Refugee and migrant children

Refugee and migrant children are first and foremost children. States must respect their rights, including their right to information, their right to be heard and to a life free from violence.

The Council of Europe aims to ensure that all refugee and migrant children can benefit from the protection measures set out in international and European legal instruments and enjoy the full realisation of their rights in compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention for Human Rights.

Protecting the rights of refugee and migrant children remains an ongoing challenge and a long-term commitment. Action in this area is guided by the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027), whose implementation is overseen by the Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF).

CDENF acts as a pan European platform for regular exchanges of knowledge, good practices and experiences to support the implementation of policy measures to protect unaccompanied and other children in the context of migration. Key policy areas addressed include:

promoting good practices for the implementation of CM/Rec(2019)11 on effective guardianship for unaccompanied and separated children in the context of migration and its Explanatory Memorandum;
addressing the implementation of policies aimed at ensuring sustainable and durable solutions and the effective integration of children affected by migration more generally, notably by reviewing the implementation of CM/Rec(2007)09 on life projects for unaccompanied migrant minors;
supporting member states in the implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)22 on human rights principles and guidelines on age assessment in the context of migration and its Explanatory Memorandum.

In order to protect and promote the rights of children on the move, the Council of Europe has been guiding member states in taking a co-ordinated child rights-based approach to tackle this challenge through two consecutive actions plans coordinated by the Special Representative on Migration and Refugees, and implemented by different bodies and divisions within the Council of Europe: Action Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons in the Context of Migration and Asylum in Europe (2021-2025) and Action Plan on Protecting Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe (2017-2019). These policy documents aim at ensuring access to rights and child-friendly procedures, providing effective protection and enhancing the integration of children who would remain in Europe.

Numerous Council of Europe bodies monitor the situation of migrant children in Europe. Recognising the high risk of children affected by the refugee crisis being or becoming victims of sexual exploitation or abuse, the Lanzarote Committee decided to launch an urgent monitoring round and issued a series of recommendations on measures to be taken to improve or reinforce the protection of children affected by the refugee crisis against sexual abuse, and identified promising practices.

Migration-related activities

Child-friendly information for children in migration and life projects

Child-friendly information for children in migration and life projects

This project supports member States to implement their obligations to inform children in migration in a child friendly way about their rights and to provide access to rights through child-friendly procedures, in line with the principles set out by the Council of Europe Guidelines on Child-friendly Justice. This project aims also to increase States’ capacities to implement durable solutions for children who will remain in Europe through implementation of life projects for unaccompanied children.

End Immigration Detention of Children Campaign

The Children’s Rights Division carried out work in co-operation with the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly as part of the End Immigration Detention of Children Campaign. This project was supported through a voluntary contribution from the Government of Switzerland.

As part of this campaign, the Children’s Rights Division:

Elaborated a training guide on monitoring places where children are deprived of their liberty as a result of immigration procedures (EN - FR - AR).
Elaborated a training programme for members of national parliaments and ombudspersons’ staff on monitoring places where children are deprived of their liberty as a result of immigration procedures.
Identified examples of age assessment policies, procedures and practices respectful of children's rights to support the work of the former Ad hoc Committee for the Rights of the Child of the Council of Europe (CAHENF) on standards regarding age assessment.

This project aimed at further enhancing co-operation between parliaments, ombudspersons, competent government bodies and civil service in addressing problems relating to immigration detention of children.

News on migration

Back New video for children to raise awareness of their rights in age assessment procedures

On the occasion of the World’s Children’s Day marked today, the Council of Europe and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), have launched an animation on age assessment of migrant children.

Age assessment is a process carried out by an authority to estimate a person’s age and determine whether he/she is an adult or a child, to take a decision on his/her entitlements, rights and duties. The key challenges in this process are the lack of common approach to age assessment procedures in Europe and the low awareness among children of their rights.

This animation seeks to inform children about these procedures in an adapted way, so that they understand that the age assessment should be conducted in a manner that respects their human rights and dignity, is conducted with their informed consent, and takes into account any particular vulnerabilities, their gender and cultural background.

The animation has been developed by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) in cooperation and consultation with the Council of Europe; this co-operation is in line with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Council of Europe and the European Union of 23 May 2007, which covers the protection of the rights of the child.

The animation is released in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, and the Council of Europe will soon release the animation also in Arabic, Pashto, Dari, Tigrinya, Somali and Punjabi.

This tool is primarily aimed at children and should also be used by professionals working with children, especially guardians.

Since the start of the latest migration influx in Europe in 2015-2016, the Council of Europe has been engaged with the issue of human rights-based age assessment procedures of migrant children in Europe. In 2017, it has published a comparative report “Age assessment: Council of Europe member States’ policies, procedures and practices respectful of children’s rights” analysing 37 European states. The Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees (SRSG) focused on age assessment in the Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe (2017-2019) and intends to include it into the next Action plan currently developed.

More information: