Every day, thousands of minors, sometimes accompanied by their family members but often alone, are detained at migrant detention centers in over 100 countries around the world, which includes both developed and developing countries. According to the UN, this can be a devastating experience to children and is not a legitimate response to migration matters in view of international human rights treaties.
In response to this problem, UN human rights experts in commemoration of International Migrants Day, which is December 18, have signed a document urging governments around the world to stop placing children and entire families in detention centers.
The detention of minors, which includes infants, has increased as anti-immigration rhetoric and policies aimed at criminalizing undocumented migrants become more and more common. However, there is no justification for these types of detentions, says the UN.
These experts say that many countries justify the detention of minors by claiming that they do so in the best interest of children or in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which allows children to be detained in extraordinary cases. They say that the detention of minors is a clear violation of the rights of the child and governments must put an end to this practice at once.
Country's child protection agencies must be responsible for the well being of migrant children who travel alone and not by immigration authorities, say the experts.
The UN says countries should create a system that puts these children under the care of families and assign them a competent and trained legal guardian who can ensure their well being, and assign them a legal representative.