More than 11,600 children crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Italy between January and September without being accompanied by parents or guardians, which represents an increase of 60% compared to the same period last year.
According to a Unicef alert published today, in Italy alone there are more than 21,700 unaccompanied children held in reception centers, often closed and with limited movements.
“War, conflict, violence and poverty are among the main causes that lead children to flee their countries of origin alone,” explains Unicef (United Nations Children’s Fund), highlighting that “data shows that unaccompanied children are at risk of exploitation.” and abuse at every stage of their journeys, with girls and boys in sub-Saharan Africa being the most likely to suffer abuse.
Children who make these trips alone “are often placed in overcrowded inflatable boats or poor-quality wooden fishing boats, unsuitable for adverse weather conditions,” the UN agency explains.
“Some are placed in the holds of ships, others in iron ships, which are especially dangerous for navigation,” he also warns.
The dangers increase even more due to “the lack of regional, coordinated and adequate capabilities and cooperation for search and rescue at sea and disembarkation in safe places,” regrets Unicef.
Those who survive these trips are immediately placed in centers before being transferred to reception centers, where there are currently 21,700 minors in Italy, that is, 4,000 more than in the same period in 2022.
Unicef recalls that, between June and August of this year, at least 990 people, including children, died or went missing trying to cross the central Mediterranean, which represents three times the figure recorded last summer.
The figure must be much higher than that recorded since many shipwrecks do not leave survivors and many are not even registered.
“The Mediterranean Sea has become a cemetery for children and their future,” lamented UNICEF regional director for Europe and Central Asia and special coordinator for the response to refugees and migrants in Europe, Regina De Dominicis, quoted in a statement released today.
“The devastating cost for children seeking asylum and safety in Europe is the result of political decisions and a failed migration system,” he charged, adding that “the adoption of a European-wide response to support children and families who “They seek asylum and safety, and a sustained increase in international aid is desperately needed to support countries facing multiple crises.”
For this reason, the UN agency for the defense of children asks, governments must, in accordance with international law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, provide “safer and legal ways to request asylum”, in addition to ” ensure that children are not detained in closed facilities.
It also maintains that countries must “strengthen national child protection systems” to better protect them as migrants and coordinate “search and rescue operations”, ensuring disembarkation in safe places.
The organization also recalls that the current debate between the European Parliament and the Member States of the European Union on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum is “an immediate opportunity to affirm and defend the fundamental principles of child protection and develop policies that address the multiple violations of children’s rights in countries of departure, transit and arrival.
Source: TSF
