Identification

Author

Accem Visit Website

The Asylum Law does not provide a specific mechanism for the early identification of asylum seekers that are part of most vulnerable groups. Article 46(1) of the Asylum Law makes specific reference to vulnerable groups when referring to the general provisions on protection, stating that the specific situation of the applicant or persons benefiting from international protection in situations of vulnerability, will be taken into account, such in the case of minors, unaccompanied children, disabled people, people of advanced age, pregnant women, single parents with minor children, persons who have suffered torture, rape or other forms of serious violence psychological or physical or sexual, and victims of human trafficking.

Screening of vulnerability

In these cases, the Asylum Law encourages the adoption of necessary measures to guarantee a specialised treatment to these groups. These provisions, however, do not really concern procedural arrangements. Instead, the law makes a reference to protection measures and assistance and services provided to the person.^[1] In addition, due to the lack of a Regulation on the implementation of the Asylum Law to date, Article 46, as other provisions, is not implemented in practice.

Early risk assessment and other types of vulnerability identification are either conducted by asylum officers or police officers during the applicant’s asylum interview, or by civil society organisations that provide services and assistance during the asylum process and within asylum reception centres. The OAR does not collect disaggregated statistics on vulnerable groups.

UNHCR plays an important consultative role during the whole asylum process. Under the Asylum Law, all registered asylum claims shall be communicated to the UN agency, which will be able to gather information on the application, to participate in the applicant’s hearings and to submit reports to be included in the applicant’s record.^[2] In addition, UNHCR takes part in the Inter-Ministerial Commission of Asylum and Refuge (CIAR), with the right to speak but not to vote, playing a central role in the identification of particular vulnerabilities during the decision-making process.

Moreover, UNHCR’s access to asylum seekers at the border, in CIEs or in penitentiary facilities enables the monitoring of most vulnerable cases considering procedural guarantees. These are crucial places for the identification of most vulnerable profiles due to the existing shortcomings and limitations that asylum seekers face in accessing to legal assistance. In asylum claims following the urgent procedure and in the case of an inadmissibility decision on border applications, UNHCR is able to request an additional 10 days term to submit a report to support the admission of the case.

The framework of Migrant Temporary Stay Centres (CETI) in Ceuta and Melilla might be regarded as a missed opportunity for early identification of vulnerable profiles within mixed migration flows. These centres manage the first reception of undocumented newly arrived migrants and non-identified asylum seekers, before they are transferred to the Spanish peninsula. For this reason, CETI could provide an opportunity for the establishment of a mechanism of early identification of most vulnerable collectives. NGOs and UNHCR who work in the CETI try to implement this important task, but the limited resources, frequent overcrowding of the centres and short-term stay of the persons prevent them from effectively doing so.

The lack of a protocol for the identification and protection of persons with special needs in CETI has always been criticised and continued to be a concern in 2025. Vulnerable groups such as single women, families with children, LGBTIQ+ people, and religious minorities, cannot be adequately protected in these centres.^[3] In addition, it is stressed that such factors of vulnerability, coupled with prolonged and indeterminate stay in the CETI, has a negative influence on the mental health of residents and serious personal consequences.

Regarding sea arrivals, identification of vulnerabilities should in principle be carried out in the CATE where newly arrived persons are accommodated (see Access to the territory). Since 2018, Save the Children deploys child friendly teams in CATEs in Andalusia and the Canary Islands, with the aim of working with children arriving by sea. When activated by authorities in CATEs, the organisation detects vulnerabilities and provides information and counselling to children with a child friendly approach, and in a manner that is adapted to their language, age and maturity. In addition, in 2022 Save the Children opened two safe spaces for unaccompanied children and youth in Las Palmas and Málaga with the purpose of providing specialised support and services and strengthen children’ inclusion in the community.^[4]

In 2024 UNHCR, together with the ONCE Foundation and the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities organized an event on the intersectionality between disability and asylum. Over 120 participants, including national authorities, NGOs and refugees with disabilities adopted conclusions to advance the protection and inclusion of refugees with disabilities. UNHCR provided training to 280 people from NGOs to enhance support for refugees with disabilities or in need of mental health support.[5]

During 2024, UNHCR reactivated the LGTBIQ+ working group to consolidate good practice exchange and strengthen collaboration with civil society organisations, with the aim of improving LGTBIQ+ refugees’ protection and inclusion in Spain.

