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Special Situations: Places of Immigration Detention

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An Uncertain Safety

Abstract

The detention of migrants and asylum seekers has become a common practice in both developing and high-economy regions. The fact of detention but also the conditions of detention are the subject of much criticism. They have been shown to frequently violate international human rights standards and to have an adverse impact on the psychological health and, later, the integration of migrants. In this chapter the authors outline standards and risks, based on research data and a case example, but also alternatives to detention as outlined by UNHCR.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    IFRC Policy on Migration 2009 available at https://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/document/migration-policy/ last accessed 10 June 2017.

  2. 2.

    United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2016). International Migration Report 2015: Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/375).

  3. 3.

    United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 2015.

  4. 4.

    http://www.globaldetentionproject.org/.

  5. 5.

    Monitoring Places of Detention: Seventh annual report of the United Kingdom’s National Preventive Mechanism 2015–16 available at http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/07/6.2808_NPM_AR2015-16_v4_web.pdf; Greece: A blue print for despair. Human rights impact of the EU-Turkey deal available at https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur25/5664/2017/en/; Systemic Indifference available at https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/usimmigration0517_web_0.pdf.

  6. 6.

    United Nations Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez A/HRC/28/68 available at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session28/Documents/A_HRC_28_68_E.doc.

  7. 7.

    [UNHCR Global Strategy–Beyond Detention 2014–2019, Progress Report, August 2016, available at: www.unhcr.org/detention].

  8. 8.

    WMA Council Resolution on Refugees and Migrants Adopted by the 203rd WMA Council Session, Buenos Aires, April 2016 available at https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-council-resolution-on-refugees-and-migrants/.

  9. 9.

    https://www.unodc.org/pdf/criminal_justice/UN_Standard_Minimum_Rules_for_the_Treatment_of_Prisoners.pdf.

  10. 10.

    M.J. Palmer: Inquiry into the circumstances of the Immigration Detention of Cornelia Rau; Report, Canberra Commonwealth of Australia, 2005.

  11. 11.

    Jesuit Refugee Service Europe, (December 2011). Available at http://idcoalition.org/jrs-europe-report.

  12. 12.

    Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, 59, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/13/30 (Jan 18, 2010).

  13. 13.

    Beyond Detention, A Global Strategy to support governments to end the detention of asylum seekers and refugees, UNHCR. Available at http://www.unhcr.org/53aa929f6.

  14. 14.

    WMA Council Resolution on Refugees and Migrants Adopted by the 203rd WMA Council Session, Buenos Aires, April 2016. Available at https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-council-resolution-on-refugees-and-migrants/.

  15. 15.

    Dual Loyalty & Human rights in health professional practice. Physicians for Human Rights (2003). Available at http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/reports/dual-loyalty-and-human-rights-2003.html.

  16. 16.

    https://ipsn.easo.europa.eu/easo-tool-identification-persons-special-needs. Accessed 19 Jun 17.

  17. 17.

    http://www.refworld.org/docid/46f7c0cd2.html. Accessed 19 Jun 17.

  18. 18.

    http://www.apt.ch/en/resources/monitoring-immigration-detention-practical-manual/. Accessed 19 Jun 17.

  19. 19.

    http://idcoalition.org/publication/there-are-alternatives-revised-edition/. Accessed 19 Jun 17.

  20. 20.

    http://www.refworld.org/docid/4dc935fd2.html. Accessed 19 Jun 17.

  21. 21.

    http://www.refworld.org/docid/55e8079f4.html. Accessed 19 Jun 17

  22. 22.

    http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/57f21f6b4.pdf. Accessed 1 Jun 17.

  23. 23.

    http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/getfacts/seekingsafety/asylum/detention/key-facts/. Accessed 17 Jul 17.

  24. 24.

    http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2013/11/52947ac86/unhcr-reports-harsh-conditions-legal-shortcomings-pacific-island-asylum.html. Accessed 17 Jul 2017.

  25. 25.

    Submission by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the Australian Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee in relation to the Inquiry into the Serious Allegations of Abuse, Self-Harm and Neglect of Asylum Seekers in Relation to the Nauru Regional Processing Centre and any Like Allegations in Relation to the Manus Regional Processing Centre; 12 November 2016.

  26. 26.

    David Marshall, National Centre for Longitudinal Data, Building a New Life in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Humanitarian Migrants; Data Highlight No. 2/2015 https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/09_2015/data-highlight-n0-2-2015-bnla_pdf.pdf; cited in UNHCR Submission (see above).

  27. 27.

    https://www.slatergordon.com.au/media-centre/media-releases/70-million-settlement-reached-manus-island-class-action published 14 Jun 17. Accessed 17 Jul 17.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. WPA Section on Psychological Consequences of Torture and Persecution, Geneva, Switzerland

    Joost Jan den Otter

  2. World Psychiatric Association Scientific Section, Psychological Aspects of Persecution and Torture, Geneva, Switzerland

    Thomas Wenzel

  3. Overseas Services to Survivors of Torture and Trauma, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Bernadette McGrath & Andres Leal Osorio

  4. PsyQ/Parnassia Group, Rosmalen/Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Boris Drožđek

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  1. Joost Jan den Otter
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  3. Bernadette McGrath
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  4. Andres Leal Osorio
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  5. Boris Drožđek
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. World Psychiatric Association Scientific Section, Psychological Aspects of Persecution and Torture, Geneva, Switzerland

    Thomas Wenzel

  2. PsyQ/Parnassia Group, Rosmalen/Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Boris Drožđek

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den Otter, J.J., Wenzel, T., McGrath, B., Osorio, A.L., Drožđek, B. (2019). Special Situations: Places of Immigration Detention. In: Wenzel, T., Drožđek, B. (eds) An Uncertain Safety. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72914-5_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72914-5_12

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