Conditions in detention facilities

Author

Portuguese Refugee Council Visit Website

Overall conditions

In the absence of legal standards for the operation of CIT, the detention facilities at the border and the CIT – UHSA in Porto are managed by SEF/PSP pursuant to internal regulations.[1]

The general regulation governing the placement of foreign and stateless persons in CIT and EECIT has been approved by the Minister of Home Affairs in July 2020.[2] The regulation explicitly states that it is applicable to applicants for international protection, and that, in such cases, detention is subject to the rules provided by the Asylum Act.[3]

It is unclear whether a new Regulation was/will be adopted following the termination of the activity of SEF and the take over of PSP within this field. In any case, in the absence of new rules, it is only logical to deem references of the regulation to SEF as being applicable to PSP within the scope of its competencies.

It also establishes, inter alia, that:

• Possible victims of trafficking in human beings and unaccompanied children should be accommodated in adequate facilities;[4]
• SEF must inform detainees, according to the law, of the grounds of detention, status of their file and their rights and duties in a language that they understand or may be reasonably presumed to understand;[5]
• Transfers of persons between facilities may occur in order to ensure adequate reception conditions;[6]
• Each facility must have an internal regulation, to be approved by the National Director of SEF;[7]
• SEF is responsible for the management of the facilities and for the coordination of the fulfilment of the basic needs of detainees. The entity must appoint a person to be in charge of each facility;[8]
• The Ministry of Social Security and the Ministry of Health are responsible for the fulfilment of needs within their scope of action in centres located within the national territory;[9]
• Private companies may be hired to ensure the security of persons and goods;[10]
• Staff working in the facilities must have multidisciplinary training (namely with regard to languages) and the teams must be composed of both men and women;[11]
• SEF may establish cooperation protocols with civil society organisations within this context;[12]
• Upon consent, detainees must be subject to a clinical evaluation performed by a healthcare professional. Access to healthcare (including psychological care) free of charge must be ensured during the detention, specific care is to be provided to particularly vulnerable persons;[13]
• Detainees are entitled to visits from direct family members and lawyers. Specific rules on schedules and duration of visits must be included in the internal regulation of each facility. Visits by entities entitled to access by the law are subject to the rules applicable to lawyers;[14]
• If they wish, detainees can be contacted and visited by the diplomatic/consular authorities of their country of origin;[15]
• Specific rules are established for telephone calls, namely the distribution of calling cards or access to telephones for a reasonable period of time. As a general rule, possession of communication equipment is forbidden unless the internal regulations state otherwise;[16]
• The facilities must ensure the dignity of detainees, provide for their separation by gender and age (except in the case of families), have an outdoor space and available leisure activities. Measures must be adopted to prevent violence, inhuman treatment or abuse by other detainees;[17]
• The food provided must be subject to quality control, be sufficient, and respect dietary or philosophical/religious beliefs;[18]
• Detainees are to be provided with a hygiene kit, access to toilets bathrooms with hygiene and security, and the necessary conditions to wash clothes must be ensured. Access to luggage must also be ensured;[19]
• A monitoring commission to evaluate and monitor the functioning of the relevant facilities composed by representatives from SEF, IGAI, Ombudsperson and ACM is to be established. It must meet at least twice a year.[20]

In April 2020, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern over the detention conditions of migrants in Portugal, recommending that conditions and treatment in relevant facilities comply with international standards.[21]

The National Preventive Mechanism reported that no complaints of ill-treatment were made by detainees during the visits to immigrant detention centres conducted in 2022.[22]

EECIT Lisbon

Until March 2020, the detention facility at Lisbon airport was the most relevant detention space of applicants for international protection (mostly within the context of border procedures). This became once again the case since the resumption of the application of asylum border procedures by the end of October 2023.[23]

According to the information provided by PSP, in 2023, the EECIT Lisbon had an overall capacity of 24 places – out of which, 10 for men and 10 for women. It also has a family room (with capacity for 2 persons) and a multipurpose room for people with reduced mobility (with capacity for 2 persons).

In the past, the National Preventive Mechanism affirmed that the renovation of the space was overall positive and took into account relevant concerns such as security, privacy and contact with the exterior.[24] It further noted that the room’s conditions were adequate.[25] According to the latest report from the National Preventive Mechanism available at the time of writing several of the new rules were not yet applied, though. Notably: the panic buttons were not functioning and video surveillance had not yet been extended to all the interview rooms located at the border.

