Responding to the Global Detention Project Covid-19 survey, AsyLex reported that although Switzerland has not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders, many immigration detainees have been released because returns are no longer possible. Certain local governments (cantonal authorities) have released all detainees, confirming information provided to the GDP by the Director General of […]
Europe
Ukraine Immigration Detention Data Profile (2020)
Ukraine Detention Data (2020) The latest detention-related data from Ukraine, including immigration and detention-related statistics, domestic laws and policies, international law, and institutional indicators. View the Ukraine Detention Data Profile Related Reading: Ukraine: Country Page Ukraine: Detention Centres Report (2012): Immigration Detention in Ukraine […]
Immigration Detention in Hungary: Transit Zone or Twilight Zone?
Hungary’s efforts to block asylum seekers were at the centre of an important May 2020 European Union Court of Justice ruling concerning its “transit zone” detention sites, located along the border with Serbia. For years, Hungary refused to acknowledge that people were “detained” in these facilities, going so far as to refuse the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention entry during its visit to the country in 2018. […]
Ukraine: Covid-19 and Detention
According to information submitted to the GDP by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ukraine, the number of newly detained migrants in the country has decreased during the pandemic. In Zakarpattia Oblast, those who have been apprehended while entering the country during the crisis have been placed in Border Guard […]
Switzerland: Covid-19 and Detention
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Geneva Cantonal Population and Migration Office (Office Cantonal de la Population et des Migrations or OCPM) reported that while Geneva had not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders, no new orders have been issued since the end of April, owing to the impossibility of […]
Sweden: Covid-19 and Detention
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman’s office reported that as far as they were aware, Sweden had not established a moratorium on new detention orders and was not contemplating such a measure. The Ombudsman stated that while some 200 detainees had been released from immigration detention, they were unable […]
Portugal Immigration Detention Data Profile (2020)
Portugal Detention Data (2020) The latest detention-related data from Portugal, including immigration and detention-related statistics, domestic laws and policies, international law, and institutional indicators. View the Portugal Detention Data Profile Related Reading: Country Page: Portugal Report: Immigration Detention in Portugal – Resettling Refugees, Detaining Asylum Seekers Book: Immigration Detention in the European Union – In […]
Macedonia: Covid-19 and Detention
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, North Macedonia announced on 17 March the closure of all its borders. President Stevo Pendarovski called a state of emergency for 30 days, which was later extended for an additional month. Strict measures were put in place, including curfew and the compulsory use of masks in public places where […]
Switzerland: Covid-19 and Detention
Since the beginning of April, certain immigration detention centres, including the Frambois and Favra centres in Geneva, have been closed. Around 30 people were detained in the centres at the time. Reports suggest that they may have been assigned to a temporary residence or may be prohibited from entering a specific perimeter or region. The […]
Serbia: Covid-19 and Detention
Since March, all transit and asylum centres have been in lock-down. Raids of squats and informal accommodation have increased since then, with migrants and asylum seekers apprehended and transferred to camps across the country. According to the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN), the government temporarily opened several “camps,” which have been quickly filled with new […]
