The Committee for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of the Council of Europe (CPT) has published an updated standard on the requirements that the detention of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under immigration legislation should meet to respect their human rights and dignity.
The committee notes that states have the right to establish their own immigration policies and pursue immigration control within their jurisdiction. However, the committee underlines that these rights must be exercised in accordance with states' international obligations, including respect for the principle of non-refoulement.
New standard is based on wide experience of over 36 years of CPT visits
During its visits to member states, the CPT has found that foreign nationals, including asylum seekers and children, are often deprived of their liberty in overcrowded, unsuitable premises with poor material conditions. It has also found that many were detained for long periods under restrictive carceral regimes, often without access to safeguards against ill-treatment.
Drawing on 36 years of visits to member states and interviews with migrants deprived of their liberty and staff, the CPT emphasises that all foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under migration legislation must be treated with dignity and held in humane and decent conditions consistent with the administrative nature of such detention.
Detention should be a last resort
In its new standard, the committee outlines how foreign nationals detained for migration-related purposes in reception or immigration removal centres should be treated, stressing several guiding principles.
Detention must be used only as a measure of last resort, be non-punitive and be subject to accountability mechanisms. In addition, individuals in immigration detention must be protected from ill-treatment, be afforded fundamental safeguards, be held in suitable premises, and have their health needs and vulnerabilities addressed.
The CPT standard provides guidance for states to prevent ill-treatment, ensure safeguards are applied, and guarantee conditions for detained foreign nationals that uphold their human dignity in line with international human rights standards.
It also highlights the need for adequate healthcare, avoiding the detention of people with specific vulnerabilities - including children - in an immigration detention context, and establishing effective accountability mechanisms and contingency planning.
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