Migration

Reasons for children to migrate can be many: conflict, poverty, climate change, lack of access to basic services, persecution and discrimination in country of origin or transit. Being on the road is dangerous and unsafe, especially for minors. While often unaccompanied, they may stay temporarily in cities or at country borders, and may engage in movements presenting serious hazards for their safety and security.

Often, they are exposed to risks such as family separation, trafficking, child marriage, lack of access to basic services and psychological distress. Those risks are even greater for unaccompanied and separated children lacking direct protection from siblings or parents. Depending for example on their age, nationality, ethnicity, religion or the specifics of their family situations, the needs of migrant children can vary greatly. In their journey, girls and boys are also exposed to different risks ranging from sexual and gender-based violence to child labour.

The existing challenges of addressing complex, cross-border, rapidly-evolving migration phenomena require humanitarian and development actors to develop new intervention logics and approaches. In order to adequately respond to the protection needs of migrant children, we are becoming more agile in how we operate (e.g. adjusting to changing routes and evolving political environments) simultaneously in the countries of origin, transit and destination.