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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for child migrants
14 results foundAuthor: Kennedy, Elizabeth Title: No Childhood Here: Why Central American Children are Fleeing their Homes Summary: Over a decade before President Barack Obama described the influx of unaccompanied child migrants to the United States as an "urgent humanitarian situation requiring a unified and coordinated Federal response," child and refugee advocates warned that children who shared experiences of years-long family separation, widespread violence in home countries, and higher rates of neglect and abuse were fleeing from South of our border in alarming numbers. Then as now, over 95 percent were from Mexico and the Central American nations of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. When these children were apprehended in the U.S., the Trafficking and Victim's Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) required agents to ask limited and straightforward abuse questions. If the child was determined to be without a parent or legal guardian, s/he had to be transferred to Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) care within 72 hours. Yet, even though 8,000 to 40,000 unaccompanied child migrants were apprehended annually between 2003 and 2011, only 4,800 to 8,300 entered ORR"s care each year. A 2011 report by the Appleseed Foundation documented that most Mexican child migrants did not receive TVPRA screening and thus could not transition to ORR care. Instead, per an agreement between the Mexican and U.S. governments that Obama would like emulated among Central American countries, Mexican children were quickly deported. Nonetheless, those from indigenous areas or areas with high levels of drug violence were able to receive the "Unaccompanied Alien Child" (UAC) designation, alongside thousands from the three countries that make up the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America. In 2012, nearly 14,000 UAC entered ORR care, with 88 percent from the Northern Triangle. In 2013, over 24,000 arrived, with 93 percent from the same three nations. This year, as many as 60,000 could arrive, and while numbers from Mexico have declined, numbers from the Northern Triangle continue rising. What drives these children to flee their homes? What causes their parents to put them and their life's savings in the hands of smugglers? What happens if they fail to reach the U.S.? Since October 2013, with funding from a Fulbright Fellowship, I have lived in El Salvador and worked toward answering these questions through my research into the causes of child migration and the effects of child deportation (see appendix). Based on the evidence I collected and analyzed to date, violence, extreme poverty, and family reunification play important roles in pushing kids to leave their country of origin. In particular, crime, gang threats, or violence appear to be the strongest determinants for children's decision to emigrate. When asked why they left their home, 59 percent of Salvadoran boys and 61 percent of Salvadoran girls list one of those factors as a reason for their emigration. In some areas of El Salvador, however, extreme poverty is the most common reason why children decide to leave. This is particularly true for adolescent males, who hope to work half the day and study the other half in order to remit money to their families and help them move forward in life. In addition, one in three children cites family reunification as a primary reason for leaving home. Interestingly, over 90 percent of the children I interviewed have a family member in the US, with just over 50 percent having one or both parents there. Most referenced fear of crime and violence as the underlying motive for their decision to reunify with family now rather than two years in the past or two years in the future. Seemingly, the children and their families had decided they must leave and chose to go to where they had family, rather than chose to leave because they had family elsewhere. Essentially, if their family had been in Belize, Costa Rica, or another country, they would be going there instead. Details: Washington, DC: American Immigration Council, 2014. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 2, 2014 at: http://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/docs/no_childhood_here_why_central_american_children_are_fleeing_their_homes_final.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Central America URL: http://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/docs/no_childhood_here_why_central_american_children_are_fleeing_their_homes_final.pdf Shelf Number: 132610 Keywords: Child MigrantsPovertyUndocumented ChildrenViolence |
Author: Georgetown University. Law Center. Human Rights Institute Title: The Cost of Stemming the Tide: How Immigration Enforcement Practices in Southern Mexico Limit Migrant Children's Access to International Protection Summary: The dramatic increase in the number of children migrating from the Northern Triangle countries to Mexico and the United States has garnered international attention. What is more concerning, though, is the lack of protection of the human rights of the children who are migrating. A report published today by the Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute (HRI) finds that Mexico is currently falling short of its human rights obligations and is putting migrant children at risk of being returned to violent and dangerous situations in their home countries by failing to provide adequate access to international protection. The report, The Cost of Stemming the Tide: How Immigration Enforcement Practices in Southern Mexico Limit Migrant Children's Access to International Protection, is the product of months of research, including dozens of interviews with affected children and families, advocates and government officials and agency staff. Many of the Central American children interviewed were seeking asylum in Mexico. The researchers also found that migrant children in Southern Mexico are