IDC Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants
The International Detention Coalition (IDC) contributed to the upcoming report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants to the 80th session of the General Assembly on Externalisation of Migration and its Impacts. The submission highlights how these practices, in which States shift border management and asylum responsibilities to third countries, are directly contributing to human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, torture, and denial of access to international protection systems.
IDC’s position is clear: externalisation is fueling human rights violations. As States increasingly outsource migration management to other countries, it leads to growing use of detention as a generalized approach to migration governance, pushbacks, and denial of access to international protection. IDC sees immigration detention as both a symptom and a central mechanism of implementation of externalisation measures. Its use has been expanding through opaque agreements, military involvement, and offshore models, often without proper legal safeguards or oversight, leading to forced returns, enforced disappearances, incommunicado detention, and deprivation of legal assistance. Migrants in vulnerable situations, including children, are especially at risk.
Our submission sheds light on concerning practices taking place worldwide – from the United States and the Central American corridor, the US-Mexico border, to Europe and the Mediterranean route, MENA, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. Our submission also benefits from the contribution of IDC partners and members of the European ATD Network, namely the Italian Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights (CILD) and Progetto Diritti that are closely monitoring the implementation of the Italy Albania deal.
In sum, the enhanced use of third state agreements and offshore processing of migration-related claims is alarming, especially considering its global reach. The submission stresses how externalisation measures are undermining international protection frameworks and the rights of migrants. We denounce the use of enforcement-based migration strategies and call for the elimination of immigration detention, especially in outsourced or offshore locations, and the investment in rights-based alternatives to detention (ATD). IDC also urges for international solidarity to prevail, ensuring that migration governance aligns with human rights standards and non-refoulement obligations.