The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks, calls on member States to ensure that the best interests of the child is a primary consideration in all family reunification decisions. In an issue paper on family reunification, the Commissioner adopted 36 recommendations, six of which aim specifically at reinforcing children’s rights in family reunification procedures.

The Commissioner calls on States to avoid family separation and recalls the rights of unaccompanied minors to reunite with parents and siblings as well as the rights of children who turn 18 during the procedure to be treated as a child.

The Commissioner recommended that States only carry out age assessment where there are reasonable doubts about a person being a minor and recalled that such assessments must be based on a multidisciplinary evaluation by an independent authority.

The Commissioner also recalled that a child should not be separated from their family against their will, unless this is in their best interest, in application of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 Issue paper: European countries must lift obstacles to reunification of refugee families