Malaysia has been repeatedly criticised for having one of the world’s most abusive and punitive immigration detention systems. Yet the government continues to fail to address the international community’s recommendations to protect vulnerable migrants and refugees in the country, as the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recently reported in a […]
Human Rights
Türkiye: Submission to the Committee against Torture
80th Session (08 Jul 2024 – 26 Jul 2024) Issues Related to Immigration Detention The Global Detention Project (GDP) and the International Refugee Rights Association (IRRA) welcome the opportunity to provide information relevant to the review of Türkiye’s state party report during the 80thSession of the Committee against Torture (CAT).This submission focuses on recent developments in immigration […]
Submission to the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families
39th Session 2024 Egypt: Urgent Appeal concerning Egypt’s Responses to Humanitarian Crises in Sudan and Eritrea Submitted in June 2024 This document is intended to provide a brief overview of a number of pressing violations facing refugees and migrants in Egypt for consideration by the Committee on Migrant Workers in preparing the list of issues for […]
South Africa: Challenging Abusive Detention Practices in Court
Refugee rights groups are pursuing legal action against South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs in response to what it claims are unlawful arrests, detentions, and deportations of new asylum applicants. They denounce these practices as a violation of human rights, the country’s Constitution, and international law, including the principle of non-refoulement. A coalition of NGOs […]
An EU-Lebanon Refugee Deal Amidst An Unprecedented Crackdown on Refugees
The EU’s recently signed deal with Lebanon to provide financial assistance for hosting refugees and boosting border security comes as Lebanese authorities pursue an “unprecedented” crackdown targeting Syrian refugees. Human rights groups fear that the deal will keep refugees out of Europe while facilitating their deportation to Syria, in violation of human rights obligations. In […]
Lithuania: Reports of Arbitrary Detention, Physical Abuse, and Pushbacks
Recent reports highlight ongoing abuses of migrants and asylum seekers by Lithuanian border guards, including arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and pushbacks into Belarus. The Human Rights Monitoring Institute (HRMI), a GDP partner in Lithuania, recently documented three cases involving unlawful restrictions of migrants’ liberty, abuses by Lithuanian authorities, and pushbacks to Belarus. According to their report, […]
Egypt: Detaining and Refouling Sudanese Refugees Fleeing Spiralling Conflict in Sudan
There are increasing calls for Egypt to stop its summary detention and deportation of Sudanese who are fleeing the escalating crisis in their country, as well as growing pressure on the European Union to take steps to prevent its aid to the country from being used to violate the rights of refugees. The conflict in […]
Bulgaria: The Alarming Case of Detained Saudi Journalist Abdulrahman al-Khalidi
Bulgaria’s extremely long immigration detention of a Saudi law student and human rights activist reveals the degrading conditions in which migrants and asylum seekers are detained in the country. It also reflects a broader trend in Europe and globally: the de facto use of immigration detention for purposes that may have nothing to do with […]
Senegal: Blocking the West African Migration Route
The West African migration route leading to Spain’s Canary Islands saw a major spike in traffic in 2023, increasing by 161 percent compared to 2022, according to the European Union border agency, Frontex. As most of these crossings originate in Senegal and involve mainly young migrants, many under the age of 18, the country’s efforts […]
Reports of Inhumane Conditions and Worrying Lack of Transparency at Milan’s CPR
In February, a detainee protest concerning harmful living conditions and health risks in a detention centre in Milan was met with violent repression. This latest event, one of a string of similar incidents in Italy’s network of CPRs (Centro di Permanenza per il Rimpatrio), has raised broader concerns about the disregard for human rights across […]
