spain, concerns are growing about the plight of migrants and refugees located in Algeria’s land borders, particularly those shared with Morocco and Niger, which have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and political tensions across […]
There has been a sharp uptick in anti-migrant policies and practices in the Dominican Republic in recent months, which have been fuelled in part by COVID-related restrictions and growing public backlash aimed at Haitians. Haiti and the Dominican Republic have a long history of political and racial tensions, often related to migration pressures. The Committee […]
In early November, Bulgarian authorities sent 350 additional military personnel to its border with Turkey because of concerns over increasing migration and refugee pressures. The Bulgarian Interior Ministry reported that during January-September 2021, more than 6,500 people were detained after entering the country irregularly. This was a threefold increase compared to the same period in […]
The escalating crisis on the Belarus-Polish border has spurred a growing number of countries to accuse Belarus of weaponizing migrant and refugee movements, using them as pawns to destabilise the European Union. At the same time, there is growing international outrage over Poland’s response to the situation–as well as that of other countries that border […]
Mexico’s Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) reported that by the end of September 2021, a total of 108,195 asylum applications had been submitted since the start of the year, the highest figure reported by Mexican authorities. Andrés Ramirez, the general coordinator for COMAR highlighted that this figure is already 53.8 percent higher than the previous […]
The escalating crisis on the Belarus-Polish border has spurred a growing number of countries to accuse Belarus of weaponizing migrant and refugee movements, using them as pawns to destabilise the European Union. At the same time, there is growing international outrage over Poland’s response to the situation–as well as that of other countries that border […]
The Belgian NGO Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen reported that during 19-22 October 2021, between 60-150 asylum seekers were being denied access to the asylum registration procedure per day, and in consequence did not have access to reception. As reported on 11 August 2020 on this platform, many asylum seekers were sleeping rough after being released from detention. […]
In late October, reports emerged of far right groups targeting hotels where Afghan refugees were being accommodated. Britain First and other far right organisations say they are concerned at the cost of resettlement of Afghan refugees. According to the Guardian, Britain First has made several unsolicited visits to hotels housing refugees, trying to approach refugees […]
On 18 October 2021, refugees and asylum seekers detained at Melbourne’s Park Hotel held a protest against their detention at the hotel during a COVID-19 outbreak. The detained decried their shared sleeping quarters, cramped eating and recreation spaces, and the fact that many of them are medically vulnerable. Three positive cases had been confirmed and […]
There have been numerous recent reports of mass raids targeting migrants and asylum seekers across Libya, resulting in thousands of people being detained in western Libya during the first week of October. According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 5,152 migrants were detained in the raids, which were described by Libyan authorities as part […]
In July 2021, Lithuania accused Belarus of using vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers as political pawns in its ongoing spat with the EU by pushing them across the border into Lithuania and other neighbouring countries. The EU had previously imposed sanctions on Belarus in June over an “escalation of serious human rights violations and the […]
The UN’s Independent Fact-Finding Mission to Libya has found that over the past five years, numerous official agencies and non-state actors have committed such extreme levels of violence and human rights abuses that there are reasonable grounds for concluding that war crimes have been committed as well as crimes against humanity. The mission, which based […]
On 18 September 2021, Greece opened the first of five new facilities to confine asylum seekers and migrants on the Island of Samos, close to the border with Turkey. Similar facilities are planned on the islands of Leros, Lesbos, Kos, and Chios. Fully funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund of the European Union, […]
Previously one of the countries in the world least affected by COVID-19, Australia has been struggling to contain outbreaks of the highly infectious Delta variant across the country over recent months. The States of New South Wales, Victoria and Canberra have all experienced extended periods of lockdown over the past weeks. Immigration detention centres have […]
On 10 September, reports from human rights groups and independent journalists began circulating about Egypt’s efforts to remove two asylum seekers who had been detained for several years but who had purportedly been cleared for deporation back to Eritrea–in violation of Egypt’s international treaty obligations–where they would likely face torture and possibly execution. According to […]
![“A woman measuring the body temperature of a man after having entered through the gate into al-Qanater prison on 27 December, 2020 [KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images]” Middle East Monitor, “Egypt denies allegations of covid outbreak in prisons,” 6 January 2021, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210106-egypt-denies-allegations-of-covid-outbreak-in-prisons/](https://globaldetentionproject.org:3000/api/gdpUploadFiles/sources/download/Qanater-Prison-December-2020.jpeg)
Poland has experienced important reductions in the number of arriving asylum seekers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: in 2020, there were 2,803 asylum applications, compared with 4,096 in 2019. According to the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, as of 1 January 2021, there were 1,319 persons holding valid residence cards for refugees, […]
The plight of Afghan migrants and asylum seekers in deportation procedures across the globe has received renewed attention since U.S. and other international military forces completed their evacuations from the country in August 2021, effectively ceding control of the country to the Taliban. In recognition of the vulnerabilities these people would face back in Afghanistan, […]
The Italian statistics bureau (Instituto Nazionale di Statistica) reported in July that the COVID-19 pandemic had led to a more than 30 percent decrease of migration entries in 2020 in comparison to the annual averages from the previous five years. On the other hand, by April 2021, Italy experienced more than 5,300 migrant and refugee […]
More than a year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Croatia had still not imposed a moratorium on new immigration detention orders and nor any released immigration as of mid/2021. Nonetheless there was a significant reduction in the number of people detained at the Jezevo Reception Centre in 2020, dropping to 163 from 535 […]
Migrant workers and asylum seekers in Morocco have faced a number of increasing hardships since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, including as a result of their lost access to work during lockdowns. Large numbers of migrants, particularly those who are undocumented, also lack any form of assistance or support in the country. In April […]
In March 2021, a number of immigrants became infected while detained by Thailand’s Immigration Bureau, including 77 migrant workers held at detention centres in Bangkok’s Bang Khen and Lak Si districts. Most of the detainees were Burmese, Laotian and Cambodian nationals. The Bangkok Post reported that based on data from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation […]
In 2020, the GDP highlighted several reports documenting the dire detention conditions and appalling ill-treatment that thousands of Ethiopian migrants had faced in Saudi Arabia (see, for example, 6 October 2020 Saudi Arabia update). Following international pressure–including from the European Parliament, as well as groups such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) who urged Saudi Arabia […]
A surge in COVID-19 cases notwithstanding, UK authorities are continuing to arrange deportation flights. On 21 July, a flight to Zimbabwe departed with an estimated 14 persons on board. The first mass-deportation to Zimbabwe in years, media reports state that the flight marked the start of a planned “summer season” of deportations organised by the […]
As of 1 July 2021, all asylum seekers and other non-EU residents in Malta became eligible for receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. Previously, only people who could provide a valid residence permit were eligible, according to the European Commission: “From 1 July only an identity document and provision of personal details (which are kept strictly confidential) […]
As COVID-19 cases rise again in areas of Australia – including New South Wales – prompting fresh lockdowns, a new report from the Australian Human Rights Commission has highlighted the serious risks that COVID-19 poses to people in the country’s immigration detention network. Although no immigration detainees have, to-date, tested positive in the country (although […]
In March 2020, shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa announced plans to construct a 40-kilometre fence between South Africa and Zimbabwe, which was intended to “ensure that no undocumented or infected persons cross into the country. However, observers have pointed out that COVID-19 cases have been far higher in South Africa […]
A fire broke out at Turkey’s Izmir Harmandali Removal Centre on 23 June 2021 because of an electrical problem at the facility, according to information provided to the Global Detention Project by a non-governmental actor in Turkey. The fire started on the fifth floor of the centre where refugees are held. Firefighters evacuated the floor, […]
Benin, which as of 25 June 2021 had recorded more than 8,000 COVID-19 cases and 104 deaths, launched a national vaccination campaign in March 2021 with support from the COVAX Facility. However, it is unclear if migrants, refugees, or other non-citizens are included in the vaccination campaign or whether the country has taken any specific […]
Since the onset of the pandemic, Malaysian authorities have argued that crack-downs on undocumented migrants and other non-nationals are necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19. A recent example is the 24 May-28 June 2021 nationwide lockdown–referred to in Malaysia as a Movement Control Order (MCO)–during which Home Ministry officials have carried out wide-scale raids […]
According to recent news reports, Lithuanian authorities are considering expanding the capacity of the Pabrade Detention Centre (the “Foreigners Reception Centre) as a response to an increase in irregular migration from Belarus. Previously, the Global Detention Project (GDP) reported on this platform that the government announced in March 2020 a series of COVID-related measures that […]
Shortly after the onset of the first wave of COVID-19 in early 2020, Spain began emptying its immigration detention centres – Centros de Internamiento de Extranjeros (CIEs) – and by 6 May 2020, authorities had temporarily closed them all (see 15 May 2020 Spain update on this platform). This development was welcomed by human rights […]
MPs in Denmark passed, by a vote of 70-20, legislation that will allow authorities to relocate asylum seekers to centres in third countries outside the European Union while their applications are processed. “If you apply for asylum in Denmark, you know that you will be sent back to a country outside Europe, and therefore we […]
The Principality of Monaco, located on the French Riviera, is the second-smallest independent state in the world and has a population of approximately 38,000 people. The country introduced several measures in March 2020 to combat the spread of the virus, including imposing a lockdown and curfew. As of 31 May 2021, the country had recorded […]
The Solomon Islands, made up of six major islands and located east of Papua New Guinea, has a population of approximately 670,000 people. A state of emergency was announced on 27 March 2020 and all flights into the country were suspended. As of 28 May 2021, the country had recorded 20 COVID-19 cases and no […]
Japan’s immigration detention system has recently come under renewed scrutiny. In particular, the 6 March death of a 33 year old Sri Lankan woman–Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali–who died in the Nagoya Regional Immigration Bureau Detention House following months of health complaints, sparked a wave of criticism and drew international attention. Sandamali had been detained since […]
Saint Kitts and Nevis (the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis) is a small archipelago nation made up of two islands located in the western Caribbean (West Indies). With a population of approximately 52,000, the country is the smallest in the Western Hemisphere. On 31 March 2020, following the confirmation of its first two COVID-19 […]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a hard-hitting report on the mistreatment of detainees at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centres since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the details of more than 40 lawsuits filed by the ACLU on behalf of detainees, the report, titled “The Survivors: Stories of […]
In early May 2021, the Swiss immigration authority (Secrétariat d’Etat aux Migrations or SEM) launched an investigation into allegations of violence at federal asylum centres in Switzerland. The investigation followed the release of press reports about the use of excessive force by security officers when dealing with some asylum seekers. According to SEM, appropriate procedures […]
On 26 April 2021, the National Association for Assistance at Borders for Non-Citizens (Association Nationale d’Assistance aux Frontières pour les Étrangers or ANAFE) announced that it was temporarily stopping its operations at the Zone d’Attente pour Personnes en Instance (ZAPI) of Roissy airport, a transit zone where non-citizens without authorisation to enter France are held […]
In late April 2021, several civil society organisations denounced the alleged mistreatment of migrants who had been detained by police in the towns of Arica and Iquique. The Jesuit Migrant Service (Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes or SJM) filed legal appeals claiming that there had been “irregularities” in their treatment, including: improper body searches; lack of […]
As a second wave of COVID-19 has swept across India, infection and death rates have skyrocketed across the country. On 1 May, some 392,488 new cases were reported–the largest one-day increase on record for any country–as well as 3,689 deaths, although observers suggest that real figures may be significantly higher. Despite COVID rates surging since […]
The Republic of Cabo Verde is an island country in the central Atlantic Ocean with a population of approximately 550,000 people. Following the confirmation of the first COVID-19 case in the country on 20 March 2020, a state of emergency was declared and a series of measures were implemented including the suspension of all incoming […]
[From the GDP’s April 2021 Canada Report] As previously reported on this platform, calls for releasing people in prisons and other Canadian detention settings began soon after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid-March, immigration detainees submitted an open letter to Canada’s Public Safety Minister demanding their release—pointing to the close quarters where they […]
Cross-party parliamentarians have urged UK Home Secretary Priti Patel to cease the use of former military barracks for confining asylum seekers. In a letter to the Home Secretary, members of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Immigration Detention wrote: “We do not believe such sites provide the safe, stable accommodation that people seeking asylum […]
Since 2015, when deadly clashes were witnessed surrounding Burundi’s presidential election, large numbers of Burundians have fled the country. Today, some 150,000 are estimated to be living in neighbouring Tanzania. Burundian authorities have repeatedly spoken of the need for refugees to return from exile, and in recent years reports have emerged highlighting instances in which […]
In a statement released on 13 April, UN experts–including members of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on Torture–called on the Tanzanian and Burundian governments to respect the rights of Burundian refugees and asylum seekers in Tanzania. Tanzania currently hosts an estimated 150,000 Burundian refugees, the majority of whom fled the […]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Carribean with a population of around 110,000 people. Following confirmation of COVID-19 cases in March 2020, the country implemented international travel restrictions including requiring arriving passengers from high-risk countries to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test upon arrival and quarantine at a government-approved facility. […]
Antigua and Barbuda is a Caribbean archipelago with a population of approximately 100,000 that relies heavily on tourism. After its initial COVID-19 cases were detected in March 2020, the government declared a two-week state of emergency, established a nightly curfew (8PM to 6AM), and shut all non-essential services and businesses. In June 2020, the country […]
The microstate San Marino, located in a mountainous region close to Italy’s Adriatic coast and with a population of some 35,000, only slowly responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the International Organisation for Migration’s COVID-19 Travel Restriction Monitoring, San Marino did not implement travel restrictions until late 2020 and early 2021. As of 19 […]
Namibia, located in southwestern Africa and with a population of approximately 2.5 million, had recorded 44,374 COVID-19 cases and 528 related deaths as of 1 April 2021. The country appeared to avoid severe outbreaks of infection during the early months of the pandemic. However, the number of cases has continued to surge since mid-2020. At […]
The Republic of Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa with a population of more than 19 million people. Following the confirmation of the two first COVID-19 cases in the country in March 2020, the country was placed under a state of emergency and a curfew was imposed. On 18 March 2020, the government […]
Zimbabwe, which has a population of approximately 14 million, had recorded 36,822 cases of COVID-19 and 1,520 related deaths as of 29 March 2021. Although there have been reports indicating the use of immigration detention measures for many years in Zimbabwe, in particular for migrants en route to South Africa, the Global Detention Project has […]
The Marshall Islands, an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean located between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii, had recorded only four COVID-19 cases as of 17 March 2021. The country has also grappled with another infectious disease, dengue fever, having experienced three outbreaks since 2019. As of March 2021, two deaths and 3,884 cases of dengue-like […]
Comoros is a small country comprising a set of islands off the southeast coast of Africa, located between Madagascar to the east and Tanzania to the West. It also shares maritime borders with Mozambique, Seychelles, and the French overseas territory Mayotte. One of the smallest countries in the world, with an estimated population of less […]
Suriname, with an estimated population of approximately 590,000, is located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America and is the smallest country on the continent. The country faces a complex situation as a country of origin, transit, and destination for human trafficking and irregular migration. As of 22 March 2021, the country had recorded […]
Guinea-Bissau, with an estimated population of some 1,800,000 people, is located in West Africa and shares borders with Senegal and Guinea. As of 16 March 2021, the country had recorded 3,447 cases and 52 COVID-19 deaths. On 28 March 2020, shortly after the first case was confirmed in the country, a state of emergency with […]
Amidst an ongoing conflict that has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and widespread famine, migrants and refugees in Yemen–most of whom are from Ethiopia or Somalia–continue to face detention and physical threats in the country, in part because of rumors that they are spreading COVID-19 (see the 4 August 202 update on this […]
Somalia, a war-torn country located in the Horn of Africa, has a population of approximately 15 million. The population is considered to be particularly vulnerable to the spread of infectious diseases because of its poor public health infrastructure that was damaged during years of civil war, ongoing conflicts, and economic underdevelopment. At the same time, […]
