LCHR | Country by Country Review of Detention Procedures and Practices

Country by Country Review of Detention Procedures and Practices

The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, concerned about the increased use of detention and the failure of some states to implement effective procedural protections for detained asylum seekers, initiated this comparative examination of the detention procedures of states. The review is directed primarily at the legal procedures governing detention of asylum seekers and in particular at the absence or existence of measures—such as judicial review, limits on the length of detention, periodic review, and legal representation—that might help to prevent arbitrary detention in individual cases.

The Lawyers Committee asked the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, a New York-based international firm that has extensive experience in pro bono representation of asylum seekers, to undertake the review of states’ detention procedures for asylum seekers.[1] In conducting the review, the Debevoise attorneys requested specific information from states and from non-governmental organizations, and also consulted the excellent reports previously issued by Amnesty International, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, the Danish Refugee Council, Human Rights Watch, the U.S. Committee for Refugees, other international and national non-governmental organizations, and UNHCR. [2]

[1] This review and resulting report was prepared by Min Jung Lee, Marjorie Menza, Emily O’Connor, Jaya Ramji, Suzanne Spears, Jennifer Spiegel, Eileen Suh, and Mateo Taussig-Rubbo, all of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, and Tasha Lackman, Anna Mecagni, Troy Selvaratnam, and Zeina Mobassaleh of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. The report was edited by Eleanor Acer at the Lawyers Committee. Diane Cohen, Timothee Gagnepain, Emily Goldberg, Hessam Kalantar, Chrystiane Pereira, Alexandra Perina, Emily Pierce, Thomas Reilly and Melissa Tidwell of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP provided editing assistance. The Lawyers Committee extends its deepest appreciation, both to the firm of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and to the individual attorneys who assisted on this project, for their excellent work.

[2] Many thanks to the numerous governments who graciously provided us with extensive information in response to our questionnaire, including Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. For some countries, we received extremely helpful input from NGOs. Many thanks to Sharryn Aiken of York University, Emma Algottsson of Lawyers for Human Rights, Anat Ben-Dor of the Tel Aviv University Public Interest Law Resource Center, Nehal Bhuta of Mallesons Stephen Jacques, Christine Bloch of the Jesuit Refugee Service, Migle Cirbaite of the Lithuanian Red Cross, Tom Clark of the Inter-Church Committee for Refugees, Zama Coursen-Neff of Human Rights Watch, Dug Cubie of the Irish Refugee Council, Sarah Cutler of Bail for Immigration Detainees, Richard Danziger of the International Organization for Migration, Janet Dench of the Canadian Council for Refugees, Monica Farinha of Portuguese Refugee Council, Gérald Gaspart of Coordination et initiatives pour refugiés et étrangers (CIRE), Susan Gzesh of the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, Jeff Handmaker of Rea Hamba Advice, Dr. Barbara Harrell-Bond, visiting at the American University of Cairo, Alison Harvey and Mary Salinsky of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, Holger Hoffman of Rechtsanwalt, Sara Hossain of Interights, Eri Ishikawa of the Japan Association for Refugees, Frankie Jenkins of the Human Rights Committee of South Africa, Louise Juelskjaer of the Danish Refugee Council, Erika Kalantzi working with UNHCR, Ronald Kalyango of the Refugee Law Project, Erica Kang of the Good Friends Centre for Peace, Human Rights, and Refugees, Muthee Kiunga and Roselyn Mungai-Mwatha of the Legal/Referral Programme, Jonathan Klaaren of Witwatersrand University Law School, Gretchen Kuhner and Marta Villareal of Sin Fronteras, Vanessa Lesnie of the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Richard Lumley of the British Refugee Council, David Manne of the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, Inc., Deborah Manning of the Refugee Council of New Zealand, Germana Monaldi of the Italian Jesuit Service, Dr. Halina Niec and Kasia Zdybska of the Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, Dismas Nkunda of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Clara Odofin of the European Committee on Refugees and Exiles, Rickard Olseke of the Swedish Red Cross, Dr. Sev Ozdowski, Human Rights Commissioner of Australia, Barbara Pohárnok of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Kris Pollet of OCIV Belgium, Agnes Rausch of Caritas Luxembourg, Sigit Riyanto of UNHCR, Sigal Rozen of the Hotline for Migrant Workers, Jürg Schertenleib of the Organisation Suisse d’Aide aux Refugiés, Sari Sirva of the Refugee Advice Center, Martin Skamla of the Slovak Helsinki Committee, Robert Sloane of the Tibet Justice Center, Rune Berglund Steen of the Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers, Marianna Stoyanova of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Margaret Taylor of Amnesty International New Zealand, Ubaldo Villatoro of Asociacion de Apoyo Integral, Marjo Waismaa of the Finnish Ministry of the Interior, Noel Waters of the Reception and Integration Agency, Bonny Wong-Fortin of the Canadian Department of Citizenship and Immigration, and Jon Zabala Otegui of CEAR Spain for their helpful comments and insights.