François Crépeau, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants

Detention is never ever in the best interest of a child. Freedom should be the default position, as it is for citizens and regular residents.

“Detention is never ever in the best interest of a child. Freedom should be the default position, as it is for citizens and regular residents. The suffering of those detained is indescribable; they do not understand why they would be punished without having committed any crime. Decisions to detain migrants who are accompanied by their children is questionable, as many rights-based alternatives to detention exist."

François Crépeau, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, In the best interest of migrant children, 16 September 2016.

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