The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has found that France is responsible for grave and systematic violations of the rights of unaccompanied migrant children. Many of these children are left homeless, deprived of basic care, and forced to live in conditions described as “degrading” and contrary to human dignity. While France is commended for recognizing unaccompanied minors primarily as children in need of protection, significant shortcomings in age assessment procedures have resulted in many being treated as adults and systematically excluded from child protection services.
Flawed age assessments, often based on physical appearance or unreliable medical examinations conducted without legal or adult support, have led to prolonged periods—sometimes up to eight months or longer—where children are denied access to food, healthcare, education, and safe housing. Between 50 and 80 percent of children initially deemed adults are later confirmed to be minors, yet they remain vulnerable during the interim. This situation exposes them to trafficking, abuse, maltreatment, and police violence, while children transiting to the United Kingdom face similarly precarious conditions in makeshift camps.
The Committee also highlighted the arbitrary detention of some unaccompanied children in airport zones and border holding centres, which it described as disproportionate and harmful to their mental health. Although official figures are lacking, the problem is widespread across France, affecting Paris, other major cities, and towns near borders. The CRC concluded that France has breached multiple obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the best interests of the child, access to healthcare and education, prohibition of detention for migration-related reasons, and protection from inhuman or degrading treatment.
These violations are deemed both grave and systematic, reflecting repeated failures by the French government to implement adequate legal, policy, and protective measures for unaccompanied migrant children. The Committee’s inquiry, conducted under Article 13 of the Optional Protocol on a Communications Procedure, involved consultations with French authorities across ministries and judicial bodies in Paris and Pas-de-Calais.
In response, the Committee recommended that France uphold the presumption of minority, provide adequate housing, food, and water, and ensure that no child lives on the streets or in informal camps while awaiting age or appeal decisions. France has since reported measures to improve child protection, including the implementation of Act No. 2022-140 on child protection and the adoption of Decrees No. 2023-1240 and No. 2023-1253 to enhance procedures for the placement and care of children deprived of family environments.
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