Brussels, 20/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - In a report by the European Parliament's civil liberties committee on Wednesday 20 June, MEPs said that the European Commission should put forward “strategic approaches” for managing the problem of non-accompanied minors arriving in the EU. On the eve of World Refugee Day on Thursday 20 June, MEPs said that no child should be refused access to European territory and that working out the age of a child should be done on the basis of a scientific assessment that was safe and always child-sensitive. These strategic approaches should cover issues such as the procedures for guaranteeing children's rights, co-operation with countries of origin to tackle human trafficking and illegal immigration, and helping to re-establish family ties.
This strategy should also include common standards for setting out the conditions under which children can be sent back to their countries of origin but the committee says that “no decision for returns of the child should be taken if it is not in the latter's interest” or if the decision puts the child in any danger. Any decision for returning children should be taken on the basis of a prior guarantee that this return will be completely safe. So-called simplified procedures used by member states when they consider asylum requests unfounded, should not apply to children, at least as seldom as possible. The new Dublin Regulation has not finished with the practice of detaining children and MEPs said that this practice should only be done in exceptional circumstances. (SP/transl.fl)