Global Detention Project Newsletter
February 2015
NEW GDP DETENTION REPORT
With Libya experiencing large-scale internal displacement as the country becomes increasingly engulfed in civil war, migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees are finding themselves systematically exposed to arbitrary and indefinite detention. Concerns highlighted by observers include the increasing absence of oversight at detention facilities as social services in the country grind to a halt, the involvement of militias in detaining foreigners, the lack of any legal process providing for detention, corruption and endemic anti-black racism at detention facilities, and the “abysmal” and “unacceptable” conditions at most facilities. Despite these concerns, the EU and Italy have continued to invest millions of Euros in Libyan detention efforts and have maintained pressure on the country to block the passage of migrants and asylum seekers hoping to make it to Europe. Read report.
STAFF PUBLICATIONS & ACTIVITIES
International Studies Association: Cecilia Cannon, former research assistant at the GDP, presented a paper she coauthored with Michael Flynn at the ISA’s 56th Annual Convention in New Orleans (18-21 February 2015). The paper was titled “Does Privatization Explain the Poor Treatment of People in Immigration Detention?”
Odysseus Conference: On 6 February 2015, Mariette Grange chaired the session “Introducing the notion of alternatives to detention in the EU policy-making” at the final conference of the Odysseus Network’s “Made Real” Project, “Alternatives to Immigration Detention in The EU: The Time For Implementation,” which was held at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
Texas International Law Journal Symposium: Michael Flynn gave a presentation titled “Concealing and Revealing: The Role of Liberal Norms in the Evolution of Detention Regimes” at the Texas International Law Journal Symposium “Immigration and Freedom of Movement” (University of Texas at Austin, 5 February 2015).
GDP MEMBERS & ADVISERS
UN expert calls on Europe to bank on migrants’ mobility to regain control of its borders.Statement by François Crépeau (McGill University) in his capacity as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants. UN Human Rights Council. 5 February 2015. Read.
Myanmar: Foreign mining companies colluding in serious abuses and illegality. Meghna Abraham helped produce this in-depth Amnesty International investigation into mining operations in Myanmar. Read. She discusses the investigation in this Al Jazeera report.
An Assessment of the Report of the Inquiry into the Use of Immigration Detention in the United Kingdom. Blog post by Mary Bosworth, Border Criminologies. 3 March 2015. Read.
National Security, Values and the Terrorist Threat: Lessons From the 9/11 and French Attacks.By Don Kerwin of the Center for Migration Studies. Huffington Post, 17 January 2015. Read.
La Chronique Ciné. Review of Fernand Melgar’s “L’abri, 4 March 2015. Read.
