France: "shortcomings" denounced by ten NGOs in the reception of unaccompanied minors at the borders

Ten associations and NGOs call on the French State to respect the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.

GERARD JULIEN / AFP

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In a report published on Monday, organizations call on the French state to provide these minors with access to child protection. 

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Several associations and NGOs denounce the “ 

failings

 ” of the French authorities in terms of the protection of unaccompanied foreign minors at French borders, in

a report

published on Monday, October 5, 2020,

in the midst of controversy

over the care of these migrant children.  

“ 

For years, our associations working on the French borders with Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom have witnessed numerous violations of the rights of

migrant

children on a daily basis 

, say ten organizations including Médecins du monde, Médecins sans frontières and Amnesty. international.

The reception of unaccompanied minors has been the subject of a lively debate in France since the chopper attack perpetrated in Paris by a 25-year-old Pakistani national, 10 days ago.

He was initially known by an identity giving him 18 years and had just come out of care by Social Assistance for Children.

We ask the French authorities to put in place immediate measures to ensure that these children have effective access to child protection, in accordance with the International Convention on the Rights of the Child

 ", claim the organizations in a statement. , which evoke " 

illegal refoulements 

", " 

insufficient and unsuitable shelters

" or " 

serious deficiencies in the support of children

 ".

Minors returned

without consideration of their minority

 "

“ 

Despite the numerous alerts communicated to the authorities in this regard, the failings of the French State remain

 ”

,

they continue

.

 At the Franco-Italian border as at the Franco-Spanish border, the logic of refoulement takes precedence over everything else.

 "

The organizations are based on testimonies but also on " 

observations 

" at the border, to establish that some young people are turned away " 

without consideration of their minority, while other minors are taken care of, without logic as to the choice 

", which is done according to them " 

in the facies

 ".

Violations of children's rights promote networks

In some cases, minors have testified to practices of confiscation or even destruction by the police of their identity documents 

", still report the associations.

"

 These deficiencies and these violations of children's rights contribute to their constant mobility but also to a greater exposure to the influence of exploitation networks, this situation can also lead them to take more and more dangerous paths, at the risk of their life, 

”they conclude.

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  • Immigration

  • France

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