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9.1.2. Children at places of detention reserved for families and adults
According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, “every child deprived of
liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child’s best interest not to do so”.112 However,
there may be “exceptional situations (e.g., children and parents being held as immigration detainees) in which it
is plainly in the best interests of juveniles not to be separated from particular adults”.113
9.1.2.1. Children in the Guarded Refugee Reception Center
At the time of the visit, 26 of the 65 detainees held at the institution designated for asylum
seeking families in Debrecen (hereinafter the “GRRC”) were children.
Despite the fact that even the longest period spent in the GRRC by one of its current residents
was less than two weeks, this period had also left some psychological marks. Many of the
detainees complained that, in the absence of organized programs, as a result of day-long
inactivity, detention was rather wearing not only physically, but also mentally.
At the time of the visit, there were some children detained in the GRRC.
There also were infants among the persons deprived of their liberty at the place of detention;
however, the GRRC did not possess the facilities necessary for meeting their age-appropriate
needs, i.e., cribs, high chairs, height-appropriate conveniences or potties.
While almost half of the 65 detained foreigners, and almost half of the children among them,
were women, there were only 8 women, i.e., less than 5%, among the guards.
It is unacceptable that the clothes of all persons deprived of their liberty entering the GRRC,
including women and girls, were inspected by male members of the security personnel. It is also
unacceptable that detained families had to undergo the medical examination constituting a part of
the reception process together, and parents and their children had to strip naked in the presence
of each other and a male security guard.
112
113
See Article 37, Paragraph (c) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
See Clause 25 of CPT/Inf (99) 12
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