Following its ad hoc visit to Malta in September 2020, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture has expressed serious concerns regarding the country’s detention of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees–particularly during the pandemic. At the time of the visit (17-22 September), Malta was experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases while also witnessing increasing […]
The Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands off the coast of East Africa, reported its first case of COVID-19 in March 2020; as of 10 March 2021 the country has reported a total of 3,032 cases and 15 related deaths. Measures Seychelles adopted to curb the spread of the virus included suspension of air travel […]
The Republic of Equatorial Guinea, a small country that is located on the west coast of Central Africa that also includes nearby islands, has a population of approximately 1.4 million people. As of 9 March 2021, it had recorded 6,371 cases and 96 COVID-19 deaths. On 22 March 2020, a week after the first case […]
Saint Lucia, with a population of approximately 180,000, recorded 3,390 cases and 36 related deaths of COVID-19 as of 1 March 2021. The Caribbean country, similar to many neighbours, appeared to fare well with managing the number of cases during the initial months of the pandemic, reporting only 353 cases and 5 deaths by the […]
The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, a former Portuguese colony located in the Gulf of Guinea in Western Africa, had reported a total of 1,786 COVID-19 cases, representing less than one percent of its population (215,000), as of February 2021. There is little information available about the impact of the pandemic on migrants […]
Guinea, located on the west coast of Africa, declared a state of emergency on 26 March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which included several emergency measures like the closure of borders and schools. By 26 February 2021, the country had recorded 15,789 cases of COVID-19 and 88 related deaths. On 14 February 2021, […]
In the face of mounting international outrage, on 23 February Malaysian authorities proceeded with the deportation of 1,086 people to Myanmar, who included suspected refugees as well as many children (see the 18 February update below for additional details). The deportations took place as the COVID-19 pandemic has severely hurt the job prospects of migrants […]
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. […]
The supervisory board of Norway’s Trandum Detention Centre, in its annual report about operations at the facility, expressed concern about the implementation of certain COVID-19 measures. Of particular concern are isolation measures imposed on all newly arriving detainees, who are required to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival. During this period, they are locked in […]
Dominica, a Caribbean island nation with an estimated population of 70,000, has legal provisions regulating detention and deportation of “prohibited immigrants” in its Immigration and Passport Act. The act also provides detention measures for “any person certified by a medical officer to be suffering from a contagious or infectious disease which makes his entry into […]
In December 2020, the Russian government issued a presidential decree extending several COVID-19-related measures affecting foreigners in the country. Measures, which were extended until 15 June 2021, include the suspension of forced expulsions and deportations, as well as the suspension of cancellations of refugee status, visas, work permits, residence permits, and other documents. Certain people […]
Despite strong criticism from civil society organisations and the UN, Malaysian authorities are preparing to deport 1,200 people to Myanmar on 23 February even as the crisis in Myanmar spurred by the recent military coup there continues to deepen. Observers are particularly concerned that refugees and asylum seekers will be amongst those deported by Malaysia. […]
The small Caribbean island of Barbados, part of the British Commonwealth, has recently experienced a sharp spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. As of 14 February 2021, Barbados had 2,061 positive cases of COVID-19. Nearly 80 percent of these cases have been reported since the start of 2021; Barbados had reported only 383 positive […]
New U.S. President Joseph Biden issued a series of immigration-related executive orders that roll back signature–and highly controversial–programs of the Trump administration. At the same time, reports have surfaced about how guards at privately operated immigration detention centres–which greatly expanded under Trump–threatened detainees with exposure to COVID-19 if they resisted being deported, adding fuel to […]
On 8 February 2021, Colombian President Iván Duque announced that the country would give protected status to almost one million undocumented Venezuelan migrants present in the country, a move that contrasted sharply with the government’s previous declarations opposing vaccinations for undocumented migrants. President Duque said that the protective status would last 10 years, enabling migrants […]
New Zealand has received fresh criticism for the prolonged detention of people in asylum and immigration enforcement procedures since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Asylum Seekers Support Trust and other civil society observers have criticised the government’s handling of detained asylum seekers, as well as the lack of support provided those granted status. […]
Haiti reported its first two positive COVID-19 cases on 20 March 2020. As a response, the government implemented policies such as the closing of airports, ports, schools, and factories, limits on gatherings, and a curfew. The shared border with the Dominican Republic (DR) was also officially closed, yet border crossings persisted in practice and were […]
During the past year Spain’s Canary Islands, situated off the western coast of North Africa, have witnessed a surge in migrant and asylum-seeker arrivals, a recurring situation that emerges when migration routes elsewhere in Africa are blocked. According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, the number of maritime arrivals during 2020 was eight times higher than […]
According to UNHCR, as of mid-2020 the Republic of Congo (RoC)–which is facing the double threat of COVID-19 and Ebola–was hosting 43,656 refugees and asylum seekers and 304,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). Refugees and asylum seekers are primarily from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, and Rwanda. On March 15, […]
Lebanon, which is currently under a strict lockdown that includes a 24/7 curfew, recently witnessed a surge in COVID-19 cases. On 27 January, the country’s interim health minister announced that every person in the country—regardless of their nationality–would receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Questions remain, however, whether many refugees will be willing to present themselves for […]
Since opening as asylum accommodation in October 2020, the UK’s Napier Barracks–formerly military barracks operated by the Ministry of Defence–have been the subject of intense criticism. Run by a private contractor (Clearsprings, which stands to make £1 billion in ten years from its government contracts to run asylum centres in Wales and South East England), […]
On 26 January 2021, the SRF/RTS reported that the Asylum Departure Centre in Aarwangen was placed under quarantine by the Canton of Bern because 19 of its 100 inhabitants had tested positive for COVID-19. They also closed the facility’s kindergarten and school. On 29 January 2021, the Canton reported that the number of positive cases […]
South Sudan is one of the largest countries of refugee origin in Africa. An , westimated 2.2 million South Sudanese have fled the country. At the same time, it hosts a considerable refugee population. According to the UNHCR, South Sudan was hosting 310,006 refugees as of November 2020, 98 percent of whom were living in […]
According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 have steadily risen across Syria – in large part because key parties (both regime and opposition) have failed to take adequate steps to protect against the virus. By the end of 2020, 39,728 cases had been reported (11,434 in […]
One of the smallest countries in Europe, Liechtenstein had recorded 2,454 cases of COVID-19 as of 26 January 2021. Following confirmation of the first COVID-19 case in the country on 3 March 2020, the government imposed various restrictive measures, including a ban on all public and private events, a prohibition for more than five people […]
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As of late January, the prolonged forced quarantine of migrants and asylum seekers continued at the Temporary Accommodation Centre in Kokkinotrimithia (“Pournara”) and the Kofinou Reception and Accommodation Centre, under strict lockdown since mid-November 2020. This has caused tensions among the migrants in the already overpopulated centres, and put unaccompanied children at the facilities at […]
After more than a year of detention inside Melbourne hotels, 65 medically vulnerable male asylum seekers have been released. Previously confined in offshore detention facilities, the men were transferred to mainland Australia in 2019 under the now-repealed Medevac laws, so that they could receive urgent medical treatment. Since their arrival however, they have been held […]
In mid-January, Greece’s Ministry of Migration and Asylum published their annual statistics from 2020, which show a 80 percent decrease in migrant arrivals and a 63 percent decrease in the populations of its reception centres on the islands. Combined with the closure of numerous detention facilities, the ministry proclaimed that 2020 was the year that […]
Throughout 2020, Germany conducted numerous removal flights despite concerns regarding the dangers they present for deportees and their home communities as a result of the pandemic. (For more information on deportations from Germany, see 17 July update on this platform). Most recently–and amidst spiralling infection rates in the country–Germany deported 26 rejected Afghan asylum seekers […]
In mid-January, as thousands of mostly Honduran migrants, including many children, began crossing the Guatemalan border as part of a new “caravan” seeking passage to the United States, Guatemalan security forces forcefully repelled them, leading to scenes of violence and chaos near the border. Videos posted on social media and news networks showed scuffles between […]
Despite soaring infection rates in many parts of the world, authorities in Turkmenistan continue to deny the existence of Coronavirus within the country and have failed to promote preventive measures such as social distancing. At the end of December, the country extended the suspension of international flights, as well as domestic rail and bus services, […]
Thousands of migrants and refugees continue to be detained in Libya’s network of detention centres, despite rising COVID-19 case numbers. As of 14 January, 107,434 cases and 1,645 deaths had been officially recorded in the country, although real figures are expected to be higher given a lack of testing. According to IOM and UNHCR, as […]
The controversial Lipa migrant camp was destroyed by a fire in late December, leaving some 1,400 men homeless. The fire was reportedly started by residents of the camp, many of whom had already begun moving out due to the poor living conditions there. IOM’s Chief of Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) told InfoMigrants: “Suddenly […]
Colombia is currently under a state of emergency, which has been extended until 28 February 2021. Decree 1550 implementing the state of emergency includes additional restrictions like the closure of land and river borders with Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Peru, and Brazil. Colombia’s immigration authority, Migración Colombia, reported in late 2020 that despite the emergency measures […]
Following the news of a COVID outbreak in Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (see 16 December update on this platform), on 8 January the Home Office announced the centre’s temporary closure (for ten days) due to a number of positive cases amongst staff. A Home Office spokesman confirmed that several detainees had been transferred to […]
On 5 January, journalist Shiafur Rahman reported the first death at the controversial Rohingya refugee centre on Bangladesh’s Bhasan Char island in the Indian Ocean. Rahman also reported the introduction of new restrictions of movement for those at the centre, which were supposedly introduced after an escape attempt. Refugees reportedly now require permission to go […]
As of mid-December 2020, more than 7,800 ICE detainees had tested positive for COVID-19 and eight deaths related to the virus recorded. According to the San Antonio Express News, in detention centres under the jurisdiction of the San Antonio field office alone, there have been more than 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases. In a commentary published […]
After its confirmation of the first cases of COVID-19, in March 2020, the government cancelled all international flights and announced a lockdown in the capital, starting on 22 March. Authorities gradually relaxed these measures, allowing schools and stores to reopen and reducing curfews. This was followed by a surge in new COVID-19 cases across the […]
Kyrgyzstan considers labour migration to be “part of the national development strategy” with remittances accounting for a substantial part of the country’s economy. Large numbers of Kyrgyz nationals work in countries across Asia and Europe, including in particular Russia (which recorded 959,000 border crossings by Kyrgyz nationals in 2019), Kazakhstan, and Turkey. In 2019, 29.2 […]
A coronavirus outbreak was confirmed at the UK’s Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (close to Gatwick Airport) in early December. While the Home Office declined to clarify how many positive cases had been recorded or how many people were in isolation at that time, the Guardian reported that at least 17 detainees had tested positive […]
On 27 March, roughly a week after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the Central African Republic (CAR), authorities temporarily restricted entry for non-nationals and grounded all flights. President Faustin Archange Touadéra announced additional measures, including the closure of schools, bars, and an obligation to inform health authorities of any suspected coronavirus cases. The […]
Gabon registered its first COVID-19 cases in March and Parliament declared a state of emergency in early April. On 10 April, the government announced that the capital, Libreville, as well as neighbouring municipalities, would impose lockdown measures. On 3 May, UNICEF reported while Libreville remained the main hotspot. As of 14 December, Gabon had recorded […]
In early December the Court of the Hague annulled the State Secretary for Justice and Security’s April 2020 decision to deport an Iranian national with severe heart problems, on the grounds that the State Secretary had failed to take into account Iran’s COVID-19 situation. In the court’s opinion, the plaintiff could have lacked access to […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s COVID-19 survey, a non-governmental actor in Turkey reported that the country has not delayed or stopped issuing administrative detention orders as a consequence of the global pandemic. The source, who asked to remain anonymous but whose identity was verified by the GDP, said that they had observed detainees confined […]
After declaring a national emergency in late March 2020, the Liberian government used emergency powers that enable it to require the registration of residents in infected areas, restrict movement within infected areas, and quarantine infected people. The government designated two of the 15 counties in the country as infected and imposed a 21-day lockdown along […]
On 1 March 2020, the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the Dominican Republic. Between 15 and 19 March, the government adopted a series of emergency measures, including halting flights from Europe, China, South Korea, and Iran; suspending ferry arrivals; and closing border crossings with Haiti. As of December 2020, the country had registered 149,138 […]
Despite repeated calls from human rights groups for Bangladeshi authorities to remove more than 300 refugees from the island of Bhasan Char (see 10 July Bangladesh update on this platform), The Guardian reports that in early December the country began moving even more Rohingya families from camps near the Myanmar border to the controversial refugee […]
The first case of COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire was confirmed on 11 March after an Ivorian national returned from Italy. On 23 March 2020, the Government declared a state of emergency via Decree n°2020-351, put in place a curfew from 9PM to 5AM, and closed all restaurants, bars, and nightclubs and imposed further restrictive measures. […]
In a habeas corpus case, a Maltese court ordered the release of detained asylum seekers, describing their treatment as “abusive and farcical.” The four men, who arrived in Malta on 7 June 2020, had been detained in Safi Barracks and Lyster Barracks for 166 days and alleged that they had not been informed of any […]
In March, Uruguay President Luis Lacalle Pou moved to impose a series of COVID-related restrictions, including closing non-essential shops and closing its border with Brazil. The moves–which notably did not include lock-down–came after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Montevideo on 13 March 2020. As of 30 November 2020, Uruguay had reported less than […]
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In a recent finding, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) concluded that Switzerland violated provisions in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child when it failed to show due diligence in assessing a child’s best interests and did not take the child’s views into account in a case involving a […]
In November, several organisations that are part of the Association Nationale d’Assistance aux Frontières pour les Étrangers (Anafé) petitioned the administrative courts of Nice and Marseille to rule on the right of access of associations to places of deprivation of liberty of the border police (‘Police Aux Frontières’ or ‘PAF’) at Menton pont Saint-Louis and […]
The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in early March 2020, after the discovery of seven cases in Bethlehem linked to a tourist group from Greece. In response, the Palestinian Authority declared a state of emergency, imposed a citywide lockdown, and enforced a curfew. Between March and June, there […]
Der Standard reported that Austrian police were involved in several cases of pushbacks to Slovenia followed by chain pushbacks to Bosnia in September. According to freelance journalist Christof Mackinger, the Austrian authorities are said to have been involved in two instances of illegal pushbacks. The first incident took place on 5 September and was documented […]
In late November, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture released a report about its monitoring visit to Ireland in 2019. In the report, the committee reiterates its long-standing calls for Irish authorities to cease the use of prisons for immigration detention, noting that “a prison is by definition not a suitable place in […]
In stark contrast to the increasing efforts by many countries around the world to decrease or end child immigration detention, Malaysia continues to detain large numbers of children, despite the dangers presented by the spread of COVID-19. While UNICEF has called on governments to immediately release children to protect them during the pandemic, Malaysia reported […]
Although Tajik authorities closed the country’s borders to travellers from more than 30 countries in early March, the government initially denied the existence of the virus–even allowing mass public events to be held. In April however, following the announcement that the WHO would send a team to investigate the country’s virus-free status, authorities confirmed the […]
On 19 November 2020, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published a report on its visit to Greece on 13-17 March 2020. The delegation visited several police and border guard establishments in the Evros and Samos regions as well as three immigration detention facilities: Filakio Reception and Identification Centre, Filakio Pre-removal centre […]
On 18 November 2020, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to cease the expulsion of unaccompanied migrant children during the pandemic, halting a policy that has resulted in thousands of rapid deportations of minors. The government has expelled at least 8,800 unaccompanied children seeking protection since March on the basis of a health order […]