Each wing has a common area that includes a space for meals.[26] The 2020 report also highlights the creation of a prayer room that can be used upon scheduling to avoid conflicting practices.[27] The toilet and bathroom facilities are shared and were deemed as having good conditions by the Ombudsperson, who also highlighted that washing and dryer machines have been added to the facility.[28] Each wing has a small courtyard.

The reception area of the facility includes an office for SEF/PSP and three offices for visits, including by lawyers and NGOs such as CPR. CPR’s assessment is that the offices do not ensure adequate privacy, notably due to inadequate sound isolation.

According to CPR’s observation, both PSP officers and staff of a private security company are present in the facility. Apparently, staff of the security company perform logistical tasks.

The preparation of meals is ensured by a catering company.

Information on the current cleaning arrangements is not available. According to CPR’s observation, in the past, the facility was regularly cleaned by a cleaning company.

According to the information available to CPR, detainees are allowed to keep their luggage and to keep and use their mobile phones. Free wi-fi internet is available. However, according to CPR’s observation, mobile phones may only be charged in the reception area. While phones are charging, they remain under the care of security staff.

Transit area – Lisbon airport

It is publicly known that in the last quarter of 2023, asylum seekers and other migrants refused entry into national territory at Lisbon airport were frequently detained in the transit zone of the airport in appalling conditions due to the lack of capacity of the corresponding detention facility.[29]

According to the information provided by PSP, there is no limit to the number of persons that may be detained in such spaces. According to the information provided by PSP only 11 persons were detained in the transit zone of the Lisbon airport between 29 October 2023 and 31 December 2023, for an average period of 48 hours, but CPR’s observation and public reports point towards much higher figures and longer periods.

According to the information provided by PSP to the AIDA report, health care of people detained at the transit zone is ensured by the airport medical teams and food and hygiene are ensured through contracts with private entities.

According to one media piece from December 2023, whose one of the main sources is one of the unions of PSP officials:[30]

• There were almost permanently 15 to 20 peoples at the transit area awaiting a place in the detention facility;
• There were people detained in the transit area for 7 days, sleeping in benches;
• Access to hygiene facilities for showering and personal hygiene depended upon escort by PSP officials;
• Meals were provided by PSP officials and initial medical assistance by Doctors of the World (Médicos do Mundo, MdM), and airport medical services.

CPR has also received consistent reports according to which significant numbers of asylum seekers remained detained in the international area of the airport for prolonged periods of time in conditions that are incompatible with human dignity. For instance, people sleeping in airport seats/floor/camp beds and not having access to bedclothes, personal items, and personal hygiene facilities on a systematic basis. CPR has also received reports that the food provided (mostly sandwiches) was not adequate and did not fulfil nutritional needs. This situation has also been publicly condemned by the National Preventive Mechanism.[31]

EECIT-Porto and EECIT-Faro

According to the information available to CPR, in the last quarter of 2023, asylum seekers detained at the border at Lisbon airport were often transferred to the EECIT’s located at Porto and Faro airports due to the lack of capacity of EECIT-Lisbon.

There is no publicly available information regarding the conditions of these detention centres, and CPR did not visit the facilities in the course of 2023.[32]

CIT-UHSA

The Ombudsperson deems the conditions at CIT-UHSA as overall adequate, underlining the existence of outdoor areas and the regular presence of staff and volunteers from external entities.[33]

According to the available information, the facility has separate wings for men and women, as well as a family room. There is a big outdoor space whose use depends on being accompanied by staff of the facility/volunteers.[34] Daily cleaning is ensured, and the Ombudsperson deemed the food provided varied and adequate.[35] Access to personal belongings that to do not jeopardise physical integrity is allowed.[36]

Volunteers and workers from organisations such as JRS, IOM and Doctors of the World (MdM) are regularly present in the facility.[37] Access to personal mobile phones is allowed in certain periods of the day,[38] and detainees may also have access to a mobile phone provided by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) staff present in the facility.[39]

According to the information provided by IOM in 2023, a room for meetings between detainees and their lawyers was added to the facility in 2022.

In its 2023 report (covering 2022), the National Preventive Mechanism reiterated its concern with issues such as the lack of access to free wi-fi internet, the size of the beds, and with the lack of adequate regulation of the use and conditions of placement in the cell-room (a measure that may be adopted when the security of the facility is compromised).[40]

According to the information provided by IOM, surveys conducted with detained migrants regarding the detention conditions revealed a mostly positive evaluation of PSP officers following the transition occurred by the end of October 2023.

Activities

Each wing of the detention facility at EECIT Lisbon has a courtyard with tables and chairs. The courtyards in the border detention facilities have been criticised by the Ombudsperson in the past for being too small, surrounded by walls and lacking natural light.[41] As far as CPR is aware, the situation remains unchanged.

