The Right to Family Reunification of Children Seeking International Protection under the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Misplaced Reliance on Travaux?

Refugee Families ◽

Unaccompanied Children ◽

The Right ◽

Family Unity

This chapter investigates the right to family reunification. Refugees fleeing persecution and armed conflict often become separated from their families or have to leave family members behind. Border guards, armed groups, smugglers, or simply force of circumstance may separate refugee families in the chaos of flight. For refugees and other beneficiaries of international protection, family reunification in the country of asylum is generally the only way to ensure respect for their right to family life and family unity. The chapter examines the extent of the rights to family life and family unity under human rights law both globally and regionally, with the right to family reunification itself also receiving widespread recognition. In practice, however, in order to realize these rights, refugee families must surmount numerous legal and practical obstacles that can render reunification a tortuous or even impossible undertaking. The chapter then takes a children’s rights perspective, focusing notably on the situation of adopted, fostered, and unaccompanied children.

Challenges and Progress in Ensuring the Right to Be Heard and the Best Interests of Children Seeking International Protection

Refuge ◽

10.25071/1920-7336.40341 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 18-29

Author(s):

Jyothi Kanics

Keyword(s):

Best Interests ◽

Children And Families ◽

Legislative Reform ◽

Rights Of The Child ◽

Durable Solutions ◽

The Right ◽

Policies And Practices

Societal attitudes towards children significantly limit the extent to which they are able to realize their rights and can contribute to discrimination against children. Fortunately, legislative reform as well as changes in policies and practices are slowly leading to progress for children, in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Child-sensitive procedures for children seeking international protection are being developed and implemented. It is crucial that these systems be strengthened so that durable solutions for children and families are secured without discrimination and in line with the best interests of the children concerned.

Family Unity and International Protection – EU Regulation and its Compatibility with the echr

Nordic Journal of International Law ◽

10.1163/15718107-bja10024 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 90 (2) ◽

pp. 161-189

Author(s):

Georgios Milios

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Family Reunification ◽

European Convention ◽

Special Focus ◽

The European Union ◽

Family Transfers ◽

The Right ◽

Family Unity

Abstract The present article deals with the issue of family unity in the field of international protection, with a special focus on the European Union (EU) rules and their compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights (echr) standards. In particular, the scope of the article is limited to family transfers of seekers of international protection under the Dublin system and to family reunification procedures for refugees, and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. After examining the legal framework at EU and domestic level, the present study focuses on two rather controversial issues, from a human rights perspective: on one side, the regulation of the right to family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and, on the other side, the different treatment between pre- and post-flight families in the field of international protection. The article concludes that the current rules regarding these two issues are not compatible with Article 8 of the echr taken together with Article 14 of the echr, and with Article 8 of the echr taken alone. It suggests that while the EU and domestic legislature remains inactive in order to correct these inequalities, the non-discrimination clauses may become directly applicable.

Positive, humane and expeditious? An analysis of Ireland’s implementation of its obligations in relation to family reunification under the CRC

Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly ◽

10.53386/nilq.v62i2.415 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 62 (2) ◽

pp. 183-198

Author(s):

Catherine Kenny

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Family Reunification ◽

Best Interests ◽

International Human Rights ◽

The Core ◽

Rights Of The Child ◽

Care And Support ◽

Adequate Care ◽

International Human

This paper will examine legislative and policy provisions relating to family reunification of persons granted international protection in Ireland and whether these comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). For the most part, the families involved can only hope to reunite in Ireland because return to the country of origin or a third country is impossible. Although the principle of family unity is generally expected in human rights instruments, the CRC is the only widely ratified international human rights instrument to include specific articles addressing the issue of family reunification, and this paper will assess compliance with those articles, and with the core principles obliging states to ensure that the views of children must be heard in all matters relating to them, and making “the best interests of the child” a primary consideration in all decisions concerning children. It will also address the issue of how Ireland’s implementation of its obligations under the CRC in respect to family reunification cannot be addressed in isolation from its policies to reduce the number of asylum claims which have seen the number of applications fall in 2010 for the eighth successive year, and its failure until relatively recently to provide adequate care and support for separated children seeking asylum.

The Right to Dignity of Refugees: A Response to Fleur Johns

AJIL Unbound ◽

10.1017/aju.2017.54 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 111 ◽

pp. 193-195

Author(s):

Elspeth Guild

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Organizations ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

Human Rights Abuses ◽

Refugee Protection ◽

Mass Migration ◽

International Refugee Law ◽

The Individual ◽

Fleur Johns' thesis about the increasing role of data in the verification of the condition of the world and how this impacts on international law is stimulating and bears reflection. This is an extremely interesting and innovative approach to the issue of data and its role in state engagement with mass migration. From the perspective of a scholar on international refugee law, a number of issues arise as a result of the analysis. One of the contested aspects of mass migration and refugee protection is the inherent inconsistency between two ways of thinking about human rights—the first is the duty of (some) international organizations to protect human rights in a manner which elides human rights and humanitarian law, and the second is the right of the individual to dignity, the basis of all human rights according to the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1949. The first enhances the claims of states to sovereign right to control their borders (mediated through some international organizations), while the second recognizes the international human rights duties of states and international organizations to respect the dignity of people as individuals (including refugees). Fleur is completely correct that human rights abuses are at the core of refugee movements. While there are always many people in a country who will stay and fight human rights abuses even when this results in their sacrifice, others will flee danger trying to get themselves and their families to places of safety; we are not all heroes. Yet, when people flee in more than very small numbers, state authorities have a tendency to begin the language of mass migration. The right to be a refugee becomes buried under the threat of mass migration to the detriment of international obligations. Insofar as mass migration is a matter for management, the right of a refugee is an individual right to international protection which states have bound themselves to offer.

