Unidade Habitacional de Santo António

Last updated April 01, 2019

The Unidade Habitational de Santo António (Santo António detention centre), opened in 2006, is an immigration detention centre located in Porto. As of 2009, it was the only officially designated detention centre for immigrants in Portugal.^[1] The centre is managed by the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) and falls under the authority of the Ministry of Interior. As of 2007 it had a capacity of 30 adults and six children.^[2]

Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorised arrival, and those subject to deportation and removal in detention until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to repatriate them to their country of departure. Mandatory detention is the practice of compulsorily detaining or imprisoning people seeking political asylum, or who are considered to be illegal immigrants or unauthorised arrivals into a country. Some countries have set a maximum period of detention, while others permit indefinite detention.

Porto is the second-largest city in Portugal after Lisbon and one of the major urban areas of the Iberian Peninsula. The city proper has a population of 287,591 and the metropolitan area of Porto, which extends beyond the administrative limits of the city, has a population of 2.3 million (2011) in an area of 2,395 km² (925 sq mi), making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal. It is recognized as a gamma-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group, the only Portuguese city besides Lisbon to be recognised as a global city.

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country located mostly on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost sovereign state of mainland Europe. It is bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain. Its territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments.

Many of the services for detainees held at the detention centre are provided by non-profit organizations. Through a 2006 Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Interior, the International Organization for Migration, and the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), JRS-Portugal provides social and psychological services, as well as legal council to detainees. Additionally, the Swiss NGO Médecins du Monde ensures that detainees have access to medical and psychological consultations.^[2]^[3]

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is an intergovernmental organization that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. In September 2016, it became a related organization of the United Nations. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM) to help resettle people displaced by World War II. As of March 2019, the International Organization for Migration had 173 member states and eight observer states.

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international Catholic organisation with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate on behalf of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons, that they may heal, learn, and determine their own future. Founded in November 1980 as a work of the Society of Jesus, JRS was officially registered on 19 March 2000 in Vatican City as a foundation. The impetus to found JRS came from the then father general of the Jesuits, Pedro Arrupe, who was inspired to action by the plight of Vietnamese boat people. JRS has programmes in over 50 countries. The areas of work are in the field of education, emergency assistance, health care, livelihoods, reconciliation, and psychosocial support. JRS is also involved in advocacy and human rights work. This involves ensuring that refugees are afforded their full rights as guaranteed by the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and working to strengthen the protection afforded to Internally displaced persons (IDPs). JRS's international headquarters are located in Rome at the Society's General Curia. The International Director is Rev. Thomas H. Smolich, SJ.

Médecins du monde or Doctors of the World, provides emergency and long-term medical care to the world's most vulnerable people. It also advocates to end health inequities.

In 2007, a delegation from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), a standing committee of the European Parliament, visited the Unidade Habitational de Santo António. In their report, the delegation emphasised that while interviewed detainees said they were treated well, the overall detention conditions at the centre are severe.^[2]

The European Parliament (EP) is the only parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU) that is directly elected by EU citizens aged 18 or older. Together with the Council of the European Union, which should not be confused with the European Council and the Council of Europe, it exercises the legislative function of the EU. The Parliament is composed of 751 members (MEPs), that will become 705 starting from the 2019–2024 legislature, who represent the second-largest democratic electorate in the world and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world.

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References

↑ Portugal Detention Profile Archived 2010-09-04 at the Wayback Machine .. Global Detention Project. accessed 8 February 2010.
1 2 3 The conditions in centres for third country nationals ^{[ permanent dead link ]}. European Parliament Standing Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Accessed 9 February 2010.
↑ JRS-Portugal: General activities of the organization. Accessed 9 February 2010.

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[1] Portugal Detention Profile Archived 2010-09-04 at the Wayback Machine .. Global Detention Project. accessed 8 February 2010.

[European_Parliament-2] 1 2 3 The conditions in centres for third country nationals ^{[ permanent dead link ]}. European Parliament Standing Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Accessed 9 February 2010.

[3] JRS-Portugal: General activities of the organization. Accessed 9 February 2010.