During the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, UNHCR collaborated with refugee-led organizations and NGOs to support women’s empowerment and enhance participation in GBV prevention and response.[6]

In 2025, UNHCR continued to advocate for the introduction of a triage system for asylum cases by the Office for Asylum (OAR), improved quality decision-making, and an enhanced protection focus for people with specific needs, unaccompanied children and family reunifications. It also supported the asylum and local authorities in identifying and addressing the international protection needs of unaccompanied children arriving to the Canary Islands. Special challenges were identified in the processing of these applications, and UNHCR supported the coordination among the different authorities (central and regional) in order to facilitate a more effective and fair procedure for these children. UNHCR also advocated for faster and human rights-based family reunification procedures for refugees from conflict-affected situations.[7]

According to UNHCR, in 2025 challenges also persisted in the interpretation of the refugee definition by the asylum authorities, particularly in relation to situations of violence affecting children and other child-specific forms of persecution. On the other hand, gender-related claims and applications from conflict-affected countries such as Mali, Central African Republic and Palestine were assessed and granted subsidiary protection.[8]

Human trafficking victims

Despite the adoption of two National Plans against Trafficking of Women and Girls for the purpose of Sexual Exploitation,^[9] and of a Framework Protocol on Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking,^[10] aiming at coordinating the action of all involved actors for guaranteeing protection to the victims, several obstacles still exist. The fight against trafficking in Spain is mainly focused on tackling trafficking of girls and women for the purpose of sexual exploitation, with more limited focus on addressing the other forms of trafficking. In addition, not only is early identification of victims of trafficking very difficult, and their assistance and protection still challenging, they also face important obstacles in obtaining international protection. The low number of identified victims of trafficking who have been granted refugee status in Spain highlights this fact.

In his 2024 annual report, the Spanish Ombudsperson continued to highlight the challenges in the detection and early identification of trafficked persons as well as their protection.^[11]

In order to improve the identification and referral of trafficked persons at the Madrid Barajas Airport, the Directorate-General for Integration and Humanitarian Assistance of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration signed the adoption of a specific procedure in October 2019, together with the State Delegation for Gender Violence of the Ministry of the Presidency, Relation with the Parliament and Equality.^[12] The procedure foresees a collaboration framework with five NGOs working in the reception of asylum seekers and in the detection of – and assistance to – trafficked persons. The aim is to foster and guarantee a swift access to adequate support services, before and independently from their formal identification as victims of human trafficking. The NGOs participating to the procedure are the Spanish Red Cross, Proyecto Esperanza-Adoratrices, Association for the Prevention, Rehabilitation and Care for Women Prostituted (APRAMP), Diaconía and the Fundación Cruz Blanca. The initial idea was to extend the pilot project to other Spanish airports such as Barcelona and Málaga, but the Protocol was finally not formally extended.^[13] Despite the lack of a formal protocol, guidelines on detection, identification, referral and coordination are in place at the airport of Barcelona among relevant actors.^[14]

In 2022 the Government, through the Minister of Justice, designed and approved a proposal for a comprehensive law to address trafficking in all its forms and in relation to all victims.^[15] Due to the general elections held in 2023 and the negotiations to form a new Government, the proposal was not adopted. In March 2024, the Council of Ministers adopted a new comprehensive law proposal,[16] which had not undergone the parliamentary procedure at the time of writing of this report.[17]

In occasion of the 2025 World Day against Trafficking in Persons, CEAR warned on the risks for migrants and refugees to fall victims of this crime and called the Spanish Government to urgently adopt a law to guarantee their protection.[18]

In the 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, the US Department of State referred to the gaps remaining in Spain regarding victim identification, and that the government did not report identifying any victims among the asylum-seeker population, despite civil society identifying such victims.[19]

In October, Accem published a guidance to support professionals working in different reception systems (i.e. child protection, asylum humanitarian assistance) in identifying, detecting, and protecting children and adolescents who are victims of trafficking.[20]

Age assessment of unaccompanied children

A specific Protocol regarding unaccompanied children was adopted in 2014 in cooperation between the Ministries of Justice, Interior, Employment, Health and Social Services and of Foreign Affairs along with the Public Prosecutor (Fiscalía General), which aims at coordinating the actions of all involved actors in the Spanish framework in relation to unaccompanied children.^[21] It should be highlighted that, due to the territorial subdivision of competences, the Protocol only amounts to a guidance document for all actions involving unaccompanied minors, which aims at being replicated at lower regional level. In fact, children-related issues fall within the competence of the Autonomous Regions between which governance is divided in Spain.

