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 […]
Detention Blog
28 May 2021 – Solomon Islands
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 […]
![Solomon Islands Red Cross Society Handing Over Items Donated by ICRC to the Correctional Services of Solomon Islands on 13 May 2020, (Solomon Islands Red Cross Society, Facebook Post, 13 May 2020, https://www.facebook.com/solomonislandsredcrosssociety/posts/862995254179285)](https://globaldetentionproject.org:3000/api/gdpUploadFiles/sources/download/0845959_491dsdsdsd7353811477004288_n.jpeg)
21 May 2021 – Japan
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 […]
![J. Ryall, “Japan Drops Plans to Fast-Track Refugee Deportations After Sri Lankan’s Death in Detention,” This Week in Asia, 18 May 2021, https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3133948/japan-drops-plans-fast-track-refugee-deportations-after-sri](https://globaldetentionproject.org:3000/api/gdpUploadFiles/sources/download/Japan---This-Week-in-Asia.jpeg)
18 May 2021 – Saint Kitts and Nevis
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 St. Kitts and Nevis Observer, “HMP Has Strict Measures to Avoid COVID-19 Outbreak,” 16 May 2021, https://www.thestkittsnevisobserver.com/hmp-has-strict-measures-to-avoid-covid-19-outbreak/](https://globaldetentionproject.org:3000/api/gdpUploadFiles/sources/download/St.-Kitts-e1556104510169-2497x1406.jpeg)
12 May 2021 – United States
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 […]
![A still from surveillance footage included in a Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report from March about pandemic-era violations of detention standards at the La Palma immigration detention center in Arizona. The people being pepper sprayed had been peacefully protesting to demand better protection from COVID-19: N. Lanard,](https://globaldetentionproject.org:3000/api/gdpUploadFiles/sources/download/La-Palma-DHS-OIG-Image.jpeg)
11 May 2021 – Switzerland
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 […]
![Statistics on Detainees per Category of Detention in Switzerland from 2017 to 2021, (Office Fédéral de la Statistique,](https://globaldetentionproject.org:3000/api/gdpUploadFiles/sources/download/dddd.jpeg)
10 May 2021 – France
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 […]
![Outside View of the Zone d'Attente pour les Personnes Maintenues en Instance (ZAPI), (C. Bouanchaud,](https://globaldetentionproject.org:3000/api/gdpUploadFiles/sources/download/c04e24b_388232567-zapi.jpeg)
07 May 2021 – Chile
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 […]
![Cuartel de la Policia de Investigaciones de Iquique, (Google Maps, accessed on 7 May 2021, https://tinyurl.com/xwjs7neb)
(Cuartel de la Policía de Investigaciones de Iquique](https://globaldetentionproject.org:3000/api/gdpUploadFiles/sources/download/civ_iquique-1620393834.jpeg)
04 May 2021 – India
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 […]
![Rohingya Refugees Along with their Luggage outside a Mosque in Jammu, Kashmir (J. Singh, EPA,](https://globaldetentionproject.org:3000/api/gdpUploadFiles/sources/download/cc.jpeg)
28 April 2021 – Cape Verde
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 […]
![Military Personnel Carry Ballot Boxes and Voting Equipment to a Polling Station in Praia on 17 April 2021, (AFP, TRT World,](https://globaldetentionproject.org:3000/api/gdpUploadFiles/sources/download/dd.jpeg)