Transcending non-citizenship? Looking at asylum policy through the lens of a child-centred approach and the procedural justice perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Based on field research with asylum-seeking children in reception centres, the article looks at the situation of unaccompanied minor migrants in Slovenia through the lens of the child-centred approach and from a procedural justice perspective. Initially it highlights the commonalities between procedural justice and the child-centred approach in terms of voice, dignity and respect and impartial decision-making, and thereafter describes migrants’ perceptions and experiences of asylum reception and determination procedures from the perspective of the child-centred approach and procedural justice. Interviews with unaccompanied migrant minors revealed that their experiences of reception and the asylum process were most influenced by respect for dignity and voice. Finally, the article discusses the relevance of the child-centred approach to the inclusion of non-citizen children at the intersection of different rights regimes.