Migration Jurisprudence from the South › Americas (requested by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay)

Advisory Opinion OC-21/14 (children in migration)

Inter-American Court of Human Rights · Americas (requested by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) · 2014-08-19 · Regional court or body

Citation: OC-21/14
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: advisory

Question

What must states do when children migrate, alone or with their families?

What the court decided

States may not detain children for migration reasons; they must find alternatives that keep families together and assess each child’s need for protection.

In plain language

Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay asked the Inter-American Court about migrant children. The Court said children must not be locked up for immigration reasons.

Dalam bahasa sederhana

Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay, dan Uruguay bertanya kepada Mahkamah Inter-Amerika tentang anak migran. Mahkamah menyatakan anak tidak boleh ditahan karena alasan imigrasi.

Pertanyaan: Apa yang wajib dilakukan negara ketika anak bermigrasi, sendiri atau bersama keluarga?

What happened afterwards

2014-08-19: Opinion delivered.

Sources

Inter-American Court, official text

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Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/oc-21-2014/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.

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