IDC Impact Assessment of the International Migration Review Forum 2026
Migration governance is often discussed as a policy issue to be negotiated and managed. But its consequences are lived in much more immediate ways: whether a child is kept out of detention and with their family; whether a woman who has fled violence can access safety, services and protection; whether people crossing borders are treated as rights-holders, rather than risks to be managed.
That is why the 2026 International Migration Review Forum is fundamental to International Detention Coalition (IDC) and our partners advocating for migrant rights around the world. It is an opportunity to influence the global commitments, accountability mechanisms, changes at national levels and implementation pathways that shape how governments respond to migrants in practice.
IDC participated with clear strategic objectives: to secure concrete policy and practice change at national, regional or international levels that could have an actual impact on the lives of migrants.
As a result, IDC helped secure important advances on the mission to end child immigration detention, strengthening alternatives to detention, advancing gender-responsive migration governance and preventing backsliding, and embedding rights-based safeguards on digital technologies in migration systems.
For IDC, the IMRF – held between 4th and 8th May in New York City – represented the culmination of around nine months of sustained advocacy, targeted engagement and relationship-building with governments, UN agencies, civil society and regional actors.
IDC’s strategy focused on advancing rights-based migration governance, particularly around alternatives to detention (ATD), ending child immigration detention, safeguarding gender-responsive migration policies and non-regression on this topic, and ensuring that emerging approaches to migration governance – including the use of digital technologies and the concept of the route-based approach – follow a rights-based approach.
IDC adopted a two-pronged approach, focusing on engagement with States and other relevant actors on the content of the Progress Declaration, and supporting key national governments and regional bodies with the development of pledges, mainly related to objective 13 of the GCM and to our key priorities.
Throughout the IMRF process, IDC worked to ensure that the Progress Declaration reflected practical commitments rather than broad political rhetoric. This work started with long-term advocacy and relationship building in capitals, Geneva and New York, and evolved through continuous engagement with States and stakeholders, demonstrating a long-term advocacy strategy rather than ad hoc participation.
One of IDC’s most significant achievements, in partnership with colleagues from UNICEF and the Migration Youth and Children Platform (MYCP), was influencing the language of the Progress Declaration, particularly related to ending child immigration detention and strengthening references to alternatives to detention.
The final declaration separated ATD language from broader border management approaches, an important distinction for IDC’s advocacy. Even more significantly, paragraph 53 requests the UN Secretary-General to assess progress and challenges, and develop practical recommendations on ending child immigration detention and child-sensitive alternatives to detention in the context of migration. IDC considers this provision a major advocacy win because it creates an ongoing international accountability mechanism for concrete policy follow-up.
For children and families, follow-up on paragraph 53 can support practical shifts away from immigration detention and towards community-based alternatives that protect family unity, education, mental health and children’s rights. This work needs to continue until no child is detained for immigration-related reasons.
IDC and partners from Women in Migration Network, FeMig, UN Women, OHCHR and DESA under Roundtable 4 of the UN Migration Network also successfully defended and advanced gender-responsive migration governance language throughout the negotiations. At a time when migrants’ rights and women’s rights are under threat and when gender-related commitments are increasingly backsliding in multilateral spaces, IDC and our partners helped prevent regression and secured strong language reaffirming meaningful participation of women in migration governance and protection against all forms of violence against migrant women and girls.
IDC and our partners also helped set up the IMRF Informal Gender Network with membership from key States, helping coordinate advocacy and maintain political momentum around gender responsiveness in the IMRF.
In practical terms, this work will help migration policies better reflect the risks faced by migrant women, girls and gender-diverse people, including violence, exploitation, family separation, pregnancy-related needs, care responsibilities, trafficking risks and barriers to healthcare, justice and documentation.
Another important outcome was the inclusion of rights-based safeguards on the use of digital technologies in migration governance, working closely with OHCHR. This was particularly important for IDC given the growing use of surveillance technologies and other digital tools within detention, ATD and border governance contexts. Clear safeguards will help to ensure that these tools do not deepen discrimination, expand surveillance and make harmful decisions that seriously affect the rights of migrants.
IDC identifies limitations in the final IMRF outcome document, but we also recognise that this is a political process and that balanced language needs to be reached – we congratulate the co-facilitators for achieving some of this balance.
