"Migrant and asylum-seeking children in transit areas on the Serbo-Hungarian border continue to face excessive risks", warned the Council of Europe's Committee on the Rights of the Child.
In a report published on Thursday 6 June, the Lanzarote Committee denounced the inadequacy of the measures taken by the Hungarian authorities since previous recommendations based on a visit to these transit zones in 2017.
This report highlights the persistent difficulties faced by the children concerned, ranging from the continued blocking of access to NGOs to inadequate verification of the age of minors by military doctors who are not qualified for these examinations.
The Lanzarote Committee's experts also identified the following problems: - the confinement of children in closed open-air areas with containers for shelter only; - the lack of care for adolescents aged 14 to 18, especially girls, by the Hungarian child protection system, which exposes them to increased risks of sexual exploitation; - the lack of coordination with the Serbian authorities, as well as the lack of access to adequate interpretation services, including during medical examinations, interviews with social services and psychotherapy sessions.
The organisation of these sessions is a positive development, it was noted. But this step forward is hampered by language problems and the very limited presence of psychologists and psychiatrists, who are only there for a few hours a week.
The Committee also expresses its deep concern at the announced closure of the Károlyi István Children's Home in Fót. No specific information has so far been provided on planned alternatives for the accommodation of unaccompanied children. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)