Last Updated: Friday, 06 November 2009, 15:21 GMT

Detention

Refworld contains a wealth of documents related to detention and the freedom of movement, including legal, policy and background information. This "Special Feature" on detention is regularly maintained and contains legal, policy and operational material.

Selected Universal Legal Provisions Related to Detention and Freedom of Movement
The below listing represents a selection of provisions. A more detailed compilation, also including regional instruments, is available in Selected Documents Relating to Detention (UNHCR, February 2009).
Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War ("Third Geneva Convention"), 12 August 1949 (Article 126)
Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War ("Fourth Geneva Convention"), 12 August 1949 (Article 143)
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 28 July 1951 (Article 26 and 31)
Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 28 September 1954 (Article 26)
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 24 April 1963 (Article 36(b)-(c))
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 21 December 1965 (article 15(4))
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 16 December 1966 (Article 9, 10, 12, 14 and 24)
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 10 December 1984 (Article 10 and 11); Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 18 December 2002 (Article 4, 12, 14, 19 and 20)
Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989 (Article 37)
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, 18 December 1990 (Article 16, 17 and 18)
Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 15 December 2005 (Article 5)
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 13 December 2006 (Article 14 and 18)
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, 20 December 2006 (Article 17 and 23)

Declarations and Resolutions Related to Detention and Freedom of Movement
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 1948 (Article 3, 9, 10 and 13)
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, 30 August 1955
United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice ("The Beijing Rules"), 29 November 1985
Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, 9 December 1988
United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Their Liberty, 14 December 1990
United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-Custodial Measures ("The Tokyo Rules"), 14 December 1990
Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Francis M. Deng, submitted pursuant to Commission resolution 1997/39 - Addendum, E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2, 11 February 1998 (Article 10 and 12)
Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Annex II, Deliberation No. 5 - Situation regarding immigrants and asylum-seekers, E/CN.4/2000/4, 28 December 1999
Recommendation Rec(2006)2 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on the European Prison Rules, 11 January 2006
Resolution 1/08, Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 13 March 2008 (Principle VIII and XXVI)

UNHCR Policy and Research Documents Related to Detention
UNHCR's Revised Guidelines on Applicable Criteria and Standards relating to the Detention of Asylum-Seekers, February 1999
Article 31 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees: Non-Penalization, Detention and Protection, Global Consultations on International Protection/Second Track, June 2003
Alternatives to Detention of Asylum Seekers and Refugees, Legal and Protection Policy Research Series, POLAS/2006/03, April 2006

UNHCR ExCom and Standing Committee
Executive Committee Conclusion No. 44 (XXXVII) - 1986, Detention of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers, 13 October 1986 (in French)
Thematic Compilation of Executive Committee Conclusions [Chapter on "Detention], Third edition, August 2008
Detention of Asylum-Seekers and Refugees: The Framework, the Problem and Recommended Practice, EC/49/SC/CRP.13, 4 June 1999
Note on Accession to International Instruments and the Detention of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers, EC/SCP/44, 19 August 1986

Other Policy and Research Documents Related to Detention
Torture in International Law - A Guide to Jurisprudence, Association for the Prevention of Torture and Center for Justice and International Law, 2008
Visiting Places of Detention. What Role for Physician and other Professionals?, Association for the Prevention of Torture, 2008
Migration-Related Detention: a research guide on human rights standard relevant to the detention of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees, Amnesty International, POL 33/005/2007, 1 November 2007
Position on the Detention of Asylum Seekers, European Council on Refugees and Exiles, April 1996
Immigration, Asylum and Detention, European Council on Refugees and Exiles, June 2004
Visiting Places of Detention, Lessons Learnt and Practices of Selected Domestic Institutions, Association for the Prevention of Torture, May 2004
Research Paper on Alternatives to Detention; Practical Alternatives to the Administrative Detention of Asylum Seekers and Rejected Asylum Seekers, European Council on Refugees and Exiles, September 1997

Tools
Selected Documents Relating to Detention, UNHCR, February 2009
Compendium of international law, standards and guidelines related to the detention of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, International Detention Coalition (last updated June 2009)
Handbook on Prisoners with Special Needs, UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), March 2009
A Sourcebook on Solitary Confinement, London School of Economics and Political Sciences (Mannheim Centre for Criminology), October 2008
The CPT standards. "Substantive" sections of the CPT's General Reports, European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, October 2006
Handbook for Visitors and Social Workers in Detention Centres, Jesuit Refugee Service Europe, January 2006
Handbook Series, World Organisation on Torture (OMCT), 2006
Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Habitat in Prisons, International Committee of the Red Cross, August 2005
Monitoring Places of Detention. A Practical Guide, Association for the Prevention of Torture, April 2004
The Torture Reporting Handbook: How to document and respond to allegations of torture within the international system for the protection of human rights, University of Essex, Human Rights Centre, 2000
Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ("Istanbul Protocol"), United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 9 August 1999

Related UNHCR Links
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