systematically detained, often in poor conditions, for long and unpredictable periods. Detention conditions - coupled with the prospect of being detained for months while awaiting a decision on their status - deters children from seeking asylum. The United States has invested significant political and fiscal resources in the fortification of Mexico's southern border. But encouraging increased apprehension and deportation of children at Mexico's southern border may come at a significant cost to children's rights. International law requires that countries receiving migrants, like Mexico, meaningfully inform them of their right to seek asylum and provide access to procedures to determine whether they merit asylum or other forms of international protection. Although Mexico's laws, policies, constitutional provisions are meant to guarantee these protections, the report found that they are failing to do so in practice. Details: Washington, DC: Human Rights Institute, 2016. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2016 at: http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/centers-institutes/human-rights-institute/fact-finding/upload/HRI-Fact-Finding-Report-Stemming-the-Tide-Web-PDF_English.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/centers-institutes/human-rights-institute/fact-finding/upload/HRI-Fact-Finding-Report-Stemming-the-Tide-Web-PDF_English.pdf Shelf Number: 138536 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild MigrantsChild ProtectionHuman Rights AbusesImmigrant DetentionMigrant Children |
Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office Title: Unaccompanied Children: HHS Should Improve Monitoring and Information Sharing Policies to Enhance Child Advocate Program Effectiveness Summary: Thousands of unaccompanied children arrive in the United States each year. For a small number of especially vulnerable children - about 1 percent in fiscal year 2015 - ORR provides an independent child advocate to develop safety and well-being recommendations to stakeholders, such as immigration judges. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 directed HHS to expand the program and included a provision for GAO to review the child advocate program. This report examines (1) the extent to which ORR increased the number of program locations, (2) the extent to which ORR ensured vulnerable children received advocate services, and (3) the program's benefits and challenges. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws and regulations; analyzed data from fiscal years 2012-2015 on the number and characteristics of child advocate cases served and recommendations made to stakeholders; and interviewed officials at ORR and the Department of Justice's immigration judges, and child advocate service providers in Chicago, Ill.; Brownsville, Tex.; and Washington, D.C. - selected to obtain variation in the number of children served and amount of time the program was operational, among other factors. What GAO Recommends GAO recommends that ORR improve its efforts to monitor care provider referrals and contractor decisions, and ensure that the contractor has timely access to key information on the children. HHS agreed with GAO's recommendations. Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2016. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: GAO-16-367: Accessed April 20, 2016 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/676687.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/676687.pdf Shelf Number: 138702 Keywords: Child MigrantsChild ProtectionImmigrationUnaccompanied Children |
Author: Citizens' Association for Combat against Trafficking in Human Beings and all Forms of Violence against Women Title: Children on the Move: Status and programmes of support and protection of children on the move in the Republic of Serbiaa Summary: Although children and young people comprise a large share of all migrants in Serbia, state protection in this field is still minimal, according to this report, launched by Atina, Grupa 484, and Fund for Open Society, three NGOs working in collaboration with Norwegian Save the Children and Save the Children for North West Balkans. The study, focusing on children on the move in Serbia, was conducted between September and December 2012 and is the first such report in the region. The goal of the research is to gain an insight into and ensure a better understanding of the phenomenon of children on the move in Serbia, and to identify the existing services and practices. The study findings undoubtedly confirm that the current government response to the needs of these children is not adequate and that many of them do not get the support and protection to which they are entitled. The report includes specific recommendations to improve the national protection system for children in Serbia - a functioning system that is entirely based on the needs of children and which guarantees their protection and exercise of all their rights, irrespective of their migration status. The report also includes a snapshot of individual stories of children on the move in Serbia which reflect the experience and hardships of migration from the perspective of children themselves. Details: Belgrade: Citizens' Association, 2013. 248p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 20, 2016 at: http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/sites/default/files/documents/children-on-the-move-final1.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Serbia and Montenegro URL: http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/sites/default/files/documents/children-on-the-move-final1.pdf Shelf Number: 139749 Keywords: Child MigrantsChild Protection Child Trafficking |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF Title: Uprooted: The Growing Crisis for Refugee and Migrant Children Summary: Around the world, nearly 50 million children have migrated across borders or been forcibly displaced. This report presents - for the first time - comprehensive, global data about these children - where they are born, where they move and some of the dangers they face along the way. The report sheds light on the truly global nature of childhood migration and displacement, highlighting challenges faced by child migrants and refugees in every region. Details: New York: UNICEF, 2016. 