Key Messages
- Trust is key: it takes time for children to trust an adult enough to give a full account of their experiences. Authorities should ensure that minors have trusting and supportive relationships with individuals related to their asylum hearing.
- For minors to fulfil their right to participate in their asylum hearing, they need to be educated about hearing procedures in a child-friendly manner.
- Though minors are inherently vulnerable due to their age, decision makers should utilise a holistic approach that also considers other vulnerabilities related to other personal characteristics, past or present experiences, cultural background and precarity of legal status.
- While policymakers are aware of best practices in asylum hearings for unaccompanied minors, implementation remains a challenge.
References
- Council of Europe (2019). Promoting child-friendly approaches in the area of migration: Standards, guidance and current practices.
- Council of Europe (2018). How to convey child-friendly information to children in migration.
- European Asylum Support Office (2018). EASO Practical guide on the best interests of the child in asylum procedures. EASO Practical Guides Series.
- Kumin, J. (2015). The heart of the matter: Assessing credibility when children apply for asylum in the European Union. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
- Lidén, H. (2019). 11. Asylum. In M. Langford, M. Skivenes & K. H. Søvig (Eds.), Children’s Rights in Norway (pp. 332-360). Universitetsforlaget. DOI: 10.18261/9788215031415-2019-12.
- Lidén, H., Stang, E. G., & Eide, K. (2017). The gap between legal protection, good intentions and political restrictions. Unaccompanied minors in Norway. Social Work & Society, 15(1).
- Raad voor Vreemdelingenbetwistingen [“Council for Aliens Law Litigation”] (2018). 28 June 2018, Nr. 206 213.
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Office of Research – Innocenti (2018). Protected on Paper? An analysis of Nordic country responses to asylum-seeking children.
Acknowledgements:
This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 870845. It reflects only the authors’ views and the European Union is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
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