The Office of the Ombudsperson for Children’s Rights identified violations of the rights of unaccompanied foreign minors
2023 08 08
Following a submission by Sienos Grupė regarding an unaccompanied minor from Syria detained at the Lavoriškės border post, who was denied contact with relatives and non-governmental organizations, the Ombudsperson for Children’s Rights initiated an ex officio investigation into the protection of the rights of all unaccompanied foreign minors travelling to Lithuania from other EU Member States.
The Ombudsperson found that border guards did not consistently identify unaccompanied minors and failed to notify the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour about their presence in Lithuania. As a result, such children were not assigned legal representatives and were returned to other EU Member States without an individual assessment of their situation. Violations were also identified in cases where children were detained and accommodated at border posts without the right to contact relatives or non-governmental organizations.
Under the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens (Article 32(1)) and international legal instruments, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and EU directives on child protection in the migration process, unaccompanied foreign minors must be appointed a representative immediately, regardless of the legality of their stay in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania. National law further requires the identification and registration of such children, timely notification of competent authorities, monitoring of temporary accommodation, and provision of assistance measures (Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, Article 32; Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child, Articles 14–15).
The investigation revealed that the practices of the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) and the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service often fail to comply with these procedural guarantees, and that decisions on transferring children to other EU Member States are made without representation, creating a risk of violations of children’s rights and legitimate interests. Based on the findings of the report (paras. 16.7–16.14), it was recommended that the relevant institutions immediately ensure the implementation of procedural guarantees, proper data collection, notification, and oversight, and that the Ministry of the Interior supervise subordinate institutions to ensure compliance with national and international standards.
The full text of the report is available here.