EU POLICIES RELATED TO UNACCOMPANIED MINOR ASYLUM SEEKERS'AGE ESTIMATION PROCEDURES: NEW ISSUES

Immigration and asylum seeking has never been such an important phenomenon as it is currently evident from the daily chronicles and Europe is in the front line since many years. In 2015 as many as 1.006.551 asylum seekers arrived at the EU borders, many of them were unaccompanied minors. Therefore immigration must be considered a core issue in the European Union (EU) countries policy and a major concern for the EU as a whole. In the case in which the asylum seekers’ (AS) age is unknown or is questioned by the authorities and considered not valid or unreliable, age estimation procedures are necessary to determine if that individual is accountable for his actions in criminal law, shall undergo specific obligations (educational, for instance) or should receive specific aides or other providences from the state administration. The age of the asylum seeker is the first and most important parameter to obtain the permission or the refusal to enter the EU. Moreover, the Schengen Act (2006) enables the free movement of individuals within the Schengen Area countries. Despite the importance of the issue, no standardization exist among the EU countries about the procedures for age estimation and a proper EU common regulation in the matter of age estimation procedures still lacks. This matter rises ethical problems related to the immigrants right to be correctly informed about the procedures to follow, properly assessed with a ratified homogenous and shared protocol, issued according to the most recent and accepted scientific evidence. Despite the recall of Art. 25-sub 5 of the recast EU Asylum Procedures Directive (2013), stipulating to opt for the least invasive (and ethically sustainable) age estimation examination, only very few EU member states (Ireland, United Kingdom; and Greece and Hungary, as a first step) rely on an interview basis, consider the documentary evidence, and the physical appearance and demeanour of the applicant. Most EU member states use also medical methods to observe dental and/or skeletal age related parameters, even implying the use of x-rays. Moreover, many other ethical and technical problems must be faced and solved and will be discussed