On 27 November 2014, the National Contact Point (NCP) for Ireland organised a conference Protection of Unaccompanied Minors and Separated Children in Ireland and Europe. The conference was attended by a representative of EMN NCP for the Slovak Republic.
The conference focused the entry of unaccompanied minors and separated children, border controls, asylum procedure, reception and care as well as return and reintegration measures while considering the best interest of the child.
In the first panel, measures regarding unaccompanied minors and separated children in Europe were introduced while among the speakers were representatives of the European Commission, UHNCR and European Asylum Support Office (EASO).
During the second part which concerned challenges and best practice in the field of unaccompanied minors and separated children in Ireland, a member of the Irish EMN NCP presented the main findings of the EMN study Unaccompanied Minors in Ireland, 2014: Data, Policies and Practices. The Irish practice was further discussed by representatives of the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC), TUSLA Child and Family Agency and Ombudsman for Children Office. The panel included a presentation on forms of persecution from the point of view of children’s rights.
The conference was followed by a workshop in order to prepare common specifications for the Annual Report on Asylum and Migration Policies.
More information about the conference including programme and presentations is available on Irish EMN NCP website.