The UN censors Spain for forcing a refugee minor to undress in order to determine her age

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has declared that Spain violated the rights of a minor, Arcange (fictitious name), by subjecting her to an age determination procedure in which it was established, without guarantees, that she was over 18 years.

The United Nations body establishes, in an opinion made public this Thursday, that Spain must recognize as real the date of birth proclaimed by the young woman, who received refugee status in 2019, and make it appear in its official documents.

The young Cameroonian arrived in Madrid in 2017, at the age of 16.

He left with a false passport of legal age - which he destroyed during the flight - so that he could travel without the authorization of his parents.

Thanks to the help of her godmother, she fled sexual violence in the family and a forced marriage with an older man.

He was seeking protection in a country far from home.

She entered a shelter for minors in Hortaleza, in the Community of Madrid, due to her appearance as a child.

From the center they notified their arrival to the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office, which ordered the activation of the age determination procedure.

The test she underwent consisted of a full nude for the exploration of her breasts and genitals.

The coroner's assessment concluded that he was 18 years old.

With a decree from the prosecutor after reading the medical report, Arcange became an adult and had to leave the shelter for minors where she lived, leaving her homeless.

At the end of 2019, she obtained the Refugee Status without her real date of birth and age being recognized.

Now the UN

has finally recognized their rights and has condemned Spain for violating the rights of children who arrive alone, by subjecting them to the age determination procedure.

In addition, the Swiss-based body now calls for a ban on full nudity and physical examinations of the genitals "which should never be applied" to minors.

In its opinion of February 15, it establishes that Spain has violated several

Arcange's rights, recognized by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The body has particularly stressed that nudity or examination of the genital organs violated their right to privacy and dignity and that, in general, they should be prohibited.

However, Lourdes Reyzábal, president of Fundación Raíces –which provides legal assistance to the girl and who took the case to the UN in 2019–, explains that it is a common practice.

“We have already had hundreds of cases.

Spain has been carrying out these tests for more than 10 years ”, he confirms.

The UN opinion also states that her right to identity has been violated, since upon arrival in Spain the girl, in addition to the false passport that she destroyed on the way, carried with her school documents and her vaccination card that indicate her date. of birth.

Even so, he was denied probative value and even the possibility of formalizing asylum with his actual date of birth.

Spain, on the other hand, told the committee that when Arcange entered the reception center of the Community of Madrid in Hortaleza, they asked him to provide an official document proving his identity and date of birth.

However, in view of her refusal, the procedure for determining her age was chosen, which includes physical examination tests, x-rays of the wrist and mouth.

After analyzing the examinations, the forensic doctor concluded that Arcange's physical characteristics were compatible with those of a person of legal age.

The prosecutor, taking into account the medical report and the information from the destroyed passport, determined that she should be considered "provisionally as of legal age."

The UN finally requires Spain to provide Arcange with effective reparation for the violations of rights suffered, compensation for moral damages, specialized psychological support and the rectification of his date of birth in his documentation.

In addition, it demands that the country adapt the age determination procedure to the convention, including guarantees such as the presumption of minority and the validity of the documentation provided by minors, and insists on the prohibition of performing genital examination tests as valid method.

After almost four years in Spain, Arcange has gotten an answer.

"I am very happy that, finally, it is recognized and accepted that I was a 16-year-old girl when I arrived in Spain and not 18 as they threw me out," the young woman commented to Lourdes Reyzábal.

Now Arcange lives in a rented room in a flat shared with only one woman, as he feels his wounds have not yet healed.

She is completing her studies as a nursing assistant and during confinement she was on an internship in a Madrid hospital as a mediator between doctors and patients suffering from Covid-19 from Africa.

Her wish, explains the president of Fundación Raíces, is that no other girl or boy in the world goes through this.

Reyzábal considers that this is a key moment, an opportunity for the parties to modify some articles of the law for the protection of minors and the law on foreigners.

Meanwhile, Arcange is looking forward to having his date of birth changed on his documents.

"I became who I was and they changed me," he asserted.