Imprisonment of children arrested | NZZ

The fact that minors under the age of 15 are detained is quite rare. In most cases, these children are imprisoned with their mothers. (Image: Urs Flueeler / Keystone)

At the beginning of July, we learn that several cantons are imprisoning children in the asylum zone, which is causing criticism. Alfred Heer, president of the National Council for Judicial Supervision (GPK-N), spoke of a flagrant violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child when children under the age of 15 are imprisoned. Now, criticism has consequences. The canton of Zurich has decided not to detain any children.

Prison director acts

In Zurich, the migration office will look for an alternative solution for children under 15 with social services and cantonal police, inform the Judicial Directorate on request with. Jacqueline Fehr, director of justice, and Mario Fehr, director of security, decided to stop the controversial practice in early July, shortly after the criticism of GPK-N

The director of the regional prison of Thun, Ulrich Kräuchi, had already decided in the canton of Bern as "10 to 10" reported. However, this decision apparently fell without consultation with the cantonal management. At Kräuchi's decision, the police and the military leadership did not want to comment on the SDA's request. He simply stated that he wanted to clarify in a timely manner future practice with all relevant agencies.

The imprisonment of young people under the age of 15 is expressly prohibited by the Aliens Act. This is why the Canton of Bern concluded in late June that it was not legally a prison term. "There is no legal detention order for children under the age of 15," wrote the Bureau of Migration and Vital Statistics at the time

. Juveniles under the age of 15 are rarely detained. In most cases, these children are imprisoned with their mothers. In the canton of Bern, there were five children in 2016, all of whom belonged to the same family. For the years 2015 and 2017, no figures are available. The canton of Zurich also can not provide information on the number of children incarcerated in cantonal prisons. The Council of Government wrote in a report in autumn 2016: "Infants and toddlers are not registered in the system."

Search for correct numbers

Zurich and Bern are not the only ones do not have reliable figures. The GPK-N determined in its investigation that entries into the federal government's Central Migration Information System (ZEMIS) are often wrong. For example, the canton of Bern has also recorded cases in which the Berne police had picked up minors at their place of residence and taken them to the airport to return. The GPK-N therefore requires the Federal Council to present correct figures. The State Secretariat for Migration is currently working with the cantons to establish reliable figures. They should be available by the end of September at the latest.