Reliability of age assessment methods in the context of security and border management

Worum geht es in dieser Ausschreibung?

The action analyses and compares existing and possible age assessment methods for minors in migration and security settings, looking at reliability and fundamental rights. It does not develop new methods.

Was fördert diese Ausschreibung?

Scope

Many unaccompanied children and young people arriving at EU external borders and seeking asylum have no official documents showing their identity and age. Age assessment affects where they are housed and what support and legal processes they receive, and it is also needed in cases of human trafficking, law enforcement investigations and victim identification. No method is fully reliable: approaches differ in sensitivity, specificity, sample size and representativeness, and some rely on non-European evidence. Methods range from interviews and psychological assessments to medical approaches such as X-rays, CT scans, DNA methylation and dental observation, and image analysis, with or without AI. EU rules and European Union Asylum Agency guidance recommend using the least invasive methods and medical methods only as a last resort.

What the action does

This coordination and support action should not develop new age assessment methods or technologies. Instead it should analyse, with practitioners, current and potential methods; assess and compare their scientific reliability, sensitivity and specificity; and examine the risks to fundamental rights and how to reduce them. It should build on EU asylum agency and European Migration Network material, networks of security practitioners and earlier EU-funded research. The results do not imply any legislative or policy decision, but should give evidence-based options for more appropriate models of age assessment that protect fundamental rights and take an inclusive approach to diverse needs. Synergies are sought with other Horizon Europe destinations on crime and terrorism, disaster resilience and inclusive society.

Expected outcomes

Contributions to some or all of: better protection of minors through more reliable assessments and less use of intrusive methods; better adaptation, preparedness and cooperation of authorities in the fight against human trafficking; and more European-based knowledge on the reliability, accuracy and effectiveness of age assessment methods. Results should support better identification of children in migration, security and border management contexts, following the EU Strategy on the rights of the child, and the exchange of practices among European authorities.

Wann endet die Einreichungsfrist?

5. November 2026

5 November 2026.