Tuvalu

Detains migrants or asylum seekers?

Unknown

Has laws regulating migration-related detention?

Yes

Refugees

2

2015

International Migrants

239

2020

Population

11,396

2023

International Migrants as % of Population

2.03%

2020

Overview

Types of facilities used for migration-related detention
Administrative Ad Hoc Criminal Unknown

Tuvalu: Covid-19 and Detention

Like other Pacific-island nations that this platform has reported on (like Samoa and Tonga), Tuvalu had yet to report any COVID-19 cases as of October 2020. In March, the country instituted a State of Emergency and shut its borders to all inbound flights and vessels. Tuvalu has one hospital for its approximately 11,000-person population, with […]

Read More…

C. Farbotko and T. Kitara, “How is Tuvalu Securing Against COVID-19?,” DevPolicyBlog, 6 April 2020, https://devpolicy.org/how-is-tuvalu-securing-against-covid-19-20200406/
Last updated:

DETENTION STATISTICS

Migration Detainee Entries
Not Available
2019

DETAINEE DATA

Total Number of Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
0
2017

DETENTION CAPACITY

ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA

PRISON DATA

Criminal Prison Population (Year)
11
2014
8
2013
Percentage of Foreign Prisoners (Year)
0
2007
Prison Population Rate (per 100,000 of National Population)
110
2014
80
2013

POPULATION DATA

Population (Year)
11,396
2023
11,342
2020
10,000
2015
International Migrants (Year)
239
2020
238
2019
100
2015
International Migrants as Percentage of Population (Year)
2.03
2020
1.4
2015
Refugees (Year)
2
2015
Stateless Persons (Year)
0
2015

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS

Gross Domestic Product per Capita (in USD)
3,826
2014
Remittances to the Country (in USD)
4
2014
Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) (in Millions USD)
34.4
2014

LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Does the Country Detain People for Migration, Asylum, or Citizenship Reasons?
Unknown
2022
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Yes
2024
Legal Tradition(s)
Common law
2017

GROUNDS FOR DETENTION

LENGTH OF DETENTION

DETENTION INSTITUTIONS

PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS

COSTS & OUTSOURCING

COVID-19 DATA

TRANSPARENCY

MONITORING

NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOs)

GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES

INTERNATIONAL DETENTION MONITORING

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES

International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CRSR, Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
1986
2017
CRPD, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
2013
2017
CRC, Convention on the Rights of the Child
1995
2017
CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
1999
2017
VCCR, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
1982
2017
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 5/19
Ratio of Complaints Procedures Accepted
Observation Date
0/3
2017
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee on the Rights of the Child § 51. The State party consider ratifying the following core human rights instruments to which it is not yet a party: ( a) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; (b) The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; (c) The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; (d) The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance; (e) The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; (f) The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. 2020
2020

> UN Special Procedures

> UN Universal Periodic Review

Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
No 2023 4th
2023
No 2013
2017
No 2009
2017

> Global Compact for Migration (GCM)

GCM Resolution Endorsement
Observation Date
2018

> Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)

GCR Resolution Endorsement
Observation Date
2018

REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

HEALTH CARE PROVISION

HEALTH IMPACTS

COVID-19

Country Updates
Like other Pacific-island nations that this platform has reported on (like Samoa and Tonga), Tuvalu had yet to report any COVID-19 cases as of October 2020. In March, the country instituted a State of Emergency and shut its borders to all inbound flights and vessels. Tuvalu has one hospital for its approximately 11,000-person population, with limited medical personnel and equipment, resulting in fears that a domestic outbreak would overwhelm the health system. Tuvalu has ratified the Refugee Convention, but it does not receive significant numbers of asylum seekers or refugees, and immigration measures like detention and deportation do not appear to be employed as enforcement tools.