ARGOS condemns expulsion of migrant children in France and urges a halt to this illegal practice

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In February 2021, more than 60 children reported having been expelled from France to volunteers from Kesha Niya, a food kitchen in Ventimiglia that provides meals to people who have been returned from the European country.

In violation of child protection and immigration regulations, French police are expelling dozens of unaccompanied migrant children to Italy every month, Human Rights Watch denounced on May 5.

According to the information available, this is a practice that has become commonplace and that totals no less than 120 cases so far in 2021, although it has been going on for several years.

In February 2021, more than 60 children reported having been expelled from France to volunteers from Kesha Niya, a food kitchen in Ventimiglia that provides meals to people who have been returned from the European country.

To authorize the returns, Human Rights Watch said, the police often note on official documents ages or dates of birth different from those declared by the children.

Historian Amzat Boukari-Yabara, researcher at ARGOS – International Observatory on Migration and Human Rights, warned that this illegal practice constitutes a violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“We at Argos consider this situation to be contrary to international human rights law, and in violation of Article 22 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed and ratified by the French Republic, and therefore absolutely condemnable. We therefore call for an immediate halt to this practice,” he said.

Article 22 of this international instrument establishes that “States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that a child who is seeking refugee status or who is considered a refugee in accordance with applicable international or domestic law and procedures shall, whether unaccompanied or accompanied by his or her parents or by any other person, receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance in the enjoyment of the relevant rights set forth in the present Convention and in other international human rights or humanitarian instruments to which the said States are parties”.

The French Government has, in recent years, received repeated warnings that expulsions are in violation of French law and international human rights law.