Press releases
Scotland: Dungavel closure welcomed but asylum-seekers' rights must be respected in new facility
‘Indefinite detention is expensive, ineffective, and extremely harmful to many of the people held’ - Naomi McAuliffe
In response to UK Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill’s announcement that Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre will be closed, Naomi McAuliffe, Amnesty International’s Scotland Programme Director, said:
“We welcome the planned closure of Dungavel, but we don’t want to see the very serious consequences of detention being shifted to another location.“There must be a more humane approach to housing refugees and asylum-seekers, and efforts made to solve the destructive impact that being in detention causes, and the terrible toll it takes on the most vulnerable people.“Robert Goodwill’s remarks focus on the fact that the new ‘holding facility’ is near Glasgow Airport and will ‘save money’. The reality is that indefinite detention is expensive, ineffective, and extremely harmful to many of the people held. Dungavel was cited in the Shaw Report last year over the substandard accommodation and the damaging use of indefinite detention.“It is unacceptable that the UK Government locks up thousands in immigration detention, including rape victims and torture survivors. Being detained negatively affects their mental and physical health and, in some cases, the harm is catastrophic.“Any plans for a new facility must take into account the rights of the people who will be held there.”