The use of immigration detention as a strategy and tool in migration management has been mentioned in the EU pact on migration and asylum. Signs of a more frequent use is also prevalent in Sweden with a suggestion to use so called transit centres in the Tidö agreement, which critics have pointed out as another form of detention that risks being prolonged during the evaluation process that migrants go through at the Migration Agency. One thing that different definitions of detention has in common is the element of deprived liberties among the migrants.
Earlier research show that detention affects the overall health among migrants in a negative way. This Policy Brief will look closer at alternatives to detention and what these alternatives might be. A report from WHO region Europe that is authored by Soorej Jose Puthoopparambil, researcher and lecturer in Global Health at Uppsala University and Laran Matta, project coordinator at Uppsala University, is acting as the foundation for this Policy Brief. The content and recommendations in the WHO region Europe-report are summarised by Suzanne Planchard at the Delmi secretariat.