Universal-MigrationHRlaw-PG-no-6-Publications-PractitionersGuide-2014-eng

MIGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW | 193
on Detention apply equally to “stateless persons who are seeking asylum,
although they do not specifically cover the situation of non-asylum-seeking
stateless persons, persons found not to be in need of international
protection or other migrants, although many of the standards
detailed herein may apply to them mutatis mutandis. This is particularly
true with regard to non-refugee stateless persons in the migratory context
who face a heightened risk of arbitrary detention”. 716
7. Detention of migrants for purposes other than
immigration control
Although the focus of this Chapter is on detention for the purposes of
immigration control, it should be noted that migrants, like others, may
also be detained on other legitimate or illegitimate grounds. While the
majority of human rights treaties do not expressly specify the grounds on
which detention is permitted, under the ECHR, in addition to detention for
the purposes of immigration control, permissible detention is limited to:
• detention following conviction by a criminal court;
• detention for failure to comply with an order of a court or to secure
the fulfilment of an obligation prescribed by law;
• detention following arrest on suspicion of committing an offence
or in order to prevent an offence being committed;
• detention of minors for educational purposes;
• detention where strictly necessary for the prevention of the spread
of infectious diseases;
• detention of persons of unsound mind, alcoholics, drug addicts or
vagrants, where necessary for their own protection or the protection
of the public.
All such detentions are subject to safeguards against arbitrariness similar
to those that apply to immigration detention. It should also be noted
that such powers of detention are subject to the principle of non-discrimination,
including on grounds of nationality, and must therefore not
be exclusively or disproportionately imposed on non-nationals except
where the difference in treatment can be objectively and reasonably
justified in the circumstances. 717
a) Administrative detention on grounds of national security
Administrative detention for reasons of national security, although distinct
from detention for the purposes of immigration control, may nevertheless
disproportionately affect non-nationals. Although, under the
716 UNHCR Guidelines on Detention, op. cit., fn. 633, Scope, para. 4.
717 A. and Others v. United Kingdom, ECtHR, op. cit., fn. 691.