At HRC: Euro-Med Monitor Highlights Plight Of Unaccompanied Minor Asylum Seekers In Europe

Geneva - In a joint statement to the UN Human Rights Council’s 51st session, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and Youth Parliament for SDG said that 71% of all child asylum seekers who arrived in European countries in 2021 were unaccompanied, which exacerbated their suffering and made them even more vulnerable to exploitation.

The statement said that asylum seekers, particularly unaccompanied minors, face a multitude of violations across European Member States, especially in Italy, Bulgaria, and Slovenia.

Delivering her statement to the Council, Euro-Med Monitor’s Legal Researcher Carma Estetieh stressed that “unaccompanied minors are routinely exposed to measures that exacerbate their vulnerabilities”, despite the existence of European Union laws and relevant international agreements designed to protect children’s fundamental rights.

“[The measures] include border pushbacks, detentions, accommodation in overcrowded facilities, and limited access to health and education”, said Estetieh, “as well as limited legal representation and guardianship”.

Stressing that these measures are a clear contravention of EU law as well as international legal and human rights standards, Estetieh warned of serious consequences for children’s safety. She cited the failure of EU Member States to appoint a trusted guardian upon the arrival of unaccompanied minors, which resulted in the disappearance of approximately 78% of all unaccompanied minor applicants in Austria last year.

EU Member States of the Human Rights Council must take effective steps to align their asylum policies with the best interests of children, including improving local welfare services and child protection systems.

Full statement:

Mr President,

Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers are a particularly vulnerable group facing recurrent human rights violations across European Union Member States. In the year 2021, 71% of all child asylum seekers were unaccompanied, with the highest numbers found in Slovenia, Italy, and Bulgaria.

While EU laws and international conventions guarantee children’s fundamental rights, unaccompanied minors are routinely exposed to measures that exacerbate their vulnerabilities. These measures include border pushbacks, detentions, accommodation in overcrowded facilities, and limited access to health and education, as well as limited legal representation and guardianship.

For example, Member States’ failure to appoint a trusted guardian upon arrival of unaccompanied minors has resulted in the disappearance of approximately 78% of all unaccompanied minor applicants in Austria last year.

These measures are a clear contravention of EU law as well as international legal and human rights standards. Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and Youth Parliament for Sustainable Development Goals, therefore, call on the Council and EU Member States to take effective measures to align their asylum policies with the best interests of the child.

It is paramount that local welfare services and child protection systems are improved, to uphold the Council’s values of human rights and dignity, and to ensure that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration.

Thank you.

© Scoop Media