Since early November, more than 27,000 Ethiopian refugees have fled the Tigray region and crossed into Sudan. According to UNHCR, on just one day–15 November–some 5,000 refugees arrived in Sudan’s border provinces of Kassala and al-Qadarif. Information campaigns are reported to have been initiated to ensure that refugees crossing into Sudan understand how to avoid […]
There have been a number of judicial decisions in Spain in recent weeks that could have crucial impacts on how migrants and asylum seekers are treated, in particular with respect to Covid-related border controls. In one case from November, Spain’s Constitutional Court found that a provision in the country’s controversial Citizen Security Law allowing push […]
Foreign migrant workers have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic in Russia, with large numbers losing employment amidst the economic downturn. In a survey conducted by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration in April-May 2020, 75 percent of surveyed migrants reported having lost their jobs or being forced into unpaid leave, […]
Prior to the pandemic, between two and three million Uzbek nationals worked overseas–primarily in Russia, as well as in countries such as Kazakhstan, Turkey, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. Hard-hit by the repercussions of the pandemic and with many losing their sources of employment, significant numbers of Uzbek migrant workers have sought to […]
In October, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a ruling on a deportation case in Spain that would limit the country’s ability to enforce removal decisions in certain cases based on provisions of the EU Return Directive. The court in Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha region had asked the CJEU whether authorities could […]
Since the onset of the pandemic, Cyprus has engaged in multiple offshore pushbacks, preventing boats carrying hundreds of refugees from disembarking on the island. These incidents appear to have increased in frequency since August, as growing numbers of boats have attempted the journey from Lebanon. Although it is not known how many boats have departed […]
The Guatemalan Migration Institute reports that more than 1,400 unaccompanied minors have been expelled by U.S. authorities to Guatemala since March. The deportations have often taken place before the children are given the opportunity to apply for asylum. In October alone, some 407 children were expelled. (By contrast, 385 unaccompanied children were deported to Guatemala […]
In October, the European Commission opened asylum-related infringement procedures against Hungary. According to ECRE, this is the fifth time such a procedure has been opened against the country since 2015. In a letter of formal notice, the commission says that new asylum procedures that were introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic are in breach […]
There is a growing body of evidence revealing how the Trump administration, acting through the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement and the Customs and Border Protection agencies, has exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent access to asylum procedures, ramp up summary deportations of children and other vulnerable individuals, and decrease transparency with respect to measures […]
Shortly after the onset of the pandemic, France temporarily closed several immigration detention centres (centres de rétention administrative or CRA) (see 16 July and 12 May France updates on this platform). However, the Conseil d’Etat rejected a request to completely shutter CRA’s on 27 March 2020 (see 6 April France update on this platform). Some […]
As of 9 November 2020, there had been only 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Timor-Leste. The government has received praise for its effective containment of COVID-19, in the context of a health system that government officials were concerned would not be able to cope with a public health emergency due to its fledgling nature. […]
According to NGO sources, there has been a decrease in arrests and detention orders in Japan during the pandemic. According to the Forum for Refugees Japan (FRJ), the number of detainees had decreased to around 520 by July, compared to 1,054 in April 2020. Additionally, the International Detention Coalition (IDC) reported that 563 asylum seekers […]
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been widespread concerns about the spread of infection in prisons and amongst vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers (see the 30 March update). An article published in the International Journal for Equity in Health highlights how the restrictive measures implemented by the South African government early on […]
In contrast to the previously observed flow of Venezuelan nationals returning to their country due to dwindling opportunities and increased hardship brought about by the pandemic (see 12 August Venezuela update on this platform), evidence of a new wave of Venezuelans seeking to flee their homeland is growing. The Colombian Red Cross has reported that […]
The National Institute for Migration (INM) has denied that there are COVID-19 cases amongst immigration detainees. However, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has revealed that at least 19 Honduran detainees confined in the Tapachula Estacion Migratoria (Siglo XXI) detention centre in Chiapas have tested positive. The CNDH also reported that the facility is overcrowded, […]
So far in 2020, more than 7,400 people have arrived in the UK via small boats, nearly four times as many as in 2019. Seven migrants have died trying to cross the Channel this year, three more than last year. Part of this increase may be due to COVID-19 restrictions and the suspension of resettlement […]
In mid-October, the Gambian government relaxed various COVID-19 restrictions on travel and public gatherings in the run up to its tourism season. The country declared its markets opened, waiving a two-week mandatory quarantine imposed on people arriving in the country. However, travelers are required to show evidence of negative polymerase chain reaction test results conducted […]
While migrant arrivals to Mainland Spain have decreased this year, the number of migrants and asylum seekers arriving in the Canary Islands has significantly increased. According to UNHCR, as of 18 October 24,259 arrivals had been registered in Spain, of whom 9,199 were registered in the Canary Islands. (In all of 2019, 2,698 migrants arrived […]
Early during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Moldovan Parliament declared a 60-day state of emergency (17 March – 15 May 2020) after 29 cases of COVID-19 were registered. While most of the restrictions were gradually dropped, the country nevertheless began to see increases in infections, which began to spike at the end […]
Migrants and asylum seekers who test positive for COVID-19 are routinely being confined in “inadequate conditions” on quarantine ships stationed off the country’s coast. According to ARCI (Associazione Ricreativa Culturale Italiana), five quarantine ships are currently in operation; however, the total number of people quarantined on these vessels has not been released. Following a visit […]
So far this year, more than 7,400 asylum seekers and migrants have arrived in the UK by small boat–nearly four times as many as in 2019. A new report has revealed that new arrivals are processed at a makeshift facility in Tug Haven, where hundreds are “forced to spend hours in cramped containers on a […]
Amidst a surge in cases across the country, several migrants and asylum seekers held in Chios’ Reception and Identification Centre (RIC) are reported to have tested positive for COVID-19. (The exact number remains unclear: while Greek media referred to two positive cases confirmed in Chios hospital, InfoMigrants cited reports of “at least 30” confirmed cases.) […]
In June, a report from the UN Development Program estimated that approximately 93,000 people had returned to Lesotho as a result of COVID-19. The implementation of strict measures in neighbouring South Africa, which impacted the livelihood of migrant workers, helped spur this influx. Since October, migrant workers holding a permit are allowed to travel outside […]
The Cuban government responded swiftly to the COVID-19 crisis, implementing several restrictions early on in the pandemic including a ban on tourist arrivals and a lockdown for vulnerable people. By August 2020, however, cases began to increase and by mid-October there were a total of 6,220 cases and 125 deaths related to the virus. The […]
There are nearly 300,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Tanzania, 85 percent of whom live in refugee camps. Doctors Without Borders and other actors have warned about the potential spread of COVID-19 through these camps, especially in Nduta, where self-isolation and physical distancing is reportedly impossible. According to UNHCR, as of 30 September 2020, there […]
Having largely avoided the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tunisia began experiencing a sharp increase in infections starting in August 2020. This coincided with increased maritime arrivals from Tunisia to Italy and renewed efforts by European leaders to partner with Tunisia in externalising migration controls in the Mediterranean and North Africa. On 10 August, […]
The Norwegian Red Cross has reported that since March, it has been unable to access Norway’s sole long-term detention facility, the Trandum Detention Centre. Although the organisation has remained in close contact with the facility’s staff during the pandemic, it has been unable to physically enter the facility and its volunteers have only been able […]
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), between early September and early October Algerian authorities expelled more than 3,400 people from at least 20 countries, including 430 children and 240 women, all of whom were sent to Niger. The expulsions followed waves of arrests in no fewer than nine cities, during which children were reportedly separated […]
As of 12 October 2020, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had detected 10,851 cases of COVID-19 and recorded 276 deaths due to the disease. In addition to outbreaks of cholera, the Ebola virus, and measles, the country now has to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) […]
Jamaica successfully avoided a large COVID-19 outbreak during the initial months of the pandemic. However, since late August 2020, the numbers of confirmed infections have surged, increasing the total number of cases to nearly 8,000 by October 2020. The government announced emergency measures in September, including curfews and limits to the size of public gatherings. […]
Amidst fears that the country’s healthcare system would be overwhelmed by a Covid-19 outbreak, Vanuatu announced a State of Emergency and closed its borders to all inbound flights and vessels in March. Said one expert, “Their health system is fragile and even a few cases of Covid-19 will overwhelm their health system.” As of early […]
Unlike many of its EU neighbours, the Netherlands largely avoided implementing strict measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. But in the past month, the country has seen a surge in new cases, leaving the Netherlands with one of the highest infection rates in the world (160 […]
As of 7 October, Viet Nam had detected 1,099 cases of COVID-19, out of a population of 21.5 million people. Although the country has been lauded for its efforts to contain the virus–including through early border closures and widespread quarantine and testing activities–some observers have questioned the government’s transparency in reporting COVID-19 statistics. The Law […]
COVID-19 cases are rising in Libya, rising from 200 cases in June to some 28,000 cases by October 2020. Movement restrictions along with curfews, as well as the ongoing conflict and economic crisis, have led to sharp increases in food prices, making it hard for refugees and asylum seekers to support themselves. In response, the […]
Amnesty International (AI) reported that at least three people died in detention centres housing thousands of Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia (AI 02.10.2020). The rights group said that migrants were facing “unimaginable cruelty,” including being chained together in pairs, and using their cell floors as toilets. AI urged Saudi authorities to improve conditions in the […]
As of 28 September, Sri Lanka, with a population of 21.5 million, had detected only 3,360 cases of COVID-19. Although the country has been lauded for its containment of the virus, members of Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority have allegedly become stigmatised as carriers of the virus. There is also little information available concerning the impact […]
Having closed its borders in January in an attempt to prevent the spread of the virus into the country from China, North Korea has declared that it has no cases of COVID-19. The country is believed to have established anti-coronavirus rules that involve “indiscriminate shooting” of anyone approaching its borders illegally. On 24 September 2020, […]
The Covid-19 pandemic appears to be fundamentally altering how migrants and asylum seekers arrive in the UK … and how the UK responds to these arrivals. So far this year, some 7,000 people have arrived irregularly on small boats that have made the perilous crossing of the Channel–more than three times the number during all […]
Like other Pacific-island nations that this platform has reported on (like Samoa and Tonga), Tuvalu had yet to report any COVID-19 cases as of October 2020. In March, the country instituted a State of Emergency and shut its borders to all inbound flights and vessels. Tuvalu has one hospital for its approximately 11,000-person population, with […]
During a near 20-year period (2001-2019), the tiny island nation of Nauru hosted a controversial offshore processing centre for Australia that confined asylum seeking men, women, and children in order to prevent them from making their journeys to Australia. Since the facility officially closed, refugees and asylum seekers on the island have faced a precarious […]
In March, Tonga instituted a State of Emergency and shut its borders in order to prevent a domestic outbreak. As with other Pacific-island nations like Palau and Samoa, Tonga remained as of October 2020 one of a small handful of countries that had not reported any COVID-19 cases. Historically, Tonga has not been a destination […]
There have been some 7,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 147 deaths in Myanmar. After weeks without any local transmissions, Myanmar reported an outbreak in the western Rakhine state in mid-August that has since spread across the country. As of September 21, 45,000 people had been quarantined in the country’s attempts to contain the virus. […]
Palau, a Pacific archipelago nation made up of more than 300 islands, has not been a significant destination for asylum seekers or refugees. However, its location–shared maritime borders with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Micronesia–is adjacent to important migration routes in Asia. Nevertheless, the country does not have national asylum legislation and the country is not […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, Migrant-Rights.org, an advocacy organisation that aims to advance the rights of migrant workers, reported that in Bahrain, due to Covid-19, the Ministry of Interior issued a circular ordering authorities not to detain migrants because of their irregular status until the end of the year. Another circular has […]
Mongolia has been lauded for its efforts to contain the coronavirus despite having a long, porous border with China. As of 23 September, there had been 313 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and no deaths. However, there appears to be no publicly available information indicating the impact of the virus on migrants or asylum seekers, or […]
Having closed its borders in March to prevent a domestic outbreak, as of October 2020 Samoa remained one of a small number of countries that had yet to report any Covid-19 cases (along with other Pacific island nations, including Palau [see 29 September update on this platform]). Although the country is a signatory to the […]
A controversial refugee settlement set up by the Bangladesh government on the island of Bhasan Char has been under intense scrutiny since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic because of claims by government officials that refugees confined to the site are being kept there as a Covid-19 quarantine measure. This scrutiny has intensified after women […]
The Federated States of Micronesia, which as of 25 August 2020 had no confirmed cases of COVID-19, does not have national asylum legislation and is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention. According to the 2020 U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report, human traffickers target women from Micronesia for different forms of exploitation. As of […]
More than 240 refugees and migrants have tested positive for Covid-19 in the newly erected Kara Tepe camp on Lesvos. The new camp, which was constructed after a fire levelled Moria camp, is built on a former military firing range near the main town of Mytilene. In the wake of the Moria fire, more than […]
Since March, Iraq has imposed movement restrictions and closed border points to control the spread of the virus. The border closures have been a major obstacle for refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Syria. However, UNHCR reports that since July the Peshkhabour Border Crossing Point has been open intermittently—albeit only to accept the readmission of […]
Kiribati does not operate any dedicated immigration detention facilities. Instead, foreigners who have committed immigration offences may be detained at a motel, hotel, or guesthouse at the cost of the individual passenger, their agent, or their employer. Those who cannot afford accommodation will be detained in a State Prison Facility. As of September 2020, Kiribati […]
Historically, Lao PDR has not been a destination for refugees or asylum seekers. However, the country’s land-locked location and long borders with five other countries has made Lao susceptible to being used as a source, or point of transit, for human traffickers. As the U.S State Department noted in its 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report, […]
In a complaint submitted to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General, a nurse previously employed at the Irwin County Detention Centre in the state of Georgia alleges that the women detainees at the privately-operated centre have suffered severe abuses and “jarring medical neglect” throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. According the nurse, Dawn […]
On 9 September 2020, a few days after several people in Lesvos’ Moria Camp tested positive for Covid-19, fires broke out that destroyed the camp, leaving some 13,000 people without shelter and resulting in a major humanitarian crisis. It is unclear how the fires began but according to Greece’s migration minister, the fires “began with […]
In its response to the GDP’s Covid-19 survey, La Cimade, a French human rights NGO that operates inside many of the country’s immigration detention centres (Centres de Rétention Administrative or CRAs), confirmed previous reports that the country had not implemented a detention moratorium since the onset of the pandemic. The organisation explained, however, that in […]
Although Eritrea long hosted a small population of Somali refugees (roughly 2,000 as of early 2019), in mid-2019 the government closed its only refugee camp, Umkulu, spurring most of the refugees to flee across the border into neighbouring Ethiopia. By the end of 2019, UNHCR reported that there were only 650 refugees remaining in the […]
A critical humanitarian concern in Cameroon is its growing population of internally displaced people (IDPs), which according to UNHCR has increased substantially in recent months because of violence in northern parts of the country. As of mid-2020 there were nearly one million IDPs in the country, in addition to the more than 400,000 refugees. But […]
There is little available information about the treatment of migrants or asylum seekers in immigration enforcement procedures in Fiji. Throughout the pandemic, hundreds of people have been arrested and charged for breaching laws and regulations on self-isolation, quarantine, or movement restrictions. Prisons have continued to operate throughout the pandemic, and the Red Cross has assisted […]
As of mid-2020, Ghana was hosting more than 12,000 registered refugees and some 400,000 migrants. The online African peace research platform Kujenga Amani reported that Ghana was “slow to recognise the scale of risks posed by restrictive measures such as a partial lockdown, stay at home and border closure, to vulnerable groups in society.” As […]
Having closed its ports to migrants in April, purportedly as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic (see 13 April update on this platform), Malta has continued to refuse permission for migrants rescued in the Mediterranean to disembark in the country. Since 5 August, 27 migrants rescued in the Maltese search-and-rescue area have been stranded on […]