134p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 8, 2016 at: http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Uprooted_growing_crisis_for_refugee_and_migrant_children.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 140249 Keywords: Child MigrantsChild ProtectionChild RefugeesMigrant ChildrenMigrants |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "Why Are You Keeping Me Here?" Unaccompanied Children Detained in Greece Summary: Greek authorities registered more than 3,300 unaccompanied asylum-seeking and other migrant children in the first seven months of 2016. Many had fled violence and conflict in their home countries such as Syria and Afghanistan and arrived alone in Greece, their point of entry to the European Union. The country's longstanding shortage of shelter space for children has grown particularly acute in the context of Europe's ongoing refugee crisis. In the absence of sufficient, suitable accommodation, Greek authorities routinely detain unaccompanied children in police stations and detention centers, justifying it as a temporary protection measure in children's best interest. In practice it is anything but. "Why Are You Keeping Me Here?:" Unaccompanied Children Detained in Greece, based on interviews with 42 children, documents the Greek authorities' arbitrary detention of unaccompanied children in unhygienic, degrading conditions in which they are vulnerable to physical abuse, as well as lack of access to care, protection, and other services. The situations documented not only violate children's right to liberty but often constitute inhumane and degrading treatment. The Greek government should put an end to the unjustified detention of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and ensure that there are sufficient and suitable alternatives to detention. The European Union should provide resources to support Greece's efforts. Greece and European Union member states should intensify efforts to relocate unaccompanied asylum-seeking children out of Greece including through family reunification with family members living in other EU countries. Details: New York: Human Rights Watch, 2016. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 14, 2016 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/greece0916_web.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Greece URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/greece0916_web.pdf Shelf Number: 140282 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild MigrantsImmigrant DetentionMigrant ChildrenUnaccompanied Children |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF Title: Broken Dreams: Central American Children's Dangerous Journey to the United States Summary: The flow of refugee and migrant children from Central America making their way to the United States shows no sign of letting up, despite the dangers of the journey and stronger immigration enforcement measures implemented after a major increase in numbers in mid-2014. In the first six months of 2016, almost 26,000 unaccompanied children and close to 29,700 people travelling as a family - mostly mothers and young children - were apprehended at the US border.2 Most are from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, which have some of the world's highest murder rates.3 They seek to get away from brutal gangs that target them or poverty and exclusion that deprive them of education and hope. Many also travel north to reunify with their families. Many of the adults and some of the children apprehended at the US border are deported in expedited proceedings, women and young children spend weeks, and at times months in detention, while unaccompanied children may face years of uncertainty as their cases go before immigration courts. If deported, some of them could be killed or raped by the gangs they had sought to escape in the first place. All these children need protection every step of the way - at home, along the journey and at their destination. Thousands never make it as far as the US border. In the first six months of 2016, more than 16,000 refugee and migrant children from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras were apprehended in Mexico.4 In addition, hundreds of refugees and migrants die every year in the harsh environment along the Mexico-US border.5 Many more are missing and are feared to have been kidnapped, trafficked or murdered.6 "It is heart-rending to think of these children - most of them teenagers, but some even younger - making the gruelling and extremely dangerous journey in search of safety and a better life. This flow of young refugees and migrants highlights the critical importance of tackling the violence and socio-economic conditions in their countries of origin," said UNICEF's Deputy Executive Director Justin Forsyth. Details: UNICEF, 2016. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 7, 2016 at: http://www.unicef.org/media/files/UNICEF_Child_Alert_Central_America_2016_report_final(1).pdf Year: 2016 Country: Central America URL: http://www.unicef.org/media/files/UNICEF_Child_Alert_Central_America_2016_report_final(1).pdf Shelf Number: 147814 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild MigrantsImmigrantsUnaccompanied Children |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund Title: Harrowing Journeys: Children and youth on the move across the Mediterranean Sea, at risk of trafficking and exploitation Summary: Young migrants and refugees set out to escape harm or secure better futures - and face staggering risks in the process. For 17-year-old Mohammad, who travelled through Libya to seek asylum in Italy, violence and persecution back home meant the choice was clear: "We risked our lives to come here," he says, "we crossed a sea. We knew it is not safe, so we sacrificed. We do it, or we die." For children