The report noted that many migrant children are being left homeless, deprived of basic care, and living in conditions that the committee described as "degrading" and "contrary to human dignity".

The report noted that "a great number of those claiming to be children were treated as adults after flawed age assessment procedures, often based on the physical appearance or on unreliable medical examinations, conducted without the assistance of a trusted adult, legal guardian or lawyer."

The report went on to underline that children "are routinely denied access to the child protection system because the age assessment procedures lack sufficient safeguards or reliability. This means that a person who claims to be a child but has been deemed to be an adult after the initial assessment will be treated as such throughout the procedure, which can take up to eight months or even longer," the committee said in the report.

"These shortcomings have led to the systematic exclusion of many children from protection. Those whose age is contested, or whose appeals are pending, are denied access to support services and left to survive on the streets, in parks, or in informal makeshift camps without enough food and drinking water, and with no health care or education," it noted.

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High risk of being subjected to trafficking and abuse

"These children are at high risk of being exposed to trafficking, abuse, maltreatment and police violence," the Committee added.

"They remain in this situation until a definitive decision is made by a judge. The proportion of those ruled to be minors after their age reassessments have been overturned ranges from 50 to 80 per cent," the report added.

"The Committee concluded that France has breached its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child by violating a wide range of children's rights. These include protecting the best interests of the child, the rights to health care and education, as well as the prohibition of detention for migration-related reasons and inhuman or degrading treatment, among others, the report noted.

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Problem widespread but 'no official figures'

"While noting that there are no comprehensive official figures on the number of unaccompanied migrant children affected, the Committee emphasized that the problem is widespread and persistent, spreading across the country, including Paris and other large cities and towns close to borders," it stressed.

The committee thus "provided France with a list of recommendations. These include giving people the benefit of the doubt as to their minority status, in accordance with the principle of presumption of minority, as well as guaranteeing adequate housing, food and water for all those claiming to be unaccompanied migrant children, so that no child, including those awaiting a decision on appeal, has to live in an informal camp or on the streets."

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