The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on 14 May that “the placing of asylum seekers or third-country nationals who are the subject of a return decision in the Rözke transit zone at the Serbian-Hungarian border must be classified as ‘detention’.” The Court came to that conclusion as “the conditions prevailing in […]
Portugal: Covid-19 and Detention
Global Detention Project Survey completed by Portugal’s Provedor de Justiça (Ombudsman). IS THERE A MORATORIUM ON NEW IMMIGRATION DETENTION ORDERS? Yes. Migrants who have not legalized their presence in the country and had pending cases before the authorities, as well as asylum seekers, were granted a special temporary authorization of residence, with their cases being […]
Belarus: Covid-19 and Detention
In response to an information request submitted by the Global Detention Project and the NGO Human Constanta, Belarus Deputy Minister of the Interior Ministry Aleksandr Barsukov confirmed that during the pandemic non-nationals who violate the country’s legislation may continue to face detention and deportation. He wrote, “For foreigners violating the legislation of the Republic of […]
Italy: Covid-19 and Detention
The Italian Minister for Agricultural Policies, Teresa Bellanova, said (6 May) that she wants to regularise some 600,000 undocumented workers. She said: “If this doesn’t happen, the State becomes not only an accomplice but also a promoter of illegality in which these workers are forced.” The confederation of Italian farmers said the regularisation of undocumented […]
Hong Kong (China): Covid-19 and Detention
Human rights lawyers and lawmakers have raised concerns about conditions in the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Detention Centre, saying they are worried about the risk of Covid-19 spreading among detainees. The Immigration Department nonetheless stated that the health and safety of staff and detainees is a prime concern and that appropriate measures have been put […]
France: Covid-19 and Detention
On 1 May, a journalist from France Info visited a detention centre for migrants (Centres de retention administrative – CRA) near Paris. They confirmed that there are new arrivals every week; at the time, 59 detainees were at the centre. In the absence of international flights in destinations of non-european countries, detainees awaiting deportation are […]
Joint NGO Letter: UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies During the COVID-19 Pandemic
As a result of Covid-19, in-person sessions of the UN human rights sessions have been postponed until at least June. While the suspension is affecting the work of the treaty bodies, it is important that they undertake many of the mandated activities such as considerations of individual communications and urgent actions, adoption of lists of issues (LOIs) and lists of issues prior […]
Belarus – Deputy Minister of the Interior Ministry – COVID-19 Survey Response
Belarus: Aleksandr Barsukov’s (Deputy Minister of the Interior Ministry) official response to the Global Detention Project’s COVID-19 survey, jointly submitted with Human Constanta. The GDP submitted information requests to government agencies, international organisations, National Human Rights Institutions, and NGOs requesting information pertaining to the treatment of immigration detainees during the pandemic. Responses were documented on our COVID-19 Immigration Detention […]
Cayman Islands Immigration Detention Data Profile (2020)
Cayman Islands Detention Data (2020) The latest detention-related data from the Cayman Islands, including immigration and detention-related statistics, domestic laws and policies, international law, and institutional indicators. View the Cayman Islands Detention Data Profile Related Reading: Cayman Islands: Country Page Cayman Islands: Immigration and Detention Related Statistics […]
Ukraine: Covid-19 and Detention
According to information provided to the Global Detention Project (GDP) by the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG), the Ukrainian government is currently preparing to release inmates from prisons across Ukraine in an effort to stem the spread of the virus. Together with the Ministry of Justice, KHPG has prepared two bills on amnesty and […]
