Submission to the Universal Periodic Review: Greece

Greece has faced enormous influxes of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. As arrivals have continued, authorities have taken steps to modify the country’s asylum law and restructure reception and detention facilities. During 2020, the country began relocating asylum seekers from island hotspots, banned the detention of children in police stations, and amended asylum detention laws. […]

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Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review: Hungary

Since the closure of its transit zones in 2020, Hungary has implemented a new, highly restrictive asylum procedure requiring all applicants to lodge their requests at consulates in Serbia or Ukraine. In a submission to the UPR, the GDP and Hungarian Helsinki Committee draw attention to this issue, along with other concerns related to migration detention and border enforcement measures. […]

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NEWSLETTER: Immigration Detention Laws and Practices in Mexico; Lengthy Detention Stays for Asylum Seekers in New Zealand

LATEST PUBLICATIONS Immigration Detention in Mexico: Between the United States and Central America Mexico has one of the largest immigration detention systems in the world, employing several dozen detention centres—euphemistically called estaciones migratorias—and detaining tens of thousands of people every year. Intense pressure from the United States and continuing migration from turmoil-wracked Central America have helped drive […]

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Implementing the Non-Punishment Principle for Victims of Trafficking

On 4-5 February, the GDP’s Michael Flynn served as a moderator during a two-day expert consultation convened by the UN Special Rapporteur (SR) on trafficking in persons – Siobhán Mullally – aimed at informing the SR’s June 2021 report to the Human Rights Council. The discussion was based on the 2020 paper published by the […]

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Immigration Detention in the European Union

This book offers a unique comparative assessment of the evolution of immigration detention systems in European Union member states since the onset of the “refugee crisis.” By applying an analytical framework premised on international human rights law in assessing domestic detention regimes, the book reveals the extent to which EU legislation has led to the adoption of laws and practices that may disregard fundamental rights and standards. […]

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Immigration Detention in the Republic of Korea: Penalising People in Need of Protection

Over the last two decades, South Korea has implemented increasingly restrictive asylum and migrant worker policies. Although the government does not provide adequate data about immigration detention, making it challenging to assess trends in the country, observers have reported that in recent years this crackdown has grown in scale and intensity. Children, victims of trafficking, and other vulnerable groups can be subjected to indefinite detention, often in facilities where detainees have reported instances of abuse; asylum seekers can find themselves stranded for months in privately operated airport “holding areas”; and national and international human rights bodies have repeatedly called for reforms in the country’s immigration detention centres. […]

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Using Detention to Talk About the Elephant in the Room

“Using detention to talk about the elephant in the room: the Global Compact for Migration and the significance of its neglect of the UN Migrant Workers Convention” – M. Grange and I. Majcher, International Journal of Law in Context In an article for the International Journal of Law in Context, GDP Advisor Mariette Grange and […]

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