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knowledgeable about child care in order to ensure that the child’s legal, social,
health, psychological, material, and educational needs are adequately covered.
Increasing the number of places available in care facilities (such as shelters
and foster care settings) to the level required to ensure placement for all
unaccompanied children in the country. Establish and enforce minimum
standards for all care placements and provide specialized care for particularly
vulnerable children, such as those who are victims of trafficking. Ensure care
placements provide social and educational services, access to free legal aid,
and protection from violence and ill-treatment. Design programs to reach out to
unaccompanied children who live outside state-sponsored care to ensure their
protection and educate them about risks of further travel. Set up a foster family
system and provide adequate support to foster parents in the exercise of their
functions.
In cooperation with the Directorate General of Immigration, setting up a
registration and tracking system for unaccompanied children, to account for
every child. Investigate incidents of unaccompanied children who abscond
from care centers and design strategies to counter such occurrences.
Ensuring that unaccompanied migrant children have access to free legal
assistance in asylum proceedings and other legal and administrative
proceedings.
To the Directorate General of Immigration
Regarding Detention Generally
• Consider the detention of children in families as an absolute last resort, after
exploring all alternatives to detention for them and for their family members, and
while always prioritizing the child’s best interests and right to family unity.
• Develop a clear, nationally applicable standard operating procedure for
immigration detention that prevents the detention of vulnerable migrants and
asylum seekers, establishes benchmarks for acceptable conditions of confinement,
prohibits bribery or corruption among staff members, and enables those detained
to access an effective complaints procedure about immigration staff conduct.
• Immediately prohibit the detention of unaccompanied migrant children and
provide them with safe accommodations outside detention facilities.
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