Protecting asylum-seeking children in the transit zones at the Serbian/Hungarian border

After having been informed about the Hungarian legislation of March 2017, foreseeing that all asylum-seeking children aged 14 to 18, including unaccompanied children, must remain in a transit zone instead of open facilities for the duration of the asylum procedure, and allowing for the deportation of migrants found irregularly present on Hungarian territory without any screening or procedural safeguards, the Lanzarote Committee decided to carry out an urgent monitoring round under Rule 28 of its Rules of Procedure. A special report was adopted on 30 January 2018, following a visit from a delegation of the Lanzarote Committee to the Serbian/Hungarian transit zones, to assess how asylum-seeking children are being protected against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.