UN report: France has been involved in “serious violations” of the rights of migrant children | news

On Thursday, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child leveled heavy accusations against France of committing “grave and systematic” violations of the rights of unaccompanied migrant children.

The UN Committee confirmed in its report that unaccompanied migrant children in France are often left to their fate due to the inability to prove their age.

The committee reported that France provides protection for unaccompanied minors, but warned that flawed age assessment procedures had led to many migrant children being wrongly treated as adults.

The report explained that this deprives them of access to the child protection system, and exposes them to “the risk of falling victim to human trafficking and being subjected to abuse, mistreatment, and violence by the police.”

The committee’s experts confirmed in the same report that a large number of immigrants who are unable to benefit from the child protection system in France find themselves homeless, deprived of basic care, and living in “miserable” conditions.

The report also noted that there are no comprehensive official figures on the number of unaccompanied migrant children affected by this matter, but warned that the problem is “widespread and persistent.”

Violating many rights

The committee – whose 18 independent experts are responsible for monitoring how countries implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child – concluded that France had violated its obligations in this area.

She said that Paris violated a wide range of children’s rights, including the right to health care and education and the prohibition of detention on immigration grounds and inhuman or degrading treatment.

On the other hand, the committee noted that “the percentage of people found to be minors after canceling incorrect age assessments ranges between 50 to 80%.”

The committee spoke about documenting serious cases affecting unaccompanied migrant children who pass through France to reach Britain, and who are not covered by the French child protection system.

According to the report, some of them were detained in waiting areas at airports or in border detention centers, with them “disproportionately and therefore arbitrarily” deprived of their liberty, warning that this harms children’s mental health.

The committee – whose opinions are not binding but whose reports may affect a country’s reputation – called on France to provide adequate housing, food and water for all unaccompanied migrant children, to ensure that no child is forced to live in an informal camp or on the streets.

For its part, Paris said in its response published by Agence France-Presse that the 2023-2027 strategic plan for the judicial protection of young people “strengthened and coordinated support for priority and particularly vulnerable groups” such as unaccompanied minors.