In Whose Best Interest?

Exploring Unaccompanied Minors' Rights Through the Lens of Migration and Asylum Procedures

Researchers

• Univ.-Prof. Dr. Birgit Sauer (Department of Political Science)

Fields of Research

Many European countries have not yet introduced the principle and tool of “Best Interest of the Child” (BIC) and “Best Interest Determination” (BID) for unaccompanied minors into their national legislation. This results in arbitrariness in practice, allows rooms for interpretation when it comes to defining and implementing the best interests of the unaccompanied minor and risks nationalist, xenophobic and racist discourses.

The project aims at analyzing the BIC’s and BID’s practical, philosophical and phenomenological dimensions which enable a deeper understanding of the best interest of the child in migration and provide a basis for proper implementation of the principle.

The project is being carried out in Slovenia, Austria, France and the UK from a comparative perspective and is funded by the European Commission (July 2014 – June 2016).

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