WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Are unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers guaranteed separation from adult strangers?

‘Unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers’ are children seeking refugee status or international protection traveling without a parent or legal guardian.

No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted means that no explicit provisions on separation by sex, separation from adult strangers, or separate facilities for children were identified in legislation, and that either legislation permitted detention without any of the limits on circumstances outlined below or legislation did not explicitly address detention, but did outline prison sentences for illegal entry, overstaying a visa, or other non-work-related migration offenses. Provisions on prison sentences generally did not specify age restrictions; separate legislation may limit the imprisonment of minors in a country, but was not systematically captured, as the focus of this analysis is on immigration detention.

No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention means that no explicit provisions on separation by sex, separation from adult strangers, or separate facilities for children were identified in legislation and legislation established at least one of the following limits on minor detention: (1) language that broadly limits use, such as “as a last resort,” “in exceptional cases” or “if cannot be achieved by other means”; (2) language that broadly limits duration of detention, such as “for the shortest time necessary”; (3) language that explicitly limits detention to be used prior to deportation only; (4) language that explicitly prioritizes alternatives to detention, such as electronic tracking or placement in childcare facilities; (5) explicitly limits detention to verifying that the child is a minor or identifying an unaccompanied minor; and/or (6) explicit limits on the duration of detention to less than one week.

Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children means that legislation explicitly required minors to be kept separate from adults (except for members of their families), separate facilities were provided for children, and/or families were provided with separate accommodation.

Legislation does not permit detention of younger children only means that provisions limiting the detention of minors only apply to younger children, such as those younger than 14 or 16 years old. Details on these circumstances are available on mouseover.

Legislation does not permit detention means that legislation explicitly stated that minors cannot be detained, specified solely the use of alternatives to detention, or restricted freedom of movement only to an area or zone, but not a residential center. We considered countries that placed children in childcare centers, reception centers, accommodation centers, asylum centers, or other open facilities as not permitting detention as long as language did not include restrictions on movement to the facility, or compulsory or obligatory stays. In some cases, countries may outline placement in these facilities, but in practice have conditions that resemble detention.

No laws regulating detention means that no explicit references to prohibiting or allowing detention were found in the legislation reviewed.

Sierra Leone is categorized as “separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children” but guarantees separation from adult males only.

Three countries (Republic of Korea, Macedonia, and Mexico) do not explicitly address separation from adult strangers, but do guarantee separation by sex.

Countries

Angola - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Argentina - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Bahrain - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Bangladesh - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Belize - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Bhutan - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Bolivia - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Brunei - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Cambodia - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Cameroon - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Chile - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Democratic Republic of the Congo - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Republic of the Congo - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Cote d'Ivoire - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Eritrea - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Gabon - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

The Gambia - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Germany - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Ghana - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Honduras - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

India - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Indonesia - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Israel - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Japan - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Republic of Korea - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Laos - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Madagascar - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Mali - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Mauritania - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Mexico - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Morocco - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Myanmar - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Nepal - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

New Zealand - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Niger - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Nigeria - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Pakistan - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Peru - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

The Philippines - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Romania - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Russian Federation - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Senegal - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Serbia - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Singapore - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Somalia - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

South Sudan - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Sri Lanka - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Sudan - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Tanzania - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Togo - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Tunisia - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

United Arab Emirates - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Uzbekistan - No explicit provisions and detention generally permitted

Algeria - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Australia - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Bosnia and Herzegovina - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Botswana - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Brazil - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Colombia - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Denmark - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Egypt - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

El Salvador - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Ethiopia - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

France - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Guatemala - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Iraq - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Ireland - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Jordan - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Kazakhstan - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Kenya - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Kuwait - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Kyrgyzstan - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Lebanon - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Liberia - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Libya - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

North Macedonia - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Malawi - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Mongolia - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Mozambique - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

The Netherlands - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Norway - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Oman - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Paraguay - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Rwanda - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Saudi Arabia - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Slovenia - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

South Africa - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Sweden - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Syria - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Yemen - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Zambia - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Zimbabwe - No explicit provisions and limited circumstances for detention

Albania - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Bulgaria - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Canada - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Croatia - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Estonia - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Georgia - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Greece - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Latvia - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Malta - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Montenegro - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Namibia - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Sierra Leone - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Thailand - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

United States of America - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Vietnam - Separation from adult strangers and/or separate facilities for children

Austria - Legislation does not permit detention of younger children only

Belarus - Legislation does not permit detention of younger children only

China - Legislation does not permit detention of younger children only

Finland - Legislation does not permit detention of younger children only

Iceland - Legislation does not permit detention of younger children only

Switzerland - Legislation does not permit detention of younger children only

Türkiye - Legislation does not permit detention of younger children only

Armenia - Legislation does not permit detention

Azerbaijan - Legislation does not permit detention

Belgium - Legislation does not permit detention

Costa Rica - Legislation does not permit detention

Cyprus - Legislation does not permit detention

Czech Republic - Legislation does not permit detention

Djibouti - Legislation does not permit detention

Ecuador - Legislation does not permit detention

Guinea - Legislation does not permit detention

Hungary - Legislation does not permit detention

Italy - Legislation does not permit detention

Lithuania - Legislation does not permit detention

Moldova - Legislation does not permit detention

Nicaragua - Legislation does not permit detention

Panama - Legislation does not permit detention

Poland - Legislation does not permit detention

Portugal - Legislation does not permit detention

Qatar - Legislation does not permit detention

Slovakia - Legislation does not permit detention

Spain - Legislation does not permit detention

Tajikistan - Legislation does not permit detention

Turkmenistan - Legislation does not permit detention

Uganda - Legislation does not permit detention

Ukraine - Legislation does not permit detention

United Kingdom - Legislation does not permit detention

Venezuela - Legislation does not permit detention

Afghanistan - No laws regulating detention

Benin - No laws regulating detention

Burkina Faso - No laws regulating detention

Burundi - No laws regulating detention

Central African Republic - No laws regulating detention

Chad - No laws regulating detention

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - No laws regulating detention

Malaysia - No laws regulating detention

Uruguay - No laws regulating detention