MIGRASYL

News on migration and asylum from around the region - Nouvelles de la région sur les questions de migration et d'asile

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

[UK]: Migrants' Right Network - Putting an end to indefinite detention on the political agenda


Picture from the same article

UK is the only European country to practice indefinite detention of migrants – it’s time to stop.

The murky world behind the closed doors of the UK’s immigration detention centres often stays hidden. Groups working with detainees have long been calling for widespread reforms to the way that detention operates are needed in order to ensure that even basic human rights standards are upheld. It is encourgaing that, despite the currently hostile public debate on immigration, collective progress is being made.

The fastest growing campaign for detention reform in the UK is calling for an end to the continued practice here of holding people awaiting removal or deportation without a time limit on their stay in detention. The UK is the only country in Europe - and one of the few countries in the world - not to operate a maximum timeframe for immigration detention. Some migrants are held in detention for months or even years before being removed from the UK, often with no idea how long their detention will last and at substantial financial and human cost. As documented in depth by Detention Action, many facing such prolonged incarceration experience significant mental and physical health problems.

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