Illegal Detention of Migrant Children in Switzerland: A status report

Published by Terre des hommes, a leading organisation for child relief, this publication explores children in the context of migration. Whether accompanied, separated, or unaccompanied, children should never be remanded in custody – held in detention due to their migration status.

To address information gaps on the administrative detention of children in Switzerland, in 2015 Terre des hommes contracted the Geneva-based Global Detention Project to carry out research on the situation of non-citizen children in Switzerland who are placed in detention for reasons related to their immigration status. The findings from this research are intended to help improve transparency of current detention practices, help raise public awareness on the issue, promote alternatives to detention, and reduce the number of children detained for immigration purposes.