Projects

Aliens' detention

Every year in The Netherlands about 10,000 migrants without residence permits are being detained in special aliens' detention centres. They have not been convicted, neither are they suspected of a punishable act. 

 

More lenient alternatives are up to the moment hardly available. The Dutch government after a lot of pressure from NGO’s and parliament, just recently promised to experiment with some of these alternatives.

Everyone in The Netherlands who do not (yet) have valid residence documents runs the risk of being held in aliens' detention. In practice this primarily concerns:


• people at the borders, e.g. Schiphol airport who are detained for  not having the right papers;
• asylum seekers and their children who have exhausted their legal options;
• People whose asylum status has been cancelld because the political situation in the country of origin has improved according to information of the local Dutch embassy.
• migrants who have not submitted a request for asylum, but are trying to earn money in the Netherlands.
 


Illegal does not equal criminal


Migrants without a valid residence permit are often referred to as illegals. The term increasingly seems to be associated with criminal activity, even though the illegals concerned often cannot return to their country of origin themselves. Illegals are not criminals. Illegal residence is only punishable if the party involved has been declared 'undesirable'.
 

 


Thousands of people arrested annually


The Netherlands is home to an estimated 62,500 and 115,000 migrants who do not have valid residence papers. Most of these are from Africa, a smaller proportion from Asia and South America.

 

Approximately between 8,000 and 10,000 end up in aliens' detention annually. If their documents are forged or if they do not have any, they are handed over to one of the detention centres. Furthermore, every migrant residing in The Netherlands without a valid residence status runs the risk of being held at an aliens' detention centre for a shorter or longer period of time. Many of these detainees have been arrested for minor traffic offences such as not having lights on their bicycle or not having a train ticket. ID is always asked for when a fine is issued.

There are five aliens' detention centres in The Netherlands:


• the detention centres in Alphen aan den Rijn, Zaandam, Zeist and Schiphol-Oost
• the deportation centres at Schiphol-Oost and Zestienhoven.
 


Differences between aliens' detention and prisons


The Dutch government has only made very limited funds available for aliens' detention, which means conditions are stricter and more sober than in ordinary prisons. The following applies to aliens' detention:


• the detainees do not have the right to work, take a course or be educated, or engage in unsupervised visits
• detainees do not know how long their detention will last; they therefore cannot prepare for their possible release and what they intend to subsequently do;
• the detention is in no way positively future-oriented, nor is any attention paid to possibilities of reintegration;
• it is impossible to arrange supervised visits to important family occasions such as the birth of an own child or the death or burial of an immediate member of the family;
• groups of detainees share a cell.
 

 

Support from prison pastoral service


One in three detainees asks for help from a pastor, in need for comfort or religious conversation. In aliens' detention this number is expected to be much higher. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for organising the spiritual welfare of detainees. There is one spiritual carer for every ninety detainees. The spiritual carers have various religious backgrounds.

 

Our activities


Justitia et Pax Netherlands is gravely concerned about aliens' detention in the Netherlands.


The detention of illegal migrants is unreasonable and out of proportion. There are alternatives that have less impact on the migrant' freedom, rights and well-being. Justitia et Pax Netherlands:


• Has researched alternatives to aliens' detention, such as the introduction of compulsory reporting or temporarily staying at a reliable address. This research was publuished in January 2012 and is available on this website;

• has issued recommendations to the Dutch Episcopal Conference at the end of 2009 on the conditions in aliens' detention. These recommendations has been topic of a meeting of some bishops with the Minister of Justice and continues to be the basis of our lobby activities.

In its report 'Humaniteit in Vreemdelingenbewaring (Humanity in aliens' detention) Justitia et Pax concludes:

• Aliens' detention is a measure that is too severe and that is used too often and wrongfully. Asylum seekers and migrants without a residence permit find themselves in a vulnerable position and deserve better treatment. For this reason, the use of this measure must be significantly restricted.

• Therefore, where possible and necessary, the government must use lighter alternatives for aliens' detention, such as an obligation to report or an open reception facility.

• Improve the circumstances in aliens' detention in such a way that they are appropriate to the people in question. Asylum seekers and migrants without a residence permit are not criminals and do not deserve punishment. Therefore, the regime and general character of detention centres must be different and better than those of a prison.

 

Cooperations


Justitia et Pax Netherlands has a strategic alliance with the Roman Catholic Justitiepastoraat (Roman Catholic prison pastoral services) which, among other things, works at aliens' detention centres.

 

  

Publications

  • 'Ook de illegaal heeft een verhaal, 61 gesprekken met illegale vreemdelingen in vreemdelingenbewaring', A.M. van Kalmthout; Wolf Legal Publishers, May 2006
  • 'Foreigners in European Prisons', A.M. van Kalmthout, F.B.A.M. Hofstee-van der Meulen, F. Dünkel (Eds.); Nijmegen, Wolf Legal Publishers, 2007
  • 'Report by the Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, on his visit to The Netherlands 21-25 September 2008', Council of Europe; Strasbourg, 2009
  • 'The Detention of Irregular Migrants and Asylum Seekers', Amnesty Nederland; Amsterdam, 2008
  • Ouders met kinderen in vreemdelingenbewaring, Inspectiebericht vervolgonderzoek'; Inspectie van de Sanctietoepassing, Ministry of Justice, The Hague, 2006
  • 'Report to the authorities of the Kingdom of The Netherlands on the visits carried out to the Kingdom in Europe, Aruba, and The Netherlands Antilles by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)', Commission Prevention of Torture; Strasbourg, 2008.
In brief
  • 10,000 migrants without residence permit are held in aliens' detention in The Netherlands every year.
  • Conditions in aliens' detention are stricter and more sober than in ordinary prisons.
  • Prison pastors support detained migrants spiritually.
  • Justitia et Pax Netherlands deems the detention of migrants without residence permit unacceptable.
  • Justitia et Pax Netherlands calls upon politicians to explore alternatives to aliens' detention.
Photo: Marcel Terlouw/Argos
Photo: Marcel Terlouw/Argos