Detention

UNHCR is concerned about the detention of asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons in the immigration context, especially children. UNHCR takes the position that, consistent with international refugee and human rights law and standards, detention of asylum seekers normally should be avoided and considered only as a measure of last resort. As seeking asylum is not an unlawful act, any restrictions on liberty imposed on persons exercising this right must be provided for in law, carefully circumscribed and subject to prompt review. Detention is an exceptional measure that can be justified only when it is determined to be necessary, reasonable in all the circumstances, and proportionate to a legitimate purpose in each individual case. 

Conventions 

UN General Assembly

• Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 37), 20 November 1989
• Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Articles 10 and 11), 10 December 1984  Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Articles 4, 12, 14, 19 and 20), 18 December 2002  
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Articles 9, 10, 12, 14 and 24), 16 December 1966 
• Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (Article 26), 28 September 1954 
• Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Articles 26 and 31), 28 July 1951

Regional Instruments 

• European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Articles 2, 2 Protocol 4, 3 and 5.1.f), European Council, 4 November 1950
• EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (Articles 1, 3, 4, 6), European Union, 2012/C 326/02, 26 October 2012
• Arab Charter on Human Rights (Articles 14 and 20), League of Arab States, 2004
• African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Articles 5 and 6), Ogranization of African Unity, 27 June 1981
• American Convention on Human Rights (Articles 5 and 7), Organization of American States, 22 November 1969

General Comments 

• General comment No. 5 (2021) on migrants’ rights to liberty and freedom from arbitrary detention, CMW, CMW/C/G/5, 23 September 2021 
• Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration in countries of origin, transit, destination and return, CMW, CMW/C/GC/4-CRC/C/GC/23, 16 November 2017 
• Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration, CMW, CMW/C/GC/3-CRC/C/GC/22, 16 November 2017
• General comment no. 35, Article 9 (Liberty and security of person), HRC, CCPR/C/GC/35, 16 December 2014  

Guidelines

• UN, Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, The Mandela Rules, UN General Assembly, A/RES/70/175, 8 January 2016  

• Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, United Nations Basic Principles and Guidelines on Remedies and Procedures on the Right of Anyone Deprived of Their Liberty to Bring Proceedings Before a Court, UN Human Rights Council, 6 July 2015.  

  UNHCR Compilations

• UNHCR, Selected Documents Relating to Detention (February 2009)

ExCom

• Thematic Compilation of Executive Committee Conclusions [Chapter on "Detention"], Seventh Edition, June 2014 
• Executive Committee Conclusion No. 44 (XXXVII) - 1986, Detention of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers, 13 October 1986 
• Note on Accession to International Instruments and the Detention of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers, EC/SCP/44, 19 August 1986 
   

Standing Committee Documents 

• Alternatives to detention, 3 June 2015  
• Detention of Asylum-Seekers and Refugees: The Framework, the Problem and Recommended Practice, EC/49/SC/CRP.13, 4 June 1999 

Strategy / Policy 

• Beyond Detention 2014-2019: A Global Strategy to Support Governments to End the Detention of Asylum-Seekers & Refugees - Final Progress Report, August 2020 

• Policy on Detention Monitoring, UNHCR/HCP/2015/7, 3 December 2015 

• UNHCR's position regarding the detention of refugee and migrant children in the migration context, January 2017

Guidance 

• Unlocking rights: towards ending immigration detention for asylum-seekers and refugees, September 2024

• Options Paper 2: Options for governments on open reception and alternatives to detention, first published 2015, revised version 2020 

• Options Paper 1: Options for governments on care arrangements and alternatives to detention for children and families, first published 2015, revised version 2019 

• Position regarding the detention of refugee and migrant children in the migration context, 2017 

• Guidelines on the Applicable Criteria and Standards relating to the Detention of Asylum-Seekers and Alternatives to Detention, 2012

• Back to Basics: The Right to Liberty and Security of Person and 'Alternatives to Detention' of Refugees, Asylum-Seekers, Stateless Persons and Other Migrants, Legal and Protection Policy Research Series, PPLA/2011/01.Rev.1, April 2011 

• 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 

European Court of Human Rights

• A.D v Malta, Application no. 12427/22, 17 October 2023 
• Feilazoo v. Malta, Application no. 6865/19, 11 March 2021 
• R.R. and others v. Hungary, Application no. 36037/17, 2 March 2021 
• Nur and Others v Ukraine, Application no. 77647/11, 16 July 2020 
• Bilalova and others v. Poland, Application no. 23685/14, 26 March 2020 

Court of Justice of the European Union

• M and Others (Transfert vers un État member, C-673/19), 2021  
• FMS and Others v Országos Idegenrendészeti Főigazgatóság Dél-alföldi Regionális Igazgatóság and Országos Idegenrendészeti Főigazgatóság, Joined Cases C-924/19 PPU and C-925/19 PPU, 2020 
• V.L. v Spain (C 36/20 PPU), 2020 
• WM (Case C-18/19), 2020 
• JZ (Peine de prison en cas d’interdiction d‘entrée, C-806/18), 2020 

UNHCR

UNHCR Judicial Engagement - Case Law Compilation

UN Task Force on Children Deprived of Liberty, Advocacy Brief "End Immigration Detention of Children", February 2024

Tools 

• UNHCR, Compilation of International Human Rights Law and Standards on Immigration Detention,  February 2018 

• UNHCR Beyond Detention Toolkit: Guiding Questions for the assessment of Alternatives to Detention, May 2018 

• Stateless Persons in Detention: A tool for their identification and enhanced protection, June 2017  

• Vulnerability Screening Tool - Identifying and addressing vulnerability: a tool for asylum and migration systems, UNHCR and International Detention Coalition (IDC), 2016  

• Monitoring Immigration Detention: Practical Manual, UNHCR, Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and the International Detention Coalition (IDC), 2014 

Training 

Alternatives to Detention Self-study Modules, November 2018 

• Module 0
• Module 1
• Module 2
• Module 2/2
• Module 2/3
• Module 3
• Module 4
• Module 4/2
• Module 5
• Module 6

Immigration Detention Monitoring Self-study Modules, November 2018 

• Module 0
• Module 1
• Module 2
• Module 3 
• Module 4
• Module 4/1 
• Module 4/2
• Module 5
• Module 5/1
• Module 6
• Module 7/1
• Module 7/2

Fundamentals of Immigration Detention e-Learning Course (external) 

• External link, UNHCR online course at DisasterReady.Org 

• External link, UNHCR online course at KayaConnect.Org 

United Nations 

• Working Group on Arbitrary Detention 

• Committee Against Torture (CAT) 

• Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture 

• Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 

• Network on Migration: Alternatives to Detention 

• Standards and Norms in Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice 

Regional 

• European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) (Council of Europe) 

• Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa (African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights) 

Other Sources 

• Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) 

• European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE): Detention 

• Global Detention Project 

• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): Helping detainees 

• International Detention Coalition 

• World Organization Against Torture