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Resolution 2020 (2014) Final version
The alternatives to immigration detention of children
1. The Parliamentary Assembly is very
concerned to note that the immigration detention of children is
a growing phenomenon in Council of Europe member States. Despite
improvements in legislation and practice in some European countries,
tens of thousands of migrant children still end up in detention
every year. The practice is contrary to the best interests of the
child and a clear and unequivocal child rights violation.
2. Migrant children are frequently detained in member States
simply because they do not have the right immigration documents.
They have committed no crime. Yet they may be subjected to criminal
penalties, prison-like conditions, be separated from the support
and protection of their families, and be denied a number of fundamental
rights, such as access to health care, education and play.
3. The Assembly recalls its position expressed in Resolution 1810 (2011) on
unaccompanied children in Europe: issues of arrival, stay and return,
which states that unaccompanied children should never be detained. The
detention of children on the basis of their or their parents’ immigration
status is contrary to the best interests of the child and constitutes
a child rights violation as defined in the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child.
4. The Assembly is particularly concerned that detention, even
for very short periods of time and in relatively humane conditions,
has severe negative short- and long-term effects on children’s physical
and mental health. Children in immigration detention are particularly
vulnerable to the negative effects of detention and can be severely
traumatised. Also, there is a high risk of detained children being
subjected to different forms of violence.
5. In addition to deprivation of liberty, children in immigration
detention are frequently deprived of other fundamental rights, such
as the right to family unity, the right of access to education and
the right to adequate health care.
6. The Assembly welcomes the promotion by some European countries
of alternative solutions to the detention of migrant children. Such
alternatives to detention, when implemented properly, are more effective and
cheaper, better protect the rights and dignity of children and lead
to better health and well-being for migrant children.
7. The Assembly notes with satisfaction that a number of member
States, including Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,
the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, have taken steps towards
ending the immigration detention of children. In these countries,
migrant children are either not detained or there is a legal, political
or practical provision for the release of migrant children from
detention.
8. However, although the legislation of most member States provides
for the introduction of alternatives to detention, the majority
of countries are not applying them in practice.
9. The Assembly considers that it is urgent to put an end to
the detention of migrant children and that this requires concerted
efforts from the relevant national authorities. The Assembly therefore
calls on the member States to:
9.1. acknowledge
that it is never in the best interests of a child to be detained
on the basis of their or their parents’ immigration status;
9.2. introduce legislation prohibiting the detention of children
for immigration reasons, if it has not yet been done, and ensure
its full implementation in practice;
9.3. refrain from placing unaccompanied or separated children
in administrative detention;
9.4. ensure that children are treated as children first and
foremost, and that persons who claim to be children are treated
as such until proven otherwise;
9.5. develop child-friendly age-assessment procedures for migrant
children;
9.6. continue efforts to make their legislation on foreign
nationals conform with the best international standards, while taking
into account the best interests of the child as enshrined in Article
3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and
promoting various forms of internationally recognised alternatives
to detention;
9.7. adopt alternatives to detention that meet the best interests
of the child and allow children to remain with their family members
and/or guardians in non-custodial, community-based contexts while their
immigration status is being resolved;
9.8. provide necessary resources in order to develop alternatives
to the detention of migrant children;
9.9. seek to develop and implement non-custodial, community-based
alternatives to detention programmes for children and their families,
using the “Child-sensitive Community Assessment and Placement (CCAP)
Model”;
9.10. raise the awareness of all public officials, including
the police, prosecutors and judges dealing with migration matters,
of international human rights standards, by emphasising the rights
of children and the alternatives to detention;
9.11. share best practices on the alternatives to the detention
of migrant children in all member States;
9.12. encourage collaboration between governments of member
States, the Council of Europe, United Nations agencies, intergovernmental
organisations and civil society organisations to end child immigration
detention and implement non-custodial, community-based alternatives
to detention for children and their families.