17/12/2015 Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
Every day, all around the world, millions of children are at risk of being detained on the basis of their immigration status. These children have committed no crime. The only reason they are being detained is because they lack the necessary travel documents to safely enter a country. Many of these children are feeling violence in their countries of origin. In Europe, 700 children seek asylum every day, and that figure is growing.
On the occasion of 18 December, International Migrants Day, Doris Fiala, the General Rapporteur for the Parliamentary Campaign, calls all the Council of Europe member states to end immigration detention of children and use of alternatives to detention. No child should be in a detention centre, she says.