The research focus of 'Whose best interest?' is the tension between a strict return policy and the wellbeing of undocumented children living in the family centres (gezinslocaties) of the Dutch Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). With this project the interdisciplinary research team, led by assistant professor Laura Cleton (ESSB), won the ORS Award in the Societal Engagement category. How does this study make a positive contribution to this highly politicised social issue?
"Whose best interest?" is an interdisciplinary collaboration between political sociologist Laura Cleton, sociologist Elina Jonitz (ESSB), legal scholar Elias Tissandier-Nasom (University of Leiden) and sociologist Nour Samira Hjeij (University of Amsterdam & ESSB). The research project "Whose best interest?" was funded by the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for the Governance of Migration and Diversity (LDE GMD). Principal investigator Laura Cleton and doctoral candidate Elina Jonitz explain the how and why of this study and share their experiences and findings.
"Best interest of the child"
Laura Cleton explains that the title "Whose best interest?" refers to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 3 of that convention mandates that "the best interest of the child" must be a primary consideration in all actions concerning children. 'We wanted to investigate what this legal concept means in the context of return.'
Elina Jonitz elaborates on why this topic is so important. 'Through our research, we wanted to gain a better understanding of how the restrictive return policy in the Netherlands affects the lives of undocumented children and families. What happens in practice? And how does it feel to be caught between fear and hope? We wanted to make that visible.'
No simple, swift return
This study also confirms that return for this group is often not easy to achieve. Cleton explains that contrary to what the term "rejected asylum seekers" might suggest, there are all kinds of situations in which people may still be eligible for a residence permit. 'Things can change as time goes by, both in the situation in the country of origin and in people's lives. The more complicated the legal situation, the longer the wait often takes, she adds. Furthermore, cooperation with the country of origin is often challenging.'
Jonitz mentions yet another complicating factor: parents often do not want to return because they fear that their children will have no future in the country of origin. 'Restrictive measures do not lead to parents saying, "Okay, then we'll leave."' Cleton agrees. 'The logic of ‘we'll make it as unpleasant as possible, then people will leave automatically’ is therefore incorrect. Extensive research supports this.'
'Childhood is a very formative period of life, so imagine being put on hold for ten years during that time.'
dr Laura Cleton
Assistant Professor Public Administration & Sociology
The COA family centres provide shelter to families with minor children who should leave the Netherlands but are unable to do so yet. Cleton: 'There are families who have been living in the Netherlands for more than ten years without being able to return to their home country. But also, without any prospect of legal residence in the Netherlands. Childhood is a very formative period of life, so imagine being put on hold for ten years during that time.'
The frequent relocations, including during the asylum procedures, as well as the fear and uncertainty about the future, leave their mark. Cleton mentions processes of parentification, i.e., children taking on the parental role, and problems with bonding in friendships. 'There was also a lot of gloominess in the children, linked to uncertainty about the future,' she adds. Until the age of 18, all children, even those in the family centres, must attend school. After that, compulsory education ends. 'Imagine you are 15 years old and you want to become a judge when you grow up,' Cleton gives as an example. 'Without legal status, you can't pursue further education. So why should you still bother trying your best at school? Those are things we often heard.'
Example of societal engagement
The ORS Awards jury described the research project as "an example of societal engagement". Jonitz points out that engagement is mainly reflected in the way the study was set up. 'For the study, we visited four family centres and interviewed nearly forty residents and former residents as well as case managers, civil servants, solicitors, and staff from relief organisations. From day one, the team invested in networking and collaborating with all kinds of organisations.' Jonitz emphasises that transparency and clear communication are very important in this regard.
Co-creative workshop
Immediately after collecting the data, the research team organised a co-creative workshop. During this workshop, they shared the initial results with employees of the family centres, the Dutch Ministry of Asylum and Migration (AenM), solicitors and civil society organisations. Cleton: 'One of the findings is that children are often moved around the country, from location to location.'
Cleton points out this has a major impact, especially in case of a failed forced return. Standard procedure in this situation is that families are relocated from the detention centre in Zeist to a family centre other than where they previously lived. Cleton: 'This sparked an interesting discussion during the workshop, and the Repatriation and Departure Service (DT&V) took note of this point for internal discussion.' The team also shared the initial results in a LinkedIn-post.
Beyond the beaten track of academic publishing
Jonitz explains they purposely decided to use different channels to raise awareness for this often-overlooked group. For example, Cleton and her colleague Nour gave a guest lecture on the topic to 10- and 11-year-olds at an international school in The Hague. They did this in collaboration with the European research project FAiR (led by ESSB). A video about this guest lecture is currently being made. The team also shared their findings in a blog post on the Leiden Law Blog and an opinion article on Sociale Vraagstukken, a Dutch-language platform for experts from academia and practice on social issues.
Impact by raising awareness
Jonitz: 'The impact of our research lies mainly in raising awareness of these children's situation. We cannot influence individual procedures with our research, but we want to use the prize money from the ORS to do something tangible for the families we interviewed.' Cleton and Jonitz enthusiastically speak about the art and craft afternoons that the team will organise for the children at the family centres. Cleton: 'The intention is to exhibit the children's artwork in the municipalities of the family centres, again to raise awareness.'
- Researcher
- Researcher
- Researcher
- Researcher
- More information
Laura Cleton, assistant professor at ESSB, cleton@essb.eur.nl.
- Related content
- Related links
- Find out more about the research project Migration and diversity policy
