Mike Hancock News
MP sponsors motion at PACE on the issue of unaccompanied minors in Europe
Mike Hancock has sponsored a motion at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe calling for the review and upgrade of the guidelines concerning the arrival, stay and return of unaccompanied minors in Europe. At any one time there may be up to 100,000 unaccompanied minors in Europe, whether they are asylum seekers or irregular immigrants. The motion put forward by Mike Hancock urges the Assembly to contribute to the work done by the Council of Europe, which is currently running a campaign entitled "Building a Europe for and with children", by looking more closely at the arrival, stay and return of unaccompanied minors.
Mike said: "Unaccompanied minors are particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses and are in need of urgent protection as arriving to Europe does not guarantee their safety. This is why the European society needs to ensure that these unaccompanied minors are guaranteed their rights and that the cornerstone of all policies is their best interests."
In light of the above, the motion urges the Committee of the Ministers to develop guidelines that will ensure identifying and treating minors separately from adults as they arrive; making available adequate reception and care facilities during their stay; and, lastly, a safe return to their home countries.
Finally, with this motion, the Assembly recommended that the member states of the Council of Europe:
- only detain unaccompanied minors in exceptional circumstances
- ensure that unaccompanied minors are able to claim asylum
- review the conditions in which minors are held in care and detention
- tackle the trafficking networks handling unaccompanied minors
- ensure that where unaccompanied minors are returned that proper reception facilities are available for them in their countries of origin and preferable within their families.
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