Summary Conclusions
On 11 and 12 May 2011, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) organized the first Global Roundtable on Alternatives to Detention (ATD) of Asylum-Seekers, Refugees, Migrants and Stateless Persons, in Geneva. Thirty eight participants from 19 countries took part, drawn from governments, international organizations, human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions, national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and academic experts. The discussion was informed by a number of research papers.1
The roundtable follows up on a number of events, including side panels at both the 2009 Executive Committee of the High Commissioner for Refugees’ Programme and the Annual UNHCR-NGO Consultations in the same year, the UNHCR-organized East Asian Roundtable on Alternatives to Detention in Seoul in April 2010, a Regional Consultation on Detention of Asylum-Seekers and Refugees in Bangkok in October 2010, a panel discussion on the human rights of migrants in detention centres held during the 12th session of the Human Rights Council in 2009 and other meetings held during the 13th session in 2010.
The following summary conclusions do not necessarily represent the views of participants, or of UNHCR or OHCHR, but reflect broadly the themes, issues and understandings that emerged from the discussion.
Main messages There is no empirical evidence that detention deters irregular migration, or discourages persons from seeking asylum.
The human rights consequences as well as social and economic costs of immigration detention compel investigation, study and implementation of alternatives to detention.
Seeking asylum is not a criminal act and asylum-seekers should not, as a consequence, be penalized for the act of seeking asylum through detention.
States should avoid criminalizing persons moving irregularly through imposing penal sanctions or conditions of treatment that are not suitable to persons who …
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