Another central component of IDC’s advocacy was to leverage long-term relationship building to secure concrete pledges from governments and regional bodies. IDC and our partners supported the development of key pledges and supported governments to translate policy priorities into implementable commitments that can have an actual impact on the lives of migrants. Examples include a pledge from the Government of Malawi, outlining clear steps towards ending child immigration detention with a clear timeline, and another from the Regional Conference on Migration in the Americas about piloting the Vulnerability Screening Tool, which will prevent the detention of people in vulnerable situations at borders.
IDC was also very active at the IMRF and participated in 12 side events, directly co-organising seven of them on detention, gender and digital technology, and speaking as part of the others. See list here. We also contributed substantively to shaping broader policy debates during the IMRF week. IDC’s active presence across the IMRF helped ensure that discussions on detention, children’s rights, gender, technology and routes remained connected to the realities faced by migrants in practice.
During Roundtable 2, IDC highlighted the increasing politicisation and criminalisation of migration globally and reiterated that child immigration detention is never in the best interests of the child and constitutes a form of violence against children. We also provided feedback from a Roundtable IDC co-organised with UNICEF, UNHCR, IOM, MYCP and the SRSG on Violence against Children with member states that are taking steps towards ending child immigration detention and promoting alternatives, showcasing that it is possible to achieve this goal and that some states are doing it. IDC also participated as a speaker in the Multistakeholder hearing held on 4th May.
IDC also addressed both the opportunities and risks of the emerging “route-based approach” during the IMRF Policy Debate, explaining how the route-based approach is important to increase cooperation, and could be used to strengthen asylum systems, expand regular pathways, promote casework and support access to services for migrants.
However, it cannot become a tool for border externalisation or for prioritising an agenda focused mainly on returns.
Part of IDC’s work at the IMRF was as a consortium partner of the Pathways to Protection project. P2P is a five-year programme focused on strengthening the protection and rights of people moving along the Mediterranean migration routes, where risks can change quickly from one country to the next. Its purpose is to make sure people can access support and information before, during and after migration journeys, and that their rights are protected, wherever they are along the route. The programme is led by the Danish Refugee Council, the Danish Red Cross and International Detention Coalition, with financial support from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
IDC’s engagement in the IMRF demonstrates that sustained, strategic and grounded advocacy can influence multilateral outcomes beyond the negotiating room. By combining long-term relationship-building, practical support and targeted advocacy – and by working with others, including governments – IDC was able to leverage a global advocacy space into a mechanism for impacting international, regional and national processes. The task now is to ensure these commitments are implemented in law, policy and practice, so they lead to real change for children, families, women and all people affected by immigration detention and migration enforcement.
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IDC statement on the EU Returns Regulation: Council position marks further regression
On 8 December 2025, the EU Council adopted its negotiating position on the proposed Returns Regulation. This step signals a troubling and yet more punitive EU approach to migration governance.
In April, IDC warned that the Commission’s proposal to replace the 2008 Returns Directive risked expanding detention, narrowing voluntary return, introducing third-country “return hubs,” increasing the use of electronic monitoring and weakening procedural safeguards. Those concerns remain urgent.
The Council’s position appears to deepen the most harmful elements of the earlier draft. In particular, it moves toward a major expansion in the use and length of immigration detention, reportedly extending maximum periods beyond the Commission’s proposal of 24 months to 30 months, for adults and children. The Council proposes even longer detention in “security” cases. It also broadens grounds for detention linked to an expansive concept of “risk of absconding,” including factors that may penalise poverty and social exclusion, and risks further normalising detention of children.
At the same time, the Council continues to endorse returns to third countries through return agreements, raising serious questions about enforceable safeguards, individualised assessment and meaningful access to remedy. The overall direction focused on externalisation of borders and reinforces coercion over due process and dignity.
IDC raises the following concerns regarding the Council`s proposal:
- More people, including children and other vulnerable individuals, risk being detained for longer; electronic monitoring and other intrusive measures are promoted as “alternatives” despite functioning in practice as alternative forms of detention;
- Third-country “return hubs” are further normalised without meaningful guarantees of safety or accountability; and
- Mutual recognition of return decisions between Member States is advanced in a way that risks overlooking changes in people’s circumstances and undermining access to effective remedies.
- At the same time, procedural safeguards and genuinely voluntary return options remain weak, increasing the likelihood that people will be removed before their rights and protection needs are fully and fairly examined.
IDC remains deeply concerned that the proposed Returns Regulation, as now reinforced by the Council’s position, moves the EU towards a more coercive and detention-focused migration system, rather than one grounded in rights, fairness and protection.
IDC reiterates its call for the European Parliament and Council to reject any further expansion of detention, externalisation and forced returns. The EU should instead invest in rights-based, community-led alternatives that are more humane, effective and affordable.
