International Conference: Protecting and supporting children on the move

The 1st International Conference on Protecting and Supporting Children on the Move was held in Barcelona on 5-7 October 2010. Organized by the Global Movement for Children (GMC),it aimed at analysing and debating the current status of the issue of children on the move and presenting some key recommendations on the way forward to initiating the revision of policy and programmatic responses to the protection and support of these children. It gathered 120 participants from 63 countries, including representatives from governmental agencies, international organisations, civil society organisations, academics and researchers and children. The Conference concluded with a call for joint coordinated action in promoting a more comprehensive approach to public policies in various areas directly affecting children on the move. The Conference’s main conclusions were the following: 1. Inefficient protection mechanisms before, during and after movement 2. Prevention does not stop migration but it can stop exploitation 3. Lack of true child participation 4. Social ambivalence towards immigrant children 5. Inefficient strategic coordination among main actors 6. Gap between Best interest determination and CRC implementation by States still not bridged 7. The search for employment: a sensitive and increasingly prominent trigger for child migration 8. Establishing Identification Systems for stateless children