The Protocol sets out the framework for the identification of unaccompanied children within arrivals at sea and defines the procedure that should be followed for the conduct of age assessment procedures in case of doubts about the age of the minor.

It establishes that children’s passports and travel documents issued by official authorities have to be considered as sufficient evidence of the age of the person,^[22] but it also sets out the exceptions to this rule and the cases in which the child can be considered undocumented, and accordingly be subjected to medical age assessment. These circumstances are the following:

• The documents present signs of forgery or have been corrected, amended, or erased;
• The documents incorporate contradictory data to other documents issued by the issuing country;
• The child is in possession of two documents of the same nature that contain different data;
• Data is contradictory to previous medical age assessments, conducted at the request of the public prosecutor or other judicial, administrative or diplomatic Spanish authority;
• Lack of correspondence between the data incorporated into the foreign public document and the physical appearance of the person concerned;
• Data substantially contradicts circumstances alleged by the bearer of the document; or
• The document includes implausible data.

Concerning the fourth condition relating to previous age assessments, it is important to note that these age determination tests are not precise and only make an estimation of the date of birth of the young migrant, which would imply cases where the two dates of birth would never coincide. In those cases, the Protocol would justify the application of a second age assessment test and the non-consideration of the officially issued document of the person.

Medical methods and consideration of documentary evidence

Under Article 35(3) of the Immigration Law, the competence to decide on the application of medical tests aimed to remove the doubts about the majority or minority of age of undocumented children is exclusive of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The medical assessment foresees the application of X-ray tests to assess the maturity of the minor’s bones.

When the medical test has been performed, the age of the person will match with the lower value of the fork; the day and month of birth will correspond to the date in which the test has been practiced.

These tests have resulted in very problematic age determinations and have attracted many criticisms from international organisations, NGOs^[23], academics, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child,[24] as well as administration officers and the Spanish Ombudsperson, also in a thematic report published in May 2025.^[25] The main concerns regard the inaccurate nature of the tests, notably when  applied to persons with different ethnicities mainly due to the lack of professionals’ medical knowledge on the physical development of non-European minors, the lack of provision of information to the minor on how tests work and on the whole procedure. In addition, it has been proven by several documents that, while these tests limit children’s access to their dedicated protection system, they do not limit adults’ access to the minors’ system.^[26] The most criticised aspect of the practical application of the tests for the determination of age is the lack of legislative coherence and the excessive discretion of the authorities.

Between 2017 and 2021, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child granted interim measures in cases concerning medical age assessments of unaccompanied children in Spain^[27], and issued several decisions condemning Spain for its illegal practices and methodologies used for carrying out the procedure.^[28]

In view of the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council that Spain has undergone in January 2026, the Platform for Childhood expressed concerns, inter alia, on the violations of children’s rights carried out in the context of age assessment procedures in Spain, such as the lack of legal representation during the procedure, the impossibility to challenge the decision, to carry out systematically X-ray tests, etc.[29]  In the concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of Spain, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child urged Spain to ‘reform the age assessment procedure to ensure it is in line with the principle of the presumption of minority and allow judicial review, and ensure that age assessment procedures are undertaken only in cases of doubt about the age of the person concerned, are subject to the informed assent of the child, are conducted in a safe, child- and gender-sensitive manner, and are undertaken by an independent, multi-disciplinary team with appropriate child expertise. While the procedure is under way, the State party should ensure that the person concerned is treated as a child and remains within the child protection system’.[30]

In practice, medical age assessment procedures are used as a rule rather than as an exception, and are applied to both documented and undocumented children, no matter if they present official identity documentation or if they manifestly appear to be minors; the benefit of the doubt is also not awarded in practice. Children are also not given the benefit of the doubt if they present documentation with contradictory dates of birth.

