Protection of unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers

The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to protect young asylum-seekers, both those in reception and care centres and those who have disappeared from them, from the risks of being victims of enforced disappearance, and other related crimes such as trafficking.

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that measures to search for disappeared people, including the new police guidelines being developed, address the risk of enforced disappearance in compliance with the Convention, and in the light of the General Comment of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances in the context of migration.

The Committee recommends that the State party pursue all efforts to strengthen the quality of care and protection of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors aged between 15 and 18.

The Committee recommends that the State party establish all necessary measures to prevent the disappearance of minor asylum-seekers from reception centres, including through the identification of the reasons of their disappearances, and the establishment of periodic follow-up visits and controls of such centres.

The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to allow that protection mechanisms contemplate the situation of unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers who disappeared from reception centres and are easily accessible by them.