5 minutes to explain... the situation of unaccompanied minors (ENG)

In France, child welfare services have the obligation to care for and protect all children under the age of 18 years. But today, many unaccompanied foreign migrants are not receiving the protection they should.
In Paris, the system is overwhelmed and failing, and many minors find themselves on the street.

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VIDEO: 5 minutes to explain... the situation of unaccompanied minors

5 minutes to explain... the situation of unaccompanied minors (DE)

Subt. German

5 minutes to explain... the situation of unaccompanied minors (INT)

5 minutes pour comprendre... la situation des mineurs non accompagnés (FR)

Subt. French

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Unique Identifier Code / URN MSF216654

Date taken / Date Recorded 28/11/2017 12:00 AM

Country France

Commissioning section MSF-FRANCE

Photographer / videographer / producer Armelle Loiseau

Usage Rights (MSF) External Media, MSF Publications, Social Media

Formal Consent Copy available no

Editor's rating ★★★★★ (C)

Video format h264 (Constrained Baseline) (avc1 / 0x31637661)

Duration 4m45s

Maximum Size 1920px × 1080px 481.70 MB

Additional Information / Shotlist 5 minutes to explain... the situation of unaccompanied minors

PRESENTER: Hello. Today we’re taking a look at the hurdles facing thousands of young foreigners who say they’re minors, and who are alone here in France, with no family. The official term is “unaccompanied minor”.

SLATE: The fundamentals
ON SCREEN TEXT: Unaccompanied minor – Minor – Unaccompanied – Yes – No – January – June - December

PRESENTER: Anyone saying they’re an unaccompanied minor must be cared for and given protection while they wait for their age, and therefore their status as an unaccompanied minor, to be assessed. This is done by the local authorities. In Paris, young people—and there are lots of them—have to go to the DEMIE. So what’s the DEMIE? It’s the unit tasked with carrying out the assessment of foreign unaccompanied minors. In 2016, the unit examined almost 2,000 cases. To give you an idea of how numbers are increasing, 3,000 were handled in just the first 6 months of 2017.

SLATE: So what’s the problem?
ON SCREEN TEXT: illegal – turned away – days – in theory – in practice – hotel – result – appeal – minor – adult – situation – Court decision – Overturned – Recognised as minors

PRESENTER: The problem is the arbitrary way in which protection is granted to these young people.
Here behind me is the reception centre in Paris district La Chapelle, where lots of young foreigners come. A preliminary assessment is made of those who say they’re minors mainly on the basis of their physical appearance. Anyone considered too tall or too smartly dressed is immediately rejected.
The rest are sent straight to the DEMIE.
When they arrive at the DEMIE, some minors are turned away even before getting in—a closed-door policy that’s illegal. Those who succeed are supposed to be given a date for an assessment interview within the next few days. The reality is that some have to wait as long as three weeks. Once they have an interview scheduled, they’re put up in hotels. But they have to go back to the DEMIE every day and, if they don’t, they lose their room. The interviews generally last two hours, and the result is given to them a few days later.

PRESENTER: 85% of young people who say they’re minors are not recognised as children, which denies them all right to protection. But, they can appeal. So what’s their legal status?
They’re stuck in a grey area where they’re considered neither adults nor minors.
Anyone who wants to have the DEMIE’s decision overturned can appeal to the family court. They can get legal aid from ADJIE, an association that supports young foreigners through the process – while the judge listens to what they have to say again and potentially overturns the local authorities’ decision.
For a long time, the family court recognised that around 0% of young people lodging appeals were in fact minors. But that percentage has dropped to 20-25%.
Minors who appeals are successful will at long last be provided protection. But before that decision was overturned, even though they’re under 18, they got no state protection.
Let’s talk to Jean-François Martini, a legal expert with GISTI, an organisation which informs and supports mirgats.

PRESENTER: Are these children taken care of between the time they’re turned down and the decision of the final appeal?

JEAN FRANCOIS MARTINI, LEGAL EXPERT, GISTI
No, and the biggest problem is that throughout the legal process these kids find themselves on the street, with absolutely no protection or means of survival. They don’t even have access to emergency accommodation for adults because, as they say they’re minors, they’re not allowed into shelters intended for people over 18.

PRESENTER: So you see, the situation is really complex … Navigating the red tape, the various associations, the different kinds of recourse available, the ADJIE, the DEMIE… is a headache even for our legal experts. So just imagine what it’s like for young people who arrive in France, all alone, some not speaking a word of French. The whole process is a bureaucratic nightmare for them.
That’s why MSF decided to open this centre. Let’s meet the coordinator, Caroline Douay, who’s going to tell us how her teams help young migrants.

SLATE: From the field
PRESENTER: Hello. We’ve seen how obscure and complex the system is for these young people. How does it impact them? How do they live?

CAROLINE DOUAY, PROJECT COORDINATOR, MSF
The real difficulty for young migrants is that there’s no coordinated care for them, which increases their vulnerability. They get to France, each with their own story, identity and age, and then the French system doubts what they say, making them even more vulnerable. They often sleep rough, so they’re defenceless against people smugglers and traffickers. What we wanted was a space where they have access to comprehensive and reliable information so they can take decisions that work for them. We also have a comprehensive care package with medical and mental health services and educational programmes.
PRESENTER: Thanks Caroline.

PRESENTER: Let’s not forget it’s kids we’re talking about here. Kids who’re all alone, thousands of miles away from home, sleeping rough. The centre can’t put them up, but MSF’s committed to finding them a place to stay. So we work with solidarity associations who find accommodation within local communities.
Thank you for listening to this unbelievable obstacle course young migrants are forced to go through. Please share this video on your social networks.

Special instructions Unrestricted use

Keywords

France

Adolescent (12 -18 years)

Child

City

Migrant