Persuasive Essay On Refugees Detention

According to the UNHCR, there are currently 65.6 million forcibly displaced people worldwide. Out of this total, only 22.5 million are already identified as refugees and less than 200.000 have succeeded in resettling (1). It is also estimated that nearly 10 million people are currently classified as stateless, having been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. In most of these cases, such populations have to face detention.
By definition, immigration detention is the practice of holding in custody people (and in some cases families) who are subject to immigration control, either while they await permission to enter, or prior to their deportation or removal from a country (2). The UNHCR Guidelines reaffirms the general principle that asylum seekers should not be detained, and in exceptional cases where such detention may be necessary, it should only occur as a measure of last resort, after other non-custodial alternatives have proven or been deemed insufficient in relation to the individual (3). However, contrary to this guidance, in many countries detention continues to be the preferred means of ensuring that asylum
Arbitrary detention, both of asylum seekers and refugees, also continues to occur in numerous host countries. In these prison-like systems, there is evidence of increased risk of suicide, self-harm and violent victimization, as well of neglection of basic human needs (such as food and clean water) and the health necessities of detainees (8). Therefore, individuals detained in immigration centres can be described as a vulnerable, especially susceptible to a variety of life threatening