A/75/183
asylum-seeking children. 42 In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland, according to the Immigration Act 2016, unaccompanied childr en should not
be detained except in very exceptional circumstances. 43 Similarly, in Guatemala,
Decree No. 44 provides that as a general rule, unaccompanied and separated migrant
children and adolescents shall not be detained and establishes that authoritie s shall
prioritize open reception solutions to protect the rights of the child and family. 44
Ukrainian legislation provides that refugees and other individuals seeking
international protection have the right to reside with relatives in a hotel, rented
premises or temporary accommodation centres for refugees. 45 Under the Law on
Foreigners and International Protection adopted by Turkey, detention is prohibited for
unaccompanied minors seeking international protection and other vulnerable
individuals. 46
Countries refraining from placing children in immigration detention in practice
even though a prohibition is not enshrined in their domestic laws
44. A number of countries refrain from placing children in immigration detention in
practice even though a prohibition is not enshrined in their domestic laws. In Cyprus,
while legislation only prohibits the detention of a minor who has applied for asylum,
in practice, children and families are not detained. 47 In Denmark, the Aliens Act
implicitly allows minors to be administratively detained, as there is no distinction
between adults and minors in the wording of the law; however, children and their
families are generally accommodated in special parts of open asylum centres. Hence,
since 2016, the detention of unaccompanied and separated children has as a rule not
been applied in Denmark. 48 In Germany, “immigration detention”, including of
children, does not occur, with the exception of individuals who are taken into custody
and are awaiting deportation under special circumstances, which is allowed under
domestic law. However, most federal states of Germany – which are responsible for
implementing the respective legislation – completely refrain from placing
unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, families or single pare nts with minor or
school-age children into deportation custody. 49 Malta does not pursue a detention
policy of children, irrespective of whether they are accompanied or otherwise. All
care methods available to children are therefore community-based reception
solutions. 50 Similarly, while Spanish law only prohibits the detention of
unaccompanied minors, in practice, migrant families with children are never detained,
and non-custodial measures are often provided for their appropriate reception and
care. 51 Italy and Portugal also have policies not to detain children for immigration related purposes. 52
__________________
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
20-09734
Submissions by the Platform for International Cooperation on Und ocumented Migrants (PICUM)
and by Cyprus.
United Kingdom, Immigration Act 2016. Available at www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/19/
pdfs/ukpga_20160019_en.pdf.
Guatemala, Decreto No. 44, Código de Migración, 2016. Available at www.acnur.org/fileadmin/
Documentos/BDL/2017/10978.pdf.
Submission by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner f or Human Rights.
Turkey, Law on Foreigners and International Protection, Law No. 6458 of 2013. Available at
https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a1d828f4.html.
Submission by Cyprus.
Submission by Denmark.
Submission by Germany.
Submission by Malta.
Spain, Ley Orgánica 4/2000, 2000; submission by Accem and Fundación Cepaim, Spain.
Submission by PICUM.
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