THE MADINA CASE AND THE PROTECTION OF THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE REFUGEE CHILDREN AT THE EUROPEAN BORDERS: A REAL PRIORITY?

Authors

  • Asja Korbar University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče
  • Flávio de Leão Bastos Pereira Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie

Keywords:

Children’s rights; refugees; human rights; European Union.

Abstract

This article examines the systemic violations of refugee children’s rights at the European borders, using the tragic case of Madina Hussiny, a six-year-old Afghan girl, as a central narrative. It highlights the failure of border policies and asylum procedures in prioritizing the best interests of the child, despite international legal frameworks such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and UNHCR Guidelines. The study also explores the criminalization of solidarity, barriers to legal protection, and the inadequate response of national and European institutions. The article calls for a rights-based and child-focused reform of refugee reception policies in the European Union.

Author Biographies

Asja Korbar, University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče

Is an experienced project manager with a professional history in education and human rights in Europe. She holds an MA in Philosophy and Hungarian studies from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (University of Zagreb). She is a co-founder of the international organization dealing with the rights of refugees ‘Are You Syrious?’, ex-coordinator of the Romani Early Years Network Croatia (REYN) dealing with the rights of Roma children, and a co-author of research reports on minority education in Vukovar, Croatia. She is alumni of the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies – Zoryan Institute and University of Toronto (2014). Head of Project Coordination and Community Engagement.

Flávio de Leão Bastos Pereira, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie

Flávio de Leão Bastos Pereira is a Jurist, PhD. and Master Degree in Political and Economic Law.
Post-Doctorate at Mediterranea International Centre for Human Rights Research dell Università
“Mediterranea”di Reggio Calabria, Italy. Professor of Human Rights and Constitutional Law at
Mackenzie Presbyterian University (São Paulo, Brazil). Expert in Fundamental Rights by the University
of Coimbra (“Instituto Ius Gentium Conimbrigae”/IGC) and IBCCRIM. Expert on the topic
of genocide at the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies – Zoryan Institute
and University of Toronto (2014), as well as at the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide
and Mass Atrocities (AIPG). Invited Professor at the Social Service Faculty of Technische Hochschule
Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm (Nuremberg University of Technology, Germany), 2020/2024.
Coordinator of the Clinic for Migrants and Refugees (MackPeace) in partnership with Missão Paz.
Co-coordinator of the Study Group on Global Justice at the Law School of Mackenzie Presbyterian
University. Guest professor at the Higher School of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Union
(ESMPU) and at the Military Judicial School of the State of São Paulo (TJM/SP). Lawyer before the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on indigenous questions.

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Published

2026-05-29

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 3 (2025): Revista Direito Mackenzie

Section

Citizenship shaping the State

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Copyright (c) 2026 Asja Korbar, Flávio de Leão Bastos Pereira

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