Best interests, durable solutions and belonging: policy discourses shaping the futures of unaccompanied migrant and refugee minors coming of age in Europe

This paper sheds light on the ambiguous position of children who migrate without a parent or guardian as they become adults in the European Union (EU). Through a critical analysis of three prevailing frames (‘best interests’, ‘durable solutions’ and ‘belonging’), which largely inform policy and practice related to this group, it explores the tension between policy assumptions and what we know of the lived experiences and aspirations of these young people. It ultimately reveals a policy framework shaped by a state-centric view of migration, a static conception of belonging and a bias towards a political preference for return. Such a stance underestimates young people’s agency and willingness to embrace risk in their efforts to secure a viable future. The net result is policy which fails to offer a ‘durable solution’ or act in the ‘best interests’ of individual migrant young people or of society as a whole.