A guardian is an independent person who safeguards the child's best interests and general well-being. Guardians play an important role in different life situations for migrant children, particularly for CYP that are unaccompanied or separated from their families. The guardian is in addition to, but does not substitute, the figure of a lawyer. Each unaccompanied or separated child should have a guardian appointed as soon as possible regardless of their care situation (i.e. irrespective of whether they are in a first reception centre, foster care, supported independent living etc.). This should be underpinned by a legal framework in each country.
Guardianship in Greece
Guardianship Mandated Person, Olga Leventis, discusses the pioneering Guardianship Programme as it is implemented in Greece by METAdrasi. She outlines the crucial role the Guardian plays in supporting unaccompanied minors, as well as the strengths and ongoing challenges of the Programme.
Guardians must:
- Have had and continue to receive appropriate professional training.
- Be appointed as soon as an unaccompanied or separated child is identified.
- Maintain guardianship arrangements until the young person has reached 21 or has permanently left the country.
- Be consulted and informed regarding all actions taken in relation to the CYP.
- Have the authority to be present in all planning and decision-making processes, including immigration and appeal hearings, care arrangements, service decisions, and all efforts towards a durable solution for a CYP.
- Have the necessary and up-to-date expertise, so as to ensure the best interests of the child are safeguarded and that the child's legal, social, health, psychological, material and educational needs are met.
- Be familiar with the CYP's background and competent to represent their best interests.
- Where possible and appropriate, develop contacts with the family or other relatives of the child or young person – this may be family or relatives living in the country of origin, the country the CYP is in, or a third country.
- Have no conflict of interests with the interests of the child or young person. For example, non-related adults whose primary relationship to the child is that of an employer should be excluded from a guardianship role.
An example of guardianship in Italy
In Italy, a group of NGOs in partnership with authorities in selected regions enacted a volunteer guardianship programme for unaccompanied children. The voluntary guardian is a private citizen, selected via a rigorous recruitment process, who acts on a voluntary basis as the legal representative of an unaccompanied child. The guardian receives specific training.
Two challenges encountered by the programme are that not all provinces or municipalities have NGOs or local CBOs who are part of the initiative, and that a CYP can only benefit from the programme if they are located in cities where the programme is ongoing. The programme is also not nationalised, or fully structured.
Useful tools and resources
Guiding principles and implementing guidelines for effective guardianship for unaccompanied and separated children in the context of migration
Appendix to Recommendation CM/Rec(2019)11, Council of Europe (2022)
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Guardianship for children deprived of parental care
FRA – European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2015)
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