and youth on the move via the Mediterranean Sea routes to Europe, the journey is marked by high levels of abuse, trafficking and exploitation. Some are more vulnerable than others: those travelling alone, those with low levels of education and those undertaking longer journeys. Most vulnerable of all are those who, like Mohammad, come from sub-Saharan Africa. These findings come from a new UNICEF and International Organization for Migration (IOM) analysis of the journeys of some 11,000 migrant and refugee children (adolescents aged 14-17) and youth (18-24), as recorded in their responses to the Displacement Tracking Matrix Flow Monitoring Surveys conducted by IOM along the Central and Eastern Mediterranean routes to Europe in 2016 and 2017. The analysis reveals that while adolescents and youth are at greater risk than adults on both routes, the Central Mediterranean route to Italy is singularly dangerous. It takes most young migrants and refugees through Libya, where they contend with pervasive lawlessness and violence and are often detained, by state authorities and others. On both routes, additional years of education and travelling in a group, whether with family or not, afford young migrants and refugees a measure of protection. But where they come from outweighs either of these factors. An adolescent boy from subSaharan Africa, who has secondary education and travels in a group along the Central Mediterranean route, faces a 73 per cent risk of being exploited. If he came from another region, the risk would drop to 38 per cent. Anecdotal reports and qualitative research from the Mediterranean region and elsewhere suggest that racism underlies this difference. Countless testimonies from young migrants and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa make clear that they are treated more harshly and targeted for exploitation because of the colour of their skin. The story that emerges from the data confirms the tragic reality that adolescents and youth are prepared to pay a high price for a chance at a better life. Those interviewed in the surveys are among millions on the move worldwide, as recent decades have seen high levels of displacement, across borders and within countries. Many flee brutal conflicts or violence, while others move in search of prospects for better education or livelihoods. With regular migration pathways barred for most, those seeking to make their way across borders often place their fates in the hands of smugglers. This alone leaves them dependent and vulnerable. They risk life and limb as they travel through harsh environments - and suffer appalling abuse and exploitation if they fall into the hands of traffickers, armed groups or other predators. As the world continues to grapple with the reality of migration and displacement, the findings from this report underscore the urgent need for action. To protect the most vulnerable among those on the move, UNICEF and IOM call for a multi-pronged strategy that addresses the interplay of factors that expose migrant and refugee children and youth to risk - or help keep them safe. Such a strategy includes expanding safe and regular migration channels to dampen the demand for smugglers, while fighting trafficking and exploitation. To enhance the resilience and protect the rights of children and youth, it entails investing in education and other basic services, coordinating child protection efforts across countries, and fighting racism and xenophobia in the countries migrants and refugees travel through and the ones in which they seek to make their lives. Details: New York: UNICEF, 2017. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 13, 2017 at: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Harrowing_Journeys_Children_and_youth_on_the_move_across_the_Mediterranean.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Harrowing_Journeys_Children_and_youth_on_the_move_across_the_Mediterranean.pdf Shelf Number: 147236 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild MigrantsChild TraffickingHuman SmugglingHuman TraffickingRefugees |
Author: Byrne, Kevin Title: Protected on Paper? An analysis of Nordic country responses to asylum-seeking children Summary: This research, commissioned by the Nordic National Committees for UNICEF, examines to what extent the rights of asylum-seeking children are respected and protected in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The report reviews relevant national legislative and policy frameworks; examines how these are implemented; documents good practices; and highlights gaps in national standards and their compliance to international standards. It makes some broad recommendations on how to strengthen and extend legal, policy and practice frameworks to ensure the full realization and protection of child asylum seekers' rights and entitlements in the Nordic region. It further provides country-specific detailed, practical recommendations on how to ensure protection and welfare for asylum-seeking children. It makes country-specific recommendations on how legal, policy and practice frameworks can be strengthened to ensure full protection of children's rights and entitlements. Details: Florence, Italy: UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti, 2018. 112p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 29, 2018 at: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/NORDIC%2028%20LOWRES.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Europe URL: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/NORDIC%2028%20LOWRES.pdf Shelf Number: 149608 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild MigrantsChild ProtectionRefugees |
