This year has been a difficult one for migrants and refugees. Conflict, displacement, climate pressures, criminalising policies, political turmoil and shrinking humanitarian resources have intensified risks across migration systems worldwide. And in many contexts, immigration detention has expanded, despite clear evidence of its harm.

And yet, against this backdrop, IDC and our members have continued to deliver meaningful change. Through long-term advocacy, technical support and sustained collaboration with our members, leaders with lived experience, governments, UN agencies and regional bodies, IDC has helped shift policy and practice away from immigration detention and towards community-based alternatives.

Let’s take a look back at some of the significant policy gains from this year:

Avoiding the detention of 2,000 children in Thailand

As of this year, nearly 2,000 children and their caregivers in Thailand have been supported in community-based alternatives to detention under the country’s MOU on Alternatives to Detention for Children, introduced in 2019.

This progress reflects years of implementation support from IDC and our members. We have worked with local partners to strengthen evidence, promote child-centred models and support coordination across government agencies. The result is a functioning alternative to child detention in Thailand that prevents detention and harm and keeps families together.

Regional leadership on children’s rights in Southern Africa

In October 2025, ministers from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) adopted a regional declaration committing to protect refugee and migrant children and prevent child immigration detention. The declaration recognises detention as a violation of child rights and sets out concrete actions to prevent it.

This outcome reflects sustained engagement by IDC and its members to support regional dialogue and build consensus in Southern Africa. Our work is supporting the 12 African countries in the SADC to move forward together, so progress is stronger, longer-lasting and reaches further.

Ensuring the right to work in Thailand

After decades of exclusion, Thailand this year made the decision to allow Myanmar refugees in border camps to work legally. For approximately 40,000 working-age refugees, this policy change offers a pathway to self-reliance at a time of severe humanitarian shortfalls.

IDC worked closely as part of key Parliamentary Committees and alongside regional partners and civil society to support this move, while advocating for sustainable alternatives to long-term encampment. Importantly, the right-to-work bill demonstrates how inclusive approaches to migration governance can respond to both humanitarian needs and economic realities.

Supporting efforts to end child immigration detention in Belgium

Belgium’s legislation banning child immigration detention marks a significant advance for children’s rights in Europe. At a time when regional policy trends risk expanding detention, the law demonstrates that governments can choose alternatives that protect children from harm.

IDC and its members have consistently advocated for this shift, and have directly supported the Belgian government to legislate the decision. The new law sets a precedent that could influence wider European policy debates in the years to come.

Preventing detention through vulnerability screening in the Americas

In 2025, 11 Latin American governments endorsed IDC’s Regional Vulnerability Screening Tool to guide migration decision-making away from detention. The tool helps authorities recognise vulnerability early and connect people on the move to appropriate community-based support instead of detention.

IDC also supported pilot implementation and delivered training for frontline officials, helping translate policy into practice. In future, our tool can be used more widely to help prevent unnecessary detention across the region and to identify appropriate support and services for those in vulnerable situations.

Why all this matters

These outcomes did not happen by chance. They reflect sustained, collaborative work to guide policy and practice, support implementation and keep human rights and a solutions-focused approach at the centre of migration governance.

At a time when restrictive approaches are gaining ground, continued investment in alternatives to detention and non-detention approaches is essential. With support from our partners, members, funders and donors, 2026 will see IDC continue to drive progress towards ending immigration detention and safeguarding human rights.