The humanitarian challenges facing Burundi as it struggles to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic stem from the large number of nationals who fled the country seeking refuge in nearby countries and are now returning. According to UNHCR, as of June 2020, there were 334,000 Burundian refugees worldwide, including some 165,000 in Tanzania, 72,000 in Rwanda, […]
Djibouti is a source and transit country for migration, to and from the Arabian Peninsula. The GDP has reported in the past that authorities regularly rounded up and arrested undocumented migrants, who were then detained in poor conditions. In the context of the pandemic, the closure of the Ethiopian border caused the blockage of migrants, […]
Chad’s geographic location–as Libya’s southern neighbour and located at a crossroads between east and west Africa–has resulted in a “a complex humanitarian crisis,” according to IOM, and one which is further impacted by the country’s severe economic problems. As of mid-2020, there were an estimated 133,000 internally displaced persons and 475,000 refugees and asylum seekers. […]
With 24 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in total since the beginning of the pandemic, Grenada was on full lock-down for a week in April. The country now allows entry on the island from other low-risk and medium-risk countries. Travelers coming from these countries are required to present a certified copy of a negative COVID-19 test. […]
Following Human Rights Watch’s report highlighting the dire conditions that Ethiopian migrants have been held in in Saudi Arabia during the pandemic (see our 21 August update on Saudi Arabia on this platform), the Telegraph has revealed that the Ethiopian government has attempted to silence those stuck inside Saudi detention facilities. A leaked document submitted […]
In Melilla, more than 1,400 refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants–including 150 women and 143 children–have again been confined in the enclave’s overcrowded CETI (Center for Temporary Stay of Immigrants) following a Covid-19 diagnosis. On 21 August, the facility was closed with no-one permitted to enter or exit–despite a judge’s decision on 24 August to overturn […]
On 31 August 2020, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child praised Argentina’s decision to not deport a Peruvian mother after she completed her sentence for drug trafficking, taking into account the best interests of her three children, marking a new precedent in the country. In 2000, she was sentenced to imprisonment and […]
Greek authorities reported the first confirmed Covid-19 case in Lesvos’ overcrowded Moria Camp. In response, the country’s ministries for asylum, health, and civil protection announced in a joint statement that the camp would be closed for 14 days, and that authorities were actively tracing and testing all persons who had come into contact with the […]
There is little available information about the treatment of migrants or asylum seekers in Brunei. The government reports that the country has no asylum seekers or refugees, although in the past the country has reported that it has more than 20,000 stateless residents. On 17 March, the Health Ministry stated that “any individual arriving in […]
Botswana, which has long operated a “Centre for Illegal Migrants” at Francistown near the border with Zimbabwe and a refugee camp in Dukwi, has struggled in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, repeatedly shutting down various regions of the country as cases have spread. While there appears to be little public information about whether measures […]
In its official response to the GDP’s Covid-19 survey, Paraguay’s Immigration Service (Dirección General de Migraciones, DGM) reported that the country had not implemented a detention moratorium since the onset of the pandemic. The DGM explained that it is not authorised to order immigration-related detention, that that requires judicial intervention, as per Ley 978/96 de […]
The Marshall Islands are not signatory to the Refugee Convention, there is no system in place for providing protection to refugees, and there is little information available regarding the country’s treatment of migrants and asylum seekers in immigration enforcement procedures. As of early September 2020, there were no confirmed cases of Covid-19. […]
As of 2019, Bhutan reportedly had no immigration detention centres and few cases of people being placed in detention for immigration-related reasons. On 23 March, it was made mandatory for all persons travelling into Bhutan to undergo a period of quarantine to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. There have been reports of people being […]
Amidst rising xenophobic sentiment in the country (see 29 April update on this platform), in mid-August residents of Velika Kladusa (in the Krajina region, on the Bosnian-Croatian border) staged a protest to denounce purported assaults by foreigners on local civilians. The protestors reportedly blocked a road leading to an asylum seeker reception centre. During the […]
During the first two weeks of August, more than 650 migrants and asylum seekers crossed the Channel from France. With fewer lorries able to cross during the pandemic, migrants and asylum seekers have increasingly sought to attempt the journey in dinghies, often with the aid of smugglers. The country’s Home Office has been advancing alarmist […]
In a follow-up response to its 5 June GDP Covid-19 survey, the Interior Ministry provided additional information regarding removal procedures during the Covid-19 crisis. According to the ministry, removals were halted as there were practical difficulties in carrying out returns due to measures to protect the health of migrants and escort staff, as well as […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Icelandic Parliamentary Ombudsman (Althingi Ombudsman) reported there are no dedicated immigration detention centres in the country (previously, reports from the Council of Europe going back as far as 1998 have indicated that prisons or police stations are used for this purpose). Thus, the Ombudsman did not […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s (GDP) Covid-19 survey, the Danish Department of Prisons and Probations said that there is one main special detention centre for immigration detainees, which it administers (according to GDP data, while Denmark has one long-standing dedicated facility, the Ellebaek Detention Centre, it has recently used other facilities for detaining migrants […]
Amid a resurgence in the number of Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong, on 19 August a 37-year old Thai man detained at Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre (CIC) was reported to have tested positive for Covid-19. The Centre for Health Protection subsequently announced that it would test approximately 200 Immigration Department staff and 400 detainees. […]
The Bahamas operates one dedicated immigration detention centre, the Carmichael Road Detention Centre, which has been repeatedly criticised for having appalling conditions. In early June, a protest broke out in the centre following a hunger strike, with some detainees attempting to escape. Tensions at the facility have reportedly been increasing as Covid-19 slowed deportation and […]
Poor conditions of immigration detention in Saudi-Arabia have been called out several times by Human Rights Watch (HRW). Reports of migrant trafficking and overcrowding in the country’s facilities are numerous. In April, thousands of Ethiopians were expelled from Yemen as Houthi forces declared them “coronavirus carriers” (see our 4 August Yemen update). They were forced […]
According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Togo, there are no dedicated immigration detention centres in the country, and thus it did not answer questions on the GDP Covid-19 survey concerning measures taken to safeguard immigration detainees. However, the commission appeared to indicate that due to border closures, non-citizens stranded in Togo whose […]
Bolivia has been strongly affected by the Covid-19 crisis. By 31 July, Bolivia had more than 75,000 cases of Covid-19 and 2,894 deaths related to the disease. Faced with the pandemic, the government took several measures including declaring a state of emergency, closing borders, imposing fines and detaining people who do not respect quarantine or […]
Ethiopia has a history of sheltering refugees and has long maintained an open-door asylum policy. The country hosts an estimated 769,000 refugees and other “people of concern.” Unlike in many other countries in the region, refugees have the right to access health care services in Ethiopia. However, after the onset of the Covid crisis, there […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Slovakian Border and Aliens Police Office of the Presidium of the Police Force reported that the Slovak Republic had not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders and that it was not considering such a measure. In addition, no immigration detainees were released due to […]
By the end of July, Mauritius had recorded nearly 350 cases of Covid-19 as well as 10 related deaths. Mauritius began taking precautionary measures early. On 22 January, the government began screening people upon arrival at the airport and from 28 February, despite there being no confirmed cases in the country, authorities began quarantining visitors […]
There have been growing tensions between the United States and Canada over Canada’s continuing closure of its border to non-essential US travellers, which has been in effect since 21 March and is slated to remain in effect until September. Penalties for unlawfully crossing into Canada can be expensive, and can also involve detention and incarceration. […]
A damning new report in the New York Times (16 August) reveals the extensive use of hotels and untrained private contractors to detain unaccompanied children and families as part of speedy removal proceedings. The practice, part of the Trump administration’s pandemic-related immigration and border measures, aims to quickly “expel” migrants from the country rather than […]
As of 12 August 2020, Guyana had registered 602 cases of Covid-19 and 22 deaths related to the disease. Guyana has been an important destination for Venezuelans leaving their country. In 2019, the International Crisis Group reported that there were more than 36,000 Venezuelans in Guyana. According to the aid group Response for Venezuelans (R4V), […]
Belize does not appear to have a dedicated immigration detention facility though it detains migrants in administrative procedures in Belize Central Prison. On 13 August, visits to the prison were suspended indefinitely due to the rise in Covid-19 cases in the country. There had been no confirmed cases in Belize Central Prison as of mid-August. […]
According to UNHCR, as of mid-2020 there were 80,698 refugees and asylum seekers in the country. Angola had 1,762 cases of COVID-19 as of 13 August, however there is little information about whether infections have been detected among the country’s refugee population. In late May, after a 60-day state of emergency, the government began loosening […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the deputy director of the Joutseno Reception Centre reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established in the country. The administration said that new detention orders have been issued during the Covid-19 crisis period but that the number of detainees has been lower […]
Trinidad and Tobago adopted a series of measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including health-related measures, employment benefits, food handouts, and temporary extension of residence permits and certificates. However, most asylum seekers and irregular migrants, mainly from Venezuela, did not benefit from these measures, aside from receiving primary health care (see 9 May Trinidad […]
During the four-year period 2016-2019, more than 4.6 million men, women, and children fled or otherwise departed Venezuela because of burgeoning political and economic crises. According to the UNHCR, some 4,000 and 5,000 Venezuelan nationals were leaving the country every day, mainly travelling on foot to neighbouring countries like Colombia, Peru, or Ecuador; thousands of […]
The tiny country of Andorra, located in the Pyrenees between France and Spain, has one of the highest percentages of international migrants in the world, which as of 2017 accounted for more than 50 percent of the country’s population of some 80,000. To date, the GDP has not identified any dedicated immigration removal facilities, and […]
According to an international organisation official who asked to remain anonymous, but whose identity was verified by the GDP, while no moratorium on new immigration detention orders was established, fewer detention orders have been issued since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Director-General of the Immigration Office (IO) and the Minister for Asylum and […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Croatian Interior Ministry provided detailed information about measures that have been adopted in reception centres hosting asylum seekers. They also provided some limited information about Covid-19 procedures adopted for cases involving police interaction with “illegal migrants and aliens.” However, the ministry gave no specific information concerning […]
Although the number of confirmed cases continues to rise in Poland, authorities have continued to refuse to issue a moratorium on new immigration detention orders (this was previously confirmed by the Polish Commissioner for Human Rights in early July, see 8 July update). According to an international organisation who asked to remain anonymous, but whose […]
As the GDP previously reported (see 27 June update), while Swiss authorities did not issue a moratorium on new detention orders during the pandemic, many immigration detainees were released due to the impossibility of conducting returns. This has been confirmed by Amnesty International Switzerland, which informed the GDP that some cantons declared a moratorium on […]
Although the UN urged Saudi Arabia to cease deportations in April, Riyadh has continued the practice throughout the pandemic. Since March, 2,870 Ethiopian migrant workers have been deported and Ethiopian officials have reported that as of the end of July, some 927 of these deportees were infected with the virus (although the true number is […]
Although it has been devastated by ongoing civil war and famine, Yemen has continued to serve as an important migrant and refugee transit country–with many people often enduring torture, rape, and extortion, as well crossfire and airstrikes. In 2019, the IOM estimated that some 138,000 migrants departed from the Horn of Africa to Yemen in […]
Senegal does not operate a dedicated immigration detention facility, according to information provided by the country’s Ombudsperson (Senegal’s Human Rights Committee, or SHRC). However, SHRC informed the GDP that a network of NGOs has launched a campaign to protect the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and any other displaced persons during the pandemic. The coalition–which […]
Visits by Croatia’s National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) are currently suspended, impairing access to data and information relating to immigration detention and removal measures. As such, when the GDP contacted the country’s Ombudsperson’s office requesting information pertaining to immigration detention practices during the pandemic, the office instead recommended contacting the country’s Interior Ministry to obtain relevant […]
In an email exchange with the Global Detention Project, UNHCR Ireland reported that to their knowledge, deportations and removals had been suspended in light of the Covid-19 crisis. The International Protection Office was still functioning throughout the pandemic and applications were being accepted. However, the number of new applicants had decreased because of fewer arrivals. […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s request to complete our Covid-19 survey, Bahrain’s National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) provided a document detailing its role and actions during the coronavirus pandemic. The NIHR’s Committee on Detention & Facilities Visitation, convened on 28 May, affirmed the importance of continuing its visits to correction, rehabilitation, shelter and […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, an official from an international organisation, verified by the GDP, reported that no moratorium had been established in the country and that no immigration detainees had been released as a result of the pandemic (see 15 May Libya update on this platform). According to the official, authorities […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the German National Agency for the Prevention of Torture, which acts as National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), reported that the country had not implemented a moratorium on immigration detention orders after the onset of the pandemic; however, some detainees had been released as a consequence of the crisis, […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, an official from an international organisation, verified by the GDP, reported that in Sierra Leone, immigration detainees had not been released from detention and have not been tested for Covid-19. In addition, the source mentioned that the IOM assisted voluntary return and reintegration program had been suspended […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, a government official, verified by the GDP, reported that in Chile, immigration detention is solely used to conduct deportations of administrative or criminal detainees. Faced with border closures due to the Covid-19 crisis, the governmental source said that they were not aware of any deportations taking place […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, Costa Rica’s immigration authority (Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería) reported that during the Covid-19 crisis, immigration police (Dirección de la Policía Profesional de Migración) put in place distinct measures for non-citizens apprehended for administrative reasons. Instead of extending detention measures during the pandemic, non-citizens were required […]
According to an international organisation official, verified by the GDP, Montenegro has not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders and there have been no releases of immigration detainees. While immigration detainees are reportedly tested for Covid-19, deportations have not been halted. The official also reported that access to the country and to the […]
According to the Norwegian Parliamentary Ombudsperson (Sivilombudsmannen), responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, Norwegian authorities did not impose a moratorium on new immigration detention orders due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the National Police Immigration Service (NPIS) limited the number of immigration detention orders due to the reduced capacity at the police immigration […]
Since issuing a moratorium on new detention orders on 18 April (Decree of the President of Russia No.2745) (see 18 April update), Russia has reportedly not issued any new detention orders. This was confirmed by the Civic Assistance Committee and Memorial in a GDP survey on 21 July. The organisations also noted that some foreign […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, an official from an international organisation said that in Greece no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established but that new arrests and detention orders were reduced beginning from late March to mid-May. Since the end of May, the issuing of detention orders has gradually […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Georgia office reported that the country applied a full moratorium on new immigration detention orders during the state of emergency that lasted two months (21 March to 22 May) due to Covid-19. IOM Georgia stated that they were aware of an […]
The IOM Mauritania office has informed the GDP that Mauritanian authorities have “informally” placed a moratorium on new detention orders during the crisis; police forces in both Nouakchott and Nouadhibou have reported that they were not detaining migrants. With borders closed and inter-regional movement restrictions in place, deportations from the country have also ceased. Reportedly, […]
Peru’s Ombudsman’s office (Defensoría del Pueblo), responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, stated that to their knowledge, no one had been detained for migration reasons during the pandemic. They also noted that there is no formal immigration detention estate in the country. After the declaration of the state of emergency in the country, […]
