Human rights within immigration detention centres in Europe: comparative case study of Spain, Italy and Sweden

Abstract

This working paper analyses the human rights of migrants deprived of liberty in immigration detention centres of three European countries: Spain, Italy and Sweden. The detention facilities are used to retain immigrants in an irregular administrative situation in order to ensure their expulsion of the state’s territory. The main objective of the research is to determine whether the differences among these states regarding immigration detention conditions lead to three distinct models – one for each country – each of them implying a different level of protection of the detainees’ rights. The human rights studied are to be classified in four different categories: oversight, judicial protection and legal assistance, adequate standard of living and freedom from inhuman treatment.