ASYLUM
Austria has the most asylum-seeking children in the EU
According to the Fundamental Rights Report, the number of applications from unaccompanied children more than doubled in 2022
June 8, 2023, 10:49
Vienna - Austria has the highest proportion of asylum-seeking children in the EU. The number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Austria have more than doubled in 2022 to 13,275 applications, up from 5,605 children in 2021, according to this year's Fundamental Rights Report published Thursday by the Vienna-based EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). That puts Austria in the lead in the EU, followed by Germany (7,275) and the Netherlands (4,205).
Across the EU, the number of asylum applications from children has also risen sharply, according to the report - from 25,130 applications in 2021 to 39,520 in 2022. In Austria, the number of asylum-seeking children was also higher in the previous year than in the migration crisis year of 2015, according to the report - when 8,275 applications were registered in Austria.
5,000 accommodations were missing
The rising number of asylum applications had led to declining reception capacities in Austria in the second half of 2022. Austria was short about 5,000 shelters, the report said. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) had criticized the use of tents to house asylum seekers in very cold conditions.
The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, had found deficiencies in the system of guardianship for unaccompanied children after a visit to Austria. According to her report, unaccompanied children are already assigned a legal representative when they apply for asylum, but full-fledged guardians are not appointed until children between the ages of 14 and 18 are admitted to the asylum procedure and placed in a state reception center. This can take weeks or months, if age determination is required, he said. According to the Ministry of Justice, a working group has been established to develop a proposal for legal reform of the guardianship system.
According to the FRA report, an integration monitor by the statistics office found that two out of five migrants from Afghanistan, Russia, Syria or Turkey experienced discrimination in Austria at least occasionally. Discrimination was more widespread in the workplace, job search and education than in other areas, it said. Accordingly, 33 percent of respondents from Serbia and 48 percent of respondents from Syria stated that they had experienced discrimination in this context. (APA, 8.6.2023)
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June 8, 2023, 10:49
Vienna - Austria has the highest proportion of asylum-seeking children in the EU. The number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Austria have more than doubled in 2022 to 13,275 applications, up from 5,605 children in 2021, according to this year's Fundamental Rights Report published Thursday by the Vienna-based EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). That puts Austria in the lead in the EU, followed by Germany (7,275) and the Netherlands (4,205).
Across the EU, the number of asylum applications from children has also risen sharply, according to the report - from 25,130 applications in 2021 to 39,520 in 2022. In Austria, the number of asylum-seeking children was also higher in the previous year than in the migration crisis year of 2015, according to the report - when 8,275 applications were registered in Austria.
5,000 accommodations were missing
The rising number of asylum applications had led to declining reception capacities in Austria in the second half of 2022. Austria was short about 5,000 shelters, the report said. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) had criticized the use of tents to house asylum seekers in very cold conditions.
The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, had found deficiencies in the system of guardianship for unaccompanied children after a visit to Austria. According to her report, unaccompanied children are already assigned a legal representative when they apply for asylum, but full-fledged guardians are not appointed until children between the ages of 14 and 18 are admitted to the asylum procedure and placed in a state reception center. This can take weeks or months, if age determination is required, he said. According to the Ministry of Justice, a working group has been established to develop a proposal for legal reform of the guardianship system.
According to the FRA report, an integration monitor by the statistics office found that two out of five migrants from Afghanistan, Russia, Syria or Turkey experienced discrimination in Austria at least occasionally. Discrimination was more widespread in the workplace, job search and education than in other areas, it said. Accordingly, 33 percent of respondents from Serbia and 48 percent of respondents from Syria stated that they had experienced discrimination in this context. (APA, 8.6.2023)
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