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Resolution 2324 (2020)
Missing refugee and migrant children in Europe
1. The Parliamentary Assembly is deeply
concerned by United Nations reports that one registered migrant child
was reported dead or missing every day between 2014 and 2018 worldwide.
It is aware that this figure is just the tip of the iceberg and
that many more have gone missing or died seeking shelter in another
country, however these disappearances have not been recorded. The
Assembly refers to its Resolution
2136 (2016) on harmonising the protection of unaccompanied
minors in Europe, which drew attention to Europol’s January 2016
declaration that 10 000 migrant minors were missing in Europe, followed
by a statement from the German authorities according to which 9 000 migrant
minors were estimated missing in Germany alone. It does not appear
that these figures have decreased substantially, and there remains
a serious lack of international awareness about the situation regarding
missing refugee and migrant children.
2. Children are a particularly vulnerable group of migrants and
asylum seekers and are therefore in need of special protection against
the multiple dangers they face along their journey, among them violence,
sexual abuse, human trafficking and exploitation. Many forms of
violence against migrant and refugee children lead to their disappearance,
as they “vanish” into clandestine networks which remove them ever
further from the protection and care to which they are entitled,
first and foremost as children, then as migrants and refugees. National
parliaments and governments of member States must do whatever is
necessary and required in the best interests of the child to avoid
the disappearance of child refugees and migrants, thereby reducing
risks to their lives and their physical and mental integrity.
3. Criminal activity is, however, far from being the only cause
of the disappearance of child migrants. Sub-standard reception conditions,
fear of detention, summary returns or refoulement and
lack of good guardianship, among others, are additional factors
that explain why children intentionally disappear, either alone
or in small groups, in the hope of reaching their ideal destination
unassisted. These factors in turn may lead children into a downward
spiral towards further trauma, violence and abuse.
4. The Assembly recalls that all Council of Europe member States
are parties to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child and therefore must uphold the best interests of the child
as a primary consideration, affording children all the protection
and care necessary to their well-being. In this regard, member States
should ensure that:
4.1. the highest
standard of protection is provided to all refugee and migrant children,
regardless of their status;
4.2. reception conditions and care for child migrants and refugees
fulfil basic rights and needs, taking into account the special requirements
for the protection of children; on no account should children be placed
in detention;
4.3. refugee and migrant children are accommodated as far as
possible with their families; every effort should be made to reunite
separated refugee and migrant families in line with Article 22 of
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child;
4.4. parents, family members and friends are given the necessary
information and means to contact child protection services or the
police when a child refugee or migrant goes missing; child refugees
and migrants should also be given the necessary information and
means to contact a child protection agency or the police where they
are in a position to do so. The police and child protection agencies
must be adequately trained in addressing the cases of missing child
refugees and migrants;
4.5. schools, reception centres and those responsible for accommodating
and caring for the needs of child refugees and migrants immediately
inform child protection agencies and the police if a child goes missing;
4.6. research into cases of disappearance of migrant and refugee
children is supported and promoted, and serves to inform policy
and practice in this area;
4.7. feedback from refugees and migrants, including children,
on the responses to the problem of missing refugee and migrant children
is taken into consideration, in ways that are appropriate, useful
and safe, in particular with the help of national human rights institutions
and civil society organisations active in this area. This should
not delay, impede or prejudice migration and refugee status procedures;
4.8. national and regional media, including the press, audiovisual
and social networks, are alerted to the situation concerning the
disappearance of refugee and migrant children and launch appropriate action
to raise awareness about disappearances and help find missing children,
while ensuring that information circulated does not interfere with
police procedures or with the individual right to privacy. The Parliamentary
Assembly should set an example by publishing, through its various
media resources, a database of good practices for preventing disappearances
and searching for missing children with a view to reunification
with their families;
4.9. international co-operation between the police and judicial
authorities is stepped up to avoid the disappearance of child refugees
and migrants, through Interpol, the Schengen Information System (SIS),
Europol and Eurojust as well as through mutual legal assistance.
Child refugees and migrants who go missing should be included in
Interpol’s Yellow Notices and be the subject of a notification in
the SIS;
4.10. civil society organisations helping to find missing children
are supported in their work, which should not be obstructed or misused.
Awareness-raising campaigns by these organisations and helplines,
such as that of Missing Children Europe should be supported by financial
and human resources. Provisions facilitating the activities of non-governmental
organisations working in the field of missing refugee and migrant
children should be stipulated in the national legislation of member
states.
