Welcome to the Global Detention Project’s roundup of current research, publications, and events. OUR LATEST EVENTS & PUBLICATIONS The Treatment of Migrants and Asylum Seekers at the Lithuania-Belarus Border: Testimony Provided to the Committee against TortureOn 16 November 2021, the GDP and the Lithuania-based Human Rights Monitoring Institute (HRMI) made a joint oral statement during the 72nd session of […]
Publications & Events
Externalisation, Immigration Detention, and the Committee on Migrant Workers
Detention has long played a key role in efforts to externalise immigration and asylum procedures. However, an unexpected development has resulted: The most poorly ratified international human rights treaty, the Migrant Workers Convention, has turned into a critical forum for advocating for the protection of the fundamental rights of migrants and refugees ensnared in offshore control regimes. […]
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention as a Venue for Challenging Arbitrary Immigration Detention: A GDP Briefing with Elina Steinerte
The Global Detention Project (GDP) hosted a 2-hour training and information session with the Chair of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), Elina Steinerte (full video available below). The event, held on Zoom, was attended by approximately 60 migrant rights advocates representing some 40 civil society organizations from every region of the world. […]
Forced Migration Review: Special Issue on “Externalisation”
In Forced Migration Review issue 68’s main feature on Externalisation, authors examine the consequences for protection when states increasingly take action beyond their own borders to prevent the arrival of refugees and asylum seekers, including an article by the GDP’s Michael Flynn on how the efforts of wealthy countries to externalise migration and asylum controls have […]
Oral Submission: Testimony on Lithuania’s Treatment of Migrants at the Border with Belarus at the UN Committee against Torture’s 72nd Session
The Human Rights Monitoring Institute and the Global Detention Project presented reports about mistreatment and disappearances of migrants and asylum seekers detained near the border with Belarus at the 72nd Session of the UN Committee against Torture. […]
NEWSLETTER: October 2021 Newsletter: Turkey, Lithuania, the CMW and the Right to Liberty
OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS Immigration Detention in Turkey: Trapped at the Crossroad Between Asia and EuropeTurkey has one of the world’s largest migration-related detention systems, operating more than two dozen of removal centres with a capacity of nearly 16,000 in addition to ad hoc detention sites along its borders, airport transit zones, and police stations. A reluctant […]
Immigration Detention in Turkey: Trapped at the Crossroad Between Asia and Europe
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. […]
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. […]
