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UNHCR concerned at detention of asylum-seekers, releases new guidelines

Making a Difference, 21 September 2012

A mother and her children at a detention centre in Greece. UNHCR advocates for alternatives to detention, especially for vulnerable asylum-seekers such as mothers and children.

GENEVA, September 21 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Friday issued new guidelines on the detention of asylum-seekers and said UNHCR was concerned at its growing use in a number of countries.

"The guidelines represent UNHCR policy and are intended as advice for governments and other bodies making decisions on detaining people," spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists in Geneva on Friday.

As a principle, UNHCR opposes detention of people seeking international protection. The new guidelines make clear that seeking asylum is not a criminal act, and that indefinite and mandatory forms of detention are prohibited under international law, Edwards explained.

"We are disappointed that many countries continue to hold asylum-seekers in detention, sometimes for long periods and in poor conditions, including in some cases in prisons together with common criminals," he said.

UNHCR is particularly concerned that detention is in growing use in a number of countries. Edwards said that the refugee agency's research "shows that irregular migration is not deterred even by stringent detention practises, and that practical alternatives to detention do exist. In addition, there are well-known negative and at times serious physical and psychological consequences for asylum-seekers in detention."

The new guidelines, reflecting the current state of the international law, supersede the last ones issued by UNHCR in 1999. They recognize the phenomenon of irregular migration as well as mixed movements of refugees and migrants that can strain asylum systems in many countries.

This is a particular challenge for governments, and some of them respond through detention policies and practices, extending it – at times – to asylum-seekers. "The fundamental right to liberty and the prohibition of arbitrary detention applies to all people regardless of their immigration or other status," Edwards stressed.

The right to seek asylum entails open and humane reception arrangements for asylum-seekers. Recent research on alternatives to detention, commissioned by UNHCR, shows that with community-based supervision arrangements, more than 90 per cent of asylum-seekers comply with conditions of release from detention.

"UNHCR calls on states to make better use of alternatives to detention. These can include various forms of reporting requirements to community and supervision schemes or accommodation in designated reception centres, but with guaranteed freedom of movement," the spokesman said.

Such solutions are important features of immigration and asylum regimes. Alternatives to detention are also far more cost-effective than detention. UNHCR will continue to carry out research to identify and promote good practices related to alternatives to detention of asylum-seekers and remains fully engaged on this issue at international and national levels.

"We stress our view that unaccompanied children should not be detained," Edwards said. "UNHCR calls on governments to also pay special attention to vulnerable asylum-seekers such as victims of torture and trauma, older persons or persons with disabilities," he added.

The UN refugee agency believes detention should be a measure of last resort, prescribed by national laws and implemented only where necessary and proportionate to a legitimate purpose – in conformity with international standards.

"In line with the growth in international, regional and national monitoring and inspection bodies, we stress that detention should be subject to independent monitoring and inspection, including by UNHCR," Edwards said.

UNHCR Detention Guidelines (pdf)

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Making a Difference

Asylum-Seekers

UNHCR advocates fair and efficient procedures for asylum-seekers

The makeshift camp at Patras

Thousands of irregular migrants, some of whom are asylum-seekers and refugees, have sought shelter in a squalid, makeshift camp close to the Greek port of Patras since it opened 13 years ago. The camp consisted of shelters constructed from cardboard and wood and housed hundreds of people when it was closed by the Greek government in July 2009. UNHCR had long maintained that it did not provide appropriate accommodation for asylum-seekers and refugees. The agency had been urging the government to find an alternative and put a stronger asylum system in place to provide appropriate asylum reception facilities for the stream of irregular migrants arriving in Greece each year.The government used bulldozers to clear the camp, which was destroyed by a fire shortly afterwards. All the camp residents had earlier been moved and there were no casualties. Photographer Zalmaï, a former refugee from Afghanistan, visited the camp earlier in the year.

The makeshift camp at Patras

From the corners of the globe, the displaced converge in northern France

Hundreds of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees have created a number of makeshift camps in northern France. Drawn from a diverse range of countries, the men are hoping that from France they will be able to enter the United Kingdom.

Locals call it, "The Jungle" - a squalid warren of shanties made out of cardboard, plywood and bits of plastic that has mushroomed among the sand dunes and brambles outside Calais. Hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers from such faraway places as Afghanistan, Somalia and Vietnam have traveled for months and over rough terrain to camp out and eventually cross the 34-kilometre stretch of sea that separates Calais from England's White Cliffs of Dover.

Some have family in the UK or have heard that it is easy to get a good job there. Others have been forced to flee their countries because of political, religious or ethnic persecution, and may be entitled to refugee status.

Since early June, the UN refugee agency and its local partner, France Terre d'Asile, have been present in Calais, informing and counselling hundreds of people about asylum systems and procedures in France and the UK.

From the corners of the globe, the displaced converge in northern France

South Africa: Searching for Coexistence

South Africa is one of the few countries in Africa where registered refugees and asylum-seekers can legally move about freely, access social services and compete with locals for jobs.

But while these right are enshrined in law, in practice they are sometimes ignored and refugees and asylum-seekers often find themselves turned away by employers or competing with the poorest locals for the worst jobs - especially in the last few years, as millions have fled political and economic woes in countries like Zimbabwe. The global economic downturn has not helped.

Over the last decade, when times turned tough, refugees in towns and cities sometimes became the target of the frustrations of locals. In May 2008, xenophobic violence erupted in Johannesburg and quickly spread to other parts of the country, killing more than 60 people and displacing about 100,000 others.

In Atteridgeville, on the edge of the capital city of Pretoria - and site of some of the worst violence - South African and Somali traders, assisted by UNHCR, negotiated a detailed agreement to settle the original trade dispute that led to the torching of Somali-run shops. The UN refugee agency also supports work by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to counter xenophobia.