Training Materials on Access to Justice for Migrants - Module V: Access to Justice for Migrant Children

Main learning objectives:

The fifth module provides an overview of the guiding principles on access to justice for migrant children and lists the main relevant rights. The module first delves into the concepts of childhood, vulnerability and age assessment. It then sets out the main guiding principles on children’s rights, which play a key role in ensuring access to justice for migrant children, including the prohibition of discrimination, the obligation to act in the best interest of the child, the right of the child to participate and to be heard, and the positive obligation on states to provide care and protection to migrant children. The module further sets out the rights associated with access to a fair hearing for migrant children, as well as how such procedures can be carried out in a child-sensitive manner. This entails children’s right to a fair and public hearing, the appointment of a guardian, legal assistance, children’s access to information, the confidentiality of information, children’s right to interpretation, the reasonable time requirement, and the rights of child victims of crime. The module moves on to a discussion of the importance of birth registration to safeguard children’s rights and their access to justice. Lastly, the module allows participants to learn about child-friendly communication, through practical aspects and examples on how to improve children’s understanding and engagement. Thereby, the module introduces participants to access to justice for children and with children in mind, ensuring their best interests and respect for their rights throughout the process and promoting their participation through child-friendly and child-sensitive procedures and communication. This project is funded by the European Union’s Justice Programme.