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with voluntary repatriation when found ineligible to remain, without the need to resort
to detention. After screening and assessment, asylum seekers are provided with access
to various services within the community, and are supported throughout the process by
caseworkers. The programme’s success highlights the importance of robust case
management in supporting migrants’ compliance with the migration proce ss.89
60. In 2018, Canada began implementing community case management and other
non-custodial solutions. While implementation gaps remain, Canada has significantly
reduced the number of children in immigration detention. 90
61. One emblematic initiative from civil society is the European Alternatives to
Detention Network, a group of European non-governmental organizations who run
case management-based alternatives to detention pilot projects in six European
countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom) with
regional-level organizations. 91
Alternative measures before removals
62. Administrative detention of families with children is used in many countries
during the implementation of removal procedures. This is the case eve n in countries
where migrant children and their families are generally not detained due to their
migration status. Based on the information provided by Member States and other
relevant stakeholders, there are practical alternative measures to execute the r emoval
of families and children without detention. In Austria, alternative measures before
removal include accommodation in rooms determined by the Federal Office for
Immigration and Asylum, reporting periodically to a police department or making an
appropriate financial deposit. 92 In Denmark, adults who have received a final refusal
on their application for asylum, and who do not participate in the return to their
country of origin, will as a starting point have a duty of residence at the return centre
as well as a duty to report to the Danish police several times a week. Some persons
also have a duty to notify the Prison and Probation Service if they do not intend to
stay at the return centre overnight. These obligations are not imposed on minors. 93 In
Switzerland, for removal purposes, instead of administrative detention, families and
children can either present themselves regularly to the authorities or stay in a
designated place before the removal order is implemented. In most cases, the removal
of families and children is made from a shelter. 94
F.
Good practices on providing access to rights and services in
alternative care and reception arrangements
63. The right of every child to safety and protection does not cease when they
migrate; on the contrary, they are entitled to the continuum of protection of their
human rights, regardless of their migration status. When providing alternative care
and reception arrangements for migrant children and their families, States need to
ensure the respect of children’s rights. These include the rights to education; to the
enjoyment of the highest possible standard of health; to an adequate standard of
living; to family life; to rest, leisure and play; to practice their own religion; and to
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90
91
92
93
94
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International Detention Coalition, There are alternatives: a handbook for preventing unnecessary
immigration detention, rev. ed. (Melbourne, Australia, 2015).
Canada Border Services Agency, “Alternatives to detention: questions and answers”, July 2018.
Submission by HumanRights360. See also European Alternatives to Detention Network,
available at www.atdnetwork.org.
Submission by Austria.
Submission by Denmark.
Submission by Switzerland.
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