Economic and Social Rights, Budgets and the Convention on the Rights of the Child

The International Journal of Children s Rights ◽

10.1163/15718182-02102003 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 248-277 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Aoife Nolan

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Social Rights ◽

Child Rights ◽

Rights Of The Child ◽

Budget Analysis ◽

Key Issues ◽

Significant Obstacle ◽

The Right ◽

The Relationship

Recent years have seen an explosion in methodologies for monitoring children’s economic and social rights (ESR). Key examples include the development of indicators, benchmarks, child rights-based budget analysis and child rights impact assessments. The Committee on the Right of the Child has praised such tools in its work and has actively promoted their usage. Troublingly, however, there are serious shortcomings in the Committee’s approach to the ESR standards enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which threaten to impact upon the efficacy of such methodologies. This article argues that the Committee has failed to engage with the substantive obligations imposed by Article 4 and many of the specific ESR guaranteed in the CRC in sufficient depth. As a result, that body has not succeeded in outlining a coherent, comprehensive child rights-specific ESR framework. Using the example of child rights-based budget analysis, the author claims that this omission constitutes a significant obstacle to those seeking to evaluate the extent to which states have met their ESR-related obligations under the CRC. The article thus brings together and addresses key issues that have so far received only very limited critical academic attention, namely, children’s ESR under the CRC, the relationship between budgetary decision-making and the CRC, and child rights-based budget analysis.

Aspekty opiniowania lekarskiego w przypadku przemocy seksualnej wobec dzieci

Medycyna Rodzinna ◽

10.25121/mr.2018.21.4.339 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Jacek Boroch ◽

Grażyna Jarząbek-Bielecka ◽

Zuzanna Jarząbek ◽

Małgorzata Mizgier ◽

Elżbieta Sowińska-Przepiera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sexual Violence ◽

Sexual Pleasure ◽

Psychosexual Development ◽

Medical Opinion ◽

Physical Trauma ◽

Experienced Clinician ◽

Rights Of The Child ◽

Effects Of Sexual Abuse ◽

The Right ◽

First Time

The rights of a child stem from the dignity and uniqueness of a child as an individual and are entitled to every young human being. For the first time children's rights were included in the Geneva Declaration in 1924, and their full collection was enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child prepared by the United Nations in 1989. A child has the right to live without violence. In addition to physical trauma, the effects of sexual abuse of a child disrupt normal psychosexual development. Bullying of children is also punished. The law allows gentle discipline only by parents. Mental bullying, so-called systematic harassment of the child, humiliation, ridicule or insult. Sexual violence is a particular issue here. Sexual violence is defined by WHO as an abuse of children for sexual pleasure by adults or elder peers. The article discusses some issues of medical opinion in the case of sexual violence against a child. This is especially difficult for a disabled child. The knowledge of an experienced clinician, yet without the knowledge about rules of jurisprudence and with shortcomings of basic legal knowledge, is not always enough for competent opinion-making.

VIII.6. Council Directive 2003/86/Ec of 22 September 2003 on the Right to Family Reunification Oj 2003 L251/12

Basic Documents on International Migration Law ◽

10.1163/ej.9789004152397.i-0.91 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 642-653 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Keyword(s):

Family Reunification ◽

Council Directive ◽

The Role of Open and Distance Learning in the Implementation of the Right to Education in Zambia

The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning ◽

10.19173/irrodl.v9i1.481 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Richard Siaciwena ◽

Foster Lubinda

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Distance Learning ◽

Right To Education ◽

Youth Policy ◽

Child Rights ◽

Rights Of The Child ◽

Child Policy ◽

Open And Distance Learning ◽

As a member of the United Nations, Zambia is committed to the observance of human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. This is evidenced, among others, by the fact that Zambia is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Zambia has a permanent Human Rights Commission that includes a subcommittee on child rights whose focus is on child abuse and education. Zambia also has a National Child Policy and National Youth Policy whose main objectives are to holistically address problems affecting children and youth. This paper focuses on the progress and challenges currently facing Zambia and the role of open and distance learning in addressing those challenges.

Unfulfilled Promise: Palestinian Family Reunification and the Right of Return

Journal of Palestine Studies ◽

10.1525/jps.2016.45.3.24 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 24-39

Author(s):

Nabila El-Ahmed ◽

Nadia Abu-Zahra

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Family Reunification ◽

The State ◽

Early Years ◽

Successor State ◽

Palestinian Refugees ◽

Right Of Return ◽

The Family ◽

The Creation ◽

This article argues that Israel substituted the Palestinian refugees' internationally recognized right of return with a family reunification program during its maneuvering over admission at the United Nations following the creation of the state in May 1948. Israel was granted UN membership in 1949 on the understanding that it would have to comply with legal international requirements to ensure the return of a substantial number of the 750,000 Palestinians dispossessed in the process of establishing the Zionist state, as well as citizenship there as a successor state. However, once the coveted UN membership had been obtained, and armistice agreements signed with neighboring countries, Israel parlayed this commitment into the much vaguer family reunification program, which it proceeded to apply with Kafkaesque absurdity over the next fifty years. As a result, Palestinians made refugees first in 1948, and later in 1967, continue to be deprived of their legally recognized right to return to their homes and their homeland, and the family reunification program remains the unfulfilled promise of the early years of Israeli statehood.