In a decision issued in June 2020, the Spanish High Court (Tribunal Supremo) reiterated the necessity to ensure the validity of the documentation issued by Embassies and Consulates to children, in light of the principles and guidance made by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on age-assessments in Spain.^[31]

With three decisions issued in May and June 2021, the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) established the validity of the documentation of the child’s country of origin to prove his/her minority of age, also when it is posterior to the Public Prosecutor’s decree establishing the majority, as far as the documentation is not considered forged or manipulated. It is hoped that the jurisprudence set by the Supreme Court will finally reverts the trend existing so far in Spain.^[32] Even though, according to Accem’s observations, some challenges still exist in certain provinces and certain countries of origin (i.e. Gambia in 2025).[33]

During the last years, problems and challenges in carrying out age assessment procedure to UAMs in the Canary Islands have been also reported, with around 2,000 unaccompanied migrant children waiting to undergo the procedure.^[34] In February 2024, there were 5,500 migrant children waiting to undergo the procedure and/or for a response.[35]

Despite announcements on the future adoption of a law on the age assessment procedure in Spain, no new legislation has been adopted so far, and significant concerns persist regarding the effectiveness and compliance with children’s rights of the existing procedure. According to Save the Children,[36] the following challenges remain:

• Concerns on application of the ‘benefit of the doubt’ and ‘presumption of minor age’ in the case of unaccompanied adolescents arriving by sea.
• Lack of guarantees for access to official documentation: There is still no mandatory requirement to verify children’s documentation through consulates and embassies before resorting to medical tests. The validity of the country of origin documentation is often disregarded, giving, in most cases, priority and validity to medical tests, which are conducted without any child-sensitive approach. In 2024, National Police adopted an internal instruction invalidating non biometrical passports of nationals from Gambia and Senegal who declare to be minor, increasing difficulties for them to claim their age.
• Absence of an effective appeals mechanism: Children and their legal representatives are often unable to challenge erroneous age determinations. The decree is reviewed by the same authority that issued it, with no direct appeal mechanisms available for this decision.
• Procedural vulnerabilities in border detention facilities: Unaccompanied children arriving by sea and held in Temporary Reception Centers for Foreigners (CATE) often undergo age assessments without legal assistance or a guardian present, increasing the risk of being wrongly classified as adults and excluded from child protection mechanisms.

In April 2022 the Government adopted the law proposal for the regulation of the age assessment procedure which provides, i.e., for the establishment of the presumption of minority age while the procedure is on-going, for the realisation of a civil judicial procedure instead of an administrative one, for guaranteed legal assistance during the procedure, and the prohibition of invasive methods, such as integral nudes and genital examinations.^[37] Civil society organisations welcomed the law proposal as it improves the existing situation, but they consider that some modifications should be made, for it to be fully in line with existing jurisprudence as well as with the recommendations made by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.^[38] Similarly, while welcoming the proposal, Save the Children stressed that there it still raises some concerns, such as the provision regarding the urgency of the procedure which leads to tight deadlines, the lack of mandatory request of child documentation to consulates and embassy of origin, the impossibility to appeal and change the results of the evaluation. Additionally, it highlighted the possible obstacles to the application of the presumption of minority age when children have just arrived by sea and are detained within CATE where no lawyers nor guardians are appointed have been underlined.^[39]

In March 2025, different children’s and human rights organisations urged to continue advancing the legislative proposal for the regulation of the age assessment procedure, to ensure enhanced protection of unaccompanied children.[40]

Other obstacles in practice

The Protocol does not foresee legal assistance for minors at the moment they come into contact with the authorities. The minor, who is in charge of signing the authorisation to be subjected to the tests of age determination, can only count on the right to an interpreter to explain to him or her the procedure, while the possibility to be assisted by a lawyer is not foreseen.

One of the main problems regarding the age of unaccompanied children, and in particular those arriving in Ceuta and Melilla, is the fact that many prefer to declare themselves as adults because of the deficiencies of the minors’ protection system and the restriction of movement to which they are subject in the two autonomous cities. This means that unaccompanied children prefer to be transferred to the Spanish peninsula as adults, thereby not being able to access the ad hoc protection system there, instead of remaining as children in Ceuta and Melilla. Once in the peninsula, these children find it almost impossible to prove they are minors as they have already been registered and documented as adults.

