UNHCR Advocacy Brief: Restrictions of movement, detention and alternatives to detention under the European Union Pact on Migration and Asylum

SUMMARY OF KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
Border procedures
» Ensure border procedures are protection-sensitive, child-sensitive, and uphold procedural safeguards from the outset,
in line with international and EU law.
» Implement border procedures in a manner that provides for the special procedural and reception needs of vulnerable
individuals. Utilise the discretion provided under the APR to select appropriate locations for border procedures, mindful
that urban areas may allow for adequate reception conditions and services to be provided more easily in line with the
RCD and diverse needs of applicants subject to border procedures.
» Exempt unaccompanied and separated children, survivors of trauma or trafficking, and persons with psychosocial or
intellectual disabilities - from accelerated or border procedures due to the practical difficulties of providing necessary
support to these groups in such a context.
» Ensure the provision of necessary additional support and access to specialized services (e.g. medical, psychosocial,
child protection, safe and adapted accommodation) to applicants with special reception and procedural needs
» Promptly channel cases of applicants, whose specific reception or procedural needs cannot be adequately addressed
in a border procedure, into regular procedures.
Detention and ATDs
» Where detention grounds apply, consider ATDs first, ensuring that any measures taken are the least restrictive and least
intrusive in the individual case. Apply detention only as a last resort—based on an individual assessment and after duly
considering less restrictive alternatives—ensuring that any detention is necessary, reasonable, and proportionate, taking
into account applicant’s individual circumstances.
» Engage the national NGOs and national authorities with relevant expertise in the design of potential ATDs and associated
case management support systems.
» Ensure the effective implementation of procedural safeguards and reception conditions when applying detention or
restrictions on movement, including by investing in adequate planning, sufficient staffing, and ongoing monitoring and
assessment of reception needs and required standards.
» Exempt vulnerable persons from detention. Children must not be detained for immigration-related purposes, and family
members of accompanied children should be accommodated with their children and not detained.
» Given their punitive nature avoid ATDs modelled on penal/criminal justice systems.
Movement restrictions
» Ensure that movement restrictions, including those applied under border procedures, do not result in de facto detention
due to their intensity or cumulative effects. Their application shall take into account the principles of necessity and
proportionality and individual circumstances of the applicant.