Children in crisis: unaccompanied migrant children in the EU

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Series Details (2016-17)HL34
Publication Date 26/07/2016
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The EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee of the United Kingdom's House of Lords published on 26 July 2016 a report which found that unaccompanied migrant children were being systematically let down by the European Union and its member states, including the UK.

In 2015 88,245 unaccompanied children applied for asylum in the EU and a conservative estimate from EUROPOL suggested that at least 10,000 unaccompanied migrant children were currently missing in the EU.

Conclusions and recommendations:

+ Member States across the EU are failing to share the burden collectively and little progress has been made in the relocation of unaccompanied child migrants;

+ Lack of action and implementation of existing measures is leading to increased vulnerability of unaccompanied children to smugglers, traffickers and organised crime;

+ Unaccompanied migrant children are often not believed and treated with a level of suspicion, with age disputes often adversely affecting their treatment and their well-being;

+ Children display a lack of trust in the authorities, and in some cases resort to drastic measures to avoid cooperating with them;

+ A stronger focus on developing durable solutions should be followed, retaining the principle of prioritising the child's best interests at its core;

+ A system of independent guardians, appointed as soon as possible to act in the child's best interests, should be established across the EU and the UK.

Source Link Link to Main Source http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201516/ldselect/ldeucom/139/139.pdf
Related Links
ESO: Background information: Fourfold rise as 95,000 unaccompanied children claim asylum in Europe in 2015 http://www.europeansources.info/record/migration-crisis-revealed-fourfold-rise-as-95000-unaccompanied-children-claim-asylum-in-europe-in-2015/
EUObserver, 26.07.16: Report: EU failing migrant children https://euobserver.com/migration/134479
The Guardian, 26.07.16: Migrant children are being failed by UK, says Lords committee report https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/26/unaccompanied-migrant-children-failed-uk-government-lords-eu-committee
The Independent, 26.07.16: Refugee crisis: Britain is failing to take in its fair share of unaccompanied children, House of Lords report says http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/child-migrants-europe-house-of-lords-theresa-may-uk-government-syria-refugees-a7155516.html
BBC News, 26.07.16: Lone child refugees 'left in squalor' by EU nations - Lords http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36890721
UK: House of Lords: EU Home-Affairs Sub Committee: News, 26.07.16: Unaccompanied child migrants failed by EU Member States http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/eu-home-affairs-subcommittee/news-parliament-2015/unaccompanied-minors-report-published/
EurActiv, 26.07.16: UK and EU ‘failing’ unaccompanied child refugees http://www.euractiv.com/section/uk-europe/news/uk-and-eu-failing-unaccompanied-child-refugees/
ESO: Background information: David Cameron: UK to resettle child refugees from Europe http://www.europeansources.info/record/david-cameron-uk-to-resettle-child-refugees-from-europe/
The Conversation, 07.09.16: Any detention of migrant children is a violation of their rights and must end https://theconversation.com/any-detention-of-migrant-children-is-a-violation-of-their-rights-and-must-end-64985
UNHCR: High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Protection Challenges, 2016: Children on the Move http://www.unhcr.org/uk/high-commissioners-dialogue-on-protection-challenges-2016.html
Forced Migration Review: Thematic Listing, November 2016: Children on the Move http://www.fmreview.org/sites/default//files/FMR%20Children%20on%20the%20move%20thematic%20listing%20web.pdf

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