In early May 2021, the Swiss immigration authority (Secrétariat d’Etat aux Migrations or SEM) launched an investigation into allegations of violence at federal asylum centres in Switzerland. The investigation followed the release of press reports about the use of excessive force by security officers when dealing with some asylum seekers. According to SEM, appropriate procedures […]
France: Covid-19 and Detention
On 26 April 2021, the National Association for Assistance at Borders for Non-Citizens (Association Nationale d’Assistance aux Frontières pour les Étrangers or ANAFE) announced that it was temporarily stopping its operations at the Zone d’Attente pour Personnes en Instance (ZAPI) of Roissy airport, a transit zone where non-citizens without authorisation to enter France are held […]
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Chile: Covid-19 and Detention
In late April 2021, several civil society organisations denounced the alleged mistreatment of migrants who had been detained by police in the towns of Arica and Iquique. The Jesuit Migrant Service (Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes or SJM) filed legal appeals claiming that there had been “irregularities” in their treatment, including: improper body searches; lack of […]
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NEWSLETTER: Progressive Reforms and Missed Opportunities in Canada
Our latest newsletter is now out, featuring:
– Immigration detention in Canada
– Highlights from 2020
– The detention of Rohingya refugees in India
– Upcoming conferences and webinars […]
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Border Criminologies Panel on “Monitoring Detention and Borders”
As part of the Border Criminologies three-day online conference “Landscapes of Border Control and Immigration Detention in Europe,” the GDP’s executive director will chair a panel on monitoring detention and borders, which will include representatives from several regional and international human rights and detention monitoring institutions. The full line-up of speakers will be confirmed in coming days – but registration for the conference is now open. […]
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India: Covid-19 and Detention
As a second wave of COVID-19 has swept across India, infection and death rates have skyrocketed across the country. On 1 May, some 392,488 new cases were reported–the largest one-day increase on record for any country–as well as 3,689 deaths, although observers suggest that real figures may be significantly higher. Despite COVID rates surging since […]
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Save the Date: Webinars – Detention and Returns
On 11 May, the GDP’s executive director will be joining a panel of speakers at a Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) webinar exploring detention and returns. […]
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Cape Verde: Covid-19 and Detention
The Republic of Cabo Verde is an island country in the central Atlantic Ocean with a population of approximately 550,000 people. Following the confirmation of the first COVID-19 case in the country on 20 March 2020, a state of emergency was declared and a series of measures were implemented including the suspension of all incoming […]
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Immigration Detention in Canada: Progressive Reforms and Missed Opportunities
In recent years, Canada has adopted both progressive refugee policies and restrictive border control measures, including agreeing to accept more refugees than other countries while at the same time adopting policies that restrict asylum eligibility. Canada’s immigration detention system has also continued to attract criticism, particularly because of its persistent use of prisons for immigration purposes, the carceral environments of its dedicated immigration detention centres, and its failure to adopt a maximum time limit for immigration detention, leaving some detainees facing indefinite detention. […]
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Canada: Covid-19 and Detention
[From the GDP’s April 2021 Canada Report] As previously reported on this platform, calls for releasing people in prisons and other Canadian detention settings began soon after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid-March, immigration detainees submitted an open letter to Canada’s Public Safety Minister demanding their release—pointing to the close quarters where they […]
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