Ad hoc query on detention and removal of minors

18 (Member) States provided detailed national information and available statistical data on the detention and removal of unaccompanied and accompanied minors. This query was launched by the Belgian EMN national contact point.

The ad-hoc query provides a comparative overview of practices on detention and removal of unaccompanied and accompanied minors in 18 (Member) States: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Romania, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Norway.

In a nutshell, the findings of the ad hoc query:

  • In the vast majority of (Member) States, detention of unaccompanied minors is prohibited, rarely used in practice or only in exceptional circumstances.
  • Overall accompanied minors are still more often detained than unaccompanied minors but according to the answers received detention is only used as a measure of last resort or in exceptional cases. In some (Member) States, accompanied minors are never or rarely detained.
  • When minors are detained, this is usually for a limited time period.
  • Concerning forced removal, the numbers seem to be limited and concern mainly accompanied minors. From the 18 (Member) States that responded, no unaccompanied were removed in 9 States and no accompanied minors in 6 of the States. For a number of (Member) States this information is not available.

More detailed information can be found in the executive summary made by the Belgian EMN contact point, including a table by country, and in the compilation of the answers given by the 18 (Member) States. 
 

Publication Date:
Wed 18 Feb 2015
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