A/HRC/41/38/Add.1 They receive tailored assistance while the family tracing process is conducted in their country of origin. In 2018, IOM returned 346 unaccompanied children who had signed up for the assisted voluntary return programme. These children are entitled to reintegration assistance upon their return, for example to continue their studies or initiate an incomegenerating activity. IOM and UNICEF have adopted a joint standard operating procedure for the referral and shelter of children under the age of 15. 65. As for those unaccompanied migrant children who do not want to return to their communities or countries of origin, there is no system in place to identify and refer them to childcare services or to identify and trace their families, which renders them more vulnerable to abuse, violence, exploitation and child rights violations. VII. Cross-cutting issues 1. Detention 66. The Law on the Illicit Smuggling of Migrants has not only tightened the conditions for the entry and stay of migrants but also increased the recourse to detention of migrants. In Agadez Region, the National Human Rights Commission has documented multiple human rights violations suffered by migrants during their transit and stay in the Niger, including physical and psychological violence and ill-treatment, threats, confiscation of documents, extortion (e.g., at checkpoints), deprivation of food and water, and restrictions on and deprivation of liberty. 38 These violations were also reported to the Special Rapporteur during his visit to a migrant ghetto in Agadez. The risk and fear of being stopped, retained and subjected to administrative detention push these migrants into hiding. The Special Rapporteur recalls that any form of administrative detention or custody for migrants must be used as an exceptional measure of last resort, for the shortest period possible and only if justified by a legitimate purpose. Furthermore, detention of children based on their migration or refugee status is contrary to the international principle of the best interests of the child and is thus prohibited (A/HRC/38/41, paras. 21–22). 2. Access to justice 67. Migrants in the Niger, including those in vulnerable situations, do not have access to justice. This applies also to a large part of the population of the Niger, due to economic, geographic, social and cultural barriers.39 However, migrants are a vulnerable group that face a particularly high risk of abuse, exploitation and violations of their rights. During his visit to Agadez and Niamey, most migrants, among them children, told the Special Rapporteur that they had been victims of arbitrary arrest and corruption. While in detention, which often lasted several days, none of them, including the children, had received access to legal aid and representation. 68. Although the Special Rapporteur was told that the National Legal and Judicial Assistance Agency was in charge of providing free legal assistance to vulnerable groups, he was also informed that the capacities and the funds of the agency were insufficient to provide effective legal assistance. In addition, there is a limited understanding of migrants’ rights among migrants as well as State officials, and insufficient means to conduct human rights monitoring activities, including by the National Human Rights Commission office in Agadez. VIII. Conclusions and recommendations 69. Due to its relative security and stability, the Niger has become a hub for migration to the north. In recent years, the situation of migrants in the country has worsened as a result of migration policies and agreements adopted by the Niger, especially with the European Union, which have resulted in the violation of the human 38 39 CNDH-Info, No. 1 (December 2017), p. 19. See European Union Delegation to the Niger, “L’assistance juridique et judiciaire au Niger”. 15