Europe: A growing body of research points to a lack of response and preventative action as the number of children missing in migration increases. European leaders are urged to improve data collection and cross-border collaboration.

Research and data collection

Findings

  • Numbers: 18,292 unaccompanied child migrants recorded as missing in Europe between January 2018 and December 2020
  • Origin: predominantly Moroccan, also Algerian, Guinean, Eritrean and Afghani
  • Gender: 90% boys
  • Age: 1 in 6 under 15 years of age
  • Reasons attributed to missing migrant children:
    • Vulnerability to criminal organizations that target migrant children for labor and sexual exploitation, forced begging and trafficking
    • Inefficient procedures to obtain international protection or family reunification

Issues raised

  • Data collection incomplete, inconsistent or non-existent in European countries
  • True number of missing child migrants estimated to be much higher
  • Questionable extent to which European countries engage in protecting unaccompanied minors
  • Procedures in place to investigate cases of unaccompanied minors deemed inefficient in practice

Interview with F. Toscano, head of advocacy and migration at Missing Children Europe

  • The high number of missing children is a symptom of a child-protection system that does not work
  • Cross-border collaboration on these cases is practically non-existent

Childhub

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