24. 确定移民年龄是东道国照顾无人陪伴移民儿童的第一步。只有未成年人才受《儿童权利公约》的具体保护。东道国不应该只通过体检和访谈来确定青年移民的年龄，除非他或她没有能够证明自己年龄的身份证件。17 实际上，一些国家当局在使用体检和面试来确定移民年龄。一旦确定为未成年人，孤身和失散儿童才有权利得到法定监护人的协助，陪同他们入住收容中心，在申请庇护时给予法律援助。获得指定的法定监护人往往需要等待很长时间，是进入儿童保护机制和与家庭团聚的一个主要障碍。18
24. Determining the migrant’s age is the first step which the host State must take when caring for unaccompanied migrant children. Only minors can benefit from the specific protection granted by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The host State should not seek to determine the young migrant’s age by means of medical examinations and interviews unless he or she does not have identity documents to prove his or her age.17 In practice, a number of national authorities use medical tests combined with interviews to determine the migrant’s age. Once minority is established, all unaccompanied and separated children have the right to be assisted by a legal guardian, to be hosted in a reception centre, and to receive legal assistance if they apply for asylum. Long delays in the appointment of legal guardians constitute a major obstacle to access to child protection mechanisms and family reunification.18