Supporting procedure refugee children Almelo

The family shelter for refugees in Almelo was scheduled to be closed in 2015, a plan that would separate families from each other and force them to move to other shelters across the country. Refugee children living in shelters are often moved, damaging both their wellbeing and their family and community unity. Legal proceedings to protect these refugee children were instigated by lawyers Channa Samkalden (of Prakken D’ Oliveira) and Corrien Ullersma (of Van der Woude de Graaf), supported by Defence for Children International. The case was lost in first instance, and the PILP is supporting the civil and administrative appeals by paying court costs and a partial guarantee for the legal costs of the adversary party, and by writing an amicus curiae, together with members of the working group immigration law of the NJCM. This is an important principal case for the rights of children in which the Convention on the Rights of the Child plays a critical role.