Annual Report 2025
10

People on the Move

Share

Shrinking Pathways, Growing Risks: Human Mobility and the Prohibition of Torture

Human mobility at the global level became increasingly constrained in 2025 as legal pathways for migration and protection were further reduced. At the same time, large-scale forced displacement remained pervasive: by the end of April 2025, an estimated 122.1 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, violence and human rights violations, representing the highest levels of displacement in decades. People on the move continue to face grave human rights violations along migratory routes, from origin through transit to destination and even upon return, including unlawful detention, abuse, torture and ill-treatment. These violations are compounded by migration and border management policies increasingly driven by security imperatives rather than protection considerations, including in the Euro-Mediterranean space, resulting in shrinking civic and humanitarian space for civil society and human rights defenders. OMCT has continued to document such abuses, to advocate for the absolute prohibition of torture for all, and to defend the right to promote and protect the rights of people on the move, particularly in contexts such as Tunisia and Libya where protection risks are acute.

Growing Up in Precarity: Children on the Move Caught in Cycles of Violence

Children on the move remain exposed to compounded and intersecting human rights violations, often living in undignified conditions marked by legal precariousness and profound uncertainty about their future. Each violation increases their vulnerability to further abuse, reinforcing cycles of violence that are particularly difficult to escape. Unaccompanied children face heightened risks, having frequently experienced violence, abuse or exploitation along migratory routes and continuing to lack access to appropriate and effective protection upon arrival in Tunisia. The OMCT undertook extensive research in Tunisia and highlighted how restricted access to protection and rehabilitation mechanisms undermines the sustainability of any long-term solution, whether integration in the country of transit, resettlement, or return and reintegration. Testimonies collected by OMCT demonstrate the direct link between the fulfilment of children’s rights and their ability to safely transition into adulthood—a link currently compromised in Tunisia. Children who have experienced violence carry long-term trauma, compounded by legal insecurity and social marginalisation, while those reaching EU borders face prolonged procedures, de facto detention and barriers to accessing asylum, further eroding protection safeguards. The OMCT advocated that reforming migration management and strengthening child protection systems in line with the best interests of the child is essential to break cycles of violence and ensure that all children, regardless of status, can grow up in safety, dignity and stability.

World Refugee Day: 13 Facts From the Global Torture Index

This article highlights how refugees and migrants face systemic violence and ill-treatment along migration routes, often at the hands of state authorities, with widespread disregard for international human rights law. Drawing on 13 facts from the Global Torture Index, it exposes practices such as pushbacks and forced returns, showing how protection systems frequently fail—while calling for stronger accountability and rights-based migration policies.

Read the article