Dignity in Detention Glossary
Collective punishment: The term refers not only to criminal punishment, but also to other types of sanctions, harassment or administrative action taken against a group in retaliation for an act committed by an individual/s who are considered to form part of the group. Such punishment therefore targets persons who bear no responsibility for having committed the conduct in question. Historically used as a deterrence tool by occupying powers to prevent attacks from resistance movements, collective punishments for acts committed by individuals during an armed conflict are prohibited by International Humanitarian Law against prisoners of war or other protected persons. (ICRC)
Detention camp: A compound where prisoners are detained temporarily, as pending determination of their legal status under immigration laws. (dictionary.com)
Enforced disappearance: When state agents, or individuals acting with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of the state, deprive a person of their liberty and then refuse to disclose the person’s fate or whereabouts. Enforced disappearance simultaneously violates multiple non -derogable human rights, including the right to life, the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment, and the right to be free from arbitrary arrest and detention. Because of its gravity, no circumstances may be invoked to justify or excuse its use.
In the context of immigration detention, enforced disappearance arises when deprivation of liberty is accompanied by the denial of fundamental legal safeguards, including the ability to communicate with legal counsel, family members, or consular authorities. There is no minimum duration required for a detention to qualify as an enforced disappearance. Any deprivation of liberty followed by a refusal to acknowledge the detention or disclose the person’s fate or whereabouts places the person outside the protection of the law. Enforced disappearance is a continuous violation that begins at the moment of deprivation of liberty and persists until the state acknowledges the detention and provides reliable information about the person’s whereabouts and legal status. (HRW)
Excessive force: The use of physical force or weapons beyond what is objectively reasonable and necessary , including (A) discharging or brandishing a firearm at any individual or vehicle; (B) using a chemical agent, a conducted energy device, a baton, or an impact weapon; (C) any action involving a physical takedown, a chokehold, or the placement of an individual on the ground; (D) using restraints or force resulting in bodily injury, hospitalization, or death; and (E) using deadly force to incapacitate a subject. (U.S. Congress)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): A branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security whose mission is to protect the U.S. from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety through smart immigration enforcement, preventing terrorism and combating the illegal movement of people and goods. (ICE)
Indiscriminate: Not discriminating or discerning; lacking in care, judgment, selectivity, etc. done at random or without making distinctions. (dictionary.com)
Neglect: To pay no attention or too little attention to; disregard or slight. To be remiss in the care or treatment of. To omit, through indifference or carelessness. (dictionary.com)
Nonrefoulement: Under international human rights law, the United States government is prohibited from transferring anyone, directly or indirectly, to a place where they face a risk of persecution or torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment under the principle of nonrefoulement. The government’s obligations stem from the Refugee Convention and Protocol, the Convention against Torture, and the ICCPR.
The prohibition on refoulement bars direct and indirect state action that results in a person’s return to exposure to these serious harms. Constructive refoulement occurs where indirect pressure is so intense that it leads a person to believe they have no practical option but to return to countries where they face serious risk of persecution, torture, or other threats to their lives or safety.
Threatening a person with violence, criminal charges, or indefinite detention if they do not agree to a “voluntary return” to a place where they face a risk of harm—such as in cases of attempted third-country deportations and expulsions—constitutes constructive refoulement. Likewise, the intentional creation of hostile conditions of confinement, including the use of force, systematic denial of necessary medical care, malnutrition, incommunicado detention, and the absence of meaningful recreation, can amount to constructive refoulement insofar as it coerces people to abandon protection claims. (HRW)
Right to Life: Entails among other things a right to be free “from acts and omissions that are intended or may be expected to cause their unnatural or premature death.”159 It is guaranteed to all people, without distinction of any kind, including people suspected or convicted of crimes. (HRW)
"Safe Third Country": The idea that an asylum seeker could and should have sought asylum in a country they traveled through or stayed before reaching the country where they apply for asylum... Safe third country agreements allow[s countries] to shirk their responsibilities to protect refugees and ensure the right to seek and receive asylum. These types of arrangements are almost invariably made with countries that have less capacity to examine claims fully and fairly and to provide protection and durable solutions to those who need it. (HRW)
Unaccompanied Child: A child who has no lawful immigration status in the United States; has not attained 18 years of age; and has no parent or legal guardian in the United States available to provide care and physical custody. (HHS)
UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules): International standards for the humane treatment of all people in detention in accordance with human rights norms. Under these standards, detention facilities should provide adequate heating, ventilation, air, and light. They should have clean bathroom facilities in the interests of dignity and hygiene. Toilet items (including sanitary towels for women), adequate clothing, and bedding should be provided. People in detention should be provided with food of nutritional value adequate for health and strength, of wholesome quality and well prepared and served. The restriction of food and water as a disciplinary sanction is inconsistent with international norms. All people in detention should have at least one hour of suitable exercise in the open air daily if the weather permits.
The rules call on detention authorities to provide health care for prisoners and guarantee them the same standards of health care as available in the community. Necessary health care services should be given free of charge and without discrimination.169 All places of detention should have a functioning health-care service that evaluates and protects the physical and mental health of detainees with particular attention to people with special health needs and issues.170 During medical emergencies, detention facilities should ensure prompt access to medical attention, including transfers to specialists and civil hospitals, with decisions to transfer for specialist care and other clinical decisions taken by health care professionals and not non-medical detention staff. (HRW)