According to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Institute of Human Rights (Ombudsman), responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the country did not establish a moratorium on new immigration detention orders, nor did it consider establishing one. The Ombudsman reported that no immigration detainees were released from detention, except those who were returned to the […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Public Defender of Rights (Ombudsman) of the Czech Republic reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established and that no such measure was under consideration. However, the Czech Ombudsman said that despite this, it seems that authorities have minimised the numbers of […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Latvian Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, acting as contact point for the European Migration Network (EMN), reported that Latvia had not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders and that it was not considering the measure. No immigration detainees have been released and they […]
Romania’s National Preventive Mechanism, the People’s Advocate, requested information from the Interior Ministry’s General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) to provide answers to the Global Detention Projet’s Covid-19 survey. Based on information it received from the IGI, the People’s Advocate reported that during the state of emergency, the right of persons to request international protection was […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, Luxembourg’s European Migration Network (EMN) contact point, the University of Luxembourg, reported that a moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established, mainly as returns were no longer possible. EMN Luxembourg said that there had not been any cases of Covid-19 within the Findel Detention Centre […]
France’s contact point for the European Migration Network (EMN), the Direction Générale des Étrangers en France (DGEF), has informed the Global Detention Project that it is not able to answer our Covid-19 survey questions. The GDP had initially written to the DGEF/EMN on 13 May 2020, requesting information on immigration detention and measures taken by […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket), which also acts as the country’s European Migration Network contact, reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established in response to the Covid-19 crisis and that such a measure was not being considered. In addition, the Migration Board […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Permanent Observatory for Immigration, part of the Ministry of Labour and Immigration, and acting as European Migration Network (EMN) contact, reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders was established, but that immigration detention is no longer justifiable in law as there are no reasonable […]
Observers have repeatedly raised concerns during the pandemic regarding conditions inside reception facilities in Germany, with several centres witnessing Covid-19 outbreaks and others subjecting refugees and asylum seekers to dangerous living conditions (see 10 June update). Recently, volunteers, social workers, and NGOs have warned of the dire living conditions experienced by non-nationals in Munich’s network […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the prison ombudsman, Contrôleur Général des Lieux de Privation de Liberté or CGLPL, which also acts as the country’s National Preventive Mechanism (NPM)), reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established. They also indicated that no legislation or regulation had been adopted to […]
Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, large numbers of Palestinians travelled to work in Israel on a daily or weekly basis. However, due to fears that such travel could further spread the virus, Israel’s emergency regulations required Palestinian workers to remain in the country and prevented them from returning to the West Bank. (Authorities issued stay […]
UNHCR has reported that more than 2,300 remain confined in centres operated by the UN-backed Government of National Accord. Conditions remain a critical concern, with many detainees facing violence and abuse, food shortages, lack of sanitary facilities, and severe overcrowding. Reportedly, the agency has called for an “orderly release” for all those detained and for […]
According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) office in Bucharest, responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, Romania has not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders nor is it considering one. In addition, no immigration detainees have been released as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and they are not being […]
On 16 July, in what observers in Tunisia have called an “unprecedented decision,” the Tunisian administrative court suspended the detention of 22 migrants detained arbitrarily at the El Ouardia detention centre. The decision comes after reports of hunger strikes at El Ouardia and calls from civil society organisations for authorities to clarify the legal basis […]
Although the UK did not issue a moratorium on new detention orders at the height of the pandemic, the Home Office ceased issuing new detention orders for people who, under normal circumstances, would face removal to one of 49 specified countries. This was confirmed in a GDP Covid-19 survey completed by a UK government official […]
On 15 July, the GDP received a response to our Covid-19 survey concerning Armenia from a representative of an international organisation who wished to remain anonymous. The official reported that the Armenian government had not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders and was not considering one. The official indicated that Armenia does not […]
According to the Colombian Ministry of Health, as of 23 June, Colombia had 73,572 cases of Covid-19 and 2,404 deaths related to the disease. As reported by CNN, Venezuelan migrant workers, who left the country when its economy collapsed, are now returning as Covid-19 cases surge across Latin America. The Colombia-Venezuela border crossing has been […]
On 9 July 2020, Human Rights Watch urged Bangladeshi authorities to immediately move more than 300 Rohingya refugees, including 33 children, from the silt island of Bhasan Char to the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps to join their families. Despite inviting UNHCR and other UN agencies to Bhasan Char island, the Bangladesh government is yet to […]
By 9 July, Paraguay had recorded 2,554 cases of Covid-19 and 20 deaths. The country has taken specific measures concerning non-citizens. The Paraguayan migration authority (Dirección General de Migraciones) has prolonged the validity of permits that expired after 13 March 2020. This measure affects people whose temporary residence permits expired after 13 March; non-citizens who […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Slovenian Human Rights Ombudsman reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established by Slovenia and that no such measure was under consideration. Contrary to information published by ECRE (see 15 May Slovenia update on this platform), stating that immigration detainees had been […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Polish Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman’s office) contacted the Polish Border Guard to obtain information concerning Covid-19 measures for migrants and refugees. The commissioner said that the Polish Border Guard had informed them that on 17 March, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard ordered the […]
Often praised for having an open-door policy for refugees, Uganda closed its borders in March, leaving thousands of refugees and asylum seekers stranded and unable to enter the country (see 6 April update). Since May, approximately 10,000 refugees have been camped out on the Uganda-Democratic Republic of Congo border, having fled escalating violence in eastern […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman’s office reported that Sweden had not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders and that no such measure was under consideration. The Ombudsman’s office indicated that the Swedish police released immigration detainees in cases where expulsion could not be executed in the […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, a governmental actor, verified by the GDP, reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established due to the pandemic and that no such measure was under consideration. According to the source, the Estonian Police and Border Guard (PBGB) did not release any immigration […]
Despite repeated criticisms of its continued lockdown of refugee and migrant camps (see 18 June update), Greece recently announced its fifth extension of these lockdown measures. As of 4 July, camps are to be quarantined until 19 July, with migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers continuing to face movement restrictions. According to the country’s migration ministry, […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Austrian Ministry of Interior reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established and that no such measure was under consideration. In addition, the Ministry said that no persons had been released from immigration detention, but that former detainees who had previously been […]
After the release of immigration detainees from detention centres (Centros de Internamiento de Extranjeros or CIEs), there has been considerable discussion on the future of the country’s detention policies. The Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de Andalucía (APDH) reports that “since CIEs have been closed and detainees released, no catastrophe has ensued” and the organisation urged […]
Despite recommendations from infectious disease experts, medical professionals, civil society, and international human rights observers to reduce detainee populations (see 26 April update), the numbers of non-nationals detained in Australia have increased during the pandemic. This is according to the country’s Commonwealth Ombudsman, Michael Manthorpe, who warned, “There is a risk that upward pressure on […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan reported that since the application of the special quarantine regime in the country on 24 March, the placement of foreigners and stateless persons, present in the country irregularly, has been suspended. The country’s immigration authority also indicated that […]
On 26 June, a federal Judge ordered the release of children held with their parents in immigration detention centres. District Judge Dolly M. Gee’s order applies to children held for more than 20 days at three family detention centres in Texas and Pennsylvania operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Due to the recent spread […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project Covid-19 survey, AsyLex reported that although Switzerland has not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders, many immigration detainees have been released because returns are no longer possible. Certain local governments (cantonal authorities) have released all detainees, confirming information provided to the GDP by the Director General of […]
The Covid-19 crisis has had a dramatic impact on Peru’s economic and social situation. As of 25 May 2020, Peru had recorded more than 260,000 cases and 8,586 deaths related to the disease, making it the Latin American country with most cases and deaths from Covid-19 after Brazil. A report by the World Bank Group […]
Amnesty International reported (24 June) that a boat carrying 94 Rohingya refugees was stranded in waters just off Aceh. In a statement, the rights group urged the Indonesian authorities to ensure the group’s rescue, disembarkation, and protection. As the Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia said, “In the time of COVID-19, we urge all countries […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project Covid-19 survey, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Tunis office reported that on 7 April 2020, the government held an inter-ministerial meeting, which included the Interior Ministry, to discuss measures to be taken with respect to migrants in response to the pandemic. These included the suspension of visa termination […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project survey, Mexico’s immigration authority, the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM), did not provide answers to the survey question but responded with an explanation of measures taken to protect detained migrants from Covid-19 contagion. The INM explained that on 4 March, their officials at all different levels, including those working […]
Responding to the GDP Covid-19 survey, the Guatemalan Ombudsman office (Procuraduría para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos or PDH) said that the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry has reported a notable reduction in the number of flights returning migrants to Guatemala. Guatemala has also suspended numerous deportation flights from the United States (see 19 June Guatemala […]
In a joint statement published on 19 June, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Felipe González Morales, and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Nils Melzer, said that they “are deeply concerned about the repeated and ongoing disproportionate use of force by Croatian […]
On World Refugee Day (20 June), rights groups called on Mozambican authorities to release a group of 16 African refugees and asylum seekers detained in the country since 2019 and who are held in conditions in which their health is not safeguarded. The group, which includes 15 Congolese people and one Ethiopian man, were arrested […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, Guatemala’s immigration authority (Instituto Guatemalteco de Migración) reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders has been established. The Guatemalan immigration authority also reported that currently only Guatemalan national residents and accredited consular diplomats are allowed to enter the country. Non-citizens are only allowed to leave […]
Although Greece lifted its lockdown measures in May, authorities have continued to impose movement restrictions upon migrants and refugees held in Reception and Identification Centres (RICs) on the Aegean islands as well as facilities on the country’s mainland. Initially extended until 10 May, lockdown measures for such facilities were later extended until 7 June—and now […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported (on 17 June) that the country has not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders and has not implemented new immigration, asylum or border policies. The ministry stated that on 16 March, 19 detainees (“retenus”) were released, in part because […]
The Covid-19 crisis has had an important impact on Nicaragua, in particular on people seeking to leave the country, whose numbers have grown considerably in recent years. In early March 2020, a UNHCR spokesperson said that “serious political and social crises in the country have prompted Nicaraguan students, human rights defenders, journalists and farmers to […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, a government official who asked to remain anonymous reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established and that no such measure was under consideration. The official confirmed that people who were awaiting removal to another EU member state under the Dublin Regulation have […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the country’s prison ombudsman (Procuración Penitenciaria de la Nación or PPN), reported that the country’s immigration authority (Dirección Nacional de Migraciones or DNM) had informed them that deportations had been temporarily suspended. This measure was adopted through Disposition 1717/2020 of the DNM ordering the “suspension of expulsion […]
As of the end of 2019, there were an estimated 360,000 undocumented foreign nationals living in South Korea. Amidst fears that they would not seek testing and treatment for fear of being arrested, in late January South Korean authorities announced that they were scrapping the requirement for medical staff to report undocumented migrant patients to […]
Since a peak on 3 May, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases has significantly declined in Canada in the past month. The province of Quebec has been the most affected during the pandemic, with almost half of the total number of cases. Two COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded in a provincial and a federal […]
According to information submitted to the GDP by the International Legal Initiative (ILI), Kazakhstan has introduced a moratorium on new detention orders related to violations of migration legislation, and has temporarily ceased deportation proceedings. However, persons who commit other offences may still be placed in immigration detention, and no persons have been released. Meetings with […]
The country’s lockdown measures, including the temporary closure of hotels, have left many migrant workers out of work. Although UAE authorities have allowed repatriation flights to take place, many countries have refused to allow their own nationals to return. Migrant workers in the UAE also have higher numbers of COVID-19 cases, mainly due to their […]
In response to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Danish Ombudsman’s office, which also acts as the country’s National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), forwarded to the GDP a letter it had sent to the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), the international body established by the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture. […]
In mid-May, the governor of the Tak Province in Thailand issued a warning about the movement of Muslims from Myanmar and Bangladesh entering Thailand, stating that this posed a purported Covid-19-related threat. The announcement stated: “Tak is a province bordering the country of Myanmar that has movements of [migrant] workers, and also the COVID-19 pandemic […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, Guatemala’s immigration authority (Instituto Guatealteco de Migración) reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders has been established. The Guatemalan immigration authority also reported that currently only Guatemalan national residents and accredited consular diplomats are allowed to enter the country. Non-citizens are only allowed to leave […]
According to information submitted to the GDP by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ukraine, the number of newly detained migrants in the country has decreased during the pandemic. In Zakarpattia Oblast, those who have been apprehended while entering the country during the crisis have been placed in Border Guard […]
There are an estimated 200,000 – 600,000 undocumented migrants in Germany. Authorities have stated that everyone, regardless of their status, may access Covid-19 testing and treatment. Although this is technically true, migrant rights advocates have highlighted concerns amongst undocumented migrants that should they seek testing and treatment, they will face sanctions. Hospitals and GPs in […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the director of the Panamanian section of “Fe y Alegria” an NGO part of the Jesuit Migration Network, reported that a moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established until 8 June 2020, but that no immigration detainees were released and that those who were in […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Geneva Cantonal Population and Migration Office (Office Cantonal de la Population et des Migrations or OCPM) reported that while Geneva had not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders, no new orders have been issued since the end of April, owing to the impossibility of […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Finnish Parliamentary Ombudsman, which also acts as National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) for the country, reported that Finland has not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders. However, according to the police, the threshold for immigration detention has been higher than usual. The Ombudsman indicated that […]
The death of a second detainee in ICE custody from Covid19-related causes was reported on 4 June. More than 800 detainees across all ICE facilities have tested positive, although only 10 percent of the detainee population had been tested as of 30 May. Multiple transfers between facilities have reportedly spread the virus and led to […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman’s office reported that as far as they were aware, Sweden had not established a moratorium on new detention orders and was not contemplating such a measure. The Ombudsman stated that while some 200 detainees had been released from immigration detention, they were unable […]
As reported previously on this platform (Qatar 7 May), migrant workers in Qatar, who make up the majority of the country’s workforce, appear to have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, which reported 1,595 new cases on 7 June. Qatar’s overcrowded labor camps are a “fertile ground for transmission of COVID-19,” […]