Author: Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse Title: Child Migration Programmes: Investigation Report Summary: Over a period of many years before and after the Second World War, successive United Kingdom governments allowed children to be removed from their families, care homes and foster care in England and Wales to be sent to institutions or families abroad, without their parents. These child migrants were sent mainly to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Government departments, public authorities and charities participated in these child migration programmes and were responsible, to varying degrees, for what subsequently happened to the children. Post-war, around 4,000 children were migrated, mostly to Australia. This report sets out the results of the Inquiry's investigation into the experiences of child migrants, and the extent to which institutions took sufficient care to protect these children from sexual abuse. The investigation also examined the extent to which the institutions involved knew, or should have known, about the sexual abuse of child migrants and how they have responded to any such knowledge. Finally, it considered the adequacy of support and reparations for sexual abuse, if any, which have been provided by the institutions concerned. Although the focus of the Inquiry is on sexual abuse, the accounts of other forms of abuse provide an essential context for understanding the experiences of child migrants. Many witnesses described 'care' regimes which included physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect, as well as sexual abuse, in the various settings to which they were sent. Some described constant hunger, medical neglect and poor education, the latter of which had, in several instances, lifelong consequences. By any standards of child care, then or at the present time, all of this was wrong. A former child migrant said his experiences at one school were "better described as torture than abuse", saying he was locked in a place known as 'the dungeon' without food or water for days. Another told of "backbreaking" work on the building of a new school building. Yet another spoke of the failure to give him medical attention, which resulted in the loss of an eye. In some places, there were persistent beatings of boys and girls, and one witness described how he had tried to kill himself at the age of 12. In a particularly awful incident, we heard of the sadistic killing of a pet horse loved by the children, which a group of 15 children were forced to watch as a form of collective punishment for an alleged wrongdoing. This incident took place during what was known as a 'Special Punishment Day' at Clontarf (one of the institutions to which child migrants were sent). This epitomised the brutal and brutalising environment in which many child migrants lived. We heard that there were few, if any, means of reporting abuse and children lived in fear of reprisals if they did so. They were disbelieved and intimidated, often with violence. One witness was told to 'pray' for her abuser, with no further action being taken on the abuse. Another was told not to tell anyone when he reported that he had been raped. For some children, one of the most devastating aspects of their experience was being lied to about their family background, and even about whether their parents were alive or dead. This had a lifelong impact, including on their physical and mental well-being and their ability to form properly, or lost records, effectively robbing these children of their identity. The effects of this carelessness and poor practice cannot be overestimated. The agencies involved in 'sending' children in the migration programmes were mostly voluntary organisations, with a small number being migrated by local authorities. Some organisations, such as the Fairbridge Society and Barnardo's, operated as both sending and receiving institutions, providing schools and homes in the country of migration. Others migrated children to institutions run by other organisations. From evidence available to the Inquiry, there was a sense in which these children were treated by some of the sending institutions as 'commodities' with one institution even referring to its 'requisition' for a specific number of children to be sent to Australia. Many of the voluntary organisations involved failed in their duty to exercise proper monitoring or aftercare, having dispatched children, in some cases as young as 5, to the other side of the world. Although some (such as the Fairbridge Society) had in place a form of post-migration monitoring, these were not robust systems, and some (such as the Sisters of Nazareth, when migrating to Christian Brothers institutions) had no post-migration monitoring system at all. Details: London: The Independent Inquiry, 2018. 174p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed April 28, 2018 at: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/4265/view/Child%20Migration%20Programmes%20Investigation%20Report%20March%202018.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/4265/view/Child%20Migration%20Programmes%20Investigation%20Report%20March%202018.pdf Shelf Number: 149948 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild LaborChild MigrantsChild MigrationChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationUnaccompanied Children |
Author: Sinchetto, Francesco Title: Unaccompanied and Separated Children along Italy's Northern Borders Summary: Unaccompanied and separated foreign minors have been arriving in Italy for several years. The total number of minors intercepted and registered with Italian authorities over the past six years is 62,672. Since 2011 the number of UASC (Unaccompanied And Separated Children) has risen constantly from year to year, up until a slight fall recorded in the first seven months of 2017 (compared with arrivals in the same period of 2016), with the arrival of 12,656 unaccompanied minors, making up 13% of the arriving migrant population over the past year. Among registered UASC, one in four left reception facilities, and became untraceable3. Such a high dropout rate from centres on the part of minors is chiefly due to the desire to go directly to other States in the European Union. This is partly due to the dysfunctions of Italy's reception system and to the time needed to start and complete the procedures for family reunification and the granting of international protection. In view of the "irregular" nature of these