23 July 2020 – Mauritania

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, […]

Read More…

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “COVID-19, Communicating with Refugees in Mauritania,” 20 May 2020, https://bit.ly/3jr4UE6

22 July 2020 – Peru

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, […]

Read More…

Police and Armed Forces Standing in the Street, (Getty Images,

22 July 2020 – Bosnia and Herzegovina

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 […]

Read More…

Sarajevo Immigration Detention Centre Entrance, (Google Maps,

21 July 2020 – Czech Republic

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 […]

Read More…

Outside View of a Part of the Bela-Jezova Detention Centre for Refugees, (Press TV,

21 July 2020 – Latvia

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 […]

Read More…

Mucenieki Reception Centre, (Wikimapia,

20 July 2020 – Romania

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 […]

Read More…

Migrants and Refugees in the Courtyard of Timisoara ETC, (UNHCR,

20 July 2020 – Luxembourg

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 […]

Read More…

Findel Immigration Detention Centre (Centre de Rétention de Findel), (Le Quotidien,

19 July 2020 – France

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 […]

Read More…

European Migration Network Logo, (EMN,

17 July 2020 – Sweden

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 […]

Read More…

A Migration Agency Office in Sweden, (Susanne Lindholm, TT,

17 July 2020 – Spain

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 […]

Read More…

Permanent Observatory for Immigration Logo, (OPI,