The number of children who turn up alone at the entry ports of western Europe is growing. They flee for the same reasons as adult asylum-seekers, but also for reasons specific to children. Although children travelling without their parents are among the most vulnerable, they often have even less protection and access to rights than adults.

A new programme developed by UNHCR and Save the Children seeks to change this situation by promoting best practice throughout Europe. The programme identifies a number of key concerns, including the detention of children at borders, and identifies solutions.

Armed conflict, severe poverty, persecution: all adverse circumstances behind the growing number of those seeking asylum in western Europe. It is not only adults who flee in the hope of living free of fear and want. Children travel for many of the same reasons as adult asylum seekers. Some also flee child-specific human rights violations or family abuse and neglect.

A number of these children travel without a parent or primary care-giver: they are so-called ‘separated children’. Many of these children face a highly uncertain and volatile future in Europe, where there are many gaps in protection policies and practices. In an effort to address these various gaps, UNHCR and Save the Children developed the Separated Children in Europe Programme.

The programme identified a number of key concerns, including:

• Refusal of access and detention of children: many European countries won’t allow separated children into the country, or detain them in centres with adults.
• Identification and registration shortcomings: many countries do not have accurate statistics on separated children. Identification procedures to determine the age and ‘separated’ status are often flawed and discriminatory.
• Family tracing: one of the first actions taken on behalf of a separated child should be to trace the family. Tracing is undertaken in several European countries, but not systematically.
• Guardians for all children: guardians are necessary to protect and advise a separated child. While most states appoint guardians, this does not cover all separated children.
• Access to asylum procedures: in some countries children are not encouraged or given the opportunity to apply for asylum. They also have inadequate legal representation.
• Long term solutions: very few separated children are recognised as refugees in any European country. Neither are they sent home. Many are granted only temporary residency and face an uncertain future at 18.

There are signs that European countries are beginning to address these problems. Positive changes include:

• increasing attention to keeping records of numbers of separated children seeking asylum
• some countries limiting or stopping altogether the practice of detaining separated children
• new draft European legislation relating to reception standards, asylum procedures, family reunification, refugee determination and subsidiary protection, which includes provisions for separated children. Once adopted, these instruments will be binding on member states
• however, enforcement needs to be addressed as a priority. Even where there is good legislation in place, it is not necessarily implemented.

Source(s):
‘Separated children seeking asylum: the most vulnerable of all’, Forced Migration Review, no. 12, University of Oxford/Norwegian Refugee Council, by Kate Halvorsen, January 2002 Full document.

Funded by: The funders of the Separated Children in Europe Programme:the Norwegian Government, EU, UNHCR, Save the Children Norway, Save the Children Sweden and Save the Children UK

id21 Research Highlight: 5 September 2002

Further Information:
Kate Halvorsen
UNHCR Brussels
Rue van Eyck 11B
1050 Brussels
Belgium

Tel: +322 6271759
Fax: +322 6271732
Contact the contributor: halvorse@unhcr.ch

UNHCR

Other related links:
'Could do much better: Britain’s treatment of young refugees under the spotlight'

'Involvement and empowerment. Better HIV prevention and education for Britain's refugees'

The State of the World's Refugees Report 2000

See the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children

The Children and Armed Conflict Unit provides reports on the impact on children

The Refugee Studies Centre features further related research

Discrimination in education and exclusions from IRR