Why is it important to prove the child status for age-unknown migrant children?
It is because children have unique rights.
Since children require special protection and consideration on health, life support, education, etc, the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that the following conditions should be protected for all children under the age of 18.
☆ No discrimination based on race, nationality, gender, etc.
☆ Considering “Best interests of the child” when making decisions regarding children.
☆ Access to medical care, education, and life support.
☆ Respect children’s opinions.
In 2015, Somalia and South Sudan ratified this convention, bringing the total number of ratified countries to 196 countries.
It means that those 196 countries must protect the Rights of children.
Unfortunately, the United States is the only country in the world that has not yet ratified (though they have indicated an intention to do so in the future).
the Convention on the Rights of the Child (red)
Children’s rights should be protected in all countries.
What kind of experiences did migrant children have when they did not have ID?
Let’s take a look at what actually happened to migrant children without ID.
(cases from the document “United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. Spain’s age assessment procedures violate migrant children’s rights, UN committee finds”).
Case１
A 17-year-old migrant boy arrived in Europe by boat.
With the support of Red Cross staff, he reported his age as under 18 to the police. However, the police registered him as over 18.
His asylum application was refused and he was detained in an immigration holding center for adults.
He could obtain a birth certificate from his country of origin that proved his age as 17 years old, with the support of NGO staff.
Although he could get out of the immigration holding center, he was not recognised as a child.
Case２
A 17-year-old migrant boy was diagnosed as over 19 years old by an X-ray image during an age assessment.
He was detained in an immigration holding center for adults and beaten with sticks by the center staff.
With the help of an NGO, he could obtain a birth certificate from the country of origin. He submitted it to a court but did not receive an answer from them.
The following experiences are also reported by other children in other documents:
“Remained naked during the age assessment. And being touched the private parts made me feel not treated as a human being.”
“Suffered violence in an immigration holding center.”
“Being handcuffed by the police like a criminal.”
Violence is terrifying.
I want the child’s feelings to be taken into consideration during the age assessment.
How does the age assessment affect children’s health?
There is an argument that the age assessment process is traumatic for children and affects their mental health.
In particular, unaccompanied minors (UAMs), who often do not carry identification documents, often leave their home countries due to conflict, war, or poverty.
In addition, they travel long distances without guardians who usually protect children from violence.
Therefore, while in their home country or while migrants journey to another country, they tend to have experienced beatings, torture, sexual violence, etc., or to have seen their family members/others involved in such incidents.
From such experiences, they may already be traumatized before arriving in another country.
After finally arriving in another country, being locked in a small room for long periods and being asked questions about their past traumatic experiences over and over again are not easy for them, even for age assessment purposes.
Therefore, it has been pointed out that the process of age assessment itself may lead to a risk of re-traumatization.
In Europe, the guidelines were published in 2022 regarding the age assessment of migrant children, which mention the following.
☆ Respect the dignity of each child.
☆ Treat them as a child until the age assessment results are released.
☆ Obtain informed consent before performing an age assessment.
☆ Age assessment should be done by experts.
To conduct a proper age assessment, we need to create an environment where persons under the assessment feel physically and mentally safe and secure.
参考文献
– Unicef. Convention on the Rights of the Child. https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention
– Unicef. Convention on the Rights of the Child (in Japanese). https://www.unicef.or.jp/crc/
– Council of Europe. We are children, here us out! Children speak out about age assessment: Report on consultations with unaccompanied children on the topic of age assessment. https://rm.coe.int/we-are-children-hear-us-out-children-speak-outabout-age-assessment-re/16809486f3
– United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. Spain’s age assessment procedures violate migrant children’s rights, UN committee finds. 13 October 2020. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2020/10/spains-age-assessment-procedures-violate-migrant-childrens-rights-un
– Martha von Werthern, G Grigorakis, E Vizard. The mental health and wellbeing of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URMs). Child Abuse & Neglect. Volume 98, 2019, 104146, ISSN 0145-2134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104146.
– Scottish Government. Age Assessment Practice Guidance for Scotland. March 2018. https://www.gov.scot/publications/age-assessment-practice-guidance-scotland-good-practice-guidance-support-social/documents/
– Council of Europe. Age assessment in the context of migration: new Committee of Ministers Recommendation. 14 December 2022. https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/age-assessment-in-the-context-of-migration-new-committee-of-ministers-recommendation