As reported previously on this platform (see the 1 June Panama update), Panama has shifted many undocumented migrants to the border with Costa Rica. The two countries have an agreement regarding migrant mobility, but the agreement cannot be enforced as Nicaragua has closed its borders. The director of the immigration authority in Costa Rica, Raquel […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 Survey, the UN Human Rights regional office in Panama (ROCA) reported on 1 June that Costa Rica has not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders and that the country is not contemplating the measure. ROCA also explained that no immigration detainees have been released and that […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior reported that the country has not established a moratorium on new detention orders and that the measure is not being contemplated. The Ministry also explained that no immigration detainees have been released from “special homes for temporary accommodation of foreigners (closed detention […]
After deconfinement began on 27 in Israel, new Covid infections increased sharply. However, the real number of infections in the country is difficult to assess because of fears amongst workers about the consequences of presenting themselves for testing. Migrant workers and asylum seekers appear to have a much higher infection rate than the rest of […]
According to information provided to the GDP by Hana Frankova (Organisation for Aid to Refugees), Czech authorities have continued to arrest non-nationals during the pandemic. After their arrest, non-nationals have been moved to Bělá Jezová Detention Centre, which has been temporarily converted into a quarantine reception centre. All new asylum seekers have also been required […]
On 4 June, Malaysia recorded 277 COVID-19 cases—the highest daily figure recorded since the start of the outbreak. 270 of these cases involved foreigners detained at the Bukit Jalil Immigration Detention Depot, which has a reported capacity of 1,500 people. Previously, on 25 May, the country’s Director General for Health Noor Hisham Abdullah announced that […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 Survey, the UN Human Rights regional office in Panama (ROCA) reported that El Salvador has not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders and that the country is not contemplating the measure. ROCA also explained that no immigration detainees have been released and that there are no […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the UN human rights (OHCHR) country office in Mexico reported that while the country had not adopted a moratorium on new immigration detention orders it had released most people detained for migration-related reasons. Responding to the same survey, the Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Matías de Córdova […]
While the Lebanese government has so far managed to keep infections down, the pandemic has exposed barriers that refugees face in the country. Despite hosting the highest per capita concentration of refugees worldwide, Lebanon is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. An estimated 73 percent of Syrian refugees in the […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, IOM Portugal reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders has been established and that there has been no indication in the legislation that detention is to be halted. However, since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, the number of detention orders issued by judges has […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 Survey, the UN human rights regional office in Panama (ROCA) reported that Panama has not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders and that the country is not contemplating the measure. ROCA also explained that no immigration detainees have been released and that there are no “alternatives […]
Cyprus has experienced increasing tumult in its reception system even as the country has continued to deport people during the pandemic. Approximately 200 Georgian citizens were deported from Cyprus during the month of May after their asylum applications were rejected. The Interior Minister also announced the “voluntary return” of 150 Cameroonians. On 6 May, following […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, a non-governmental actor in Algeria reported that expulsions of undocumented people have been halted since 21 March 2020, though information from news sources appears to contradict this claim. The source, who asked to remain anonymous but whose identity was verified by the GDP, said that they did […]
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, North Macedonia announced on 17 March the closure of all its borders. President Stevo Pendarovski called a state of emergency for 30 days, which was later extended for an additional month. Strict measures were put in place, including curfew and the compulsory use of masks in public places where […]
As of early May, Honduras continued to receive some 100 returned men and women from the United States every day, according to the IOM (5 May). Although no cases of Covid-19 amongst returnees had yet to be detected, IOM reported that it was helping prepare Honduran authorities in the case of an outbreak, including working […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, a non-governmental actor in Bulgaria reported that while the country has not declared a moratorium on new detention orders officials have worked to limit detainee populations in its detention centres. The source, who asked to remain anonymous but whose identity was verified by the GDP, said that […]
Since the beginning of April, certain immigration detention centres, including the Frambois and Favra centres in Geneva, have been closed. Around 30 people were detained in the centres at the time. Reports suggest that they may have been assigned to a temporary residence or may be prohibited from entering a specific perimeter or region. The […]
As of 28 May, Afghanistan had reported 13,036 cases of Covid-19 and 235 deaths related to the disease. As previously reported (See the 30 April Sweden update), the Afghan Ministry for Refugees wrote an open letter on 18 March 2020 to European countries requesting that they halt all deportations to Afghanistan due to the Covid-19 […]
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, a non-governmental actor in Malta reported that immigration detainees in the country have not been released despite the Covid-19 crisis and detention orders are still being issued. The source, who asked to remain anonymous but whose identity was verified by the GDP, said that non-governmental actors have […]
Spain’s decision to temporarily shut its “foreigner internment centres” (CIEs)–which were empty as of 6 May–in response to the Covid-19 crisis has raised questions about the treatment of released detainees. In late March the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration announced that it would work in coordination with the Immigration and Border police to […]
There is little available information about the treatment of migrants or asylum seekers in enforcement procedures in Benin. Shortly after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, on 21 March 2020, visits to prisons were suspended. In early May, more than 400 inmates were released to limit the spread of the virus. At the prison in […]
Despite some positive steps announced by the South African government, including regarding the non-penalisation of migrants and asylum seekers whose visas expire during the pandemic (see 6 May update), migrants have continued to be arrested throughout the crisis. Some politicians have publicly celebrated these arrests – including Faith Mazibuko, a member of the Executive Council […]
According to information submitted to the GDP by Kendra Rinas, the IOM’s Chief of Mission in Malaysia, all immigration detainees (believed by the IOM to number over 13,000 people) are now being tested for the virus, and on 26 May authorities ceased issuing new detention orders. These developments emerged following news of rapidly rising numbers […]
Since March, all transit and asylum centres have been in lock-down. Raids of squats and informal accommodation have increased since then, with migrants and asylum seekers apprehended and transferred to camps across the country. According to the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN), the government temporarily opened several “camps,” which have been quickly filled with new […]
In a response to a GDP survey, Revijara Oosterhuis from the Immigration Detention Hotline (Meldpunt Vreemdelingendetentie) confirmed that as of 15 May, 260 persons remained in detention in the Netherlands. 64 persons with Dublin claims had been released and placed in shelters, followed by an additional 130 persons – although this second group did not […]
Following the CJEU’s ruling on 14 May, (see our 15 April update on Hungary) in which the Court held that Hungary had been illegally detaining asylum-seekers as “the placing of asylum seekers or third-country nationals… in the Rözke transit zone… must be classified as ‘detention,’” the government announced it will be closing transit zone camps. […]
Allegations of pushbacks at Croatia’s borders with Serbia and Bosnia have increased in recent years – as the GDP reported in its 2019 country profile. According to the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN), these pushbacks have escalated during the pandemic, “confirming that illegal removal practices have not stopped, in spite of the formal closure of […]
In mid-April, India’s Supreme Court directed the government to release “illegal foreigners” detained in Assam for more than two years in order to avoid overcrowding. Assam has become a hotspot for immigration detention in India, as scholar Sujata Ramachandran reported in a 2019 Working Paper for the Global Detention Project: “The country’s detention and deportation […]
In response to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, which has been sent to all national contact points of the European Migration Network, Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) repeated its standard response to questions concerning immigration detention in the country: that all such queries must be forwarded to state (Land) authorities. They […]
Cambodia has had few confirmed cases of Covid-19, numbering just over 100 as of mid-May. The country has taken a number of measures to prevent the spread of the disease. On 20 March, the border with Vietnam was closed and general entry restrictions were implemented for foreign travelers. On 30 March, it suspended the issuance […]
While the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has exploded in Brazil, Ecuador has experienced the region’s highest number of deaths per capita and the country has introduced strict containment measures – including curfews between 2pm and 5am, and heavy fines for quarantine violations. Having closed its land borders, the government launched a military operation in […]
Amnesty International has warned about the potential spread of Covid-19 in the country’s overcrowded prisons and detention centres. It highlights the case of Kaduna Prison which although having a capacity of only 473 inmates, as of early April had “1,480 prisoners; while Enugu Maximum Security Prison with capacity for 638, now has 2,077 prisoners.” In […]
Brazil has the most Covid-19 cases and deaths in South America, (241,080 cases and 16,122 deaths as of 18 May). However, the Bolsonaro government has been notoriously dismissive of the pandemic, with the president saying that “unemployment, hunger and misery will be the future of those who support the tyranny of total isolation.” On 23 […]
Global Detention Project Survey completed by the Aditus Foundation (Claire Delom) in Malta. IS THERE A MORATORIUM ON NEW IMMIGRATION DETENTION ORDERS BECAUSE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC? No HAVE PEOPLE BEEN RELEASED FROM IMMIGRATION DETENTION BECAUSE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC? Some asylum-seekers who could provide an address and justify a place to stay were released. […]
According to information sent to the GDP by the Cyprus Refugee Council (CRC), Cyprus has not ordered a moratorium on new immigration detention orders. Instead, the government’s newly initiated Action Plan – developed before the start of the pandemic in order to address the large number of asylum applications, but presented as a response to […]
Migrants and asylum seekers in Morocco have reportedly been deported to the Algerian border and left in the desert. According to the NGO Caminando Fronteras, even though borders have been shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Morocco has deported more than 100 people, including children. A sub-saharan migrant reported that he was left in Maghnia […]
As of mid-May, the Philippines had nearly 12,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 800 deaths. Since March 15, the Metro Manila region of the country has been subject to a lockdown, including a ban on entry and exit by land, domestic air, and domestic sea, and mandatory home quarantine and social distancing. Restrictions have also […]
There are more than 26,000 recorded cases of Covid-19 cases in Singapore. The vast majority are migrant workers who live in crowded dormitories. As was reported previously on this platform (see 22 April update on Singapore), there are 43 migrant worker dormitories in Singapore, which house around more than 200,000 male workers holding a work […]
With the support of Frontex, an agreement between Spain and Mauritania allows for the return of Mauritanian nationals or migrants arriving in the Canary Islands. In 2018, four flights were carried out. However, from mid 2019 to mid March 2020, nine flights took place. According to the Mixed Migration Centre, at the beginning of the […]
As of 13 May 2020, Slovenia had recorded 1,461 cases of Covid-19 and 102 deaths related to the disease. As of 5 May, the detention centre in Postojna was still open. Migrants in the return procedure were released, with a temporary stay status of up to 6 months or until their removal. However, ECRE revealed […]
The numbers of migrants and refugees in Albania have risen in recent years. According to the Department of Border and Migration, 11,344 people were detained at the border between January 2019 and February 2020. The Euro-Med Monitor called on the government of Albania ‘’to immediately undertake necessary measures to provide adequate housing and sufficient food […]
For the first time in its history, Spain reported that its long-term immigration detention centres–Centros de Internamiento de Extranjeros–were emptied, a result of measures implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The final four detainees were released on 5-6 May from the Algeciras detention centre. The Interior Ministry had been progressively releasing detainees for the […]
Reports indicate that while Libya has taken steps to release some prisoners, its detention centres for holding migrants and asylum seekers remain in operation. In Tripoli, 466 prisoners were released in early April. Although many migrant detention centres are still functioning, staff have reportedly been reduced to a minimum. Doctors Without Borders reported that the […]
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on 14 May that “the placing of asylum seekers or third-country nationals who are the subject of a return decision in the Rözke transit zone at the Serbian-Hungarian border must be classified as ‘detention’.” The Court came to that conclusion as “the conditions prevailing in […]
Global Detention Project Survey completed by Portugal’s Provedor de Justiça (Ombudsman). IS THERE A MORATORIUM ON NEW IMMIGRATION DETENTION ORDERS? Yes. Migrants who have not legalized their presence in the country and had pending cases before the authorities, as well as asylum seekers, were granted a special temporary authorization of residence, with their cases being […]
In response to an information request submitted by the Global Detention Project and the NGO Human Constanta, Belarus Deputy Minister of the Interior Ministry Aleksandr Barsukov confirmed that during the pandemic non-nationals who violate the country’s legislation may continue to face detention and deportation. He wrote, “For foreigners violating the legislation of the Republic of […]
The Italian Minister for Agricultural Policies, Teresa Bellanova, said (6 May) that she wants to regularise some 600,000 undocumented workers. She said: “If this doesn’t happen, the State becomes not only an accomplice but also a promoter of illegality in which these workers are forced.” The confederation of Italian farmers said the regularisation of undocumented […]
Human rights lawyers and lawmakers have raised concerns about conditions in the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Detention Centre, saying they are worried about the risk of Covid-19 spreading among detainees. The Immigration Department nonetheless stated that the health and safety of staff and detainees is a prime concern and that appropriate measures have been put […]
On 1 May, a journalist from France Info visited a detention centre for migrants (Centres de retention administrative – CRA) near Paris. They confirmed that there are new arrivals every week; at the time, 59 detainees were at the centre. In the absence of international flights in destinations of non-european countries, detainees awaiting deportation are […]
According to information provided to the Global Detention Project (GDP) by the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG), the Ukrainian government is currently preparing to release inmates from prisons across Ukraine in an effort to stem the spread of the virus. Together with the Ministry of Justice, KHPG has prepared two bills on amnesty and […]
Despite an unsuccessful legal challenge from Detention Action seeking the release of all immigration detainees at the High Court in March (see 5 April update), more than 700 detainees were released between 16 March and 21 April as the government responded to concerns about the spread of Covid-19 within immigration detention facilities. The organisation has […]
Trinidad and Tobago reportedly operates one dedicated immigration detention centre, the Aripo Detention Centre in Arima, which has a total capacity of 150 places. In recent years, the country has cracked down on Venezuelan migrants and asylum seekers who have fled violence and economic hardship in their country. The Covid-19 pandemic reached the Carribean in […]
Health officials in the state of California announced the first COVID-19 fatality of an immigration detainee on 7 May. The person had been detained at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, which is operated by the prison prison company CoreCivic (formerly the Corrections Corporation of America) in San Diego. The ACLU, in a tweet, said: “The […]
With more than 17,000 cases of Covid-19, Qatar has the highest infection rate in the Gulf. Most cases concern migrant workers, who make up 95 percent of the country’s workforce. Since 2010, in preparation for the 2022 World Cup, there has been an important increase in the numbers of migrant workers, in particular in sectors […]
Egypt does not operate dedicated facilities for immigration-related detention, nor is there an official list of detention sites for this purpose. However, according to Decree 659 (1986), the following prisons should be used for the temporary custody of foreigners awaiting deportation: Qanater El-Kharereya Men’s Prison, Qanater El-Khayereya Women’s Prison, Alexandria Prison, Port Said Prison, and […]
Migrant workers in Jordan have been given a deadline to leave the country, as authorities announced that they would prioritise the employment of Jordanian citizens in the wake of the crisis. Having initiated a strict lock-down to control the virus, the country has started to loosen measures and businesses have now been given the green […]
In correspondence with the Global Detention Project (GDP), UNHCR Algeria reports that the Algerian Government “suspended collective expulsions of migrants in irregular situations in Algeria in mid-March due to the Covid-19 crisis. However, it is reported that groups of nationals from Niger continued to be removed to Niger in March and April, although in smaller […]
South Africa’s main dedicated immigration detention centre is Lindela, located near Johannesburg. However, the country also uses police stations and prisons routinely to hold undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers. There are some 237 prison and jail facilities in the country, and severe overcrowding is common. As of 5 May, there 69 cases of confirmed infections […]
There has been a concerted civil society campaign urging authorities in Oman to assist migrant labourers, who form a critical backbone to the economy of Oman as in other Gulf countries. In Gulf countries, workers must be sponsored by an employer to enter the country, under the kafala systems. The employer has then the authority […]
Global Detention Project Survey completed by Laura Cleton (@LauraCleton), University of Antwerp IS THERE A MORATORIUM ON NEW IMMIGRATION DETENTION ORDERS? There has been no public information on whether new detention orders are still being made. In terms of Orders to Leave the Territory (OLT), the Minister for Social Affairs, Public Health, Migration and Asylum, […]
