NEWSLETTER: June 2019

OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS Immigration Detention in Portugal: Resettling Refugees, Detaining Asylum Seekers Unlike most EU states, Portugal has welcomed the arrival of refugees—even after the onset of the “refugee crisis” in 2015—and has announced ambitious resettlement schemes. On the other hand, Portugal’s detention policies have been the subject of repeated criticism. Asylum seekers lodging applications at […]

Read More…

NEWSLETTER: World Refugee Day – Refugees and asylum seekers are increasingly punished, not protected!

In the last two months, the number of suicide attempts on Manus Island—home to Australia’s notorious offshore migrant facility where more than 800 refugees and asylum seekers are stranded after spending years in detention—has skyrocketed. According to @Shamindan, an asylum seeker documenting life inside the facility, there have been some 90 suicide attempts and self-harm incidents […]

Read More…

Immigration Detention of Children: Is There an Alternative to Prohibition?

Children at the Heart of Human Rights University of Geneva Summer School, 17-28 June 2019   Around the world, children continue to be held in immigration detention, despite the fact that many authoritative rights agencies agree that detention is fundamentally at odds with their best interests. Even in some states where legislation prevents the detention […]

Read More…

ISHR Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Programme

ISHR Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Programme Geneva, 20 June 2019   On 20 June, GDP staff met with participants from ISHR’s Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Programme. The 18 rights defenders are currently attending ISHR’s training programme which is designed to equip them with the knowledge and skills to make strategic use of the international human rights system. […]

Read More…

Immigration Detention in Portugal: Resettling Refugees, Detaining Asylum Seekers

Immigration Detention in Portugal (2019 Report): Unlike most EU states, Portugal has welcomed the arrival of refugees—even after the onset of the “refugee crisis” in 2015—and has announced several ambitious resettlement schemes. On the other hand, Portugal’s detention policies have been the subject of repeated criticism. Asylum seekers lodging applications at ports of entry are systematically […]

Read More…

Privatising Migration: A Solution for the European Union?

Privatising Migration: A Solution for the European Union? University of Nottingham, 17-18 June 2019    The trend towards outsourcing migration control operations—including to private companies, international organisations, militias, and other non-state actors—has helped states to distance themselves from, and evade, human rights obligations. In light of the documented abuses that have occurred at the hands […]

Read More…

The Externalisation of Refugee Policies in Australia and Europe: The Need for a Comparative Interdisciplinary Approach

The Externalisation of Refugee Policies in Australia and Europe: The Need for a Comparative Interdisciplinary Approach Prato, 12-13 June 2019   Efforts by major destination countries to evade their obligations to refugees and other non-citizens are leading to the creation of burgeoning detention regimes on the periphery of the Global North. However, as states increasingly […]

Read More…

Immigration Detention in Malta: “Betraying” European Values?

Immigration Detention in Malta (2019 Report): Malta’s heavy-handed response to irregular maritime arrivals—including refusing to allow rescue ships to dock and assisting Libyan authorities in intercepting asylum boats—has placed the country at the centre of a bitter EU-wide debate concerning search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean. This restrictive approach is also reflected in its detention […]

Read More…

RLI 4th Annual Conference: Rethinking the “Regional” in Refugee Law and Policy

RLI 4th Annual Conference: Rethinking the “Regional” in Refugee Law and Policy London, 3-5 June 2019   On 3-5 June, GDP Researcher Izabella Majcher participated in the 4th Annual Conference of the Refugee Law Initiative (RLI), whose theme this year was “Rethinking the ‘Regional’ in Refugee Law and Policy.” Majcher presented her work on the […]

Read More…