UN rights experts urge EU to end child migrant detentions News
UN rights experts urge EU to end child migrant detentions

As EU members and institutions meet to revise migration policies, the UN on Wednesday called for[press release] a stop to detention of children.

The Common European Asylum System [official website] currently allows for children to be detained as a last resort if it is in the child’s best interest. The chair of the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child, however, rejects this policy as being directly against the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child [text ]. All EU member states have ratified that convention and the UN commissioner also rejected justifications for detention in order to prevent exploitation or disappearances.

Instead, the UN says the EU should continue to develop safe spaces for children migrants, work towards community placement, listen to children’s voices, and reduce discrimination.