Due to the increase of arrivals to the Canary Islands, the time needed to carry out age assessment procedures significantly increased in 2020.^[41] These issues persisted at the beginning of 2021 as thousands of children continued to be accommodated in adult reception facilities pending the age assessment procedure.^[42] The Government of Canarias had already urged the Autonomous Communities in November 2020 to relocate around 500 unaccompanied children; the first relocations were carried out from March 2021.^[43] Regardless, transfers carried out throughout 2021 have not been sufficient to solve the situation, as merely 208 minors were transferred to mainland. At the beginning of 2022, 2,600 unaccompanied migrant children were still under the protection of the local administration of the Canary Islands.^[44] In May 2022, 976 children (40% of the children under the guardianship of the Autonomous Community) continued to wait their age assessment.^[45] In September 2023, there were around 2,000 UAMs waiting to undergo age assessment procedure.[46] In January 2025, they were around 400-500 out of a total of 5,766 children under the protection of the Autonomous Community accommodated in 86 facilities across the archipelago.[47]

In February 2024, a judge decided to release a Senegalese migrant who had been detained for almost 60 days for allegedly having driven illegally a boat to the Canary Islands, by declaring him as a minor. The child had declared to be a minor and provided his birth certificate to competent authorities; regardless, he had been assessed as an adult after age assessment procedure.[48] The Ombudsperson of the Canary Islands opened an investigation to clarify the situation occurred and urged the Government of the archipelago to carry out in an immediate timeframe since the arrival. In January 2025, around 400-500 migrant children were waiting for the result of their age assessment procedures.[49]

Statistics on age assessments are always published in the month of September of the following year, i.e. figures on 2025 will only made available in September 2026. From 2018 to 2024, the Prosecutor concluded the following age assessment examinations:

Source: Fiscalía General del Estado, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Annual Activity reports, available at: https://bit.ly/3nDnGsF, https://bit.ly/3eMepwr, https://bit.ly/3RuAXDV, https://tinyurl.com/46a2ae2j, here and here.

Registration of unaccompanied minors

Another important issue relates to the registration of unaccompanied minors, and over the years different organisations and bodies (i.e. Ombudsperson) have raised concerns on the issue. In March 2019, the National Court ruled that the conditions for the registration of Spanish children before municipalities must be equally applied to foreign children. The claim had been lodged by the NGO Caritas-Spain,^[50] and resulted in a decision of the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) in April 2022, establishing that the requirement of a visa for registration of Moroccan children was illegal and discriminatory compared to Spanish children or children of other nationalities.^[51] Despite that, in October 2022 the NGO ‘Solidarity Wheels’ warned that the authorities in Melilla continued to ask for a visa in order to register Moroccan children.^[52]

In view of the reform of the Regulation of the Immigration Law, in early 2021 different organisations presented a set of proposals to reform the provisions related to unaccompanied migrant children, especially regarding their registration and documentation in order to ensure their effective integration in Spain.^[53] The reform was finally adopted in October 2021. It facilitates access to residence and work permits for unaccompanied migrant children, as well as those for who arrived as children and aged out and are between 18 and 23 years old, and allows access to work for children turning 16.^[54] The change is expected to improve living conditions and integration prospects for thousands of young people. As of 30 September 2025, there were a total of 20,116 people aged 16 to 23 who were minors under guardianship or who aged out, representing an increase of 155.3% compared to June 2021. In relation to their labour market integration, between these two dates, the percentage of Social Security enrolment has risen from 27% to 62%.[55]

Even though the 2021 reform significantly improved access to residence and work permits for unaccompanied children, according to Save the Children challenges remain in its implementation:[56]

• Delays in documentation processing: Many children and young adults face long waiting times to receive their residence permits, preventing them from accessing employment and social benefits.
• Barriers for children excluded from the public protection system: Some children, especially those incorrectly classified as adults, are unable to benefit from the reform despite having their identity confirmed by embassies.
• Risk of exclusion for youth with criminal records: Young migrants (from 18 years old) with minor infractions often find themselves unable to obtain or renew residence permits, pushing them further into marginalization.

^[1]  Article 46(2) Asylum Law.

^[2] Articles 34-35 Asylum Law.

^[3]  Amnistía Internacional, ‘Qué son los CETI en España y por qué vulneran derechos humanos’, 19 December 2025, available here.

^[4] Information provided by Save the Children in February 2026.

[5] Information provided by UNHCR in March 2025.

[6] Information provided by UNHCR in March 2025.

[7] Information provided by UNHCR in March 2026.

[8] Information provided by UNHCR in March 2026.

^[9]  Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, ‘Plan Integral De Lucha Contra La Trata De Mujeres Y Niñas Con Fines De Explotación Sexual’, 2015-2018, available here.

^[10] Framework Protocol of 2011 against trafficking (“Protocolo Marco de Protección de las Víctimas de Trata de Seres Humanos”), available here.

