The Immigration Detention Working Group (IDWG) of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network consists of more than 50 organisations and individuals from 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region who aim to work together for the rights, dignity and well being of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in detention in the Asia Pacific Region.
The key objective of the working group is to achieve increased release from detention of vulnerable groups, including children and families, by better sharing of information, best practice, strategies and targeted advocacy, including government engagement. The group aims to achieve this through:
1) At the local level to share information, experiences, best practice and advocacy strategies to assist us in our work on the ground.
2) On a regional level we aim to explore a number of advocacy strategies, including educating detaining authorities and governments on detention standards and good practice; protection issues and vulnerable groups; and strategies for release.
An identified priority of the IDWG at the Asia Pacific Consultation on Refugee Rights in Bangkok in 2009 was the need to educate the detaining authorities on:
· 1. Detention standards – International human rights law and standards on the detention of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants; international good practice and the need for alternatives; and improved conditions in the region.
· 2. Vulnerable groups – Identification, standards, treatment and decisions to detain health/ welfare/ age/ gender groups, including children, women at risk, elderly, torture and trauma survivors, disabled persons and individuals with physical and mental illness.
· 3. Protection issues – Identification and protection of detained refugees and stateless persons and the need for greater access to UNHCR and registration, and access for lawyers and others.
· 4. Strategies for release – Exploring release options and alternatives to detention in the region, incrementally beginning with children and families and other vulnerable groups.
Please note, no individual organization or member name or details will be publicly identified in any advocacy undertaken by the IDWG. Any position or statement raised publicly will be by the Immigration Detention Working Group of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) as per our terms of reference.
We have drafted Terms of Reference and a core position for the group which can be accessed here. We have also a number of training material and resources available in the links below:
- 2 power-point presentations on Detention Monitoring practice and theory from the session held in Kuala Lumpur in November 2008, and the Working in Places of Detention training in Bangkok in October, 2009.
- Training and capacity building material for people working with and for people in immigration detention, click here
- For the latest new items on immigration detention in the Asia Pacific region, click here:
Feel free to forward relevant items to this group, share advocacy ideas and opportunities and to use the IDWG core position attached for advocacy purposes as needed. To enquire about membership or for more information email: gmitchell@idcoalition.org
Best Regards
IDWG Chair, Grant Mitchell; and Deputy Chair Jong Chul Kim.
Immigration Detention Working Group (IDWG)
Terms of Reference
Mission Statement: The Working Group on Immigration Detention of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) aims to work together for the rights, dignity and well being of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in detention.
Core position: The Working Group on Immigration Detention has a core position regarding the detention of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.
· 1. The detention of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants should be avoided.
· 2. Certain groups – such as pregnant or lactating women, children, survivors of torture and trauma, elderly persons, the disabled or those with special health needs– should not be placed in detention.
· 3. Children should not be detained, should not be separated from their caregivers and should be provided special provision for their general wellbeing.
· 4. Alternatives that ensure rights, dignity and wellbeing should be considered and pursued before detention, such as supervised release, regular reporting requirements or posting bail.
· 5. Governments should, in compliance with international and regional human rights standards, only detain in circumstances where alternatives have been assessed as not sufficient, only as a last resort and for the shortest possible time.
· 6. Any decision to detain must be subject to regular independent judicial review and the time period must be reasonable, ensuring no one is subject to arbitrary or indefinite detention.
· 7. Conditions of detention must comply with basic minimum human rights standards, and there must be regular independent monitoring of places of detention.
· 8. Governments that host refugees in closed refugee camps should move from policies of encampment towards policies that encourage alternatives other than detention and allow refugees to have freedom of movement and ensure their rights, dignity and wellbeing are upheld in the community.
Key areas of concern:
1. Impact of detention on vulnerable populations: Refugees, torture and trauma survivors, stateless persons, children, women at risk, elderly, disabled persons and individuals with physical and mental illness, long-term detainees etc.
2. Lack of detention standards, transparency, access to places of detention, release options and alternatives to detention in the region. (For further details see Appendix 2 for meeting notes)
Key objective:
· Aim to achieve increased release from detention of vulnerable groups, including children and families, by better sharing of information, best practice, strategies and targeted advocacy, including government engagement.
Actions: Based on initial discussions at the AP Conference on Refugee Rights, the following areas were identified as possible actions to be explored further by the Working Group:
1) At the local level to share information, experiences, best practice and advocacy strategies to assist us in our work on the ground and develop a web-page with the International Detention Coalition’s assistance, and aim to hold a regional training on detention concerns before the next consultation.
2) On a regional level we aim to explore a number of advocacy strategies, including to develop a core position of concern on detention in the region and best practice examples, particularly on children and release options, which could be used for community education and to raise this statement directly with relevant bodies at the international level and at the regional level.
Steering Committee: As per the decision-making process of the APCRR, the current Steering Committee includes: Grant Mitchell (Chair) and Jong Chul Kim (Deputy Chair).
Members: The working group shall include participants of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Consultations who have indicated interest and others approved by the APRRN Steering Committee. The working group members shall not be identified in any public statement. The main form of communication shall be through email and web-page forums, with an aim to meet formally at the annual Asia Pacific Consultations on Refugee Rights.
December 1, 2009
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