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 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 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]

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). However, according to the information publicly available, the new regulation of EECIT Lisbon explicitly excludes detention of applicants for international protection in the facility. Nevertheless, within the context of the provision of individual legal assistance, CPR became aware of multiple cases of applicants for international protection detained in the facility in 2022 (mainly cases where the application for asylum was made following a removal decision).

According to the information provided by SEF, in 2022, the EECIT Lisbon had an overall capacity of 24 places. According to prior information, 18 places are divided in two separate wings for men and women. It also has a family room and another room for persons with special needs (e.g., reduced mobility).

In its report covering 2020, the National Preventive Mechanism noted that the renovation of the space was overall positive and took into account relevant concerns such as security, privacy and contact with the exterior.[22]

The National Preventive Mechanism noted that the family and the multipurpose rooms have private bathrooms, and that there is a room that can be used for isolation.[23] While the facility was previously composed of collective dormitories, these were converted into individual rooms (7 per wing) and double rooms (1 per wing). The Ombudsperson deemed the room’s conditions adequate (dimension, natural light, security mechanisms – e.g., access through key card, panic button system).[24]

Each wing has a common area that includes a space for meals.[25] The report also highlights the creation of a prayer room that can be used upon scheduling to avoid conflicting practices.[26] 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.[27] Each wing has a small courtyard.

The reception area of the facility includes an office for a member of SEF’s staff and two 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 the National Preventive Mechanism, SEF officers are present in the facility 24h per day.[28] Staff of a private security company performs logistical tasks such as ensuring that the food provided to detainees is adequate to their diet/religious needs.[29] While the other tasks are not specified in the report, in the past, those included initial registration; collection and access to personal belongings; provision of medication; registration and referral of requests for medical assistance; and distribution of meals.

The preparation of meals is ensured by a catering company. According to the Ombudsperson, the number of meals and dietary options provided was reinforced.[30]

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 National Preventive Mechanism, in 2021, detainees were allowed to keep hand luggage with them in the detention facility, but access to hold baggage remained dependent on coordination between SEF, staff from the private security company and the relevant airline. Valuable items are kept in safes managed by SEF.[31]

Detainees may use their mobile phones in the rooms, a significant change to the prior practice. Nevertheless, the Ombudsperson has repeatedly argued that access to free wi-fi internet should also be ensured.[32]

In the past, the Ombudsperson had raised concerns about the lack of specific training and language skills of supporting staff from security companies to perform their duties and the impact it could have on detainees in terms of isolation and access to services such as health care. Updated information in this regard was not available at the time of writing, but there is no information on significant measures adopted to address this issue.

In the latest report available at the time of writing, the Ombudsperson noted that the video security coverage of the facility must be improved, and that the announced panic button system to be installed in the rooms was not operational in 2021.[33] It is also noted that capacity constraints were an issue in the course of 2021, leading to the need to accommodate men in the women’s wing, possibly posing privacy risks.[34]

CIT-UHSA

The Ombudsperson deems the conditions at CIT-UHSA as overall adequate.[35]

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.[36] Daily cleaning is ensured, and the Ombudsperson deemed the food provided varied and adequate.[37] Access to personal belongings that to do not jeopardise physical integrity is allowed.[38]

Volunteers and workers from organisations such as JRS, IOM and Doctors of the World (MdM) are regularly present in the facility.[39] Access to personal mobile phones is allowed in certain periods of the day,[40] and detainees may also have access to a mobile phone provided by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) staff present in the facility.[41]

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

In its 2022 report (covering 2021), the National Preventive Mechanism continued to express concern with the lack of access to free wi-fi, 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).[42]

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.[43] As far as CPR is aware, the situation remains unchanged.

According to the latest report of the Ombudsperson available at the time of writing, despite a prior commitment, no sports materials have been added to the space. The Ombudsperson also criticised the absence of a cultural mediator in the facility.[44]

According to the National Preventive Mechanism, in 2021, detainees were allowed to keep hand luggage with them in the detention facility, but access to hold baggage remained dependent on coordination between SEF, staff from the private security company and the relevant airline. Valuable items are kept in safes managed by SEF.[45]

Detainees may use their mobile phones in the rooms, a significant change to the prior practice. Nevertheless, the Ombudsperson has repeatedly argued that access to free wi-fi internet should also be ensured.[46]

CIT-UHSA has big outdoor space whose use depends on detainees being accompanied by staff of the facility/volunteers. [47] Access to personal mobile phones is allowed in certain periods of the day.[48] Access to personal belongings that to do not jeopardise physical integrity is allowed.[49] 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.[50]

In its 2022 report (covering 2021), the National Preventive Mechanism continued to express concern with the lack of access to free wi-fi internet.[51]

While the law provides for access to education of children asylum seekers under the same conditions as nationals,[52] and the rules governing CIT provide for the access of detained children to education depending on the duration of their detention,[53] children in detention do not have access to education 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 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.[54]

The Asylum Act provides for the right of asylum seekers and their relatives to adequate health care at the border (i.e., in detention),[55] and for the right of vulnerable asylum seekers in detention to regular health care that meets their particular needs.[56] The Asylum Act does not, however, specify this particular standard,[57] and/or whether it differs from the general standard of health care provision in the asylum procedure.[58]

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).[59] SEF reported that asylum seekers at the border are entitled to weekly medical checks.

According to previous research,[60] 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.

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’, 24 June 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/329nbSK., 89.

[23] Ibid, 92 et seq.

[24] Ibid.

[25] Ibid.

[26] Ibid.

[27] Ibid, 92 and 94.

[28] Ibid.

[29] Ibid.

[30] Ibid, pp.92 and 97.

[31] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2021, July 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3wjJS29, 70.

[32] Ibid, 69-70.

[33] Ibid.

[34] Ibid, 69.

[35] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2021, July 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3wjJS29, 74.

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

[37] Ibid.

[38] Ibid.

[39] 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 2023.

[40] 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.

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

[42] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2021, July 2022, pp.74-76, available at: https://bit.ly/3wjJS29.

[43] 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.

[44] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2021, July 2022, pp. 69-70, available at: https://bit.ly/3wjJS29.

[45] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2021, July 2022, p.70, available at: https://bit.ly/3wjJS29.

[46] Ibid, pp.69-70.

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

[48] Ibid, pp.103 et seq.

[49] Ibid.

[50] Ibid, pp.102 et seq.

[51] Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2021, July 2022, pp.74-76, available at: https://bit.ly/3wjJS29.

[52] Article 53 Asylum Act.

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

[54] Article 61(1) Asylum Act.

[55] Article 56(2) Asylum Act.

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

[57] 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.

[58] 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.

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

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