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

MIGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW | 199
by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, which has
emphasised that, although immigration detainees may have to spend
some time in ordinary police detention facilities, given that the conditions
in such places may generally be inadequate for prolonged periods
of detention, the time they spend there should be kept to the absolute
minimum. 742 In Charahili v. Turkey, the European Court of Human
Rights found that prolonged detention of the applicant in the basement
of a police station, in poor conditions, violated Article 3 ECHR. 743 In R.U.
v. Greece, the Court found that the detention of an asylum seeker, who
because of his status as an asylum seeker was considered by the Court
to be a member of a vulnerable group, for more than two months in
inappropriate conditions of detention, constituted degrading treatment
prohibited by Article 3 ECHR. 744 The UN Human Rights Committee has
also expressed concern at detention of those awaiting deportation in
police custody for lengthy periods. 745
International standards also consistently reject detention of asylum
seekers or other migrants in prisons, requiring that other facilities
should be put in place or, at a minimum, that in any case asylum seekers
and migrants should be kept separate from convicted persons or
persons detained pending trial. 746
a) Place of detention of children and families
International standards require that, in those exceptional cases where
children are detained, they should be held in facilities and conditions
appropriate to their age. This general principle is established by
Article 37.c CRC, which states that “[e]very child deprived of liberty
shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of
the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs
of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty
shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child’s best
interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with
742 Ibid., p. 54.
743 Charahili v. Turkey, ECtHR, Application No. 46605/07, Judgment of 13 April 2010.
744 R.U. v. Greece, ECtHR, Application No. 2237/08, Judgment of 7 June 2011, para. 63.
745 Concluding Observations on Austria, CCPR, op. cit., fn. 188, para. 17. The Committee expressed
concern that asylum seekers awaiting deportation were frequently detained for
up to several months in police detention facilities and recommended that the State Party
“review its detention policy with regard to asylum seekers [...] and take immediate and
effective measures to ensure that all asylum seekers who are detained pending deportation
are held in centres specifically designed for that purpose [...].”
746 Concluding Observations on Ireland, CCPR, op. cit., fn. 516, para. 21; Vélez Loor v. Panama,
IACtHR, op. cit., fn. 536, paras. 207–208. See also, Concluding Observations on Sweden,
CCPR, UN Doc. CCPR/C/SWE/CO/6, 2 April 2009, para. 17; Concluding Observations on New
Zealand, CAT, UN Doc. CAT/C/NZL/CO/5, 14 May 2009, para. 6: “The Committee notes with
concern that asylum-seekers and undocumented migrants continue to be detained in low
security and correctional facilities.”; Conclusion No. 44, UNHCR, op. cit., fn. 624, para. 10.