people's status, not in the sense of unlawful presence in the country but rather that of straying from a planned course, characterising the state of migrants in transit, who appear to form a sort of "underground people", these migrants, including minors, do not receive any sort of temporary reception or formal support. This category, present en masse in reality, is not legally contemplated or recognised as such. Thus this group is not governed by any particular rules, and does not receive any protection, including services meeting primary needs. In such a setting, there is a clear use, and need, for activities in support of emergency measures adopted by institutions, humanitarian organisations and civil society. Since 2011 Intersos has been operating a night-time reception centre in Rome called A28 for foreign minors in transit. In five years the centre has provided a safe shelter for more than 4,000 unaccompanied foreign minors in transit in Italy. In 2016 the A28 Centre hosted 1,112 unaccompanied minors from Eritrea, one third of all those arriving in Italy in the same year. Working closely with the centre is the Intersos Street Unit service, created in November 2016 in partnership with Unicef, in order to monitor the territory, promote the service and single out the most vulnerable cases. Following on from this initial project, over the past two years Intersos has broadened its action in the sphere of reception and assistance for unaccompanied foreign minors transiting in Italy or dropping out of official reception channels. In March 2017, in collaboration with Unicef, initiatives were also undertaken in Como and Ventimiglia, in light of the increase in migrant flows in the respective border areas, with the consequent intensification of border checks on the part of neighbouring States and a growing number of "rejected" people in Italy, who are forced to face a stalemate situation with very few prospects. The Como and Ventimiglia projects intend to facilitating the take into care of intercepted unaccompanied foreign minors, 1,070 in Como and 1,418 in Ventimiglia, through the providing of information, support and legal aid. Thanks to collaboration with local organisations and reference institutions, ad hoc pathways for UASC are activated, where possible, starting with access to the international protection application procedure, and including admission to secondstage reception facilities. In Ventimiglia furthermore, a mobile clinic has been operational since April 2017, offering basic medical care to persons outside the reception centres. The most relevant cases in terms of the seriousness of violations committed or complexity of individual cases have been taken up in collaboration with the Associazione per gli Studi Giuridici sull'Immigrazione (Association for Legal Studies on Immigration). As regards family reunification procedures, collaborative ties have been forged with the Safe Passage initiative. Thanks to the support of the Open Society Foundation, the conditions of unaccompanied foreign minors have been monitored along Italy's northern borders, from August to October 2017. This report is the result of this monitoring activity. The research was conducted in connection with the above-described actions, making use of the material gathered during these activities, consisting mainly of direct interviews with minors in Rome, Como and Ventimiglia and information procured by constant dialogue with institutions and the actors of civil society operating in the sector. In localities where an Intersos team is not present on a permanent basis, the research was conducted by means of monitoring visits, interviews with migrants, meetings with the authorities responsible for managing the migratory phenomenon, and counting on permanent cooperation with local associations. Details: Rome: Intersos, 2017. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: July 26, 2018 at: https://www.intersos.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/UASC-along-Italys-northern-borders.compressed.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Italy URL: https://www.intersos.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/UASC-along-Italys-northern-borders.compressed.pdf Shelf Number: 150923 Keywords: Child MigrantsIllegal MigrantsImmigrationMigrantsUnaccompanied ChildrenUnaccompanied Migrant Children |
Author: Kanics, Jyothi, ed. Title: Migrating Alone: Unaccompanied and Separated Children's Migration to Europe Summary: The independent migration of children, while having several characteristics and many links in common with that of adults, has emerged as a specific phenomenon all over the world. The planned, forced or spontaneous decision to abandon the household and country of origin takes on a new dimension when the people involved in a long and often dangerous migration adventure are sometimes just in their early teens. Since the early 1990s, most European countries have been destination or transit points (sometimes both) for these young migrants. When confronted with the migration of unaccompanied and separated children, European national legal frameworks and government policies are known to be in continual conflict between the more or less repressive enforcement of their asylum and/or immigration rules and an ambiguous (but timid) interpretation of the international and national legal instruments created for the care of children 'in need', regardless of their origin or nationality. There is often a marked discrepancy between, on the one hand, the rights to which migrants in general, and child migrants in particular, are entitled according to international legal standards and, on the other, the effective protection they receive and the difficulties they experience in the countries where they live and work and through which they travel. This disparity between the principles agreed to by governments and the reality of individual lives underscores the vulnerability of migrants in terms of dignity and human rights. A major problem for children is that they are considered as migrants before they are considered