GLOBAL DETENTION PROJECT NEWSLETTER
August 2017
NEW FROM THE GDP
Immigration Detention in Malta
Malta is the most densely populated country in the European Union and has one of the highest concentrations of refugees in the world. Although at one time it served as a key destination for migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Mediterranean Sea en route to Europe, increased efforts to interdict boats have led to a sharp decline in irregular arrivals. In 2015 the country revised several key policies, including ending mandatory detention and adopting new detention measures at initial reception sites. Read the report here.
Submission to the UN Migrant Workers Committee: Libya
The GDP raises concerns about the severe human rights violations suffered by migrants and asylum seekers detained arbitrarily in Libya. It highlights reports of indefinite detention, abysmal conditions of detention, violence at the hands of guards and non-state actors, and re-detention after interception at sea. The submission urges external actors like the European Union to ensure that any bilateral or multilateral agreements concluded with current and future Libyan authorities protect migrants from arbitrary detention and torture. Read the submission here.
Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child: Denmark
This submission focuses on the detention of migrants and asylum seeking children in Denmark and raises several questions aimed at clarifying the country’s efforts to prevent abuses of children when in custody. Read the submission here.
PUBLICATIONS, EVENTS, NEWS
International Network for Research, Advocacy and Policy on Immigration Detention
The Global Detention Project has teamed up with researchers from McGill University and scholars from across the globe to form this new international network focusing on immigration detention. The Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council recently announced that it had awarded the network a grant. More information is available here.
The Red Line Project: Challenging the EU’s Efforts to Blur the Line between Detention and Non-Detention
The Global Detention Project is a member of a new research and advocacy project led by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee that aims to develop empirical evidence on how the EU and its member states increasingly blur the distinction between detention and non-detention measures and craft effective advocacy, litigation, and communications strategies to address problems arising from these developments. The project, to be launched in late 2017 with support from the European Project for Integration and Migration, also includes the Greek Council for Refugees, the Italian Refugee Council, the Foundation for Access to Rights (Bulgaria), and the European Council for Refugees and Exiles.
The EU Detention Regime and Its Compatibility with International Human Rights Law
The GDP’s Izabella Majcher will present a paper on the EU detention regime and its compatibility with international human rights law at the Migration Law Section of the 2017 Society of Legal Scholars Conference taking place in Dublin on 5-8 September.
Immigration Detention of Children: Coming to a Close?
The GDP’s Executive Director will be panelist at a conference hosted by the Czech Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe concerning trends in the detention of children. The event, titled “Immigration Detention of Children: Coming to a Close?” will take place on 25-26 September in Prague. More information about the conference is available here.
Expert Consultation of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture: Migration-related Torture
The Global Detention Project participated in the Expert Consultation of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture on Migration related Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which took place on 28-30 August at Palais Wilson in Geneva.
GDP ON THE RECORD
“On Youth, Family, and LGBT Detention.” CIVIC (21 August 2017). #ImmigrationDetentionSyllabus. Accessible here.
“Refugee policy as ‘negative nation branding’: the case of Denmark and the Nordics.” Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen (2017), Danish Foreign Policy Yearbook 2017, Danish Institute for International Studies, p.99-126. Accessible here.
“Immigration Detention and Health in Europe.” Barbara Bricks et al. Emerging Issues in Prison Health, Springer, pp. 217-236. Accessible here.
“Modern slavery. Renewed blood in the veins of UAE markets.” Maha Omar (26 August 2017). Ultra Sawt. Accessible here.
“Policing Bodies in Transit: Borders, Detention and Migrant Narratives Along the Balkan Route.” Olivia Johnson (2017), Thesis, Duke University. Accessible here.
“The Human Cost of IIRIRA — Stories From Individuals Impacted by the Immigration Detention System.” Saba Ahmed, Adina Appelbaum, Rachel Jordan (2017), Journal on Migration and Human Security, Vol. 5 No. 1, The Center for Migration Studies of New York, pp.194-216. Accessible here.
“Exposure to Violence and Conflict: Exploring Predictors of Unauthorized Migration to the USA.” L. Tobia (2017), Global Social Welfare, Vol. 4 No.2, Springer, pp. 71-80. Accessible here.
