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 […]
Detention Blog
26 February 2021 – Guinea
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, […]
25 February 2021 – Malaysia
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 […]
24 February 2021 – Eswatini
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. […]
23 February 2021 – Norway
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 […]
22 February 2021 – Dominica
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 […]
22 February 2021 – Russian Federation
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 […]
18 February 2021 – Malaysia
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. […]
17 February 2021 – Barbados
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 […]
16 February 2021 – United States
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 […]
