World Refugee Day: 13 Facts From the Global Torture Index
Every minute, 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution, or the effects of climate change. Every year on 20 June, World Refugee Day honours the courage and resilience of people who have been forced to flee their country of origin seeking hope or safety. Seventy-four years since the adoption of the Refugee Convention, but refugees’ journeys across countries of origin, transit, and destination remain fraught with hardship and violence. This article sheds light on the risks and violations endured by refugees and other people on the move, in a context marked by rising conflicts, increased poverty, the strengthening of authoritarian regimes, and natural disasters.
To inform this piece, we have used data collected by OMCT’s network members and partners from 21 countries (Bahrain, Belarus, Colombia, Congo, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Hungary, India, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Mexico, Moldova, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Spain, Togo, Tunisia and Türkiye), for the Global Torture Index, a new platform designed to measure the risk of torture and ill-treatment across various countries.
The following 13 facts highlight how migration paths are marked by systemic violence and ill-treatment perpetrated by States, along with a persistent disregard for international human rights law.
Extra-custodial use of force in border control
1. Pullback operations, designed to physically prevent migrants from leaving the territory of any given State, or to forcibly return them to that territory, are conducted very frequently in 2 countries (Belarus, Tunisia), frequently in 4 countries (Italy, Libya, Spain, Nigeria) and occasionally in 2 countries (Mexico, Türkiye).
2. Pushbacks, measures that forcibly return migrants or asylum seekers without access to protection procedures, potentially violating the principle of non-refoulement, remain legally permitted in 6 countries: Tunisia, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Pakistan, and Bahrain. Moreover, even among the 10 countries where pushbacks are illegal, the practice nonetheless persists in 7.
3. Severe injuries requiring hospitalisation were frequently reported in Belarus, Hungary, Libya, Spain and Tunisia. Frequent cases of deaths during border control activities were also reported in Tunisia and Belarus.
4. In 8 countries, there is no established mechanism for monitoring law enforcement in border control activities. In 12 other countries, partners reported concerns regarding their effectiveness and independence.
Immigration Detention Centres
5. Although they must remain an exceptional measure of last resort, immigration detention centres have been established in 15 countries.
6. Deaths in custody have been reported between 2023 and 2024 in 6 countries, including Italy, Libya, Spain, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Colombia.
7. Hungary is the only country providing adequate medical assistance, including psychological support.
8. While 8 countries prohibit the detention of migrant children, Moldova is the only country where this prohibition is comprehensive, extending protection to parents or caregivers.
9. Only 1 in 4 countries reported regular visits by their National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs), both in law and in practice.
Safeguards and victims’ rights
10. Only 3 countries have robust regulations and implementation mechanisms to uphold non-refoulement, an absolute and non-derogable principle under international law.
11. Half of the countries have legal provisions recognising persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics as valid grounds for asylum. Such claims are, in practice, rarely or very rarely invoked in asylum decisions.
12. 9 countries have national legislation providing that children’s asylum applications are assessed individually.
13. In 7 countries, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and other displaced individuals frequently benefit from rehabilitation programmes provided by non-State actors.
Time to Act
Every minute, 20 people are been forced to flee their homes in search of safety. World Refugee Day is more than a commemoration, it is a call to action. States must confront the systemic failures outlined above and move away from securitised approaches. This is all the more urgent since the challenges faced by refugees, asylum seekers and migrants extend far beyond those presented here. Many of these issues will be explored in greater depth with the upcoming launch of the Global Torture Index on 25 June 2025.
OMCT GLOBAL TORTURE INDEX LAUNCH:
The first global data tool tracking the risk of torture and ill-treatment
June 25 | 14:00 - 16:00 CEST
Recommendations
- States should uphold the prohibition on refoulement at all times, and refrain from any individual or collective deportation, collective and individual transfer or summary pull/pushbacks.
- States should set up or strengthen mechanisms to investigate and monitor torture and ill-treatment of people on the move, including at borders, in reception centres, and in detention.
- States should prioritise the implementation of non-custodial, community-based alternatives to detention that respect the human rights of migrants.
- States must ensure that all torture survivors on the move, regardless of legal status, can access effective remedies for torture or ill-treatment on their territory or at their borders.
For more information and updates on this topic:
- Consult our statements, blog posts and reports in our section on Migration and Torture.
- Read OMCT’s Global Torture Roads report (2022) and OMCT series of Torture Roads reports on Tunisia.
