October 2014
PRESS RELEASE
The Global Detention Project announces that it has re-launched as an independent non-profit research centre after being based for eight years at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. Read the press release here.
NEW GDP COUNTRY PROFILES
Germany
Germany’s immigration detention policies contrast sharply with those of its EU neighbours: It makes widespread use of prisons and local authorities are responsible for detention. The decentralized nature of this system presents important challenges to getting information about detention and establishing accountability. Federal authorities often claim that they do not have statistics on immigration detention and some local authorities have claimed that information about this issue is “sensitive.” Germany’s detention policies were the subject of recent ground-breaking legal cases at the Court of Justice of the European Union, which ruled that Germany cannot rely on the fact that there are no dedicated detention facilities in a given state to justify keeping non-citizens in prison pending their removal. On the other hand, the number of detainees in the county has sharply fallen in recent years. One official told the Global Detention Project, “There are important discussions going on right now in Germany about whether we should be detaining immigrants at all.” Read more.
Egypt
Egypt has long been an important destination and crossing point for international migrants and asylum seekers in the Mediterranean region. Since the onset of conflicts in Syria and Gaza, the country has also become an important destination for Syrian nationals and Palestinians. Egypt’s response to these migration pressures has a times been characterized by violence and arbitrariness. According to unofficial sources, thousands of Africans, many trafficked in the Sinai by Bedouin tribes, have disappeared in recent years, some of whom were later found confined in Egyptian jails. Syrians, who were initially welcomed by Egypt, now find themselves frequently detained in police stations. And Palestinians fleeing the devastation wrought by Israeli bombing have reportedly been shot at and arrested by police as they attempt to leave Egyptian shores in smuggling boats heading for Europe. The legal status of detainees is often unclear as they shift between criminal and administrative forms of custody. The Global Detention Project estimates that nearly 60 detention facilities, nearly all of them either prisons or police cells, have been used in recent years for immigration-related detention. Read more.
NEW PUBLICATIONS BY GDP STAFF, MEMBERS, AND ADVISERS
Inside Immigration Detention. Prof. Mary Bosworth, professor of criminology at Oxford University and a member of the GDP’s Academic Advisory Council, recently published a new book, Inside Immigration Detention (Oxford University Press, September 2014). Read about or order the book here.
A New Start for the EU’s Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice? In September 2014, Prof. Elspeth Guild, a professor at Radboud University and a member of GDP’s Academic Advisory Council, and coauthor Sergio Carrera published two articles for the Centre for European Policy Studies discussing developments at the European Commission relevant to EU migration policy-making. The articles are available here and here.
OTHER GDP NEWS & ACTIVITIES
CINETS Network: On 10 October Izabella Majcher presented a paper titled “European Union Immigration Detention Regime: A Manifestation of Crimmigration?” at the second CINETS conference “Borders of Crimmigration,” in Leiden, Netherlands.
University of Geneva: On 17 September, Mariette Grange and Izabella Majcher gave a presentation titled “Les frontières de la détention administrative” at the conference “Migrations et frontières: chercheurs, praticiens et artistes croisent leurs regards,” which was hosted by the University of Geneva in coordination with asile.ge et le Centre social protestant Genève.
Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network: On 3 September, Izabella Majcher gave a presentation titled “Measuring Immigration Detention: An Introduction to the Global Detention Project’s Data Design and Methodology” at the 5th Asia Pacific Consultation on Refugee Rights, Bangkok, Thailand.
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: On 2 September, Michael Flynn was a panelist at UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s “Stakeholders Consultation to prepare draft principles and guidelines on remedies and procedures on the right to court review of detention.” His statement is available here.
