With one of the world’s largest migration detention systems, Turkey has long served as Europe’s reluctant refugee gatekeeper. This role has repeatedly been put on display, including in the wake of the refugee “crisis” in 2015, which culminated in the adoption of the controversial EU-Turkey refugee deal; and, more recently, after the 2021 Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, which spurred Turkey to extend border walls and engage in often violent pushbacks of Afghan refugees. […]
Publications & Events
Joint Submission to the Committee against Torture: Lithuania
This submission highlights Lithuania’s treatment of migrants and asylum seekers in response to recent increases in border crossings from Belarus, which has included stranding vulnerable people–including children–in dire conditions in border regions, using ad hoc detention sites, and expanding detention powers. Testimonies provided by detainees include numerous allegations of torture and mistreatment by security officials. […]
Statement by Abdul Aziz Muhamat* at the launch of the UN Committee on Migrant Workers’ General Comment No. 5 (2021) on migrants’ right to liberty
Statement by Abdul Aziz Muhamat at the launch event for the UN Committee on Migrant Workers’ General Comment No. 5 (2021) on migrants’ rights to liberty, freedom from arbitrary detention and their connection with other human rights by the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
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Statement by Michael Flynn on CMW General Comment #5
While much of the conversation today about how to treat migrants revolves around developing better management strategies and improving service provisions, the Committee on Migrant Workers with this General Comment affirms loudly and clearly that the most important conversation we should be having is how to preserve migrants’ fundamental rights. […]
Committee on Migrant Workers: General Comment No. 5 (2021) on migrants’ rights to liberty, freedom from arbitrary detention and their connection with other human rights
On 7 October 2021, the UN Committee on Migrant Workers released its General Comment No. 5 (2021), which provides an authoritative interpretation of articles 16 and 17 and other articles of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, focusing on migrants’ right to liberty and freedom from arbitrary detention. […]
NEWSLETTER: Committe On Migrants Workers on the Right to Liberty; Updates on Afghanistan, Greece, Australia, Egypt, Poland, Italy
LATEST PUBLICATIONS Afghanistan Situation Report: Decades of internal conflict and foreign military interventions have turned Afghanistan into one of the world’s leading source countries for migrants and refugees, with several million Afghan nationals living outside the country. The evacuation of U.S. and other international forces in 2021 spurred a new surge in Afghans seeking to […]
Afghanistan Situation Report
The evacuation of foreign militaries from Afghanistan is spurring a new refugee exodus. This “Situation Report” provides an overview of early responses to the crisis in key countries across the globe as well as a summary of recommendations from human rights monitors. […]
NEWSLETTER: Welcoming new GDP team members; UNHCR Afghan Non-Removal Advisory; Immigration detention in Morocco, Zimbabwe, UK and more
The GDP’s Summer 2021 Newsletter: including the latest on detention in Morocco, Zimbabwe, and the UK; welcoming new colleagues, and more… […]
Immigration Detention in Morocco: Still Waiting for Reforms as Europe Increases Pressure to Block Migrants and Asylum Seekers
Morocco has long prided itself for defending the rights of migrants and asylum seekers, a reputation it sought to reprise when it took a leadership role in the negotiations over the Global Compact for Migration, adopted in Marrakech in 2019. However, this reputation has repeatedly been tarnished as criticism has grown over its treatment of asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants […]
Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review: Zimbabwe
This submission has been prepared by the Global Detention Project (GDP) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) for the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Zimbabwe in January 2022. […]