4.11. adequate financial resources are made available for the
prevention of the disappearance of refugee and migrant children.
5. Undocumented child migrants are extremely vulnerable as they
are deprived of the protection of the law. In order to prevent child
migrants from becoming or remaining undocumented, member States
should make sure that:
5.1. undocumented
child migrants are identified and registered with public authorities,
by recording their names, their date and place of birth, their parents’
names, their biometric facial photograph, their digital fingerprints
and other identifying data, in conformity with the provisions of
the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to
Automatic Processing of Personal Data (ETS No. 108) as amended.
Due attention should be devoted to the protection of the human rights
of children and the best interests of the child during registration,
while recording biometric data and identification, including by recourse
to specific safeguards. The children concerned should be duly informed
about how this data will be used. On no account should physical
or psychological force be used to obtain fingerprints;
5.2. once registration and identification data on undocumented
child migrants has been gathered, it is shared via networks such
as Interpol, the SIS, Frontex and bilateral agreements; this will
help to reduce the likelihood of child migrants being considered
as missing in one country when they are actually registered in another;
5.3. lost identification documents are registered in Interpol’s
database of Stolen and Lost Travel Documents;
5.4. undocumented migrant children in particular those who
have special needs, because of mental and physical disabilities,
for example, which prevent them from expressing themselves adequately,
are given special, individualised medical and psychological care
as appropriate.
6. Unaccompanied and separated child refugees and migrants are
particularly vulnerable as they do not have the care and protection
of their parents or close family members. In this regard, member
States should ensure that:
6.1. for
the purpose of reuniting refugee and migrant families, active research
is carried out to find parents or other members of the family. Co-operation
with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) should be stepped up, in order to facilitate family reunification across
Europe and to ensure more efficient family reunification processes
in accordance with human rights;
6.2. an adequately trained, individual guardian is appointed
as early as possible, on reception of children; migration status
procedures are undertaken for refugee and migrant children within
the shortest possible time frame, and with due respect to the right
to a fair procedure and the right to an effective remedy;
6.3. guardians appointed to unaccompanied child refugees and
migrants are provided with efficient and easily accessible mechanisms
(such as hotlines) in order to immediately liaise with child protection services
and the police when a child goes missing;
6.4. accelerated and humane relocation programmes to other
European countries of particularly vulnerable refugee and migrant
children (such as unaccompanied children) are implemented, where living
conditions are sub-standard, do not ensure sufficient care for children
and their best interests, and where improvements are not effective
or foreseen.
7. Measures to prevent child refugees and migrants from going
missing should take into account intentional disappearances from
host families, guardianship, school, accommodation facilities or
other structures. In this regard, member States should ensure that:
7.1. reception facilities are protected
and open and are provided with the necessary resources to meet at
least basic health and safety standards, and that professional staff
is adequately trained in the care of child refugees and migrants,
who are often deeply traumatised and have special needs;
7.2. child migrants receive added protection and counselling
where their asylum application is likely to be refused, especially
when official notice of rejection of international protection status
is approaching, in order to prevent them from absconding. Any return
to their country of origin or to a safe third country must be carried
out with appropriate assistance adapted to children, and child-friendly
information must be communicated at all stages of the procedure.
Particular attention should be given to the protection of girls
at risk of absconding, as they are highly vulnerable to trafficking
and sexual abuse;
7.3. gender-sensitive policies are developed, and gender-sensitive
facilities, such as separate and secure housing, are made available
to child refugees and migrants.
8. Welcoming the Missing Migrants Project of the International
Organization for Migration (IOM), the Assembly recognises that the
issue of missing child refugees and migrants requires more attention
and effort by national authorities. International, national and
regional media should be encouraged to raise awareness of the scale
and importance of the problem of missing migrant and refugee children,
and help with locating them and protecting them once found. The
Assembly also invites national parliaments to appoint a parliamentary commissioner
or general rapporteur on missing refugees and migrants, with a particular
focus on children.
9. Aware that countries hosting high numbers of migrants and
refugees might not have the means to effectively prevent children
from going missing, the Assembly calls on the European Union and
the United Nations to provide technical and financial assistance
to avoid their disappearance as far as possible, and to facilitate
family reunification of separated refugee and migrant families.