Unaccompanied refugee children nor may be aware of the location of its parents in its native country, but does not wish to collaborate with the authorities because it fears being returned. The search obligation therefore now (again) applies only if the child gives its consent. In addition, the obligation no longer applies if suitable reception and care facilities are available in the child’s native country or previous country of residence. However, if the child has been subject to human trafficking, a search must always be initiated unless there are special reasons not to do so. Although the search obligation must therefore be assumed to apply to fewer cases than before, it remains important to ensure that the obligation is actually met in those cases where it still applies. The Ombudsman monitors how the immigration authorities are complying with their search obligation. On 1 June 2012, the Ministry of Justice informed the Ombudsman of the various measures that had been initiated in the area. Preliminary experiences from the collaboration with the IOM showed that searches via the IOM had not been as successful as the immigration authorities had expected. They were therefore considering whether there was a basis for entering into a new agreement with the IOM. As the opportunities for help through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also very limited, the immigration authorities had problems complying with their search obligation in some countries. The authorities were therefore considering what could be done to improve the searches, for instance whether there was a basis for resuming the collaboration with the Red Cross search service in the light of the reintroduction of the consent requirement by the amendment of the Aliens Act in January 2011. The Immigration Service had also introduced a number of new procedures in connection with searches for relatives of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum. Thus, it is now established practice to obtain the child’s consent for a search during the asylum interview. The child is also given guidance on possibilities for searching for relatives. To ensure that guidance about the possibilities for searching for relatives is also given to unaccompanied minors seeking asylum who are granted residence without an asylum interview, an information package has been made which is sent to the local authority to which the minor is referred. The Ombudsman has asked the Ministry of Justice for an update on 1 June 2013 on the authorities’ progress with regard to complying with their search obligation. 35