The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) has published a new guide on age assessment of migrant minors, with a multidisciplinary and holistic approach for protecting the best interests of the child.
The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) has published a new practical guide that provides updated guidelines, key recommendations, and tools on the implementation of the best interests of the minor in assessing age.
The document also provides updated information on methods used in the EU+ countries and new methods to explore in the field.
A document to guide countries
EASO said in a statement that "age assessment remains a complex process with potentially far-reaching consequences for applicants undergoing the assessment". It said age assessment methods and processes differed across EU Member States and reliable multidisciplinary and rights-compliant age assessment processes were not always guaranteed.
EASO developed the guide with experts from EU+ states, the European Commission, EU agencies and international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
"The diverse profiles of experts involved, including social workers, forensic anthropologists and radiology researchers, as well as policy officers and reception officers, ensures that the publication reflects a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach," it said.
The guide's contents
The guide's stated objective is "to support national authorities in the safeguarding of the principle of the best interests of the child".
- It analyses the impact of age assessment on the applicant and the motivation for such an assessment
- It offers guidance on the application of the necessary safeguards in the assessment process
- It describes how to implement the assessment process using a holistic and multidisciplinary approach
- It provides a model for a workflow highlighting a gradual process and use of methods to prevent unnecessary examinations
- It explores new methods used to assess an applicant's age, the latest developments in the methods already in use and the potential impact of each method on the rights of the applicant
- It provides key recommendations to address practical challenges that might appear prior to, after and at different stages of the process
- It contains a set of tools and reference documents to complement the information provided in the practical guide, including a glossary, a compilation of legal framework and policy-guidance documents, practical tools for ensuring the best interests of the child, and an updated overview of the methods and procedural safeguards in use in the EU+ territory.