The Immigration and Naturalization Service has released guidelines to enable its officials to more effectively evaluate the asylum claims of children. According to the INS, the new guidelines make the US only the second country in the world to adopt special procedures for considering the unique needs of young asylum seekers.

The new guidelines were released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

INS Commissioner Doris Meissner stated that "The new guidelines not only reflect the Administration's continued international leadership in humanitarian issues, they also demonstrate that INS is taking concrete action to further the protection needs of refugee children."

The guidelines start with the basic premise that children may experience persecution differently than adults and are not in the same position to offer testimony as clearly as adults do.

The INS recognizes that children can suffer unique forms of persecution. Abusive child labor practices, trafficking in children, rape, forced prostitution and the forcible military conscription are some examples. And the failure of a state to protect its children can affect a claim.

The INS emphasizes that the standards for asylum have not changed, but the procedures have been. The goal is to provide a "comfortable, secure" environment for the child asylum seeker. To achieve this goal, all Asylum Officers will get special training to reinforce their awareness of children's and cultural issues.

The INS Resource Information Center (RIC) has also been instructed to issue information on the condition of children in various countries to Asylum Officers.

The creation of new guidelines for children are partially credited to the success of INS guidelines for asylum claims by women which were released in 1995.