A UN committee released a report on Thursday finding that France “is responsible for grave and systematic violations of the rights of unaccompanied migrant children,” failing its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), a body of 18 experts that monitors children’s rights worldwide, conducted an on-the-ground inquiry in October 2023 into the treatment of unaccompanied migrant children in France. It found that the state’s means for determining age were “flawed,” being based on “physical appearance” or “unreliable medical examinations.”

The committee further found that faulty age assessments have resulted in children being treated as adults until such determination is overruled by a judge, a period sometimes up to eight months or longer. During this period, they are “denied access to support services and left to survive on the streets, in parks, or in informal makeshift camps.” Children attempting to reach the United Kingdom from France have also been “detained in airport waiting zones or other border holding centres,” which the committee described as “disproportionate and therefore arbitrary.”

Article 22 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child obliges states to provide “appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance” to any child with or seeking refugee status, and Article 2 says states shall not discriminate against children by virtue of their status.

The committee concluded that France’s violations have resulted in a significant number of children suffering “serious harm and lasting effects on their physical and mental health and development.” It further stated that the violations are systematic due to France’s “repeated failure” to protect children. It recommended that France abide by the “principle of presumption of minority,” treating anyone who claims to be a minor as such until proven otherwise.

France, which received the report in March, has written a response stating that it guarantees shelter to unaccompanied children and will uphold the principle of the presumption of minority.

Concerns over the treatment of migrants and refugees in France are longstanding. The French government is currently facing a legal challenge over an agreement with the United Kingdom, in which asylum seekers will be exchanged between the two countries.