Led by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC), the “Red Line” project is working to reduce unnecessary and unlawful use of detention as a deterrence measure for asylum-seekers and irregular migrants in Europe, with a particular focus upon four key irregular migrant entry states: Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy. In many such countries, “reception” has morphed into “detention,” and the project thus seeks to emphasise the red line between these in international law via advocacy, strategic communications to EU and international bodies, and the development of civil society’s capacity to address these issues accurately. The GDP has assisted the Red Line partners in developing comparative data on each country’s immigration and asylum-related detention policies and advised partners on how to use the international human rights system to raise awareness of the project’s findings.
On 6 February, the GDP will be attending the project’s conference in Brussels, where the Red Line’s final report, “Crossing a Red Line: How EU Countries Undermine the Right to Liberty by Expanding the Use of De Facto Detention of Asylum Seekers on Their Borders,” will be launched. More information about the event is available here.
