The challenge

Children make up a significant share of asylum seekers in the EUand many children who arrive in Europe are unaccompanied or separated. Children are amongst the most vulnerable groups, thus making the protection of children in migration and unaccompanied minors both a societal and political problem.

The protection provided to migrant children is constantly being challenged by the growing number.

What is being done?

Considering these shortcomings, the Partnership on Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees dedicates one of its actions to the integration and protection of children through a set of policy recommendations on the protection of unaccompanied minors.

In April 2018, the Partnership hosted a workshop at the Lost in Migration II Conference in Brussels. The conference, organised by Missing Children Europe and the Maltese President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society, focused on the role of local authorities and followed an earlier edition held in 2017.

Enriched by the workshop’s outcomes and the case study analysis from 14 different European cities, the Partnership developed a series of recommendations addressed to Member States and EU institutions and agencies. 

For Member-States it includes: 

1. Make relevant funds (both national and EU) available to sustain local welfare services and integrated child protection systems
2. Enhance EU cooperation favouring family reunification and strengthening the rights to remain
3. Establish nation-wide systems and bodies to ensure high standards for guardianship and reception centre
4. Involve and consult local authorities when reporting to the EC and UNCHR

For EU institutions and agencies it includes: 

1. Prioritise children in migration in relevant EU funding
2. Collect more and better data at the EU level on unaccompanied migrant children
3. Identify alternative solutions (with cities) on the age bottleneck in guardianship
4. Support the exchange of good practices across the EU
5. Promote research on the protection and integration of children in migration
6. Ensure the Fundamental Rights Agency’s advisory role for European cities on children in migration

See all the recommendations here for more information!

For more information:

About Action 1 “Recommendations on the protection of unaccompanied minors”

About the Partnership on Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees

About the Partnership's Action Plan