Brussels, Belgium, 18 November 2024 — The International Rescue Committee and 28 other humanitarian organisations are calling for urgent action to prevent the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum from failing unaccompanied children at Europe’s borders.
The organisations - including the IRC, PICUM, Caritas Europe and Terre des Hommes - have signed a joint policy brief explaining that while the EU Pact promises to “significantly enhance” protection for unaccompanied children, in reality they may be exposed to even greater dangers - unless stronger safeguards are swiftly put into place.
All EU states are required to submit an ‘implementation plan’ to the Commission in early December 2024 outlining how they will put the Pact into action, and these must be fully applied by June 2026.
In 2023, more than 41,000 unaccompanied children applied for asylum in the EU for the first time in 2023, and upwards of 23,000 in the first nine months of 2024. These children often face severe human rights violations on their journeys and on arrival in Europe - including pushbacks, violence, neglect, forced stripping, theft of their personal belongings, and detention.
The 29 organisations are together expressing concern that, without much stronger safeguards, the Pact could exacerbate many of these risks.
For example, we are concerned that the EU Pact’s emphasis on deterring people from arriving in Europe at any cost risks resulting in more pushbacks. Accelerated procedures, coupled with capacity shortages, risk failing to accurately identify unaccompanied children, their needs and vulnerabilities. And it could allow for even more children to be held in detention, and for longer than before – in some cases, for up to six months.
Read the joint policy brief in full, and see a summary of our 10 recommendations for the EU and its member states below.
Mohammed*, 17 years old, reported being pushed back from two EU countries:
“What I experienced destroyed my mental well-being. I have no focus, I cannot study or focus on my studies because these incidents stay in my mind. I cannot forget them, I cannot focus on anything.”
Martha Roussou, IRC Senior Regional Advocacy Advisor, Europe, says:
“Children travelling alone, both towards and within Europe, are exposed to immeasurable dangers that nobody should have to face. While, on paper, the EU Pact appears to safeguard the rights of unaccompanied children, our experience on the ground suggests the reality will be very different. The provisions in the Pact may well lead to more - not less - detention, pushbacks, racial profiling, discrimination, and other human rights violations. This direction of travel is deeply alarming, and risks having a devastating impact on children seeking protection at Europe’s borders unless safeguards are put in place.”
Marta Welander, IRC EU Advocacy Director, says:
“Today, the IRC is joining 28 other NGOs to jointly remind the EU and its member states that they have a moral and legal obligation to protect children within their territory. Many of the safeguards outlined in the EU Pact are not new - they are already provided for in national or EU law, but they are not always respected in reality. As states now prepare to implement the EU Pact, it is essential that they meet these protections in full. For example, they must explicitly prohibit the detention of children and firmly put this into practice. They must take a zero tolerance approach to all forms of violence and discrimination against children. And they must expand safe routes for children seeking protection in Europe. Unless states urgently address the weaknesses in their systems and introduce effective safeguards, many more children will suffer at Europe’s borders.”
Notes to editors
As the EU and its member states move towards implementation of the EU Pact, the 29 organisations are calling for them to ensure that the rights of unaccompanied children are protected - in line with international refugee and human rights law. They must:
- Ensure that all actions under the EU Pact are guided by the best interests of the child.
- Direct financial and human resources towards building effective screening, reception and asylum systems.
- Invest financial and human resources to implement procedural safeguards for unaccompanied children.
- Explicitly prohibit the detention of children.
- Establish independent monitoring mechanisms that oversee the treatment of unaccompanied children.
- Guarantee and reinforce zero tolerance for all forms of discrimination, racism and violence against children.
- Integrate child-specific safeguards in the solidarity mechanism to alleviate the risks faced by unaccompanied children.
- Engage with NGOs and civil society groups that specialise in child protection.
- Implement systems for collecting and analysing data on unaccompanied children.
- Expand resettlement, family reunification, and other safe routes for children from third countries to the EU.
*Using a pseudonym for the child’s protection