The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has responded to criticisms made in the Advisory Committee on Human Rights of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (CCDH) report on the reception conditions of applicants and beneficiaries of international protection in Luxembourg.
In response to the criticisms made in the CCHR report on the examination of genitals for the determination of the age of unaccompanied minor applicants for international protection, the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has stated that Article 20 (4) of the Law of 18 December 2015 on International Protection and Temporary Protection explicitly provides that a Minister may order medical examinations to determine the age of an unaccompanied minor when doubts exist on this subject. In this context, the National Health Laboratory (LNS) has developed such medical expertise.
Nevertheless, the Ministry has recalled that such a medical examination is not carried out on all unaccompanied minors, but only on minors who are not in possession of an identity document and for whom serious doubt exists concerning the indicated age. The Ministry similarly highlighted the way in which pre-2015 medical practices (limited to a single x-ray of the wrist) was rightly criticised for not being exhaustive and reliable in determining a likely age. Therefore, a two-step examination was set up, first of all an x-ray of the wrist and the hand. If later it appears that the person in question is a minor, a medical report is written without further examination. On the other hand, if a serious suspicion about the majority of the person persists, there will be a complete physical examination, including the genitals. This examination is completed by an X-ray of the clavicle and a dental panoramic.
According to the Ministry, it should be noted that the photographs taken during this examination are strictly confidential and only serve for the writing of the report by the medical expert. They are therefore not included in the LNS expert report or in the administrative record of the international protection claimant maintained by the Department.
