106 ANNUAL REPORT 2017 Q. MINISTRY OF IMMIGRATION AND INTEGRATION The following statements on cases concluded in 2017 have been published: 2017-10. Illegal instruction to accommodate all married or cohabiting 15- to 17-year-old asylum seekers separately from their partner On 10 February 2016, the then Ministry of Immigration, Integration and Housing issued a press release stating that in future, no asylum seekers under 18 years of age would be permitted to be accommodated in Danish asylum centres together with a spouse or cohabitee. On the same day, the press release was sent to the Danish Immigration Service as an instruction. The Ombudsman opened a general case about the legality of the instruction. The Ombudsman concluded that it was a requirement under, among other things, general principles of administrative law and international conventions that a specific assessment was to be made in each case of the issue of separate accommodation. Although it was to be assumed on the basis of the written information available in the case that the Ministry’s overall intention had not been to order the Immigration Service to adopt an illegal practice, the instruction – which was categorical and allowed no exceptions – was therefore illegal by virtue of its content. The Ombudsman found the Ministry’s course of action very difficult to understand and very risky in the light of the fundamental requirement for the Ministry to ensure lawful administration in the area. In conclusion, the Ombudsman found that the Ministry’s course of action was a matter for extreme criticism. While the Ombudsman was investigating the case, he was informed that in November 2016, there were no longer any couples who were accommodated separately from each other against their will. In addition, the Ministry drew up a memorandum in December 2016 on the interpretation of Denmark’s international obligations in cases involving the accommodation by the Immigration Service of married or cohabiting underage asylum seekers in asylum centres. Overall, the Ombudsman agreed with the description in the memorandum of Denmark’s international obligations, and on that basis, he took no further action on the matter.