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EMN Conference on Unaccompanied Minors ,
European Cooperation and Integration ,
Renate Leistner-Rocca, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, stressed the importance of a close cooperation of all actors on national and international level.
Source: BAMF
In her opening remarks, Renate Leistner-Rocca, director of the Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, emphasised the importance of European exchange on issues of migration and asylum policy and also in regards to especially vulnerable groups of persons such as unaccompanied minors. Even though unaccompanied minors were a topic of discussion in politics, municipalities, non-governmental organisations, and academia for some time, but due to the high number of arrivals i.a. of unaccompanied minors in the years 2015 and 2016 they had especially been in the spotlight.
The goal of the conference, Leistner-Rocca pointed out, was to take a look at the last few years and to determine how politics and practice have adapted to the changed situation and which challenges might exist in the future. At the same time, the aim was to also examine issues surrounding the prospects of unaccompanied minors when entering adulthood, whether this be remaining in Europe or returning to their countries of origin. Furthermore, findings concerning radicalisation tendencies among young refugees and potential prevention measures were also to be discussed.
Michael Tetzlaff, Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, stated that the focus in Germany concerning unaccompanied minors is on integration, since most of them remain in Germany at least until they reach the age of majority.
Source: BAMF
"We must hold ourselves to the standard of doing justice to every single person."
In his opening speech, Michael Tetzlaff, Head of Directorate at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, stated that the administration in Germany had not sufficiently been prepared for the dramatic increase in asylum-related migration in the years 2015 and 2016, both in regards to the migration of refugees in general and in regards to unaccompanied minors in particular. The challenge had been to consider each individual case and meet individual needs. This had, however, been especially difficult in the past few years and only achievable through extraordinary efforts made by all actors involved.
Michael Tetzlaff, Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, emphasised that the focus of efforts working with unaccompanied minors in Germany remains on integration from the very start, since the majority of minors would remain in Germany at least until they reach adulthood.
Focus on integration
Tetzlaff subsequently described the concrete arrangements for accommodating and caring for unaccompanied minors, for integration and return as well as for asylum procedures. “The significance of child welfare,”
Tetzlaff emphasised, “is reflected in the laws applying to them”
. Legally speaking, unaccompanied minors are subject to the laws of the German Child and Youth Welfare Act (Kinder- und Jugendhilferecht) and are accommodated, cared for, and counselled just like any other non-adult person in Germany until they reach adulthood. Their care therefore is not predominantly dependent on the decision regarding their legal residency status.
When their asylum applications are rejected, unaccompanied minors are obliged to leave the country just as adults are, but in practice they generally are not removed. This is because the authorities responsible for removing them must first make sure “that the minor can be transferred to the custody of a family member, a guardian, or suitable reception facility in the country of return,”
and it is almost impossible to meet this requirement. Instances of minors leaving the country voluntarily or with support are also relatively rare: “A total of 385 unaccompanied minors left the country voluntarily with the repatriation support of the REAG/GARP programme from 2013 to 2017,”
according to Tetzlaff. The majority of unaccompanied minors therefore would remain in Germany at least until they reach adulthood, which is why the focus were on the integration of these children and juveniles from the very start.
Family unification and age assessment
Tetzlaff then addressed two regulations from the point of view of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which he judged to be controversial in the political and public arena: family reunification for unaccompanied minors with subsidiary protection status as well as age assessment.
In regards to the first point, family reunification with persons entitled to subsidiary protection will be allowed again starting 1 August 2018, but with a limit of 1,000 family members per month. Some would consider this to be insufficient and others would think it goes too far, according to Tetzlaff. As far as age assessment is concerned, the debate has recently been shaped by a few “extraordinary criminal cases” in Germany, where in the course of the investigation it came to the fore that the culprits had been considered unaccompanied minors when they were not minors at all. However, authorities would need to have clarity about age, since unaccompanied minors are granted certain privileges not provided to adults, and this also consumes resources. It is for this reason that the youth welfare offices have been required to assess the age during the preliminary taking into care since 2015. “Practices do, however, vary widely in this regard between the Länder,”
Tetzlaff pointed out. The new Federal Government therefore would plan to further harmonize the process.
Tetzlaff concluded his presentation with a personal remark: “The political discourse about asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors has changed considerably over the past few years and public opinion is subject to fluctuation. Discourse in media and politics often only focuses on the extreme."
“It is therefore important to always try not only to see things from a single perspective, but to broaden your horizon, as this is the only way to pass justified judgements and make proper decisions. The European Migration Network makes an important contribution to this: Treating highly politicized topics with academic rigour, you broaden our horizons. You give us an overview, in the truest sense of the word, of refugee policy in Germany and in the other Member States. For this, I would like to thank you.“
Michael Tetzlaff
Pagination
Content
- European Cooperation and Integration
- Cross-border cooperation at EU level
- Accommodation and Care Arrangements
- Deradicalisation and Prevention Work
- Adulthood – and then?
- Ressources, Time and Professionalism