United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees: Penal Institutions

Delphine Nakache Dept: The number of detainees was up steadily from 4,475 in 2004 to 5,961 in 2008, says the study prepared for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, according to The Star. Statistics do reveal that about 27 per cent of refugees are detained in penal institutions, while less than 6 per cent of this group are suspected of criminality, representing a danger to the public or security risk, said the report by Delphine Nakache, a University of Ottawa professor in international development and global studies and an increasing number of refugees are being detained in Canada, with an average 5.4 per cent of the detainees being held for at least 90 days, says a UN report. The study, obtained by the Star , examined the practice of refugee detention in Canada and is highly critical of the holding of inadmissible migrants and failed asylum seekers in provincial jails alongside the criminal population. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.