Peer learning: five years of change
How peer learning can help curb child immigration detention in the Asia Pacific
Peer learning brings people together to solve problems by sharing ideas, experiences, and practical solutions. It helps people learn from each other, making it especially powerful for tackling complex challenges like child immigration detention.
Every year, thousands of children in the Asia Pacific region are held in immigration detention, causing serious harm to their physical and mental wellbeing. Detention is unnecessary and harmful, especially for children, and proven alternatives exist. Community-based alternatives to detention (ATD) allow children and families to live safely in the community while resolving immigration issues, prioritising dignity, wellbeing and human rights.
The Regional Peer Learning Platform on Alternatives to the Detention of Children in the Asia Pacific was set up in 2019 to bring together governments, civil society, academics and international organisations to share knowledge and strategies for implementing these alternatives.
Co-convened by the International Detention Coalition (IDC) and the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration (ADFM) Secretariat, the Platform provides a space for collaboration and innovation. It supports reform, builds leadership, strengthens partnerships and ensures efforts align with international goals like those in the Global Compact for Migration.
Since its launch, the Platform has brought together 157 people working on this issue from five countries — Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand — to tackle this pressing issue. This summary reflects on five years of progress, challenges and lessons learned to guide future work in ending child immigration detention.
Key outcomes
Achieved national reform by uniting government departments, civil society, and other organisations to share ideas, build trust and help participants improve their national systems. For example, Thailand has made significant progress, introducing measures to protect migrant children and ending detention in many cases.
Developed policy champions by supporting mid-level officials and civil society leaders to become champions of reform and use new knowledge and connections in practice. For instance, in Malaysia, a government official used lessons from the Platform to push for a pilot program offering alternatives to detention for children.
Strengthened government-civil society collaboration by equipping governments and civil society to work together more effectively, with civil society now trusted as partners in shaping policies. This approach is designed to enable more inclusive decisions and co-created policies that work in practice.
Enhanced regional cooperation by enabling governments to learn from each other, making it easier to adopt successful practices from neighboring countries and align with broader frameworks like the ASEAN Declaration on the Rights of Children in the Context of Migration.
Key elements for success
Expert partnerships with co-organisers International Detention Coalition, which brings deep knowledge of alternatives to detention and expertise in bringing people together for policy discussions, and the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration, which specialises in regional migration governance and convening high-level policy dialogues.
Choosing the right participants to ensure diverse and constructive perspectives, including mid-level government officials, civil society leaders, academics and international organisations.
Creating space for dialogue, with meetings held under the Chatham House Rule and supported by detailed briefings and live interpretation during sessions to ensure everyone can participate fully.
Incorporating site visits and lived experience, which allows those working on these issues to see how policies affect real people. Participants visit programs where alternatives to detention are already working and hear from people with direct experience of detention and alternatives to detention.
Thoughtful agendas combine presentations, group discussions and informal time to encourage creativity and collaboration. Flexibility ensures they address participants’ priorities and foster problem-solving.
Challenges
Balancing different needs of diverse national contexts and varying participant expertise levels remains a challenge.
Maintaining engagement between meetings is made more difficult by limited resources.
Resource constraints pose a risk to the Platform’s sustainability. Convening requires significant funding and organisational capacity.
Meaningful and safe participation of lived experience leaders continues to be an area for growth.
Towards ending immigration detention for refugees in Mexico
Why this is an achievable goal for the incoming government
MEXICO
Mexico is a country that historically has a tradition of asylum. However, in recent years, migration policies have been characterised by a focus on containment rather than humanitarian reception and inclusion.
As a result of excessive militarisation and the focus on detention in immigration review and enforcement, several negative effects have been documented, such as misinformation, delay or lack of access to procedures for the recognition of refugee status and legitimate self-defense, as well as deprivation of liberty of people in vulnerable situations.
At the psychosocial level, people often feel anguish, uncertainty and fear as a result of the lack of information, lack of communication with their families or support networks, as well as the hopelessness caused by confinement, in addition to other effects on their physical health.
The new federal administration, headed by President Claudia Sheinbaum, has an opportunity to build a new migration policy with a rights-based approach that prioritises human security.
“I hadn’t done anything wrong, we were fleeing, but we didn’t do anything wrong, I didn’t deserve to be there in that immigration station, which was worse than a prison. When I got out I even smiled again. Now my husband and I are refugees, we are calmer and we already have jobs.”
“Rebeca”, refugee woman, Mexico 2023.
