06/10/2014 Session
Council of Europe member states should introduce and enforce laws banning the detention of children for immigration reasons, according to PACE.
Approving a report by Tinatin Bokuchava (Georgia, EPP/CD), the Assembly said this was “a clear and unequivocal child rights violation”, even though the practice is growing in Europe, with “tens of thousands” of migrant children ending up in detention each year.
“Migrant children are frequently detained in member States simply because they do not have the right immigration documents. They have committed no crime. Yet they may be subjected to criminal penalties, prison-like conditions, be separated from the support and protection of their families, and be denied a number of fundamental rights,” the Assembly said in a resolution.
The Assembly praised in particular Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom for having taken steps towards ending the immigration detention of children.