Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe

On 19 May 2017 in Nicosia, Cyprus, during the 127th Session of the Committee of Ministers, 47 European states adopted an Action Plan on protecting refugee and migrant children (2017-2019).

The Action Plan is based on a clear principle: in the context of migration, children should be treated first and foremost as children. It concerns all children in migration who arrive/have arrived in the territory of any Council of Europe member State, including asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children. The concrete activities proposed thereunder are based on existing norms. The aim of the Action Plan is not to create new human rights standards.

Each child is treated according to its status and protection needs. The Action Plan considers as “refugee children” all those who would qualify as such under the 1951 Geneva Convention and its Protocol. The term “migrant children” includes children whose asylum applications will be eventually rejected. It goes without saying that refugee children have a special status under international law. At the same time, there are Council of Europe norms that guarantee rights to all migrant children without discrimination based on their nationality or migration status. The Action Plan takes all the above considerations on board, its guiding principle being, of course, “the best interest of the child”.     

The Action Plan on Protecting Refugee and Migrant Children, with a special focus on unaccompanied children, has three main pillars:

1)         ensuring access to rights and child-friendly procedures; 

2)         providing effective protection;

3)         enhancing the integration of children who would remain in Europe.

The measures to be taken in protecting the refugee and migrant children include: new guidelines regarding age assessment and guardianship, alternatives to detention and a handbook on promoting child-friendly information and training on child-friendly procedures.

Different sectors of the Council of Europe will contribute to the implementation of the Action Plan, including those dealing with children’s rights, education, sports, youth participation and the media. The Action Plan takes into account complementarity and co-operation with the European Union and other key partners.