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Save the Children has first-hand experience of conditions in the countries of origin which children flee, as well as familiarity with policy and practice in receiving countries in Europe. Save the Children very much welcomes the adoption of minimum standards as an opportunity to address wide anomalies in the practice of Member States with regard to unaccompanied minors. We also welcome the fact that all basic principles and guarantees in the Directive shall apply to unaccompanied minors as well as adult asylum seekers, and that there is also specific consideration for unaccompanied minors in Article 15. Save the Children is highly aware of the vulnerability of unaccompanied minors who have been separated from their families and communities, often in traumatic circumstances such as armed conflict, who have made difficult and often dangerous journeys to Europe, and who have to adjust to a different culture and language in a country unfamiliar to them. When they arrive they often do not know who to trust and in order to avoid re-living the trauma they may have extreme difficulty expressing their fear of persecution, of telling their story or the whole of their story. They may lack the maturity to deal with officialdom. It is therefore essential that they are dealt with by trained and specialised personnel who are familiar with the difficulties children face, and that the maximum safeguards are built into asylum procedures. The main changes to the Directive which Save the Children commend are : a) unaccompanied minors should be exempted from all fast-track procedures because they lack the necessary safeguards which these vulnerable children deserve b) unaccompanied minors should never be detained for reasons of their immigration status which we believe is a clear infringement of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to which all EU states are signatories. Please see also our suggestions for small but important changes to the wording of text in Article 15 relating to the knowledge and training of the representative and officials. Accelerated procedures Articles 23,24,25,26,27,28,29,32 It is Save the Children's contention that unaccompanied minors should never be denied access to the asylum determination process. Unaccompanied minors, being separated from their legal guardians or customary care-givers, may make application for refugee status, but access to the asylum system has not been consistent. They should always go through the normal procedures and be exempt from all special procedures including those related to "safe third country", "manifestly unfounded" and "safe country of origin". UNHCR recommends in its 1997 guidelines that "an unaccompanied child seeking asylum should not be refused access to the territory and his/her claim should always be considered under the normal refugee determination procedure". Detention Articles 17 and 18 Whilst welcoming the fact that the draft directive clarifies the grounds on which asylum seekers may be detained, Save the Children considers it inappropriate that the same conditions and criteria apply to unaccompanied minors as to adult asylum seekers. Detention is one of the greatest potential infringements of the human rights of asylum seekers. This is particularly true of children. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child makes it clear that children should be detained only in the most exceptional circumstances. This would not be warranted by asylum and immigration issues. And yet we know that several EU countries do detain minors over asylum and immigration matters, particularly over age disputes. Therefore we believe an additional point should be added to Article17 stating that unaccompanied minors should never be held in detention for any reason relating to his/her immigration status, including the grounds listed in Articles 17 and 18. This view is consistent with the UNHCR guidelines 1997. Medical examinations Article 15 (3) (b) Age assessments are one of the most contentious and ethically difficult issues when dealing with unaccompanied minors and often lead to detention. It is in the interests of all concerned that member states adopt procedures which minimise disputes. Save the Children welcomes paragraphs 15 (3) (a)(b) of the draft directive. Owing to the difficulties associated with age assessment we think it important that Member States should also be required to establish clear procedures for age assessment involving child experts, and that, as recommended by UNHCR (1997), children should be "given the benefit of the doubt if the exact age is uncertain". Save the Children regrets the deletion of the reference in the draft directive (2000) to methods which are safe and respect also human dignity. Training of officials Article 15 (2) (a) We very much welcome the requirement that all officials interviewing unaccompanied minors should have the knowledge of their special needs in order to ensure the fairest possible assessment of claims and in order to minimise trauma to the child. We would suggest that knowledge should not be assumed and therefore suggest an amended wording: "A person who has the necessary training in and knowledge of the special needs of minors". Article 15 (2) (b). Save the Children supports the requirement for the training of officials taking the decision in the special needs of unaccompanied minors. However, although very important, it is just one element in ensuring their asylum claims are fairly assessed. Another desirable measure would be the development of information on countries of origin which contains specific information relating to the situation of children and to the forms of persecution children are likely to experience. This is important in view of their potential consideration as a special group under the 1951 Convention. Also more use should be made of independent expert witnesses. Above all, however, we recommend that the minimum standards should require that Member States establish procedures for "expert assessment of the child's ability to express a well-founded fear of persecution" (ECRE), and that there should be clear national policies in relation to the factors which need to be taken into account when determining the cases of unaccompanied minors. Representative Article 15(1)(a) Save the Children supports the draft directive in stating that that a representative "must be appointed as soon as possible". We recommend that the directive should stipulate that the representative should be available to assist the child through all stages of the asylum process. Article 15(1) In addition we recommend that a provision should be included to ensure that the representative should have the requisite knowledge of asylum procedures and knowledge of the special needs of minors. Personal interviews Article 10 (1) Save the Children welcomes the recognition that Member States may provide that minors below a certain age need not be interviewed. We would urge that all Member States adopt this policy. Article 10 (3) Save the Children welcomes the fact that the opportunity will be offered in such cases for the representative to make comments on behalf of the minor in lieu of a personal interview. Conclusion Save the Children believes that the recommendations we have made should be included in the minimum standards in order to achieve a fairer determination of children's claims, and to ensure respect for their dignity and rights as children. Save the Children January 2003 in response to COM(2002)326 final/2. Further information from Diana Sutton 00 32 2 512 7851 or Madeleine Tearse 00 44 207 703 5400  Together with UNHCR, Save the Children established in 1997 the Separated Children in Europe programme which operates in 28 European countries. Having produced a statement of good practice for separated children, we have sought to promote its adoption by means of training, good practice sharing, monitoring through national assessment studies and comparative analysis, and specific research.  As documented in the publication S. Ruxton "Separated Children Seeking Asylum in Europe: A Programme for Action", Save the Children & UNHCR, 2000  Article 2 of the draft directive defines "unaccompanied minor" in a manner consistent with the Council Ruling of 26 June 1997 on unaccompanied minors: Save the Children supports that definition.  S. Ruxton, op.cit.  1997"Guidelines on Policies and Procedures in Dealing with Unaccompanied Children Seeking Asylum"  A 1997 report from the Secretariat of Inter-Governmental Consultations on Asylum, Refugee and Migration Policies in Europe, North America and Australia, highlighted "difficulties assessing the credibility of the minors statements in the light of the minor's age and ability to express themselves…[and] the lack of information on the plight of minors in countries of origin." 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