Türkiye: Growing International Pressure to End EU-Financed Harmful and Arbitrary Immigration Detention Practices

A consortium of European media outlets working in collaboration with Lighthouse Reports have released a series of reports revealing the abuses refugees and other migrants face in EU-financed detention centres in Türkiye. The reports follow on numerous recommendations issued by UN human rights bodies earlier this year, which included inputs from the Global Detention Project […]

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Türkiye: Submission to the Committee against Torture

80th Session (08 Jul 2024 – 26 Jul 2024) (See also: In-person briefing by Abdulaziz Muhammad, 16 July 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 […]

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Türkiye: Submission to the Committee on Migrant Workers

38th Session, June 2024 – State Report 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 the Second Periodic Report of Türkiye during the 38thSession of the Committee on Migrant Workers. This submission focuses on the state party’s responses to the […]

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STATEMENT: The Impact of the Türkiye/Syria Earthquake on Immigration Detention Centres and Detainees (International Refugee Rights Association & Global Detention Project)

The catastrophic earthquake that hit southeastern Türkiye and neigbouring Syria on 6 February 2023, as well as the dozens of aftershocks that have hit the region since, have had a devastating impact on millions of people in the region and caused the death of more than 40,000 people. The Turkish government has declared a state […]

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NEWSLETTER: The Global Compact v. The Migrant Workers Convention?

The GDP’s September 2022 roundup of research, publications, and events – including our assessment of the gaps between the Global Compact for Migration and UN Migrant Worker Convention; news about our latest webinar; and our recent work highlighting concerns regarding Türkiye’s treatment of immigration detainees. […]

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Turkey: Covid-19 and Detention

On 20 September, the GDP’s Türkiye-based partner – the International Refugee Rights Association (IRRA) – delivered a virtual presentation to the UN Committee on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW) during its 35th session. This oral submission, which followed a joint written submission to the committee from both the […]

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TÜRKIYE: Joint Submission to the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families

Together with the International Refugee Rights Association, the GDP has submitted information to the Committee on Migrant Workers concerning Türkiye’s immigration detention laws and practices. In particular, the submission highlights reports of ill-treatment and limited access to health care; the detention of vulnerable groups; and the treatment of migrants identified as Yabancı Terörist Savaşçı. […]

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TURKEY: Joint Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

As Turkey has stepped up immigration controls there have been increasing reports of human rights abuses in detention centres and in other sites along its borders. Women have been subjected to abuses and gender-specific violations, including reports of rape of refugee women in some removal centres as well as humiliating strip searches. […]

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Immigration Detention in Turkey: Trapped at the Crossroad Between Asia and Europe

With one of the world’s largest migration detention systems, Turkey has long served as Europe’s reluctant refugee gatekeeper. This role has repeatedly been put on display, including in the wake of the refugee “crisis” in 2015, which culminated in the adoption of the controversial EU-Turkey refugee deal; and, more recently, after the 2021 Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, which spurred Turkey to extend border walls and engage in often violent pushbacks of Afghan refugees. […]

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Turkey: Covid-19 and Detention

A fire broke out at Turkey’s Izmir Harmandali Removal Centre on 23 June 2021 because of an electrical problem at the facility, according to information provided to the Global Detention Project by a non-governmental actor in Turkey. The fire started on the fifth floor of the centre where refugees are held. Firefighters evacuated the floor, […]

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