CVEK

The overall objective of this project has been to contribute to the creation of a common approach for better addressing the needs of vulnerable asylum seekers who are unaccompanied minors (UAMs) and former UAMs. This has been achieved through the following activities: implementation of an assessment in 10 targeted countries; drafting of the “Assessment and Recommendations for a Common Approach” report; organization of an international conference to discuss the assessment, its findings and the report; and creation of awareness raising leaflets targeting UAMs. This project targeted UAMs, former UAMs, organization who assist UAMs from their first reception to their integration, and government officials who deal with UAMs at a policy level.

To achieve this, the project has been devised in three phases:

Phase I: In order to establish a collaborative, common approach for addressing the needs of vulnerable asylum groups, a practical assessment that combines desk research, field interviews and discussion groups has been carried out. The first phase of the project has been finalized by the assessment of methodology.

Phase II: During the second phase of the project, IOM and project partners carried out the assessment. This included desk research identifying gaps in addressing specific integration needs of UAMs and former UAMs, evaluating shortcomings in the institutional capacity of those organizations providing assistance to the target groups, identifying whether any new projects or initiatives have emerged since previous assessments, and testing the level of attention authorities devote to these groups. Experts carried out field up to 45 interviews and working groups targeting UAMs, former UAMs, and assistance providers. After assessments were carried out country-specific reports were written. During this phase, the “Assessment and Recommendations for a Common Approach” report was written, which included the findings of the assessment, and, based on the findings, recommendations for a common approach for meeting the needs of UAMs and former UAMs that can be applied not only in participating countries, but throughout the EU.

Phase III: This report and the findings of the assessment were presented at an international conference in november 2011. Practitioners and policymakers from EU MS have been invited to participate in the presentations and discussions of the findings and recommendations for a common approach. The conference allowed stakeholders to share information, network, and discuss the next steps for the implementation of the recommended common approach. A report on the conference summarized the discussions and conclusions of the conference and has been disseminated electronically. The assessment findings were also used to create an information and awareness raising leaflet with key messages on UAMs’ rights and guidance for their future integration.

This project contributed to safeguarding the rights of the child as set out in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and in particular advance the principle of “the best interests of the child” as the underlying feature of the project’s common approach for meeting the needs of unaccompanied minors and former UAMs in the EU.