Title: Not the France I had imagined

Country: FRANCE


Form(s) of actions:

Research project, report and campaign. 


Type(s) of actions 

Research, advocacy and proposals for solutions. 


Summary

 

 


Aim:

This Human Rights Watch campaign is based on a report entitled “Not the France I imagined” and published in January 2024 describes and analyses the treatment of migrant youth in France. Specifically, it focus on the living conditions and access to rights of migrant children and youth whilst they undergo age assessments or appeals thereof, including access to health and education.


Main stakeholders:

Human Rights Watch (lead) and Médecins Sans Frontières, Collectif 113, Soutien 59 Saint-Just, RAMINA, Le
Comede, Médecins du Monde, Unaccompanied Minors Commission of the Marseille Bar
Association, IMAJE Santé, Project ASSAb, ESPACE, Osiris, ADJIE, Utopia 56, Anafé, La
Cimade, Droit À l’École, Secours Catholique, and Safe Passage France


Issues addressed:

From the report: “Marseille, France’s second-largest city, is a destination for hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children each year. They choose
Marseille and France for various reasons, including language, a sense of historic ties, and the presence of friends or family. Nearly all see the city and France as a whole as somewhere they can find safety and the chance to thrive.
But their immediate experience often bears scant resemblance to the values of liberty, equality, and fraternity they expected to find. Many are required to undergo arbitrary age assessments, with half initially denied formal recognition as children. The experience is frequently traumatizing. Nearly three-quarters of those who seek review of adverse age assessments ultimately establish that they are under 18. Reviews can take months, during which they do not receive basic protections and services. In some cases, children slept on the street for days or weeks at a time while experiencing health conditions such as tuberculosis, HIV, post-traumatic stress disorder, or undetected pregnancies.
Inadequate protection for unaccompanied migrant children in Marseille is contrary to France’s obligations to afford them special safeguards that protect their human rights, as set out in international and European Union law. The French state and the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, where Marseille is located, have a responsibility to ensure that children have adequate housing, have their health needs met, and have access to education while they exercise their right to review of negative age assessments.”


Outcome:

Report, meetings with authorities, press coverage, increased awareness of the issue. 

 


Sustainability:

The report provides a number of concrete recommendations, addressed to the French State, to the departement of Bouches-du-Rhône (child protection system, departmental council and ADDAP13), to the Juvenile Court, and to authorities and decision-makers at the national level in France (Government, Parliament, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health and Prevention).


Link(s): https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/01/30/not-france-i-imagined/housing-health-and-education-unaccompanied-migrant-children

Data source: Internet

 


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