Abstract
Decision-making regarding an asylum request of a minor requires decision-makers to determine the best interests of the child when the minor is relatively unknown. This article presents a systematic review of the existing knowledge of the situation of recently arrived refugee children in the host country. This research is based on the General Comment No. 14 of UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. It shows the importance of knowing the type and number of stressful life events a refugee child has experienced before arrival, as well as the duration and severity of these events. The most common mental health problems children face upon arrival in the host country are PTSD, depression and various anxiety disorders. The results identify the relevant elements of the best interests of the child assessment, including implications for procedural safeguards, which should promote a child rights-based decision in the asylum procedure.
Highlights
Children on the move, fleeing from one country to another, leaving an unsafe but familiar environment and looking for safety in a new country, enter a decision-making procedure
The most common mental health problems children face upon arrival in the host country are PTSD, depression and various anxiety disorders
Significant risk factors The more traumatic experiences the children reported, the more symptoms they had of anxiety, depression, and PTSD Non-significant Age Parents still alive
Summary
Children on the move, fleeing from one country to another, leaving an unsafe but familiar environment and looking for safety in a new country, enter a decision-making procedure. The host country has to decide whether or not the child—travelling alone or with family members—will be accepted as a new citizen, temporary or permanently, i.e. as a refugee or as a child in need of other forms of protection. If the host country decides that the child is not entitled to a residence permit, the child will have to leave voluntarily or else will be deported. The best interests of the child should be a primary consideration. This principle and substantive right is laid down in article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (UN 1989)
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