Every year, more than 100,000 people are detained for migration control purposes in the European Union.

Immigration detention places individuals’ lives on hold, as people do not know when, or if, they will ever be released. It has a severe impact on mental health, with studies indicating higher incidence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder than among the rest of the population, and an average of very high levels of depression in four out of every five detainees. Moreover, detention is often characterised by insufficient or inadequate access to information and interpreters, violation of procedural safeguards, lack of access to medical care, and isolation, which further place individuals in a situation of vulnerability. Therefore, detention is always a harmful practice, whose negative impact broadly exceeds its purposed objectives.

The harmful impact of immigration detention is further exacerbated when it adds to pre-existing factors that already put detainees in a situation of vulnerability, including poor physical or mental health conditions, disabilities, part experiences of trauma, or age.

This report analyses states’ legal obligations in relation to immigration detention and vulnerability, and draws concrete recommendations on how to ensure that migration policies refrain from creating or exacerbating situations of vulnerability. It is based on the analysis of the international and European legal framework and a comparative analysis of the law and practice in five European countries: Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom

Preventing and Addressing Vulnerabilities in Immigration Enforcement Policies - PICUM, 2021 DOWNLOAD

post

page

attachment

revision

nav_menu_item

custom_css

customize_changeset

oembed_cache

user_request

wp_block

wp_template

wp_template_part

wp_global_styles

wp_navigation

wp_font_family

wp_font_face

acf-taxonomy

acf-post-type

acf-field-group

acf-field

ai1ec_event

exactmetrics_note

War, Displacement, and Human Trafficking and Exploitation: Findings from an evidence-gathering Roundtable in Response to the War in Ukraine
News & Analysis

Millions of people have been displaced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite increasing concerns about the associated risks of human trafficking and exploitation, evidence remains sparse. To address this gap, and explore...Read More

TAGS: Europe
A Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking
News & Analysis

On 19 September 2017, the Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking was launched during the 72nd Meeting of the UN General Assembly.

TAGS: Global
Updated Modern Slavery Map
News & AnalysisOnline Tools

We have updated our Interactive Map for Business of Anti-Human Trafficking Organisations (www.modernslaverymap.org). The Map currently includes 112 initiatives and organisations who are working on five human-trafficking-related issues (child labour,...Read More

An IOM perspective on human trafficking in Niger: Profiles, patterns, progress
News & Analysis

Often referred to as a country at the crossroads of migration flows between west, central and north Africa, Niger is at the heart of complex and multifold forms of mobility as a country of origin, transit and destination. This includes traffickin...Read More