The Right to be Heard of Refugee Children: Views of Professionals on the Participation of Children in Asylum Procedures in the Netherlands

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child gives children the right to be heard and to participate in judicial and administrative proceedings. Children are seen as bearers and subjects of rights, instead of passive recipients of protection rights. Refugee children, however, are often depicted as vulnerable human beings who require protection. This article conceptualises refugee children’s right to be heard in asylum procedures from a children’s rights perspective, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the development and increased prominence in law and practice of the concept of child participation. Through interviews with professionals working in asylum procedures in the Netherlands, it is analysed how the concept of participation is implemented in practice. It is shown that as a consequence of the specific dynamic of the asylum procedure, placing the burden of proof on the child, according significant weight to the child’s story and credibility and the power imbalance between the child and the immigration authorities, meaningful participation is difficult to achieve. Especially the position of children accompanied by their parents is pressing in this regard, because they are not granted the same legal safeguards compared to unaccompanied children.