Cairo’s Global Research has published a report revealing abysmal, deteriorating conditions in immigration detention camps across Jordan.

The report titled ‘The Grim Conditions of Jordan’s immigration detention camps’, notes that organisations like Human Rights Watch, Tamkeen and Global Detention Project have previously attempted to raise awareness about this situation in Jordan.

According to statistics published by the Global Detention Project, Jordan had an influx of over 1.5 million migrants, out of which 1,841 are immigration detainees. Migrants are often sent to the Amman Shemalia detention camp or settled the Zataari refugee camp. In September 2015, ABC News reported that Jordan had over 600,000 Syrian refugees, with more than 100,000 living in desolate camps.

“Within the camps, poor heating, lighting and meager ventilation persist, with molding decay on walls, the report reveals…”

A personal account showcased in the report details how, upon initial arrest, migrants detained in Jordan are not provided with the customary phone call to alert anyone on the outside about their arrest. “However, if deportees submitted to voluntary deportation – prior to seeing an immigration judge – the previously forbidden telephone privileges shockingly appear,” the account reads.

Within the camps, poor heating, lighting and meager ventilation persist, with molding decay on walls, the report reveals. The bathrooms in these camps are also extremely unsanitary. Facilities lack adequate washing and other hygiene products with limited access to shower areas. According to Global Research, there is no medical assistance in camps like Amman Shemalia and some correctional officers have been seen assaulting women detainees.

In the IDC report, There Are Alternatives, IDC notes that detention is inherently undesirable and should only be used as a last resort. In the rare cases of detention, it should be necessary and proportionate. In the similar vein, NGO Tamkeen has stated that Jordan is violating international laws by holding migrant workers under incredulous conditions of detention and disgusting treatment, despite pending trials. In Global Research’s report, Tamkeen says Jordan’s treatment of migrants in these camps is “contrary to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention Against Torture.”