Introduction Table 2: Longest period of detention of children detained on the reference dates, as reported by 14 EU Member States EU Member State 31 December 2015 31 March 2016 15 November 2016 1 December 2016 BE UAC:15 days,a AC: 3a days A few hoursb n.a. n.a. BG AC: 27 days AC: 5 days n.a. n.a. CZ 0 AC: 34 days n.a. n.a. FI AC: 57 days 0 0 0 HU AC: 8 days n.a. AC: 18 days AC: 10 days HR AC: 3 days 16 days n.a. n.a. LV UAC: 195 days, AC: 178 days UAC: 109 days AC: 224 daysd AC: 241 daysd LT AC: 112 days,c 0 n.a. n.a. LU AC: 2 days 0 n.a. n.a. NL 0 UAC: 10 days, AC: 3 days AC 14 days AC 30 days PL UAC: 151 days, AC: 151 days AC: 82 days AC: 23 days AC: 38 days SE 0 0 AC: 14 days n.a. SI 0 0 UAC: 1 day UAC: 4 days SK AC: 56 days n.a. AC: 15 days AC: 30 days Notes: AC = accompanied child. UAC = unaccompanied child. n.a. = not available. a Cumulative figures that refer to the period between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2015. b Refers to the period from 1 March 2016 to 31 March 2016. c Refers to the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015. d Subsequently found by the State Border Guard to be an adult. Source: FRA (based on information provided by EU Member States) and EMN ad hoc query, 2017 Ø The data collected are not comprehensive and not directly comparable among EU  Member States, but they show that detention of children  – alone, and particularly together with their families  – is relatively common. This indicates that deprivation of liberty is not necessarily used as a  measure of a  last resort. At the same time, the data also show that, in most cases, detention does not go beyond 15  days, although in specific cases deprivation of liberty can become protracted. Whether or not a  child will be placed in immigration detention and how long he or she will stay there depend on several factors, including the EU  Member State, whether the child is travelling alone or with parents, the child’s age, the type of procedures the child is involved in and considerations of public order or national security. Health, development and well-being effects of detention on children Detention has a negative impact on children, no matter the context in which it takes place, research has shown. Deprivation of liberty can also have an irreversible impact on the child’s well-being and development, protected under Article 6 of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Such impact further exacerbates existing consequences of forced migration on children and may affect Article 4 prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment), Article 24 (rights of the child) and Article 35 (health care) of the Charter. This section provides an overview of some of the findings of research done on children in administrative detention. 15