The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has issued a stark critique of Canada’s immigration detention practices, urging the country to protect the legal rights of people with disabilities in detention and recommending the elimination of immigration detention altogether. The committee’s assessment follows a review of Canada’s disability rights record and highlights ongoing concerns raised by Human Rights Watch and other advocacy groups.
The report points to the disproportionate detention of asylum seekers and migrants with disabilities, many of whom are placed in correctional facilities. In some cases, individuals with mental health crises are subjected to solitary confinement. The committee emphasized the need for Canada to “end the use of immigration detention” by investing in community-based, independent alternatives that offer comprehensive support, including housing, healthcare, legal representation, and services tailored to the needs of disabled individuals and children.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has similarly advocated for the gradual abolition of immigration detention on human rights grounds.
Additionally, the committee condemned Canada’s practice of substitute decision-making in immigration detention. This system allows appointed representatives—often without proper assessment or oversight—to make critical decisions on behalf of detainees, sometimes without their knowledge or consent. Human Rights Watch has documented the harm caused by this system, which strips individuals of their legal capacity and can result in severe consequences for detainees.
The committee called on Canada to replace this practice with a supported decision-making model that respects detainees’ preferences and will.
The committee’s findings align with evidence presented by Human Rights Watch, including the case of Prosper Niyonzima, a Rwandan genocide survivor who spent nearly five years in immigration detention. After a mental health crisis left him incapacitated, a designated representative was appointed without his involvement or consent, and for years, this individual spoke for him in tribunal hearings.
Prosper’s case reflects a broader pattern of abuse. Human Rights Watch has extensively documented how the immigration detention system harms people with disabilities. Efforts like the #WelcomeToCanada campaign have led all ten provinces to pledge to end their detention agreements with the Canada Border Services Agency, though Ontario has been granted an extension until September 2025.
Despite this progress, the federal government is working to renegotiate the use of provincial jails for immigration detention and has even expanded the system into federal prison facilities.
The committee’s recommendations add significant international pressure on Canada to overhaul its immigration detention system, aligning its legal framework with human rights standards and ultimately working toward the abolition of immigration detention.
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