Improvement opportunities include eliminating immigration detention, prohibiting deprivation of liberty for persons in need of international protection, and creating institutional guidelines for people seeking asylum, children and adolescents in migration, racialised persons, indigenous people, people with disabilities, pregnant women, gender diverse persons, and other populations at greater risk of vulnerability.
Another key opportunity is strengthening institutions that guarantee rights, such as the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR), the National System for the Protection of Children and Adolescents (SIPINNA), the Office of the Attorney General for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, the Ministry of Education, the National System for Comprehensive Family Development (SNDIF), the Ministry of Health, among others.
The new government has an opportunity to take firm steps towards eliminating immigration detention for people seeking asylum. One way forward is to promote the use of alternatives to detention that are respectful of rights, shifting the response to migration flows in favour of humanitarian reception and building welcoming communities, to mention a few possible paths.
IDC has developed a series of recommendations that we will present to the new government. In this way, we aim to promote collaboration towards building a new migration policy, together with other civil society organisations and networks, that puts migrants and refugees at the centre, and allows for the development of policies that prioritise human rights and long-term solutions.
Urgent protections needed to prevent child detention in Europe
IDC calls on states to introduce safeguards in advance of the new EU Migration Pact
EUROPEAN UNION
With preparations underway for the introduction of the EU’s new Migration and Asylum Pact, IDC condemns the lack of safeguards for human rights in the new legal framework. IDC joins UN experts in calling for states to implement critical protections for migrants and refugees, — and particularly for children — in preparation for the implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.
The EU’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum is a contentious new policy framework that sets out a plan for how to manage migration in countries across the EU. It is IDC’s view that the Pact undermines the fundamental rights of refugees and migrants.
It introduces expedited border procedures and extensive detention measures, which could lead to inadequate processing of asylum claims and increased risk of human rights abuses, like arbitrary detention and forced returns. And the pact’s focus on externalising border controls through partnerships with non-EU countries also raises concerns about reduced access to asylum and increased incidents of pushbacks, potentially endangering lives and human rights.
Recent IDC research conducted with Linklaters reveals that, despite the pact’s assertion that detention should be a measure of last resort, structural changes such as the ‘fiction of non-entry’ policy could make alternatives to detention (ATD) less viable and increase the likelihood of detention across the European Union.
The ’fiction of non-entry’ allows migrants to be physically present in an EU state while not being legally recognised, significantly restricting their freedom and access to services. This approach can be particularly detrimental as it is likely to increase immigration detention in the European Union and it will also affect children — mandatory border procedures will also apply to them, potentially leading to widespread detention. This is in direct conflict with international law, which clearly outlines that immigration detention is never in the best interest of the child and that it is a form of violence against children.
IDC is concerned that the Pact implies a serious deterioration in child protection standards and a breach of children’s rights. IDC’s research underscores the profoundly negative effects of detention on children, including severe harm to their mental and emotional health and disruption to their family life and development.
IDC’s Executive Director, Carolina Gottardo, says:
“The new pact is likely to expand immigration detention across European borders and will have devastating consequences on migrants and refugees, particularly on children. The Pact takes us a long way backwards in terms of rights and protection in Europe.
“We must protect the inherent dignity and rights of all children and uphold our international obligations. Member states in Europe need to ensure that they are not detaining children. There is simply no excuse to detain children for immigration-related reasons.”
Based on our analysis, IDC’s position is that the EU Pact may lead to prolonged and extensive use of detention with diminished safeguards, especially for vulnerable groups.
However, IDC emphasises that viable alternatives exist. Since 2017, the European Alternatives to Detention Network has been working with migrants and people seeking asylum to enable them to live freely in the community while their case is processed, rather than in immigration detention.
An evaluation of the pilot programs conducted by the European Alternatives to Detention Network in Bulgaria, Poland and Cyprus in 2020 showed very high rates of engagement, increased case resolution, improved mental health and very low rates of absconding. The programs were also shown to be a fraction of the cost r of immigration detention. s Independent evaluations of community-based pilots in the UK — led by the Action Foundation (2022) and the King’s Arms Project (2023) — showed similar positive results. The success of these community-based programs shows that there are kinder, safer and more cost-effective alternatives to detention, which benefit host communities, governments and individuals.
IDC calls on EU Member States to reform their policies in line with these findings and to ensure that the rights of children, migrants and refugees are fully protected in their migration procedures. We stand ready to assist in the development and implementation of policies that prioritise human rights and the well-being of all migrants.