On 9 July 2020, Human Rights Watch urged Bangladeshi authorities to immediately move more than 300 Rohingya refugees, including 33 children, from the silt island of Bhasan Char to the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps to join their families. Despite inviting UNHCR and other UN agencies to Bhasan Char island, the Bangladesh government is yet to […]
Covid-19
Paraguay: Covid-19 and Detention
By 9 July, Paraguay had recorded 2,554 cases of Covid-19 and 20 deaths. The country has taken specific measures concerning non-citizens. The Paraguayan migration authority (Dirección General de Migraciones) has prolonged the validity of permits that expired after 13 March 2020. This measure affects people whose temporary residence permits expired after 13 March; non-citizens who […]
Slovenia: Covid-19 and Detention
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Slovenian Human Rights Ombudsman reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established by Slovenia and that no such measure was under consideration. Contrary to information published by ECRE (see 15 May Slovenia update on this platform), stating that immigration detainees had been […]
Poland: Covid-19 and Detention
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Polish Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman’s office) contacted the Polish Border Guard to obtain information concerning Covid-19 measures for migrants and refugees. The commissioner said that the Polish Border Guard had informed them that on 17 March, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard ordered the […]
Uganda: Covid-19 and Detention
Often praised for having an open-door policy for refugees, Uganda closed its borders in March, leaving thousands of refugees and asylum seekers stranded and unable to enter the country (see 6 April update). Since May, approximately 10,000 refugees have been camped out on the Uganda-Democratic Republic of Congo border, having fled escalating violence in eastern […]
Sweden: Covid-19 and Detention
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman’s office reported that Sweden had not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders and that no such measure was under consideration. The Ombudsman’s office indicated that the Swedish police released immigration detainees in cases where expulsion could not be executed in the […]
Estonia: Covid-19 and Detention
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, a governmental actor, verified by the GDP, reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established due to the pandemic and that no such measure was under consideration. According to the source, the Estonian Police and Border Guard (PBGB) did not release any immigration […]
Greece: Covid-19 and Detention
Despite repeated criticisms of its continued lockdown of refugee and migrant camps (see 18 June update), Greece recently announced its fifth extension of these lockdown measures. As of 4 July, camps are to be quarantined until 19 July, with migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers continuing to face movement restrictions. According to the country’s migration ministry, […]
Austria: Covid-19 and Detention
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Austrian Ministry of Interior reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established and that no such measure was under consideration. In addition, the Ministry said that no persons had been released from immigration detention, but that former detainees who had previously been […]
Spain: Covid-19 and Detention
After the release of immigration detainees from detention centres (Centros de Internamiento de Extranjeros or CIEs), there has been considerable discussion on the future of the country’s detention policies. The Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de Andalucía (APDH) reports that “since CIEs have been closed and detainees released, no catastrophe has ensued” and the organisation urged […]
