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20 June 2012: On the
occasion of World Refugee Day on 20 June, the UNHCR together with the
Council of Europe's Children’s Rights Division and Migration Unit held an
internal workshop to discuss the legal standards and practice regarding the
detention of unaccompanied and separated children in need of protection.
The Council of Europe Strategy on the Rights of the Child for 2012-2015,
stipulates that the organisation should support member states in improving
the protection of migrant children and children "on the move", including
asylum seeking, refugee, unaccompanied, seperated, internally displaced and
stateless children. Expert presentations were provided by Mr Kris POLLET,
Senior Legal and Policy Officer at the European Council on Refugees and
Exiles (ECRE) and
Ms Krista ZONGOLOWICZ, from the Danish Refugee Council. Participants
discussed about existing legal standards and the practice regarding the
administrative detention of unaccompanied and separated children seeking
asylum in the Council of Europe member states, and exchanged ideas
concerning the identification of needs for further standard-setting and
co-operation activities in this field with the aim of avoiding the detention
of children in such situations.
Link to list of speakers
Links to organisations:
UNHCR
ECRE
Danish Refugee Council
Links to presentations:
Presentation by Ms
Krista Zongolowick
Links to photos:
  
Link to podcast with Mr Kris Pollet, Senior Legal and Policy Officer, European Council on
Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)
Links to background documents:
Concept
Note Workshop
The case-law of the European Court of Human Rights on the detention of
unaccompanied and separated children
UNHCR’s
Guidelines on Applicable Criteria and Standards relating to the Detention of
Asylum-Seekers
Guidelines on International Protection: Child Asylum Claims under Articles
1(A)2 and 1(F) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol relating to the
Status of Refugees
Guidelines on
Policies and Procedures in Dealing with Unaccompanied Children Seeking
Asylum
Inter-agency
Guiding Principles on unaccompanied and separated children
Link to a related
video message from the Human Rights Commissioner
Other useful/interesting links:
The campaign
to end the immigration detention of children
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