This submission reviews progress on Ethiopia’s efforts to protect the human rights of child migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers since the country submitted its “Combined sixth and seventh reports” to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in February 2021. The submission focuses on the treatment of children during immigration enforcement procedures, including during arrest, detention, and deportation.
The submission is made in light of the CRC-CMW 2017 Joint General Comment on “State obligations regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration in countries of origin, transit, destination and return,” which provides that any detention of a child and their family for migration-related reasons presents an inherent harm to the best interest of the child and thus represents in all instances a child rights violation. The Joint General Comment further stipulates that in all instances where the state intervenes in the case of a child migrant or family, all effort must be made to remove them from migration custody and instead offer them adequate and appropriate social welfare assistance.