Loiola Legal Clinic students produce a report titled ‘Analysis of the challenges associated with age-assessment procedures for unaccompanied foreign minors’

Students from the University of Deusto’s Loiola Legal Clinic in Bilbao, in collaboration with the Cruz Blanca Foundation, have produced the report «Analysis of the challenges associated with age-assessment procedures for unaccompanied foreign minors» as part of the service-learning programme for the 2025–2026 academic year.

The report was produced in response to a direct request from the Cruz Blanca Foundation, based on its work with minors at Spain’s southern border. Its main aims are to:

- Analyse international, European and Spanish legal provisions relating to age assessment.

- Highlight the discrepancies between the day-to-day administrative practices of the authorities and Spain’s commitments to child protection under international treaties.

- Provide rigorous, up-to-date recommendations based on a comprehensive human rights approach to the rights of migrants.

The Working Group has comprised the following members:

- Gorka Omaetxebarria Vallejo, Ane Goyarzu, Naroa Alonso Valverde, Helena Aguayo Veiga and Hiart Bediaga Arrizabalaga.

Academic tutoring has been provided by the following lecturers: Araitz Peña, José Ramón Canedo and Asier Martínez de Bringas, together with a team of lawyers and accredited professionals from the Cruz Blanca Foundation.

Conceived as an open and dynamic document responding to the realities of migration — particularly relevant in light of the events in Ceuta this summer — the report aims to provide a useful support tool for the day-to-day work of professionals at the Cruz Blanca Foundation, as well as a starting point for academic debate following its forthcoming public presentation at the University of Deusto.