In its 2023 report, covering 2022, the National Preventive Mechanism criticised once again the absence of a cultural mediator in the facility.[42]

According to the information available to CPR, detainees are allowed to keep their luggage and mobile phones. Free wi-fi internet is available. However, according to CPR’s observation, mobile phones may only be charged in the reception area. While phones are charging, they remain under the care of security staff.

CIT-UHSA has big outdoor space whose use depends on detainees being accompanied by staff of the facility/volunteers. [43] Access to personal mobile phones is allowed in certain periods of the day.[44] Access to personal belongings that to do not jeopardise physical integrity is allowed.[45] According to the report of the National Preventive Mechanism published in 2021, in 2020, more toys were made available in the facility and it had a play room that was well equipped.[46]

In its 2023 report (covering 2022), the National Preventive Mechanism reiterated its concern with issues such as the lack of access to free wi-fi internet, the size of the beds, and with the lack of adequate regulation of the use and conditions of placement in the cell-room (a measure that may be adopted when the security of the facility is compromised).[47]

While the law provides for access to education of children asylum seekers under the same conditions as nationals,[48] and the rules governing CIT provide for the access of detained children to education depending on the duration of their detention,[49] according to the information available to CPR children in detention do not have access to education or pedagogical activities in practice either at the detention facility or by accessing normal schools.

Health care and special needs in detention

The responsibility for providing health care to asylum seekers at the border lies with the Ministry of Home Affairs/ Ministry in charge of Migration that can rely on public entities and/or private non-profit organisations in the framework of a MoU to ensure the provision of such services.[50]

The Asylum Act provides for the right of asylum seekers and their relatives to adequate health care at the border (i.e., in detention),[51] and for the right of vulnerable asylum seekers in detention to regular health care that meets their particular needs.[52] The Asylum Act does not, however, specify this particular standard,[53] and/or whether it differs from the general standard of health care provision in the asylum procedure.[54]

According to the available information, nursing and medical care, as well as referrals to the national healthcare system at EECITs and CIT-UHSA are ensured by the NGO Doctors of the World (Médicos do Mundo, MdM).[55]

According to the information provided by PSP, the provision of health care to people detained at the transit area of Lisbon airport is performed by the airport’s medical teams.

In the latest available report at the time of writing, the National Preventive Mechanism deemed that in 2022 the healthcare provided at EECIT-Lisbon was insufficient both regarding the initial medical evaluation and mental healthcare services.[56]

According to previous research,[57] and the information available to CPR, there are no specific mechanisms or standard operational procedures for the early identification of vulnerable asylum seekers and their special reception needs at the border or in pre-removal detention. This has been confirmed by the National Preventive Mechanism in its report published in 2023.[58]

When detained (see Detention of Vulnerable Applicants), vulnerable applicants are granted access to services and medical treatment under the same standards that are applicable to all detainees.

[1] Ministerial Decision n. 5863/2015 of 2 June 2015 regulates in detail detention conditions by police forces, including SEF, but is only applicable to the initial 48-hour detention period.

[2] Regulamento Regime geral sobre o acolhimento de estrangeiros e apátridas em Centros de Instalação Temporária (CIT) e Espaços Equiparados a Centros de Instalação Temporária (EECIT), 31 July 2020, available at: https://bit.ly/3MmNbvp.

[3] Articles 1(1) and 3.

[4] Article 1(2).

[5] Article 5(2).

[6] Article 7(1).

[7] Article 8(4).

[8] Article 9(1) and (2).

[9] Article 9(3).

[10] Article 9(4).

[11] Article 9(5).

[12] Article 9(6).

[13] Article 10.

[14] Articles 12, 13 and 15.

[15] Article 14.

[16] Article 16.

[17] Article 19.

[18] Article 23.

[19] Article 25.

[20] Article 28.

[21] Human Rights Committee, Concluding Observations on the fifth periodic report of Portugal, CCPR/C/PRT/CO/5. 28 April 2020, par 34(e) and 35(e), available at: https://bit.ly/2Q1ftn8.

[22] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2022, July 2023, p.89, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yumbbkwf.

[23] This is so despite that according to the information publicly available, the new regulation of EECIT Lisbon explicitly excludes detention of applicants for international protection in the facility. It was not possible to confirm whether this regulation was amended in the course of 2023.

[24] Ombudsman, ‘Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção, Relatório à Assembleia da República’, 24 June 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/329nbSK., 89.

[25] Ibid.

[26] Ombudsman, ‘Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção, Relatório à Assembleia da República’, 24 June 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/329nbSK., 89.

