Over 50 members from 16 countries attended International Detention Coalition’s annual member meeting this year. The meeting took place on June 16, in Geneva, a day before the annual NGO consultations hosted by the United Nations Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR).
The IDC is a unique global network, of over 300 civil society organisations and individuals in more than 70 countries, that advocate for, research and provide direct services to refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants affected by immigration detention.
During the member meeting, the IDC secretariat consulted with members about developments and plans for the coming year. Trends emerging from the past year included a greater willingness from governments to consider Alternatives to Detention (ATD), however this has not yet translated into results.
Director of the IDC, Mr. Grant Mitchell,s the following trend from the last year, “we have seen two trends: an increasing use of immigration detention, and an increasing use of alternatives, which have been shown to be more effective and more humane”
Over the next year the IDC will be developing online training to further their members capacity to advocate for changes to law, policy and the practice of using unnecessary immigration detention.