Joint Statement: coercion of children to obtain fingerprints and facial images is never acceptable
2 March 2018 – IOM, together with other UN agencies and NGOs, has issued a joint statement raising our concern ahead the EU institution's negotiations (scheduled for of 27 March) on the EURODAC Regulation, that the proposed system to expand the current database of asylum applicants to better identify “irregularly staying third country nationals” through the use of biometric data would inappropriately allow the use of coercion to take the fingerprints and facial images of children.
The coercion of children in any manner or form in the context of migration related procedures, violates children’s rights, which EU Member States committed to respect and uphold.
We urge the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the European Commission to exempt all children, no matter their age, from all forms of coercion in the EURODAC Regulation, in full compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.