As of 4 May 2020, Thailand had recorded 2,987 cases of Covid-19 and 54 deaths related to the disease. Among those with the infection are immigration detainees. On 25 April, 42 detainees in the Sadoa Immigration Detention Centre tested positive. The Immigration Police Chief told the press that 73 migrant detainees (out of a total […]
Irregular migrants in Kenya are detained in immigration holding facilities, but also in prisons or in general police custody. The conditions in Kenya’s prisons are worrying, as migrants may face assault and sexual abuse, with limited legal assistance. The National Council for the Administration of Justice announced on 2 April the release of 4,000 prisoners […]
Burkina Faso has rapidly turned into an “unprecedented humanitarian emergency” as conflicts in the Sahel region have displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the past two years, according to MSF. As the Covid-19 pandemic takes hold in the country, UNHCR has expressed alarm over “the growing insecurity in Burkina Faso, where violence is forcing […]
On 11 January 2020, Chinese state media reported the first known death from COVID-19. On 23 January, in the middle of the Lunar New Year holiday and almost overnight, China instituted an internal travel lockdown on people in Wuhan and other cities in Hubei in an effort to contain the domestic spread of the virus. […]
Following reports of protests and hunger strikes in El Ouardia Detention Centre by detainees demanding their release (see 18 April update), Tunisian civil society organisations have called on authorities to clarify the legal basis for detainees’ continued detention. According to the NGOs, migrants and asylum seekers continue to be arrested and detained in Tunisia, despite […]
On 1 May, reports emerged detailing Iranian border guards beating, torturing, and forcing a group of Afghan migrants into the Harirud River in an attempt to prevent them from entering the country from Afghanistan’s Herat Province. According to one migrant who witnessed the incident, Iranian guards “warned us that if we do not throw ourselves […]
The Maldives has more than 100,000 migrant workers—comprising almost 25 percent of the islands’ total population. A large number of these migrants are from Bangladesh, and many are undocumented. With numbers of migrants increasing in recent years, authorities have increasingly cracked down on irregular migration, opening a new dedicated detention centre in Hulhamale (outside Malé) […]
There have been many cases of COVID-19 infections in the country’s prisons, albeit none reported in immigration detention facilities (as of 27 April 2020). According to a report in The Japan Times, all new detainees are placed under quarantine to prevent new transmissions. At least 20 people from the Higashi-Nihon Immigration Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki […]
Refugees and undocumented migrant workers in Malaysia are being targeted as part of a purported anti-Covid-19 campaign, which has included mass arrests and raids across the country since the start of May. According to Al Jazeera, “There has been growing public anger in recent days over the presence of migrant foreigners, with some in Malaysia […]
During the week of 27 April 2020, two ICE guards in a Louisiana detention centre died after contracting Covid-19. Relatives reported that they believed both men had contracted the virus while working at Richwood Correctional Centre in Monroe. In addition, reports indicate that although 45 detainees had tested positive for the virus, guards were allegedly […]
In early March, El Salvador introduced a strict quarantine lock-down, despite authorities announcing that there were no confirmed cases of Covid-19. The country’s measures—which have included the use of the armed forces and national police to enforce quarantine, and the detention of people in forced confinement for breaching the lock-down—have prompted concerns that President Bukele […]
On 23 April, there were 193 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in federal penitentiaries in Canada, according to a report from the Office of the Correctional Investigator. Around 400 detainees were placed in medical isolation. Measures announced by the Correctional Service on 31 March included, among other things, the suspension of all visits and the closing […]
Sweden’s response to Covid-19 has been different to the approach taken by many neighbouring European countries. It has not imposed quarantine on its population, but rather called on its citizens to “take responsibility” and follow the recommendations of health authorities. To date, Sweden has recorded more than 21,000 cases of Covid-19 and 2,586 deaths related […]
Global Detention Project Survey completed by Laura Cleton, University of Antwerp HAS THE NETHERLANDS PLACED A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON NEW IMMIGRATION DETENTION ORDERS BECAUSE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC? NO. Some categories of undocumented migrants, especially those with criminal records, can still be placed in immigration detention if apprehended by the police. The Minister for Migration […]
As public attitudes towards migrants and refugees reportedly deteriorate across Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country’s Security Minister suggested on 23 April that non-citizens should be deported from the country. Alleging that they pose too great an economic burden during the pandemic – as well as a security threat – the Minister said that he would […]
On 26 April, Mexico’s Secretaría de Gobernación, through the National Institute of Migration (INM), ordered the immediate release of migrants detained in the country’s immigration detention centres (estaciones/estancias migratorias) to avoid the spread of Covid-19. The announcement came nearly a week after the UN human rights commissioner (OHCHR) urged Mexico to temporarily suspend deportations and […]
The Ombudsman’s Annual Report on Direct Provision asylum centres, published on 23 April, says that the Covid-19 crisis has underscored how “unsuitable and unsustainable” the physical constraints at these centres are, in particular because of the lack of overall space in the facilities and their lack of resources. The standards provide “a minimum space of […]
As of 28 April 2020, Morocco has registered 4,120 Covid-19 cases and 162 deaths related to the disease. The country has adopted several measures to combat the pandemic including compulsory quarantine from 20 March, the grounding of all flights, school and university closures, and reducing public transportation. To address urgent medical needs and to mitigate […]
More than 500 people – including children – have been stranded on two fishing trawlers in the Bay of Bengal, after Bangladesh refused to allow the refugees to come ashore. Last week, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister announced that the boats would not be allowed to dock, adding that in light of the Covid-19 pandemic the country […]
Despite growing calls from a broad range of actors – including civil society, medical professionals, infectious disease experts, Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner, and detainees themselves–the Australian government had still not taken steps to release vulnerable detainees as of late April. The government has acknowledged that those in correctional and detention settings are most at risk. […]
The Trandum National Police Immigration Detention Centre, Norway’s only immigration detention facility which has a capacity of 220, had a population of 50 detainees as of 1 April, according to a communication from the Norwegian Red Cross (NRC) to the Global Detention Project (GDP). A series of measures have been implemented to avoid the spread […]
Although the number of confirmed Covid-19 infections in Zambia remains low (76 as of 22 April), the rate of infection continues to rise. A land-locked country, Zambia announced in late March that it would not close its borders because of the economic impact this would have. President Edgar Lungu said on 26 March, “Zambia is […]
The Covid-19 pandemic has particularly affected refugees and migrants in Denmark – a country that has pursued increasingly restrictive immigration and asylum policies in recent years. Reports indicate that all integration programmes have been put on hold and language schools are closed. (Although the country has now tentatively started to ease its lockdown restrictions, these […]
Spain’s Defensor del Pueblo (Ombudsman) released a statement on 17 April that expressed concern about the overpopulation at detention centres in Ceuta and Melilla (called “Centros de estancia temporal para inmigrantes”). The Ombudsman highlighted the plight of children at these facilities, as reports indicate that a large number of them are held there. The Ombudsman […]
NGOs report that 6,852 migrants and asylum seekers are currently confined in the country’s 13 closed reception centres. Many had tried to cross into Croatia and Hungary – with some being forcibly pushed back by Hungarian and Croatian border police. In recent months, anti-migrant sentiment has grown in the country: a rally in Belgrade in […]
Nearly 42,000 refugees remain in overcrowded detention camps as the Covid-19 pandemic spreads, with refugees lacking access to essential items and services, such as soap and water as well as basic health care. Despite calls from civil society and the European Commission to release detainees into adequate alternatives and after several detainees tested positive, the […]
A group of civil society organisations issued an open letter on 15 April to the Department of Corrections urging the release of certain categories of prisoners and immigration detainees to address overcrowding. The letter requests that prisoners over the age of 60; sick prisoners; prisoners awaiting trial; prisoners sentenced to terms of up to two […]
ICE reported in mid-March that there were no confirmed cases of Covid-19 in its immigration detention centres. A month later, however, they reported 124 confirmed cases among detainees in 25 facilities, in addition to 30 positive cases among ICE employees. According to the Centre for Migration Studies (CMS) of New York, these ICE figures may […]
As of April 21, there were 9,125 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Singapore. Although Singapore has often been praised for its efforts to contain the virus, the positive effects of such containment have not reached all sectors of society equally. For instance, more than 50 percent of people who had contracted COVID-19 reportedly are work […]
The UK’s Home Affairs Select Committee has called on the government to investigate concerns that cramped conditions in asylum accommodation are putting people at risk of the virus. In particular, the Committee noted its concerns regarding reports of poor conditions in an asylum centre in West Yorkshire that reportedly breached measures to control the spread […]
Hong Kong (officially the Hong Kong Special Adminsitrative Region) began taking measures to contain and combat the COVID-19 pandemic in early February after thousands of medical workers undertook a week-long strike to demand the government close the border with China and provide workers with personal protective equipment, among others measures. From 25 March 2020, the […]
While Canada took measures early on to shrink populations in its dedicated immigration detention centres, people still remain in detention and there are questions about the extent to which immigration detainees confined in prisons have been provided additional safeguards. According to Solidarity Across Borders, as of 16 April the Laval Immigration Detention Center continued to […]
As of 19 April Malawi did not have any reported cases of Covid-19. The country has also not taken any measures to lockdown businesses as the country’s High Court blocked such measures in a ruling on 19 April. However, there are growing concerns among civil society organisations about the impact the virus could have in […]
On 19 April 2020, Guatemalan President, Alejandro Giammattei, stated that a total of 50 migrants deported by the United States to Guatemala have tested positive for Covid-19. Human Rights advocates had been warning for weeks that deportation flights from the United States, the country with the largest known number of Covid-19 cases, could spread the […]
A hotel that was converted to a “direct provision” asylum reception site in the town of Cahersiveen has been placed under lockdown after several residents tested positive for Covid-19. More than one hundred asylum seekers were transferred four weeks ago to the hotel to await the outcomes of their asylum procedures. All the residents have […]
Although little information regarding the country’s immigration detention system is available, data collected by the GDP over the past years shows that the country has used at least five facilities to hold immigration detainees, including prisons and detention centres (see the GDP’s Bahrain immigration detention profile). In 2017, the country had around 820,000 international migrants, […]
As of 17 April 2020, there were 780 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 35 deaths related to the virus in Tunisia. No cases had yet been recorded among the prison population. While the President released 1,420 prisoners at the end of March, the GDP has been unable to find reports indicating that any measures to protect […]
Refugees and migrants, relocated to Rwanda from Libya and subsequently held in Gashora Emergency Transit Centre outside Kigali, have protested against their lockdown. Rwanda has accepted several hundred persons, evacuated from Libya’s notorious detention facilities. Some have been screened and approved for relocation to countries including Canada and Norway, but the lockdown has suspended their […]
On 18 April, President Putin signed a decree “On Temporary Measures to Resolve the Legal Situation of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons in the Russian Federation in Connection with the Threat of Further Spread of the new Coronavirus Infection Covid-19.” This new decree provides that the period from 15 March until 15 June 2020 will […]
Lithuania’s migration situation has been shaped by steep population decline since it joined the EU (dropping by some 15 percent since 2004), shrinking migrant population, and relatively minor asylum pressures (with roughly 400 asylum applicants a year). And yet, the country remains among the worst performers with respect to its integration policies, according to the […]
In response to an information request jointly submitted by the Global Detention Project and Amnesty International Taiwan, the Ministry of the Interior reported that to date they have not begun systematically testing new immigration detainees for Covid-19. However, the agency also reported, “Before people are detained, they must be asked about their health condition, undergo […]
The Irish Department of Justice and Equality announced that all immigration permits due to expire between 20.03.2020 and 20.05.2020 are to be automatically renewed for a period of two months. In addition, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection introduced a Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment, accessible to all workers irrespective of legal status. The […]
In late February, some 16,000 people attended a religious gathering at a mosque on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. Among the attendees were large numbers of undocumented Rohingya refugees. This gathering proved to be a “hotspot” for Covid-19, with significant numbers of those in attendance developing symptoms. Seeking to stem the spread of the virus, […]
Immigration detention in Slovakia has become an increasingly punitive measure, especially since the refugee crisis of 2015. Detention centres resemble prisons, with barred windows and uniformed policemen carrying truncheons. In cases of age disputes, unaccompanied children are considered adults during the assessment and are at risk of being detained alongside adults until bone tests prove […]
On 15 April Greece began relocating to Luxembourg unaccompanied children from camps on the islands of Lesbos, Samos, and Chios, which are severely overcrowded. There are reportedly some 5,000 unaccompanied children in Greek camps, and the country has plans “to relocate about 1,600 vulnerable children to other European countries that volunteer to host them, amid […]
Niger’s Covid-19 situation has been directly impacted by measures taken in neighbouring countries, including in particular Libya, whose push backs of migrants into Niger has forced the country to set up quarantines. As of 31 March, 34 people had tested positive for Covid-19 in Niger. The government has taken certain measures to avoid the spread […]
![Migrants receive assistance in Madama, a military outpost close to the border between Niger and Libya [Courtesy: IOM Niger]](https://globaldetentionproject.org:3000/api/gdpUploadFiles/sources/download/Madama-military-outpost-Niger-Libya.jpeg)
The Ministry of the Interior issued a statement in early April responding to NGO criticism of the living conditions in two reception centres where asylum seekers and refugees were moved to: Pournara and Kofinou. The statement by the Ministry mentions that they are “doing everything humanly possible to provide housing, food and medical care to […]
On 1 April 2020, the Polish Government decided to extend visas for all non-citizens who hold work permits, national visas, or a temporary residence permit, for 30 days after the end of the emergency state. The Office for Foreigners stated that “based on this extended stay, a foreigner will not be able to travel on […]
As of 15 April 2020, Luxembourg had 3,373 confirmed cases of Covid-19 along with 69 deaths. On the same day, the Prime Minister announced that from 20 April 2020, confinement measures would be de-escalated, with construction works restarting and DIY stores opening. Luxembourg has also begun to receive unaccompanied children, relocated from camps on the […]
Protests were reported in the Halberstadt reception centre, where more than 800 people have been under lockdown since 27 March 2020 due to positive Covid-19 tests in the facility. The lack of sanitary products and effective hygiene measures highly increases the risk of infection. Reports indicate that up to 50 people share a single toilet […]
Thousands of Ethiopian workers – including large numbers of domestic workers – were deported from Saudi Arabia (as well as the UAE) over the weekend (10-12 April). Deported on cargo planes, some were reported to be displaying symptoms of Covid-19, although none had been tested for the virus. According to the UAE government, they were […]
Thousands of Ethiopian workers – including large numbers of domestic workers – were deported from the UAE (as well as Saudi Arabia) over the weekend (10-12 April). Deported on cargo planes, some were reported to be displaying symptoms of Covid-19, although none had been tested for the virus. According to the UAE government, they were […]
The Turkish Parliament passed a law to allow tens of thousands of prisoners to be released to prevent the spread in overcrowded prisons. Those jailed on “terrorism” charges following the 2016 coup attempt will not be released, however. According to the law, persons can be temporarily released under judicial control until the end of May, […]
As the country ramped up its response to the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, the country’s Economy Minister announced that all foreign workers laid off during the pandemic would have to be deported from the country. Although he later apologised for the comments, explaining that “choice of words was unfortunate,” he has continued to face significant […]
Almost 50 detainees at Mesnil-Amelot took over a courtyard at the facility to protest poor sanitary conditions and to demand their release. On 12 April, police intervened to end their protest. According to detainees, violence and tear gas were used to disperse them – but the police deny this. The facility is the largest immigration […]
Israel has implemented several measures impacting migrants and asylum seekers as well as prisoners. While one NGO, Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, has reported that they were been able to get some people released from immigration detention since the crisis began, the GDP has found no additional reports detailing what, if any, measures are being […]
As news emerged of a second confirmed case of Covid-19 within a UK Removal Centre, Alison Thewliss – chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Immigration Detention – urged the UK government to release immigration detainees. In a letter to Home Secretary Priti Patel, Thewliss wrote, “The confirmation of a new coronavirus case at Brook […]
Several dozen civil society organisations as well as more than 100 individuals have issued an open letter calling for the immediate release of all immigration detainees. The letter, issued on 9 April, highlighted the risk of contamination of Covid-19 in immigration detention centres due to poor health care provision; hygiene conditions and overcrowding. Reports also […]
