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Gjadri camp as a repatriation center, HRW organization: It provokes new risks, a costly and inhumane system

Politiko 2025-04-02 18:14:35

Gjadri camp as a repatriation center, HRW organization: It provokes new risks, a
After building immigration facilities in Albania that are now empty, the Italian government has decided to turn one of them into a repatriation center.

Human Rights Watch (HRW)  emphasizes that this will only repeat the problems already observed in detention centers within Italy.

"The facility in Gjadra, Albania, was built to accommodate and process adult male asylum seekers who Italian ships intercepted or rescued at sea. Under the 2023 agreement between Italy and Albania, men from countries that Italy considers "safe" would be landed directly in Albania, across the Adriatic Sea from Italy, and would undergo a fast-track asylum procedure on the assumption that they would not need protection.

But Italy’s courts forced the government to bring back to Italy a handful of men taken to Albania under this scheme, rightly questioning whether the countries Italy lists as “safe countries of origin” are entirely safe for everyone and declaring that it would be unlawful to detain these men. The European Court of Justice is expected to rule on the matter, but in the meantime the facilities, part of an investment of around €800 million, are empty.

Thus, the Italian government issued a decree on March 28 allowing facilities to hold undocumented immigrants, currently in Italy, who have been ordered detained pending deportation.

Italy already has 10 detention centers in Italy where people can be held for up to 18 months while the government tries to deport them. The government doesn’t deport many of them — in 2023, only 10 percent of people under deportation orders left the country. A 2021 report described the centers as “black holes,” while a 2024 report denounced it as a costly and inhumane system.

"Opening such a center in Albania would replicate problems already seen in Italy, as well as add new ones, such as obstructing legal aid, which could undermine accountability when there are credible allegations of abuse. And there is nothing to suggest that this change will make receiving countries more willing to accept returns - the main obstacle to deportations ," the HRW report said. 

"This action comes shortly after the European Commission endorsed the idea of ​​'return hubs' located outside the European Union in its recently proposed Return Regulation. Attempts to offload migration responsibilities and remove people out of sight are cruel and unrealistic."

"Instead of pursuing costly and dubious agreements to evade their responsibilities, Italy – and the EU as a whole – should invest in managing migration in a humane and rational way," the organization further emphasizes. 

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