Detention “Shelters,” International Isolation, Growing Migration Pressures

Although conditions in Taiwan’s detention centres have frequently been criticised, they have received little international scrutiny because of China’s opposition to Taiwan’s UN membership.

Full Country Profile

10,844

Migration Detainees

4

Number of Detention Centres

Yes

Has laws regulating migration-related detention?

1,418

Total Immigration Detention Capacity

Severe Detention Regimes and Paltry Conditions

Detention is a key immigration enforcement measure in Hong Kong, despite the fact that detention facilities have long been criticised for poor conditions and complaints of mistreatment.

Full Country Profile

5,549

Migration Detainees

4

Number of Detention Centres

52,506

Apprehensions of Non-Citizens

Yes

Has laws regulating migration-related detention?

Australia: Turning Arbitrary Detention into a Global Brand

Deplorable migration detention practices abound across the globe; Australia, however, brings together a range of extreme policies, provides them blanket legal cover, aggressively defends them in the face of growing international opprobrium, and spreads them to countries near and far.

Full Country Profile

5,019

Migration Detainees

32

Deportations/Forced Removals

8,111,404

International Migrants

29,511

Refugees

Trapped at the Crossroad between Europe and Asia

With one of the largest migration detention systems, Turkey has long served as Europe's reluctant refugee gatekeeper ... and sometimes strong-armed enforcer, as Afghan refugees have recently experienced.

Full Country Profile

20,000

Detained Asylum Seekers

30

Total Number of Detained Children

75,678

Deportations/Forced Removals

32

Detention Centres

Using data and analysis to promote the human rights of migrant detainees

Every day, hundreds of thousands of people are detained across the globe for reasons related to their immigration status, including children, asylum seekers, refugees, trafficking victims, torture survivors, stateless persons, and others. The GDP relentlessly pursues information about where they are locked up and how they are treated to ensure that their human rights are respected.

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Map of the Detention centres

Featured Publications

Detention Blog

Externalisation: ACHPR Calls on African States to Protect Migrants Amid Rising Deals 

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has issued a new resolution cautioning against the externalisation of migration governance and urging African States to safeguard the rights and dignity of migrants deported from non-African countries. Adopted amidst a surge in bilateral agreements between African governments and external partners–in particular the United States and the European Union–the resolution echoes similar warnings from other international monitoring bodies and underscores the serious risks associated with externalised migration enforcement schemes. […]

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Submissions & Recommendations

Uganda: Submission to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers

Uganda’s important role in hosting refugees recently received global attention after it agreed to a deal with the United States to accept deported third-country nationals who have pending asylum claims in the United States. While this agreement has raised concerns about Uganda’s commitments to uphold its human rights and humanitarian commitments, it nevertheless follows a pattern of adopting increasingly restrictive policies and practices in recent years, undermining Uganda’s long-held reputation as a welcoming country. […]

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Submissions & Recommendations

Albania: Submission to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers

In a submission to the UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW) ahead of its adoption of its List of Issues Prior to Reporting during its 41st session, the Global Detention Project addressed concerns about the country’s migration-related detention policies and practices, including its collaboration with Italy in detaining third-country migrants deported by its neighbour. […]

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Submissions & Recommendations

Tunisia: Submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Since 2023, Tunisia has adopted a particularly hardline approach to migration, and observers have documented a surge in violence against African migrants including raids, arbitrary arrests, detentions, and mass deportations to the borders with Algeria and Libya. These practices have coincided with growing European support for the country’s border control and migration “management.” In a joint submission with FTDES, the GDP highlights concerns to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. […]

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Submissions & Recommendations

Israel: Submission to the UN Committee against Torture

In a joint submission with the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, the GDP has raised concerns with the UN Committee against Torture over Israel’s detention laws and practices, highlighting new and proposed legislation permitting indefinite detention and deportations in violation of the principle of non-refoulement, the detention of vulnerable groups, inadequate protections for non-nationals during the Iran-Israel war, and the failure to support migrant victims of the 7 October Hamas attack. […]

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Submissions & Recommendations

Niger: Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review

Since the 2023 coup, Niger’s migration landscape has changed dramatically, with new legislation tightening entry, stay, and movement, criminalising irregular migration, and granting broad powers to enforcement officers. In a joint submission to the UPR, the GDP, JMED Niger, and REMIDDH raise concerns over arbitrary and harmful detention, poor conditions, and abuse of migrants, urging Niger to amend its policies to ensure detention is used only as a last resort and in line with international human rights standards. […]

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