Samenvatting

All rights in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) apply to all children, therefore they also apply to minor foreigners in the Netherlands. Nevertheless precisely for this group a continuous fight needs to be battled to make sure they receive the protection provided by the CRC. This article provides an overview of the most important articles of the CRC where minor asylum seekers and migrants can appeal to. The article also stresses the fact that children who reside unlawfully in the country may not be discriminated against their access to socio-economic rights. Furthermore, the question whether fully integrated children should have the right to a residency permit is dealt with. Subsequently the Dutch policy with regard to family reunification is assessed alongside the CRC. At last the article elaborates on the tension between the ‘ultimum remedium’ principle (article 37 CRC) on the one hand and the policy concerning children in alien detention on the other.