as children - this automatically lowers their legal protection, as international standards regarding children are much more elaborated and more widely ratified than those regarding migrants. Migrants have rights under two sets of international instruments: first, the core human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the provisions of which apply universally and thus protect migrants; and second, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions that apply specifically to migrants, and to migrant workers in particular. Furthermore, children have rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). But, as with migrants generally, there is no international or regional legislative framework dealing directly with child migrants. Nonetheless, in addition to the ICCPR and ICESCR, norms regarding children's welfare in general and the protection of children from economic exploitation and harmful work are directly or indirectly relevant to children, accompanied or unaccompanied, who are in a process of forced or voluntary movement. Similarly, the protective measures within the CRC, the ILO Conventions on child labour, the UN Protocols on trafficking, and regional instruments are also relevant. Within the European Union (EU) legal framework, the protection of child migrants is very limited and no regional legal framework that adequately addresses this issue is in place. Generally, the ability to migrate or travel legally without an adult is quite limited for children, especially internationally. This means that children migrating alone are more likely to do so irregularly, thus increasing the risk of exploitation or abuse. Research into independent child migration suggests that it is usually older children who are involved in this phenomenon; that child migration is usually highest in regions where adult migration is also high; that independent child migration can be, and often is, a positive decision taken by the child with the aim of improving life opportunities; and that child migrants, like adults, rely on their social and financial resource networks when migrating. The current dominant debate in most European countries is still restricted to the national level and sometimes even to national/regional or local levels. The double or even triple level of competences in most of the national territories implies a significant spread of diverging national practices that shape the treatment of migrant children. The competences regarding immigration and asylum issues (access to the territory, identification, asylum process, immigration status) are generally assumed at national level. However, aspects relating to the care of children (evaluation of the individual situation, reception and care, guardianship or fostering) are often within the competence of regional or local authorities and practices therefore vary widely. This dispersion and confusion, combined with a lack of adequate responses to the main objectives of migrant children, mean that a significant number remain outside the control of the relevant authorities and care institutions. As a result, these unprotected migrant children live in situations of increasing vulnerability and instability as victims of trafficking and exploitation networks or simply surviving on their own, sometimes by committing illicit or unlawful activities. Despite the completion of various research studies on this issue, this reality remains broadly unidentified. The central issues of understanding how this migration is constructed in the contexts of origin, and the different factors playing a role in the migration of these children, require a more extensive examination. To date, hardly any research has been carried out on the children's main countries and regions of origin, which might indicate the main 'push factors' and the motivation behind the increasing number of departures. The main migrant children's profiles, the social and economic situation of their families and the role played by the household and the communities in the migration decision, the choice of the migration route and the function of those encountered during the journey are all key points that remain largely unknown. A better knowledge of these factors will allow not only an understanding of the migration fluxes and phenomena on a more abstract or academic level, but will prove essential if effective protection and respect for these children are to be secured. The desire to find answers to all these questions and uncertainties lay behind the organization of an international conference, 'The Migration of Unaccompanied Minors in Europe: the Contexts of Origin, the Migration Routes and the Reception Systems'. This conference, organized by the research centre MIGRINTER, University of Poitiers-CNRS and the International Juvenile Justice Observatory (based in Belgium) with the support of UNESCO's Social and Human Sciences Sector, was held in Poitiers (France) in October 2007 with the aim of creating a forum for discussion between researchers and practitioners in this field. Experts from over twenty countries participated and exchanged information on three main issues: - a comparative approach to the different legislative frameworks, policies and practices in various European countries and an overview and analysis of the protection offered at European level on the basis of international obligations; - an overview of the situation of children who lack protection in the destination countries; and - an analysis of the situation and definition of childhood and the different profiles of migrant and potential migrant children in the main countries of origin. The present publication brings together the main conclusions of the Poitiers conference. From a selection of the most relevant contributions, it seeks to provide an extensive overview of the main questions and issues outlined above. The contributors come from a wide variety of disciplines, combining mainly legal, sociological and anthropological backgrounds. They generally provide an analytical approach to the different issues from both a descriptive and a critical perspective. The three original parts of the conference have been condensed into two main parts in the book: the first five chapters describe the situation and treatment of unaccompanied and separated migrant and asylum-seeking children in the destination societies; and the following chapters analyse the main contexts of origin of migrant children and the different factors playing a role in migration choices. Details: Paris: UNESCO, 2010. 