^[11] Defensor del Pueblo, ‘Informe anual 2024’, March 2025, available here.

^[12] Ministerio de Trabajo, Migraciones y Seguridad Social, ‘El Gobierno pone en marcha un procedimiento de derivación de potenciales víctimas de trata de seres humanos en el aeropuerto de Barajas’, 15 October 2019, available here.

^[13] Information provided by Fundación Cruz Blanca, 11 January 2021.

^[14] Information provided by Fundación Apip-Acam in March 2023.

^[15] Ministerio de Justicia, ‘El Gobierno aprueba el Anteproyecto de Ley Orgánica Integral contra la Trata’, 29 November 2022, available here.

[16] El Diario, ‘El Gobierno aprueba el anteproyecto de ley de trata que dará permiso temporal de residencia a las víctimas sin necesidad de denuncia’, 8 March 2024, available here.

[17] Amnistía Internacional, ‘ RECTP exige la tramitación urgente de la ley integral contra la trata de seres humanos y reclama mayor voluntad política para garantizar los derechos de las víctimas’, 20 October 2025, available here.

[18] CEAR, ‘¿Por qué es urgente aprobar una Ley integral contra la trata?’, 30 July 2025, available here.

[19] US Department of State, ‘2025 Trafficking in Persons Report: Spain’, September 2025, available here.

[20] Accem, ‘En-Ruta: [re]conocer, detectar y proteger a menores víctimas de trata’, October 2025, available here.

^[21] Framework Protocol of 13 October 2014 on actions relating to foreign unaccompanied minors, available here.

^[22]  Chapter II, para 6 Protocol on Unaccompanied Minors.

^[23] Plataforma de Infancia, ‘Organizaciones de infancia y de derechos humanos consideran urgente continuar con la tramitación del procedimiento de determinación de la edad para garantizar la protección de las niñas y niños no acompañados’, 12 March 2025, available here.

[24] United Nations, Committee on the Rights of the Child, ‘Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of Spain’, 5 February 2026, available here.

^[25]  Defensor del Pueblo, ‘Niñas y niños extranjeros en España solos o acompañados’, May 2025, available here.  

^[26]  Clara Isabel Barrio Lema, María José Castaño Reyero and Isabel Diez Velasco, Instituto Universitario de Estudios sobre Migraciones, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, ‘Colectivos vulnerables en el sistema de asilo’, December 2019, available here.

^[27] OHCHR, ‘Table of pending cases before the Committee on the Rights of the Child’, available here; EU Observer, ‘Spain turns its back on migrant children’s rights’, 7 August 2017, available here.

^[28] For more detailed information, see previous updates to this country report here. El País, ‘La ONU reprende a España por devolver en caliente a un menor’, 19 February 2019, available here; ECCHR, ‘Spanish practice of push-backs violates children’s rights’, 19 February 2019, available here; Committee on the Rights of the Child, N.B.F. v. Spain, CRC/C/79/D/11/2017, 27 September 2018, available here; Committee on the Rights of the Child, A.L. v. Spain, CRC/C/81/D/16/2017, 31 May 2019, available here; Committee on the Rights of the Child, J.A.B. v. Spain, CRC/C/81/D/22/2017, 31 may 2019, available here; See EDAL summay here; United Nations, Noticias ONU, ‘Comité de la ONU: El método usado para evaluar la edad de los migrantes en España viola la Convención de los Derechos del Niño’, 13 October 2020, available here; United Nations – Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, ‘Spain’s age assessment procedures violate migrant children’s rights, UN committee finds’, 13 October 2020, available here; Consejo General de la Abogacía Española, ‘La ONU condena a España por someter a una niña a una exploración genital para determinar su edad’, 25 February 2021, available here.

[29] Plataforma de Infancia, ‘La pobreza infantil, el abandono escolar y el proceso de determinación de la edad, las principales preocupaciones de la Plataforma de Infancia ante la próxima revisión del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de Naciones Unidas’, 10 December 2024, available here.

[30] Plataforma de Infancia, ‘El Comité de los Derechos del Niño publica sus recomendaciones a España para garantizar los derechos de la infancia’, 5 February 2026, available here; United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, ‘Experts of the Committee on the Rights of the Child Commend Spain for Legislation Protecting Children against Violence, Raise Questions on Child Poverty and Children’s Participation in Bullfighting Events’, 22 January 2026, available here; Committee on the Rights of the Child, ‘Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of Spain’, 5 February 2026, available here.

