Implementation of EU Asylum and Migration Pact

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IOM, UNHCR and UNICEF have welcomed the political agreement that resulted in the adoption of EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, as well as the progress in the development of the national action plans, as part of its implementation. As member states prepare to implement country-level implementation plans, the agencies would like to jointly stress the following key advocacy messages as it pertains to children:

1. IOM, UNHCR and UNICEF welcomed the safeguards included in the EU Pact on Migration on Asylum (hereinafter), to advance the protection of migrant and refugee children, for example to promote the standardization of rules on guardianship across the EU, and areas relevant to the child’s access to basic rights, such as their enrolment into national school systems at the latest two months after their arrival in the EU.
2. Moreover, in the same spirit of the law, we call on States to ensure that the principle of the best interests of the child is applied throughout all procedural stages. In all processes and decisions that concern forcibly displaced, stateless and migrant children, their best interest should be a primary consideration in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
3. Support early detection of child protection risks and involve national child protection authorities in the vulnerability screening procedures, in order to make appropriate accommodations or referrals and offer necessary assistance in reception and in processing the asylum claims of children. Ensure that identification of stateless children results in referrals to adequate statelessness determination procedure.
4. Detention of children is never in the best interests of the child and children should not be detained for immigration related purposes. Members States should ensure that alternatives to detention and care arrangements are in place in implementing Pact documents at the national level. The Pact states that ‘minors should, as a rule, not be detained’[1]. In addition, children should never be criminalized or subject to punitive measures because of their parents ́ migration status.
5. For forcibly displaced, stateless and migrant unaccompanied and separated children, ensure that legal representatives are appointed at the moment of arrival, without delay or regard to the status of the child, to accompany them through the procedures envisaged in the Pact.
6. Age assessments should only be conducted when there is a reasonable doubt regarding the age of a child, and only as part of a comprehensive assessment that takes into account both the physical appearance and psychological maturity of the child. The authorities and processes involved should be clear and transparent. Age assessments should be multi-disciplinary and be conducted by independent experts, in a safe, child-sensitive manner that also considers the ethnic and cultural background of the child. An effective legal remedy should be established to enable individual children to challenge the age assessment decision.
7. Admissibility procedures should not be used for unaccompanied and separated child asylum-seekers – all procedures should focus on the merits of the child’s claim, rather than admissibility. Where admissibility procedures are applied to children, additional safeguards must be in place. 
8. Reception conditions for children in families in border procedures should be closely monitored to ensure that necessary support is available throughout the process; age and gender should be considered and prioritized as a consideration in reception conditions to ensure the safety and well-being ofall children. If the support required to ensure a response to their specific needs and their effective participation cannot be provided, they should be promptly transferred to the regular processes.
9. Members States should not use force or coercion when obtaining biometric data from children. In case of protection or trafficking concerns, trained child-protection professionals should be engaged to address these concerns through a protection-centered approach.
10. Ensure mitigation of child protection risks and involve national child protection authorities in return procedures, in order to make sure that those do not aggravate vulnerabilities or lead to child rights violations.
11. Independent, child-friendly monitoring and complaints mechanisms should be made available and adequately resourced so that children have a safe avenue to speak up regarding their treatment under the relevant procedures by the Member States and to ensure that their best interests are respected.
12. Information on all the procedures that involve children, and particularly unaccompanied and separated children, should be child-friendly and available in a language and format the child understands.
13. Procedures established under the Pact and during its implementation should be child-friendly – appropriate and accessible to all children, centred on their needs, capacities and best interests, and contributing to their safety, protection and well-being.
14. Member States should support prompt restoration of the family links as well as streamlined, timely family reunification processes and use an expanded definition of the family in line with international standards by including siblings in the definition of family.

Drawing on their route-based approach to programming, IOM, UNHCR and UNICEF will use their voice and the communication and advocacy tools at their disposal to amplify protection related messages for children and families on the move, in order to support their access to key information and protection services. The three agencies stand ready to support member states in this important work, in line with their respective mandates. 

[1] Directive 2024/1346 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 setting out standards for the reception of applicants for international protection. Article 17 of Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals, requires that “unaccompanied minors and families with minors shall be detained as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.”