2.6.
9. Enhanced safeguards for asylum applicants and vulnerable persons and increased monitoring of fundamental rights
Ensure fast and effective procedures while protecting human dignity and a genuine and effective right to asylum, including for the most vulnerable. Prevent litigation.
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Administrative/Coordination
Expert meetings and coordination of relevant networks and identification of best practices (e.g., EU Network on children’s rights, European Child Guarantees Coordinators, European Judicial Network on Civil and commercial matters).
Dedicated meeting of Commission expert group on children in migration.
EU Agencies
EUAA guidance alternatives to detention (Art. 5(3) RBPR).
EUAA to provide template for information provision (Art. 5(1) RCD).
FRA to develop Fundamental Rights Monitoring Guidance (FRA) (Art. 10(2)(b) Screening, Art. 43(4) APR).
EUAA revision of vulnerability standards & indicators to align with new legislation, support through training modules, guidance, information material.
FRA revision of guidance on minors/guardianship.
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Regulatory
Review whether national regulatory frameworks need to be adjusted.
Adjust national regulatory frameworks where required, notably relating to provision of free legal counselling across all procedures; alternatives to detention; child protection safeguards (e.g. multi-disciplinary age assessment/representation/ guardianship for unaccompanied minors).
Ensure legal framework for independent fundamental rights monitoring mechanism for screening and border procedure (Art. 10(2) Screening, Art. 43(4)APR).
Ensure national law provisions to investigate alleged fundamental rights violations in connection with screening and appropriate referral to civil or criminal justice procedures of (Art. 10(1) Screening).
Organisation
Prepare information materials and appropriate dissemination workflow to ensure adequate, understandable legal and procedural information is provided across all procedures and during reception covering rights and obligations and consequences of non-compliance, adapted to specific vulnerabilities and applicant’s profiles (special procedural or reception needs) where appropriate. Workflows to include confirmation of the received information (Art. 8(2) and (7) APR; Art 5 RCD; Art 19-20 AMMR; Art 42 Eurodac; Art. 11 Screening).
Review and adapt processes and SOPs to identify, assess and follow-up on specific procedural or reception needs within new deadlines (Art 20(3) APR; and 25(1) sub 4 RCD).
Define specific workflows and procedures to ensure that the border procedure is not applies/ends where specific needs cannot be met and to prioritise/ de-prioritise families with children as appropriate and unaccompanied minors are excluded from the border procedure unless they, on serious ground, pose a threat to national security or public policy (recital 67; Art. 44(2)-(3); 53(1) APR).
Review/develop instructions or protocols to assess alternatives to detention and individual assessments on use of detention and possible effective alternatives (Art. 10 RCD).
Ensure new timelines for judicial review of detention decisions are integrated in related workflows (Art. 11 RCD).
Provide for instructions, protocols, procedures to ensure guarantees on detention relating to children (no detention as a rule, best interest assessment) (Art. 13 RCD).
Review/develop processes, procedures and SOPs to ensure legal counselling across all procedure in all administrative stages and all procedures, and legal aid on appeal (Art 21 AMMR; Art 16 -19 APR).
Review/develop processes/procedures/SOPs to carry out the assessment of the best interests of the child and ensure it is prioritised in all procedures and in reception (Art. 26 (1) RCD; Art. 22(1) APR; Art. 23(1) AMMR; Art. 20(5) QR; Art. 13(1) Screening; Art. 14 (1) Eurodac; rec. 8 Crisis; rec. 5 RBPR; Art. 4 URF).
Consider integrated case management system in synergy with national child protection services, partnerships with international and civil society organisations.
Review and adjust processes and SOPs to provide for a multi-disciplinary age assessment (Art 25 APR).
Review/adjust system for appointing representatives/guardians for UAMs to meet new timelines and requirements (e.g. ratios, expertise, supervision, confidentiality, complaints) (Art 14 Eurodac; Art 27 RCD; Art 23 AMMR; Art. 23 APR; Art 13 Screening; Art. 33 QR).
Capacity
Persons with vulnerabilities
Assess and address capacity to identify, assess and follow-up to specific needs across all steps of procedure and in reception in a timely manner. (Art. 25 RCD; Art. 4(8), 13(5), 13(6), 13(8), 20(5), 22(5), 23(9), 34(3) APR; Art. 12(3-4) Screening).
Ensure adequately trained staff, including social workers, interpreters, medical personnel, child protection officers etc.
Ensure adequate facilities for people with special procedural needs or special reception needs, including in the border procedure, meeting children’s needs for physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development (consider access to services, infrastructure, accessibility, privacy, open space, special provisions for UAMs Respect requirements for children if in detention ( see Art. 13, Art. 25, 26, 27, RCD).
Alternatives to detention:
Provide sufficient staff, resources, infrastructure based on identified alternatives to detention and projected needs.
General Safeguards
Review and ensure capacity proportional to needs for free legal counselling and free legal aid on appeal, considering resources, service arrangement with qualified third parties (Art. 21 AMMR).
Guarantees for children
Ensure capacity to respect safeguards for children (incl. UAMs) in relation to reception and detention, including the border procedures, (e.g., Art. 13, 16, 22, 26, 27, 32(1), RCD; Art. 23 APR).
Consider role and strengthening capacities of national child protection services, for best interests assessments and wider follow-up.
Assess existing capacities and ensure adequately trained staff across the procedures, esp. specialist on BIC assessment, vulnerability assessment, personal interview, (Art. 2(13), 26(6), 33(1) RCD, Recital 47,61 Art. 22(6), 23 AMMR, Art. 22 APR, Art. 33; 38 QR).
Review and meet capacity needs to ensure access to education within timelines and meeting quality and inclusion targets. Consider staffing, facilities, logistics, infrastructure (Art. 16 RCD).
Ensure availability of sufficient qualified staff for multi-disciplinary age assessment (incl. paediatricians, psychologist, social workers) (Art. 25 APR).
Ensure sufficient and qualified representatives/guardians for UAMs across all elements of the procedure, as well as supervisory capacity; aim for continuity of care when minors become beneficiaries of international protection. (Art; 27 RCD, Art. 23 APR, Art. 23 AMMR, QR Recital).
Provide capacity for continuous support and services for UAMs when in transition to adulthood, including preparing the outflow from the reception system and early integration measures.
Monitoring
Establish the monitoring on fundamental rights (sufficient qualified personnel, maintenance costs, administrative arrangements, links with international and non-governmental organisations).
Member States to assess budgetary needs and identifying funding sources (national versus EU) (horizontal task applying to all building blocks)
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