FORUM is a partner organisation in a two-year-long project “Protecting migrant children against detention through the EU Charter (RELEASE).” The project runs as of March 2024 and seeks to build on the important achievements and results of the recent ICJ’s project CADRE which highlighted a need for greater support to lawyers in strengthening their ability, and that of civil society more generally, to engage in strategic litigation to end the immigration detention of children. This is because the absence of case law, regulatory standards, and public awareness may hinder practitioners from pursuing legal action against minors’ imprisonment in immigration detention.
Project objectives
The project’s main objective is to contribute to a favourable EU environment to protect migrant children from detention by:
- increasing the ability of specialised migration lawyers, civil society, and NHRIs from the six selected EU Member States to develop and implement efficient litigation strategies in relation to (alternatives to) the detention (AtD) of migrant children (at risk of being subjected to unlawful detention or whose rights may be violated in alternatives to detention) in order to promote and protect their rights based on Article 24 of the EU Charter and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- raising awareness among lawyers, civil society, and public authorities in the target MSs about the detrimental effects of detention on children
The key long-term impact sought is to make sure that the best interests of the child principle become a more judicially relevant element in the case-law of the UN CRC, the ECtHR, and the ECJEU, and to explore other litigation venues (ECSR, HRC, CAT).
Main activities
- on-line opening workshop
- 6 national trainings in six EU Member States
- 3 transnational exchange workshops, follow-up mentoring
- updates to the case-law database (which is little known and which was created by partners within the previous project and which will soon be expanded to include Czech cases)
- a Guide for lawyers on strategic litigation related to detention of children in migration
- a communications campaign and audio-visual materials with information for migrant children, and final dissemination of the results and outputs.
For download
November 2024: International Commission of Jurists published a briefing highlighting serious risks associated with the use of detention procedures under the new screening and border procedures of the 2024 EU Migration Pact. ICJ calls on EU Member States to revise the EU Pact to completely ban the detention of migrant children, as such detention violates international human rights law. In the meantime, it urges Member States to implement this ban at the national level and ensure real alternatives to detention, such as case management, alternative care measures, and community-based solutions.
The fundamental principle must be that children are treated primarily as holders of rights, not as objects of migration enforcement.
https://www.icj.org/resource/never-in-the-best-interests-of-the-child/
Project events
Strategic Litigation Workshop: Alternatives to the Detention of Migrant Children
🗓️ 5-6 September 2024 | Prague
The workshop on the 5-6 September, 2024 in Prague focused on strategic litigation within the RELEASE project on alternatives to detention for migrant children. Through roundtable discussions, participants shared their practices and experiences on the immigration detention in the Czech Republic and their work with migrants as NGO lawyers or attorneys. The participants discussed their experience in legal representation of migrants and migrant children in the Czech context. The workshop also included presentations from foreign practitioners.
Strategic Litigation Workshop: Alternatives to the Detention of Migrant Children (Follow-up)
🗓️ 28 April 2025 | Online
On 28 April 2025, Forum for Human Rights held an online follow-up workshop for lawyers with experience in representing migrants in asylum, detention, residence permit, and expulsion cases.
The session focused on strategic litigation concerning the detention of migrant children, offering insights into litigation before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), including the preliminary ruling and infringement procedures. Practical tips for navigating these processes were shared by the speakers, Alexandra Matiaško (FORUM) and Zuzana Pavelková (Organisation for Aid to Refugees). The workshop also featured a debate with national judge Martin Kopa from the Brno Regional Court, who provided valuable national legal perspectives.
Further, participants discussed key developments since the September workshop, such as requests for interim measures submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in November 2025, ongoing litigation regarding child detention, and compensation claims for unlawful detention. The session concluded with an interactive discussion where participants shared insights and experiences.
Twelve lawyers and attorneys working with migrant children and their families in various contexts participated, exchanging experiences and knowledge on strategic litigation and advocacy for the rights of migrant children in detention.
Transnational Workshop: Ending Child Immigration Detention through UN Treaty Bodies and the European Committee of Social Rights 🗓️ 5-6 June 2025 | Prague
In June 2025, Forum for Human Rights, together with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and project partners, co-organized a two-day transnational workshop in Prague. The event brought together lawyers and experts from six EU countries to explore how international mechanisms—particularly the UN Treaty Bodies and the European Committee of Social Rights—can be used strategically to protect migrant children from detention.
Participants shared legal strategies, discussed key jurisprudence, and examined ways to advance complaints before less-utilized bodies such as the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the ECSR. The workshop offered valuable insight into using international litigation and advocacy tools to challenge unlawful detention practices and strengthen national protections.
This was the second in a series of three workshops under the RELEASE project. The first took place in Luxembourg (April 2025), focusing on the CJEU, while the final event will be held in Athens (October 2025), dedicated to strategic litigation before the ECtHR.
More here.
Our project partners
- International Commission of Jurists (Belgium) – project coordinator
- Aditus (Malta)
- Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights – Helsińska Fundacja Praw Człowieka (Poland)
- Défense des Enfants International (Belgium)
- Greek Council for Refugees – Elliniko Symboulio gia tous Prosfyges (Greece)
- Foundation for Access to Rights (Bulgaria)
Full name of the project
Protecting migrant children against detention through the EU Charter (RELEASE) CERV-2023-CHAR-LITI
This project is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.