Authorities announced that they had expanded access to the labour market for asylum applicants (if they have already submitted their application). Authorities hope that they can help make up for the lack of workforce – particularly seasonal workers – in the country. From 20 March 2020, the Brussels local government will be hosting 100 homeless […]
In the Indian state of Assam, more than 800 persons are being held indefinitely in six detention centres within prisons. Defined by Indian authorities as “foreigners,” these detainees – many of whom are Indian citizens who have been declared “illegal immigrants” by the Foreigners Tribunal on account of poor documentation or poor legal assistance and […]
The government has taken extraordinary measures to contain and combat the COVID-19 pandemic, having started testing people for the virus in January when the first case was reported. As of 7 April, there were 376 cases and five deaths (as the UN does not recognize it as a sovereign state, the WHO does not publish […]
According to GDP partner Migrant-Rights.org, which has posted a dedicated page updating responses by all GCC countries to Covid-19 and its impact on migrant workers in the Gulf (see link below), the government of Kuwait has taken a series of measures that affect migrant workers in the country, including with respect to detention and deportation. […]
The detention visitation group Freedom for Immigrants has updated its map of U.S. detention centres with a “Covid-19 Reporting” filter that provides updated information about infections in detention centres as well as other impacts related to the pandemic. The Center for Migration Studies has launched a dedicated Covid-19 policy developments page, which focuses mainly though […]
According to a lawyer who represents immigration detainees in Japan, to date the Immigration Services Agency has taken no action to safeguard or release detainees. This has prompted NGOs and advocates in the country to issue an appeal on the Immigration Review Task Force Facebook page demanding urgent action by the government. […]
Facing pressure from rights groups and civil society, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has released a small number of immigration detainees. However, as the United States has the largest Immigration detention system in the world, which can reach some 40,000 detainees on any given day, the challenges the country confronts are enormous. Those released to […]
There are reports indicating that Pakistani authorities have taken some steps to mitigate the impact of the virus on the country’s prison population, which includes non-citizen detainees imprisoned under the 1946 Foreigners Act. The government has suspended visits to penitentiaries and court hearings. On 16 March, the Sindh provincial government began screening inmates and prison […]
The Italian government declared its ports “unsafe” due to coronavirus, and will not authorise the landing of migrant rescue boats until after the end of the emergency. […]
According to UNHCR, “There are close to one million refugees in Iran, mostly from Afghanistan and also Iraq. From the onset of the pandemic, the Government of Iran has made every effort to ensure that all refugees have access to the same health services as Iranians, so that they are fully included in the national […]
The GDP has been unable to find any reports indicating whether measures have been taken to safeguard migrants and asylum seekers in detention in Lebanon, in particular at the country’s main immigration detention centre in Beirut. Many migrants and refugees can also end up in prisons for extended periods of time. But there are growing […]
With one of the largest immigration detention systems in the world, Mexico faces an enormous task in trying to protect the tens of thousands of people locked up in its “estaciones migratorias” from contracting Covid-19. Even as the country’s leadership downplayed the risks of the pandemic, some key actors in the country began expressing alarm […]
In mid-March the “Observatoire de l’enfermement des étrangers” (OEE) issued a statement calling for the immediate release of immigration detainees as legally, the state can only hold them for the time necessary to effectuate their deportation. The observatory argued that this was now impossible due to flights being grounded and would run contrary to the […]
Although the GDP has not been able to find reports of authorities taking steps to protect persons in immigration detention, various reports have highlighted that in Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps – which some observers have likened to immigration detention facilities (although the GDP does not classify them as such) – temperature screening has been […]
Despite the country’s open-door policy towards refugees and asylum seekers, on 25 March authorities announced measures to suspend the reception of new refugees and asylum seekers for thirty days. Transit and reception centres were ordered to close immediately, while flights in and out of the country have been suspended and borders sealed. Refugees who are […]
While calls have been circulated urging authorities to take precautionary steps to protect prisoners, the GDP is not aware of such calls being made with regards to immigration detainees. On 24 March, 100 Ukrainian and European NGOs issued a statement urging Russian authorities to take necessary steps to protect prisoners confined in the Donbas and […]
Rights groups have expressed concern regarding migrants and refugees in the country, urging the government to take steps to protect vulnerable sections of society. An important transit country for sub-Saharan migrants seeking passage to Europe, large numbers of migrants – particularly those who are undocumented – lack any form of assistance or support. In a […]
To-date, the GDP has been unable to find any reports indicating that authorities have taken measures within removal centres. Instead, domestic attention has been focused on the country’s prisons. On 17 March, nine human rights organisations and trade unions called on the state and prison authorities to take various steps to ensure the safety of […]
While the Tunisian government has taken several steps to protect prison populations, the GDP has been unable to find any reports indicating that authorities have adopted measures to assist migrants and asylum seekers, including those in detention. Instead, on 24 March it was reported that migrants continued to be placed in Ben Guerdane and Al […]
Despite severe overcrowding characterising Thailand’s immigration detention facilities, the GDP has been unable to find any reports indicating that authorities have taken steps to protect, or release, immigration detainees. While the country has drafted measures which remove the need for foreign tourists, stuck in the country due to airline cancellations, to apply for visa extensions, […]
A number of individuals have been released from immigration detention as a result of measures implemented in response to the pandemic. As of early April, the Police Immigration Department had released 10 individuals as deportations became impossible to undertake. Those released are required to remain in a stated location, either a private address or asylum […]
Spain was one of the first countries in Europe to release immigration detainees amidst the Covid-19 crisis, to date. However the GDP has found little information detailing the situation that released detainees now face, or the level of support that they are receiving. As flights were grounded and movement halted, it was quickly apparent that […]
The Hal Far Open Migrant Centre was placed under quarantine on 5 April, after eight migrants contracted the virus. The facility currently houses approximately 1,000 persons in over-crowded conditions. According to media reports, those who tested positive were isolated and vulnerable persons will be transferred out of the centre to be cared for “in a […]
In mid-March, Greece announced that its plans to transform the hotspots on Leros and Kos into closed reception centres would be accelerated and that all visits to hotspots would be suspended in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, national and international organisations subsequently issued urgent calls to reduce overcrowding in hotspots, including Médecins Sans Frontières […]
Human rights organisations and legal bodies have repeatedly called on the UK Home office to release immigration detainees. While some 300 individuals were released from removal centres by the end of March, a legal filing seeking the release of all immigration detainees was blocked by the High Court. When the crisis first began to escalate […]
Although immigration detention is no longer emphasized in Indonesia, reports suggest that refugees and asylum seekers in the country face a dire situation as it is impossible to keep any social distance as many share rooms in cramped apartments and those accommodated in IOM-operated sites live in severely overcrowded conditions. In addition, with no “rights […]
Swiss authorities have temporarily closed some immigration detention facilities, and detainees who have contracted the virus have been placed in isolation in prisons. In the early stages of the virus’ spread within the country, three Covid-19 cases were detected within federal asylum centres (Chevrilles, Basel, and Bern). Transfers between such facilities were subsequently reduced, but […]
According to the UN, although the number of COVID-19 cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still considered manageable (under 500 as of 1 April) “the infection rate is rising fast and is expected to peak in the coming weeks. The authorities have taken measures to prevent the spread of the disease nationwide, such as curfews […]
By the end of March, the overall detainee population in Canada’s three dedicated immigration detention centres had declined significantly. However, like the United States, Canada also makes extensive use of its prison system to hold immigraiton detainees. The situation of those detainees was not clear as of this update. Globalnews.ca reported on 3 April that […]
On 21 March 2020, the Rights Group for Migration (RGM) issued a statement calling on authorities to protect migrants and asylum seekers in detention from the risk of infection. They called, among other measures, for the provision of sterilization and hygiene materials to detention centres as well as isolation rooms; the elimination of overcrowding; and […]
The Republic of Korea took aggressive action early on in the Covid-19 outbreak to limit the progress of the coronavirus, including adopting strict border control and immigration detention measures. On 1 April, the government adopted a rule that requires all overseas arrivals—including South Koreans—to quarantine at home or at government-designated facilities for two weeks. Reports […]
The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, announced on 23 March 2020 a series of emergency measures, including a “ban on unnecessary movement.” However no specific measures were announced at that time concerning the situation of migrants and asylum seekers, who make up an increasingly large proportion of the island nation’s population (with […]
With the Covid-19 crisis provoking a state of “panic” across Algeria, the country has announced a “plan d’urgence.” Authorities have continued their efforts to block unauthorised migration from sub-Saharan countries, including detaining “migrants clandestins” and arresting alleged traffickers. However, simultaneously, the Ministry of Justice announced that it was temporarily suspending court functions. In addition, all […]
Argentina’s borders have been closed to both nationals and non-nationals since 27 March 2020. On 31 March 2020, this measure was extended until 12 April 2020, through a Decree of Necessity and Urgency, with some modifications, including the possibility for nationals and residents to “gradually return to the national territory.” There are reports indicating that […]
There are critical concerns about the risk of infection spreading uncontrollably in the overcrowded camps and other facilities used to house the some one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Human rights groups issued a joint letter on 1 April commending the government “for working closely with the humanitarian community on COVID-19 preparedness and response in […]
Russia has taken some steps to limit immigration detainee populations. At the same time, it has taken draconian measures that have severely increased the vulnerability of thousands of migrant workers and other foreigners residing in the country. According to ADC Memorial, the government has prohibited the placement of new people in detention centres, and instead […]
Migrants and refugees in Colombia find themselves in a particularly vulnerable situation due to the Covid-19 crisis and the measures taken by the government, including confinement and border closures. Many have lost their homes and been left on the street as they are not able to afford rent. UNHCR has urged the country to adopt […]
The Ministry of Justice put in place several restrictive measures in prisons to avoid the spread of Covid-19, including the suspension of family visits. Prisoners may meet with their legal representatives behind a glass window and phone calls and video conferences have been set up. Under newly passed legislation, prison sentences may be postponed for […]
On 19 March 2020, authorities announced that penal institutions have been placed in quarantine. New prisoners are tested upon their entry and visits are suspended until further notice. Prisons were then placed in isolation from 24 March 2020 onwards and detainees or staff members that have Covid-19 symptoms will be placed in isolation and suspected […]
On 28 March, the Portuguese government announced that all migrants living in the country are to be treated as permanent residents during the crisis. Persons must provide evidence of an on-going residency request before they can use the country’s health service, welfare system, bank accounts, and work and rental contracts. These rules would apply from […]
1,100 Australian healthcare professionals have co-signed a letter to the Home Affairs Minister, Peter Dutton, calling for all refugees and asylum seekers to immediately be released from immigration detention. “Failure to take action to release people seeking asylum and refugees from detention will not only put them at greater risk of infection and possibly death,” […]
The GDP has been unable to find any reports indicating that authorities have taken measures to assist migrants and asylum seekers, who are generally detained in prisons and police stations in Egypt. On 11 March 2020, the Egyptian government suspended visits to prisoners for 10 days due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Activists have urged the […]
Campaign groups such as the “Campagna Nazionale contro la detenzione amministrativa di migranti” have highlighted the risks of the spread of Coronavirus within immigration detention centres in Italy, especially given the poor hygiene conditions and particular vulnerability of detainees. In addition, Italy’s national detainee rights guarantor, Mauro Palma, has urged the government to assess whether […]
The Council of Europe, in a 26 March statement, mentioned Netherlands as being one of a handful of countries in Europe to have released some immigration detainees because of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, other reports indicate that as of the end of March, people continued to be placed in immigration detention and that insufficient steps […]
In mid-March King Al Khalifa of Bahrain ordered, via decree, the liberation of 901 prisoners so as to control the spread of Covid-19. Prison sentences for 585 other prisoners will be changed to rehabilitation and reformation programmes. Bahrain is notorious for imprisoning large numbers of foreign workers, who at one time reportedly made up some […]
On 16 March, Germany reintroduced border controls, stationing federal police at the borders with Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg and Denmark. The Ministry of Interior said that in coordination with the neighbouring countries and authorities in all German federal states with external borders, the border police are ordered to turn away all travellers without a valid […]
On 20 March 2020, the Justice Minister, Ronald Lamola, advised that criminal prisons in South Africa would undergo deep cleaning in a bid to prevent coronavirus infections. In addition, visits to offenders are suspended for 30 days and testing measures are being rolled out. A local NGO, Sonke Gender Justice, has urged the government to […]
Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency (NIA) announced the start of a three-month amnesty programme from 1 April until 30 June 2020. This programme is for foreign nationals who have overstayed their visas, allowing them to pay smaller fines and avoid detention should they report to immigration authorities during the grace period. The maximum penalty will be […]
Numerous civil society organisations have issued calls for the release of immigration detainees in Australia, which took on new urgency after a private security guard at an ad hoc detention centre in a hotel in Brisbane tested positive for Covid-19 in mid-March. On 23 March, asylum seekers in detention across Australia wrote an open letter […]
On 16 March 2020, the Nepalese government restricted the numbers of visitors that can access prisons. Advocacy Forum-Nepal released a statement on 28 March 2020 urging the government to take actions to sanitise and disinfect prisons, detention centres and Child Correction Homes; provide prisoners and detainees with personal protection equipment (face mask, hand sanitiser, soap […]
The GDP has been unable to find any reports indicating that authorities have taken measures to assist migrants and asylum seekers, including those in detention. Visits to prisons have been suspended in New Zealand from 19 March 2020. Authorities had already taken some health and hygiene measures last year due to a measles epidemic which […]
Belgium halved its immigration detention capacity (from 609 to 315 spaces) in the weeks after the outbreak of the pandemic. By 19 March, the total number of detainees in the country’s six detention centres had dropped to 304. However, because reception centres for asylum seekers are no longer accepting new arrivals and detainees are being […]
Among the initial cases of confirmed Covid-19 infections in Hungary were a group of Iranian students studying in Budapest. This spurred Hungarian authorities to capiltiaze on the pandemic to stoke xenophobia, blaming migrants and refugees for the spread of the virus. Prime Minister Viktor Orban said there was a “clear link” between illegal immigration and […]
On 26 March, the state-backed Human Rights Commission (HRC) announced that 250 foreign detainees – held on non-violent immigration and residency offences – had been released from detention facilities. A HRC spokesman stated that more releases were to be expected. Previously, on 18 March 2020, Saudi authorities decided to close tribunals for two weeks and […]
Ireland does not have specialized immigraiotn detention centres, instead using prisons and jails to detain people for immigration reasons. In Irish prisons, the prison administration announced on 13 March 2020 restrictions regarding visits. Visits are only allowed for 15 minutes, once a week and per prisoner. Visitors under the age of 18 and those that […]
UAE authorities provide little information regarding where non-citizens are detained for immigration-related reasons. Some sources indicate that the country has operated at least one dedicated deportation facility, but detainees are also known to have been held in criminal prisons. Authorities announced on 23 March 2020 that all inbound, outbound, and transit flights would be suspended […]
On 23 March 2020, the Ministry of Justice announced plans to extend a programme under which some prisoners are allowed to serve their sentence at home to help curb the spread of coronavirus. The proposal could benefit up to 12,000 prisoners and they would be kept under electronic supervision. The GDP has been unable to […]
Riots have broken out in Qatar’s prisons. In the central prison in Doha, prisoners attacked a guard and burnt several cells. It has also been reported that the administration is refusing to release prisoners even though Covid-19 is spreading within its penal institutions. Rioters are being placed in isolation, without water, food or cigarettes. Some […]
In mid-March, the Honduran government declared a state of “health emergency” and suspended all visits to prisons following reports of two confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country. In addition, staff and detainees must wear masks in Court. The GDP has been unable to obtain information concerning measures taken within the “Centros de Atención al […]
In Romanian prisons, measures such as the curtailment of visitation hours have been taken to minimise the risk of Covid-19 spread. However, on 18 March 2020, a riot broke out at the Satu Mare prison, leaving three inmates dead and two others seriously injured. The GDP has been unable to find any reports indicating that […]
