GENEVA - The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has found that France is responsible for grave and systematic violations of the rights of unaccompanied migrant children, stating that many are being left homeless, deprived of basic care, and living in conditions that the Committee described as "degrading" and "contrary to human dignity".
In a report made public today, the Committee commended France for considering unaccompanied minors first and foremost as children in need of care and protection, to be placed within the child protection system.
It stated, however, that a high number of those claiming to be children were treated as adults after flawed age assessment procedures, often based on the physical appearance or on unreliable medical examinations, conducted without the assistance of a trusted adult, legal guardian or lawyer. They are routinely denied access to the child protection system because the age assessment procedures lack sufficient safeguards or reliability.
The presumption of minority, a safeguard that should protect the child until proven otherwise, is applied in France until an initial age assessment decision has been made. "This means that a person who claims to be a child but has been deemed to be an adult after the initial assessment will be treated as such throughout the procedure, which can take up to eight months or even longer," the Committee said in the report.
These shortcomings have led to the systematic exclusion of many children from protection. Those whose age is contested, or whose appeals are pending, are denied access to support services and left to survive on the streets, in parks, or in informal makeshift camps without enough food and drinking water, and with no health care or education. They remain in this situation until a definitive decision is made by a judge. The proportion of those ruled to be minors after their age reassessments have been overturned ranges from 50 to 80 per cent.
"These children are at high risk of being exposed to trafficking, abuse, maltreatment and police violence," the Committee added.
The Committee also documented other serious situations affecting unaccompanied migrant children transiting through France to reach the United Kingdom, who are not supported by the child protection system and who live in extremely precarious conditions, including in camps.
Some unaccompanied children were detained in airport waiting zones or other border holding centres when their entry or identity was questioned. The Committee described the deprivation of these children's liberty as "disproportionate and therefore arbitrary", adding that it was harmful to children's mental health.
While noting that there are no comprehensive official figures on the number of unaccompanied migrant children affected, the Committee emphasised that the problem is widespread and persistent, spreading across the country, including Paris and other large cities and towns close to borders.
The Committee concluded that France has breached its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child by violating a wide range of children's rights. These include the best interests of the child, the rights to health care and education, as well as the prohibition of detention for migration-related reasons and inhuman or degrading treatment, among others.
The Committee found that these violations are grave as "a large number of unaccompanied migrant children have suffered serious harm and lasting effects on their physical and mental health and development."
It also ruled these violations as systematic, owing to the State Party's repeated failure to implement legal, policy and other measures to protect unaccompanied migrant children living on the streets, in tents and in makeshift camps. "The State Party has systematically refused to provide child protection services to these children, thus depriving them of access to an adequate standard of living and basic services."
The Committee launched this inquiry under Article 13 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure and appointed two investigators among Committee members. In October 2023, they met with State officials, such as the State Secretary for Children of the Office of the Prime Minister and representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas Territories, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the State Secretary for Children, and the judiciary in Paris and Pas-de-Calais, among others.
After concluding its findings, the Committee provided France with a list of recommendations. These include giving people the benefit of the doubt as to their minority status, in accordance with the principle of presumption of minority, as well as guaranteeing adequate housing, food and water for all those claiming to be unaccompanied migrant children, so that no child, including those awaiting a decision on appeal, has to live in an informal camp or on the streets.
The Committee shared the inquiry report with France in March of this year, requesting that the State Party respond within six months. France has since informed the Committee of measures taken in response to these findings, including steps to further implement Act No. 2022-140 of 7 February 2022 on child protection, and the adoption of Decrees No. 2023-1240 and No. 2023-1253 of December 2023, aimed at improving procedures for the placement and care of children deprived of their family environment.
The inquiry report and France's response are now available online.