^[31] Tribunal Supremo, Sala de lo Civil, Decision nº 307/2020, 16 June 2020, available here; Consejo General de la Abogacía Española, ‘El Tribunal Supremo zanja la problemática de la determinación de la edad de los niños y niñas que llegan solos a España’, 25 June 2020, available here.

^[32] Tribunal Supremo, STS 2164/2021, 24 May 2021, available here; Tribunal Supremo, STS 2400/2021, 21 June 2021, available here; Tribunal Supremo, STS 2551/2021, 18 June 2021, available here.

[33]  Information provided by Accem’s legal service in March 2026.

^[34]  El Diario, ‘Cómo son las pruebas de edad por las que desesperan “congelados” más de 1.700 migrantes en Canarias’, 27 May 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3JQeT31; Unicef, ‘Canarias: niños y niñas migrantes en una de las rutas más peligrosas del mundo’, July 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3fi8wYc, 20.

[35] Cadena Ser,’ El Defensor del Pueblo canario abre una investigación para esclarecer la situación de los menores en prisión’, 15 February 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/2ep2zv4r.

[36] Information provided by Save the Children in February 2026.

^[37] Ministerio de Justicia, ‘El Consejo de Ministros aprueba el Anteproyecto de Ley por el que se Regula el Procedimiento de Evaluación de la Edad’, 12 April 2022, available here.

^[38] Plataforma de Infancia, ‘Organizaciones sociales proponemos modificaciones al Anteproyecto de Ley sobre el procedimiento de evaluación de la edad de los niños y niñas no acompañados’, 10 May 2022, available  here.

^[39] Information provided by Save the Children in March 2023.

[40] Plataforma de Infancia, ‘Organizaciones de infancia y de derechos humanos consideran urgente continuar con la tramitación del procedimiento de determinación de la edad para garantizar la protección de las niñas y niños no acompañados’, 11 March 2025, available here.

^[41]  Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), ‘Migration: key fundamental rights concerns. 1.10.2020-31.12.2020. Quarterly bulletin’, 2021, available here.

^[42] El Diario, ‘Más de 1.000 migrantes siguen en un limbo y sin escolarizar a la espera de que las pruebas óseas determinen si son mayores de edad’, 25 January 2021, available here.

^[43] Canarias7, ‘Canarias comienza el traslado de menores extranjeros no acompañados a la Península’, 11 March 2021, available here.

^[44] Europa Press, ‘Torres pedirá “más compromiso” a las CCAA en la Conferencia de Presidentes con el traslado de menores migrantes’, 28 January 2022, available here.

^[45]  Canarias7, ‘El 40% de los menores sigue pendiente de las pruebas de edad’, 30 May 2022, available  here.

[46] Defensor del Pueblo, ‘Informe anual 2023 – Volumen I’, March 2024, p. 76, available here.

[47] Radio Televisión Canaria, ‘Sandra Rodríguez: «Unos 400-500 menores migrantes esperan por pruebas de edad»’, 13 January 2025, available here.

[48] El Diario, ‘El juez ordena la inmediata puesta en libertad de un migrante senegalés tras dos meses en prisión al acreditarse que es menor’, 16 February 2024, available here.

[49] Radio Televisión Canaria, ‘Sandra Rodríguez: «Unos 400-500 menores migrantes esperan por pruebas de edad»’, 13 January 2025, available here.

^[50] Audiencia Nacional, ‘Sala de lo Contencioso-Administrativo, Sección Séptima, nº recurso 770/2017’, 28 December 2018, available here.

^[51]  Tribunal Supremo. Sala de lo Contencioso, Decision nº 473/2022, 25 April 2022, available here.

^[52] El Salto Diario, ‘Melilla: ¿se cumple el derecho de la infancia migrante a empadronarse?’, 25 April 2023, available here.

^[53] La Merced Migraciones, ‘Garantizar el derecho a documentarse de los niños y niñas que llegan solos a España’, February 2021, available here.

^[54] PICUM, ‘Spain adopts law to facilitate regularisatuon of young migrants’, 18 November 2021, available here.

[55] Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones, ‘Personas menores no acompañadas y jóvenes extuteladas, de 16 a 23 años, con autorización de residencia en vigor’, 30 september 2025, available here.

[56] Information provided by Save the Children in February 2026.