[27] Ibid.

[28] Ibid, 92 and 94.

[29] See, for instance: Diário de Notícias, Requerentes de asilo “dormem em bancos” no aeroporto. Sindicato da PSP denuncia situação “caótica”, 3 December 2023, available at: https://tinyurl.com/p77u7m8m; Público, Marroquino passa 19 noites a dormir no chão do aeroporto à espera do pedido de asilo, 16 December 2023, available at [paywall]: https://tinyurl.com/54x74r4k; SIC Notícias, “Pomos roupa no chão e dormimos em cima”: 13 pessoas estão a viver no aeroporto de Lisboa, 20 December 2023, disponível em: https://tinyurl.com/2s3mb253; Jornal de Notícias, Número de requerentes de asilo a viver no aeroporto “vai crescer”, 20 December 2023, available at: https://tinyurl.com/5ffe2hx2.

[30] Diário de Notícias, Requerentes de asilo “dormem em bancos” no aeroporto. Sindicato da PSP denuncia situação “caótica”, 3 December 2023, available at: https://tinyurl.com/p77u7m8m.

[31] See, for instance: SIC Notícias, Provedoria da Justiça denuncia situação “indigna” no centro de detenção do aeroporto de Lisboa, 24 January 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/2fwjbapk.

[32] In its latest report available at the time of writing, covering 2022, the National Preventive Mechanism noted, inter alia, that construction work at EECIT Porto was still ongoing and the facility was not functioning. Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2022, July 2023, pp.94-95, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yumbbkwf.

[33] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2022, July 2023, p.96, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yumbbkwf.

[34] Ombudsman, ‘Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção, Relatório à Assembleia da República’, 24 June 2021, pp.102 et seq, available at: https://bit.ly/329nbSK.

[35] Ibid.

[36] Ibid.

[37] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2021, July 2022, p.74, available at: https://bit.ly/3wjJS29; information provided by IOM in March 2024.

[38] According to the Ombudsperson, in 2021, the use of personal mobile phones was allowed between 10h and 21h30m. Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2021, July 2022, pp.75-76, available at: https://bit.ly/3wjJS29.

[39] Ombudsman, ‘Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção, Relatório à Assembleia da República’, 24 June 2021, pp.103 et seq, available at: https://bit.ly/329nbSK.

[40] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2022, July 2023, p.96-07, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yumbbkwf.

[41] Ombudsman, Tratamento dos cidadãos estrangeiros em situação irregular ou requerentes de asilo nos centros de instalação temporária ou espaços equiparados, September 2017, p.33, available in Portuguese at: https://bit.ly/3eLMNX6.

[42] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2022, July 2023, p.92, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yumbbkwf.

[43] Ombudsman, ‘Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção, Relatório à Assembleia da República’, 24 June 2021, pp.101 et seq, available at: https://bit.ly/329nbSK.

[44] Ibid, pp.103 et seq.

[45] Ibid.

[46] Ibid, pp.102 et seq.

[47] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2022, July 2023, p.96-07, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yumbbkwf.

[48] Article 53 Asylum Act.

[49] Article 146-A(7) Immigration Act.

[50] Article 61(1) Asylum Act.

[51] Article 56(2) Asylum Act.

[52] Article 35(b)(8) Asylum Act.

[53] However, Article 146-A(3) Immigration Act states that a foreigner detained at a CIT or an equivalent detaining facility (i.e., at the border) is entitled to emergency and basic health care only and that special attention should be provided to vulnerable individuals, particularly to minors, unaccompanied minors, handicapped persons, elderly persons, pregnant women, families with children and survivors of torture, rape and other forms of serious psychological, physical or sexual violence.

[54] In accordance with Article 52(1) Asylum Act and Ministerial Orders (“Portaria”) No 30/2001 and No 1042/2008, asylum seekers and their relatives are entitled to medical assistance and access to medicines for basic needs, and for emergency and primary care in the National Health Service (SNS) under the same conditions as nationals. Primary care is to be understood as including at least access to general practitioners, access to specialists, inpatient care, complementary diagnostic tests and therapies, and nursing assistance. Furthermore, Article 4(1)(n) Decree-Law No 113/2011 (recast) provides for free access to the SNS by asylum seekers.

[55] Details on the project available at: https://bit.ly/3GSfMYh.

[56] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2022, July 2023, p.94, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yumbbkwf.

[57] See Italian Council for Refugees et al., Time for Needs: Listening, Healing, Protecting, October 2017, available in Italian at: https://bit.ly/3gEoe1T.

[58] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2022, July 2023, p.93, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yumbbkwf.