197p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 26, 2018 at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001907/190796e.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Europe URL: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001907/190796e.pdf Shelf Number: 150926 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild LaborChild Migrants Child Trafficking Immigration Enforcement Refugees Unaccompanied Children Unaccompanied Minors |
Author: U.S. Senate. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Title: Oversight of the care of unaccompanied alien children Summary: Since 2015, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has conducted extensive oversight of federal government programs designed to care for children who enter the United States without a parent or legal guardian and ensure they are not trafficked or abused. Although the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") and Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") have taken incremental steps toward improving the care of these children-called unaccompanied alien children ("UACs") under federal law-they still do not take sufficient responsibility for guarding their safety and ensuring they appear at their immigration court proceedings. Most significantly, no agency claims any legal responsibility for the children's well-being once HHS places them with sponsors-including sponsors who are not their parents or legal guardians-and no agency makes any effort to ensure UACs placed with sponsors appear at their immigration court proceedings. And while DHS and HHS recently completed a Joint Concept of Operations ("JCO")-some 17 months after it was due-the JCO only addresses current policy and fails to address any of the recommendations for improving the UAC system offered by the Subcommittee or the Government Accountability Office ("GAO"). Thus the JCO is largely a recitation of the status quo, and does little to offer hope that federal agencies are working effectively to improve UAC safety and ensure that the immigration system is functioning properly. HHS, DHS, and the Department of Justice ("DOJ") have taken some modest steps in the right direction, but major deficiencies persist that leave the children at significant risk for trafficking and abuse and undermine our immigration system. This report documents the Subcommittee's findings over the past two and a half years since its initial hearing and report on UACs. Details: Washington, DC: The Subcommittee, 2018. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 17, 2018 at: https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-08-15%20PSI%20STAFF%20REPORT%20-%20Oversight%20of%20the%20Care%20of%20UACs.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-08-15%20PSI%20STAFF%20REPORT%20-%20Oversight%20of%20the%20Care%20of%20UACs.pdf Shelf Number: 151165 Keywords: Child MigrantsImmigrants Immigration Policy Migrant Children Unaccompanied Alien Children |
Author: Kulu-Glasgow, I. Title: Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers in the Netherlands: choice or chance? Summary: Background In Europe, the year 2015 was characterized by a high inflow of asylum seekers, including unaccompanied minor asylum seekers (UMAs), and the Netherlands was no exception. In this year, the number of UMAs who sought protection in Europe almost quadrupled compared to a year earlier (over 96,000 in 2015 vs. approximately 23,000 in 2014). The Netherlands ranked seventh among the destination countries in the EU, with 3,859 UMAs. Similar to the EU total, this number was almost four times higher than in 2014 (984). Also mirroring the situation in Europe, UMAs belonging to the 2015 cohort in the Netherlands came mostly from Syria, Eritrea, and Afghanistan. Objectives and research questions The question as to why asylum seekers end up in a specific country becomes particularly interesting at times of sudden high inflow, such as in 2015. The current study aimed to shed light on the push and pull factors that played a role in the flight of the UMAs who arrived in the Netherlands in 2015, to understand the processes through which these minors ultimately ended up in this country, their expectations regarding the intended destination, if any, and their satisfaction with life in the Netherlands - topics about which little is known so far. The main research questions were: 1 What is known about the inflow of UMAs to other European countries in 2015 and about the pull factors which play a role? 2 What is the size of the UMA cohort which arrived in the Netherlands in 2015, how is it composed (with regard to country of origin, age, and sex), and in which respects does this composition differ from cohorts in earlier and later years? 3 Why did the UMAs who came to the Netherlands leave their home countries? 4 Did they 'choose' the Netherlands consciously, and if so, why? 5 Did they have certain expectations regarding the Netherlands? If yes, what where they and were they met? 6 Are UMAs satisfied with their life in the Netherlands and why (not)? 7 What are UMAs' plans for the future with regard to staying in the Netherlands? 8 Have they filed a request for family reunification? Details: The Hague: WODC, 2018. 104p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 10, 2018 at: https://www.wodc.nl/binaries/Cahier%202018-18_2874_Volledige%20tekst_tcm28-356301.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Netherlands URL: https://www.wodc.nl/binaries/Cahier%202018-18_2874_Volledige%20tekst_tcm28-356301.pdf Shelf Number: 152888 Keywords: Asylum Seekers Child MigrantsMigrants Unaccompanied Children |