The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights has said that plans to strengthen biometric border controls in the continent could infringe the rights of migrant children.In an opinion paper on the impact of the proposal for a revised Eurodac Regulation on fundamental rights, EUFRA wrote that the proposed revision may jeopardise the rights of migrant children.Under the revision, facial images and personal data would also be stored instead of just fingerprints and basic data such as gender and Member State. Personal data would also be kept for longer (five years) and the age for capturing data from children would be lowered from 14 to six.It examines the impact on children and suggests greater emphasis on child protection, to ensure they are not coerced to give fingerprints, they understand what is happening to them and their right to asylum is not affected.In its report, the agency recommends avoiding force when taking fingerprints and that this should also be carried out in a child-friendly and gender-sensitive manner. It also advocates adequately informing children in an age appropriate manner so that they understand what is happening and why.”Biometrics must be taken from children in a manner that respects human dignity and is appropriate to their age, gender and maturity.”The body also recommends that to evaluate better the impact of the Eurodac Regulation on children, monthly statistics, provided by eu-LISA under Article 9 of the proposal should be broken down by age and sex, to understand how many boys and girls under the age of 18 years are affected.Children's statistics concerning the reliability of biometric matching should also be broken down by year of birth, said EUFRA.

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