EMN Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Ombudsman for Children and Youngsters (OKaJu) are bringing together EU ombudsmen for children and youth, as well as child welfare agencies, to discuss the best interests of the child in the context of the implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. The meeting offers a timely opportunity to take stock of early experiences and emerging practices. It places a particular focus on ensuring that fundamental rights obligations, especially those relating to children, are upheld in national systems.

On 25 June 2026, the Belgian Contact Point to the European Migration Network (EMN) participated in the third thematic meeting on children in migration, organised jointly by the Luxembourgish Contact Point to the EMN and the OKaJu (Ombudsman for Children in Luxembourg – Ombudsman fir Kanner a Jugenlecher). The aim of the conference was to discuss the best interests of the child in the context of the implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. The event brought together various stakeholders from 24 countries, as well as several international organisations and networks, both online and in person.  

This multistakeholder meeting, jointly organized by the Council of Europe and the EMN Luxembourg within the framework of the EMN Platform on Statelessness, will allow participants to share good practices and challenges on topics including the age assessment and best interest of the child; the burden of proof in the special case of children and the access to nationality for children.

This conference organised by the Finnish Contact Point of the EMN aims to promote dialogue between different actors and to find new perspectives on how to develop the assessment of the best interests of the child in migration processes.

The European Migration Network (EMN) Glossary is an essential resource, which offers an EU-wide multidisciplinary vocabulary of approximately 500 terms and concepts related to asylum and migration. Let's focus today on the term "best interests of the child" to make sure we have a common understanding and use of the term!