An increasing number of migrant children are being detained in countries where they are seeking asylum despite a growing body of scientific evidence that such incarceration leads to long-term psychological and developmental difficulties.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2013 declared detaining migrant children is "never in [children's] best interests and is not justifiable" and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says it should be conducted with an "ethic of care - and not enforcement". However, according to a June 2014 article in The Lancet, more than 60 countries detain migrant children, which causes "deleterious effects on children's mental, developmental, and physical health".
So when, in response to a recent surge in migrant children, the US was discovered to be detaining large numbers of migrant children, analysts flayed the tactic. Between October 2013 and September 2014, 68,541 unaccompanied minors were apprehended along the southern border, a 77 percent increase on the previous year; 70 percent reported they were held for more than the legally-allowed 72 hours. Human Rights Watch (HRW) argued: "a wide variety of research studies link immigration detention with mental health consequences for children, including harm that lasts beyond the period of detention."
[For more of this story go to http://www.irinnews.org/report...ar-children-for-life]
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