Uprooted: The growing crisis for refugee and migrant children

My attention was caught by an item on a BBC World Service news bulletin about a new report issued by UNICEF which estimated that around the world, nearly 50 million children have migrated across borders or been forcibly displaced. This report presents the first comprehensive, global data about these children – where they are born, where they move and some of the dangers they face along the way. It sheds light on the truly global nature of childhood migration and displacement, highlighting challenges faced by child migrants and refugees in every region.

The key findings of Uprooted: The growing crisis for refugee and migrant children, paint a sobering picture of the lives and situations of millions of children and families affected by violent conflict and other crises that make it seem safer to risk everything on a perilous journey than remain at home.  Uprooted shows that:

• Europe hosts approximately one in 9 of the world’s refugees, a total of 1.8 million people. By the end of 2015, an additional one million asylum-seekers in Europe were also waiting for a decision on their asylum applications.
• Children make up 31 per cent of all refugees and migrants who have arrived by sea in 2016, and around 45 per cent of those stranded in south-east Europe. In addition, out of the 1,886,000 first time asylum applications, registered in Europe during the last 18 months, 43 per cent (or some 810,000 applications) were by children.
• Children represent a disproportionate and growing proportion of those who have sought refuge outside their countries of birth: they make up about a third of the global population but about half of all refugees. In 2015 around 45 per cent of all child refugees under UNHCR’s protection came from Syria and Afghanistan.
• 28 million children have been driven from their homes by violence and conflict within and across borders, including 10 million child refugees; 1 million asylum-seekers whose refugee status has not yet been determined; and an estimated 17 million children displaced within their own countries – children in dire need of humanitarian assistance and access to critical services.
• More and more children are crossing borders on their own. In 2015, over 100,000 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in 78 countries – triple the number in 2014. Unaccompanied children are among those at the highest risk of exploitation and abuse, including by smugglers and traffickers.
• About 20 million other international child migrants have left their homes for a variety of reasons including extreme poverty or gang violence. Many are at particular risk of abuse and detention because they have no documentation, have uncertain legal status, and there is no systematic tracking and monitoring of their well-being – children falling through the cracks.
• A refugee child is five times more likely to be out of school than a non-refugee child. When they are able to attend school at all, it is the place migrant and refugee children are most likely to encounter discrimination – including unfair treatment and bullying.

To read the full report please click on the following link - Uprooted - UNICEF report on displaced and migrant children.