On 7 April, the GDP’s Refugee Advocacy Co-ordinator Abdul Aziz Muhammat participated at a UN Committee on Migrant Workers at an informal briefing for NGOs and NHRIs. One of a small handful of NGOs providing input, his participation was an important opportunity to place immigration detention concerns directly in front of the Committee.
In our recent monitoring of Mexico, Niger, and Jamaica, the GDP has identified numerous concerning practices in each country, including the use of detention of vulnerable groups such as asylum seekers and children, de facto detention practices, the use of prisons for immigration detention purposes, and deplorable detention conditions.
Highlighting Niger’s use of prisons to detain migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, which the State Party confirmed in its response to the Committee’s List of Issues, Muhammat said: “we are alarmed by Niger’s confirmation that it is detaining non-nationals in prisons alongside convicted nationals. This is a clear violation of Article 17(2) in the Convention, which stipulates that “accused migrant workers and members of their families shall, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from convicted persons and shall be subject to separate treatment appropriate to their status as unconvicted persons.” We urge the Committee to remind Niger of this and to call for the country to cease this practice. Further, the committee should request a full list of the criminal facilities that are used for this purpose, as well as information detailing the management of these sites, the number of people detained there, and details of the legislation in place that permits this practice.”
On Mexico, he noted concerns regarding plans to create “Multi-service centres for inclusion and development,” which Mexico states is part of its plan to shift to a non-detention model for migration processing. “Our partners state that it is very likely that these centres will involve some form of forced residence, amounting to de facto detention,” he said. “A key concern is whether Mexico will provide the full range of legal rights to people held at these facilities, or whether they intend to shield themselves from responsibilities by promoting misleading definitions and terminologies. Mexico has a long history of using misleading words to characterise its detention practices, for instance calling detention centres “migratory stations” (estaciones migratorias) and using euphemisms like the word “assurances” (aseguramientos) in place of clear language like “arrest” or “detention.””
In discussing Jamaica, which as of 4 April had failed to present a state report in response to the List of Issues issued by the Committee, he highlighted our recent documentation of recent reports detailing the detention of Haitian asylum seekers. “There are numerous reports indicating that Haitians have been arrested and arbitrarily detained upon entry into the country, in contravention of Article 16(4) of the Convention. Reports also indicate that asylum seekers are detained with no procedural safeguards in place, such as detention time limits or access to lawyers. We call on the Committee to remind Jamaica of its obligations under the Convention, and to ensure that no migrant, refugee, or asylum seeker is detained without legal basis.”
Each presentation is available to read here:
