The many methods of age assessment used in Europe reflect
the lack of a harmonised approach and agreed method. The Assembly
believes that the development of a child-sensitive, holistic model
of age assessment would enable European States to meet the needs
of unaccompanied or separated children. It therefore calls on member
States to:
6.1 conduct case-by-case,
reliable age assessment of unaccompanied migrant children only in
cases of serious doubt about the child’s age and as a last resort,
in the best interests of the child;
6.2 provide unaccompanied migrant children with reliable information
about age-assessment procedures in a language that they understand,
so that they can fully understand the different stages of the process
they are undergoing and its consequences;
6.3 appoint a guardian to support each unaccompanied migrant
child individually during the age- assessment procedure;
6.4 ensure that an unaccompanied migrant child or his or her
representative can challenge the age-assessment decision through
appropriate administrative or judicial appeal channels;
6.5 use only as a last resort dental or wrist x-ray examinations
and all other invasive medical procedures for the purpose of determining
the age of unaccompanied or separated migrant children;
6.6 ensure that all medical examinations are sensitive to
the child's gender, culture and vulnerabilities and that the interpretation
of results takes into account the child's national and social background
as well as previous experiences;
6.7 prohibit, in all situations, the use of physical sexual
maturity examinations for the purpose of determining the age of
unaccompanied and separated migrant children;
6.8 prohibit the detention of unaccompanied or separated children
who are awaiting or undergoing age assessment, and always apply
the margin of error in favour of the person so that the lowest age
in the margin determined by the assessment is recorded as the person’s
age;
6.9 identify and provide alternative accommodation options
for children awaiting or undergoing age assessment, with a view
to avoiding the detention of children during disputes about age,
including by temporary placement in centres for children where appropriate
safeguards should be in place to protect them and other children
in the centres;
6.10 support and promote the development of a single, holistic
model of age assessment in Europe, based on the presumption that
the person is a minor;
6.11 whenever possible, ensure that the procedure of age assessment
is carried out by professionals acquainted with the children’s ethnic,
cultural and developmental characteristics.
