wfn.org | Symposium Criticizes Hamburg*s Handling of Adolescent Refugees

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

Symposium Criticizes Hamburg's Handling of Adolescent Refugees
'Systematic Aging' of Children at Refugee Facilities 

HAMBURG, Germany/GENEVA, 21 December 2004 (LWI) * German authorities still
speak of "unaccompanied under-age refugees," referring to children from
war-torn or poverty-stricken parts of the world. Separated from their family
and mostly traumatized, these children hope to find a place that offer them a
future. But instead of receiving support, they often encounter treatment that
contravenes international conventions, according to children's rights
activists. 

During an international symposium, November 27, on the subject of child
refugees at the University of Hamburg, 200 such activists called for the
implementation of the "rights of the child." The venue was chosen
deliberately. "Hamburg plays a major role in a harsh policy of getting rid of
child refugees," according to Rev. Fanny Dethloff, refugee officer of the
North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church and symposium co-organizer. Out of
the 360 children and adolescents who arrived in Hamburg last year, only 40
were placed in safe accommodation. Furthermore, out of the original 250
places previously available for the initial reception of unaccompanied
minors, only 25 are remaining. "This cutback in the argument that the number
of incoming refugees has fallen, is unacceptable," Dethloff said.

Instead, refugee facilities' staff witness a "systematic aging" of children
by the authorities. The motive, going by the current legal provisions, is
that young people under the age of 16 years are the responsibility of the
federal state of their first port of entry. They are allocated a guardian to
facilitate their application for political asylum. If they are over 16, they
have to initiate the proceedings without a guardian and may be relocated to
other German states.

Age Assessment an Undignified Procedure

Establishing children's age is a matter of dispute among experts. They range
from sizing up beard growth or body size by the immigration department staff
or medical examinations of the teeth and sexual organs. "The assessment takes
place without any explanation in the child's own language and in undignified
fashion," according to Cornelia Gunsser from the Hamburg Refugee Council. 

That Germany's decision does not apply certain standards of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child (CRC) in the case of foreign children is a matter of
concern to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
according to Prof. Stefan Berglund, UNHCR representative in Germany. 

The UNHCR says all important factors should be considered when determining
age. Apart from the physical features, developmental, psychological and
cultural factors should be taken into account. According to Berglund,
establishing age should only be undertaken by independent experts with the
necessary knowledge of the child's ethnic and cultural background.

Authorities Underutilize Options That Benefit Adolescents

Marieluise Beck, German government advisor on migration, refugees and
integration, pointed out that Hamburg had long been a point of refuge for
young refugees and unaccompanied children. It had set up a system of
appropriate care in homes for young people and other facilities that had been
exemplary in the whole country. But since 2001 this practice seemed to have
changed, and there were increasing reports about the authorities' ineffective
use of the freedom available to them to the benefit of children and
adolescents.

Appropriate Care for Minors Seeking Refuge

"The best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration," states
Article 3 of the UNCRC. The participants at the symposium called on the
Hamburg Senate to guarantee appropriate care and accompaniment of young
refugees. 

The North Elbian church runs three advice centers in Hamburg and a
guardianship center. In addition, the church has a refugee committee that
advises its governing bodies. A priority in its future work will be
undocumented clandestine refugees, according to Dethloff. In February 2002
the North Elbian Synod decided to provide protection to full-time and
voluntary workers who encountered legal problems because of their assistance
toward needy refugees who have been declared "illegal."

The North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church has about 2.2 million members
and has been a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) since 1977. (668
words)

(This article is based on a contribution from Oliver Spiess, Hamburg.)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138 member
churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of nearly 65
million Lutherans. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of
common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
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