Alternatives to detention were highlighted at the 14th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum which took place in Namibia on August 13 – 15, 2018.
Liesl Muller from IDC Member, Lawyers for Human Rights, launched the NextGen Index Scorecards for Southern African states.
The NextGen Index is a comparative tool that ranks States on their progress in ending child immigration detention. The Index uses a standard scoring framework to assess the key factors that ensure national migration management systems are sensitive to the needs of children and, importantly, avoid child detention.
The scoring framework analyses the strengths and weaknesses of current systems in protecting and respecting the rights and best interests of the child at all times, regardless of their migration status. Scorecards are accompanied by tailored recommendations on how each country can improve their scores in the future. National scores will be updated each year to track a country’s progress over time.
States from Southern Africa in the NextGen Index included:
- South Africa – score of 39 points
- Malawi – score of 32 points
- Zambia – score of 52 points
The latest IDC research, The African edition of There are Alternatives was also shared at this event, providing an overview of alternatives to immigration detention in Africa. Drawing from examples in 32 African countries, the report highlights some of the measures in place that contribute to the effective and humane governance of migration, while avoiding the use of unnecessary immigration detention. It includes a Guide for Policy Makers, which outlines how this research can be of use for States.
It complements There are alternatives – a handbook to prevent unnecessary immigration detention and builds on IDC’s 2016 report Alternatives to Immigration Detention in Africa.