European legal and policy framework on immigration detention of children Under EU law, conditions of detention in the migration context must fully comply with the Charter, in particular with the right to human dignity (Article 1)279 and the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 4).280 Articles 16–17 of the Return Directive regulate detention conditions for persons in return procedures, while Articles 10–11 of the Reception Conditions Directive govern the detention conditions of applicants for international protection. Both the Reception Conditions Directive and the Return Directive require that nonnationals who are in detention must be treated with full respect for their human dignity.281 When detention of children cannot be avoided, they must be held in conditions suitable to their needs. Facilities must be specialised, taking into account children’s needs and ensuring specific rights, such as healthcare, access to education and leisure activities, family unity and privacy for families (Return Directive Article 17 (2) and Reception Conditions Directive Article 11 (4)). Both directives require that in detention the needs of children be taken into account.282 The ECtHR case law directly links detention conditions to the lawfulness of detention.283 The ECtHR has stated that detention facilities must be suited to the age of the child and equipped to deal with their specific needs, and that, when facilities are inadequate to cater for the specific needs of children, detention is arbitrary.284 The ECtHR has found the detention of a parent with children in a place not suitable for children to be unlawful and a contravention of Article 5 of the ECHR.285 Nonetheless, even when families are detained in a special wing that is appropriate for families, the detention can be unlawful, if, given the extreme vulnerability of children, it exposes them to feelings of anxiety and inferiority.286 Under the ECHR, conditions of detention can 279 CJEU, C-79/13, Federaal agentschap voor de opvang van asielzoekers v Selver Saciri and Others, 27 February 2014, para. 35. 280 See in this sense CJEU, Joined Cases C-411/10 and C-493/10, N.S. v. Secretary of State for the Home Department and M.E and Others v. Refugee Applications Commissioner and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Judgement of 21 December 2011, paras. 94, 106. 281 Reception Conditions Directive, recital (18); Return Directive, recital (17). 282 Reception Conditions Directive, recital (18); Return Directive, Article 14 (1) (d). 283 Lutz, F. and Mananashvili, S., ‘Return Directive 2008/115/ EC’ (2016) in: Hailbronner, K. and Thym, D. (eds.), EU Immigration and Asylum Law. A Commentary, Munich/ Oxford/Baden-Baden: C.H.Beck/Hart/Nomos, second edition, p. 756. 284 ECtHR, Popov v. France, Nos. 39472/07 and 39474/07, 19 January 2012, paras. 118–120; Muskhadzhiyeva and Others v. Belgium, No. 41442/07, 19 January 2010, paras. 74–75; Mubilanzila Mayeka and Kaniki Mitunga v. Belgium, No. 13178/03, 12 October 2006, paras. 100–102. 285 ECtHR, Kanagaratnam and Others v. Belgium, No. 15297/09, 13 December 2011, paras. 94–95. 286 ECtHR, Kanagaratnam and Others v. Belgium, No. 15297/09, 13 December 2011; ECtHR, Muskhadzhiyeva and Others v. Belgium, No. 41442/07, 19 January 2010, paras. 74–75. 70 be assessed under different articles: the prohibition of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 3), the right to liberty and security (Article 5) and the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8). The ECtHR has been very strong in ruling that certain deprivations of liberty are arbitrary, based on the detention conditions. Table 8 shows examples of what the ECtHR found inadequate. In its judgments, the ECtHR has notably been guided by findings of the CPT, the monitoring body established under the Council of Europe to prevent torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Tools and guidance: The CPT standards The CPT standards collect the findings of three decades of work by the CPT. The standards apply to all persons deprived of liberty, including those held for migration-related purposes. The CPT has carried out hundreds of visits to immigration detention facilities. In March 2017, the CPT has prepared a  Factsheet on immigration detention (March 2017). The factsheet compiles all the relevant CPT standards and present these in an accessible manner. The Factsheet presents the CPT’s requirements related to detention conditions in the immigration context, such as suitable premises, adequate material conditions and an open regime. As regards the deprivation of liberty of children, the CPT standards specify that children should only be held in centres designed to cater for their specific needs and staffed with properly trained men and women. In order to limit the risk of exploitation, special arrangements should be made for living quarters that are suitable for children, for example, by separating them from adults, unless it is considered in the child’s best interest not to do so. Children deprived of their liberty should be offered a range of constructive activities (with particular emphasis on enabling a child to continue his/her education). Source: European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)(2017), Factsheet on Immigration detention, CPT/Inf(2017)3, Council of Europe