Webinar on Alternatives to Detention (EMN Belgium)

On 15 December, EMN Belgium and the EMN Return Expert Group will host a half-day webinar on Alternatives to Detention. The online event focuses on the current legal framework on alternatives to detention, the implementation of these alternatives in practice and the identification of emerging good practices and pilot projects.

Rationale and aims

According to the 2008 EU Return Directive, Member States may only detain illegally staying migrants if “less coercive measures” cannot be applied effectively. These measures, “alternatives to detention”, adopted by states may take a range of forms, including regular reporting to the authorities, the deposit of a financial guarantee, or the submission of documents. 

The European Commission is working in close cooperation with Member States and civil society to develop and implement effective alternatives to detention as these are crucial from both migrant and state perspectives.

In Belgium, such non-custodial measures are to be “developed to the full extent” in the years to come, as was announced by the newly formed federal government on 30 September 2020. Yet the prerequisites for effective alternatives to detention remain largely unexplored.

This webinar aims at providing participants with insights into the current legal framework on alternatives to detention, the implementation of these alternatives in practice and the identification of emerging good practices and pilot projects from across Europe and beyond.

By sharing know-how on the costs and benefits, the conditions and challenges of today’s alternatives to detention, the online seminar is intended as a follow-up to the Conference on Effective Alternatives to the Detention of Migrants organised by the Council of Europe, the European Commission and EMN in April 2019.

At the same time, the objective is to collect valuable input for the upcoming EMN Study on “Detention and Alternatives to Detention in international protection and return procedures” (2021). The EMN Study will aim to identify similarities, differences, practical challenges and best practices concerning the use of detention and alternatives to detention by Member States and Norway in the framework of international protection and return procedures. 
 

Registration

Please register by clicking here
 

Agenda

You can find the webinar agenda and a document with some practical information below.
 

Date and time

The webinar on Alternatives to Detention organised by EMN Belgium and the EMN Return Expert Group takes place on Tuesday 15 December 2020 from 9.30 am to 12 pm. The webinar is open to policy-makers, practitioners, academics and other stakeholders interested in (alternatives to) detention.
 

Photo by Andrei Stratu on Unsplash.

Publication Date: Mon 16 Nov 2020
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