Anne Brasseur: ‘we need to put an end to the terrible situation of detained migrant children’

[FROM PACE NEWS] “We need to put an end to the detention of migrant children, which is a terrible situation, as I witnessed during a visit last year to a place of detention,” said PACE President Anne Brasseur, at a ceremony today to launch the Parliamentary Campaign to End Immigration Detention of Children*.

Doris Fiala (Switzerland, ALDE), PACE General Rapporteur on ending immigration detention of children, also called on national parliaments to give visibility to the campaign and help protect migrant children, in compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The lauch ceremony was also attended by Leeanne Torpey, co-ordinator of the global campaign, and by Antje Rothemund, Head of the Youth Department at the Council of Europe.

The launch event also includes a “Living Library” on immigration detention of children, with the participation of former detainees, parents of children who have been detained and a number of other experts who will present alternatives to detention. The “Living Library” will be open on Monday 20 April from 1 to 5.30 pm, and on Tuesday 21 April from 10 am to 5.30 pm (Lobby of the Chamber).

*This parliamentary campaign is part of a global campaign launched during the 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in 2012.