The world is facing a critical moment. An unprecedented number of children are on the move across all regions – whether as migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees or internally displaced persons – due to multifaceted and overlapping global crises. This displacement, coupled with a lack of protective measures, is placing children in extreme danger. In addition, it is placing huge pressure on Governments, communities and organizations working to ensure their protection. Yet, just as children’s rights most urgently need to be upheld and their protection guaranteed, the responses to date are not equal to the task. Children on the move are not being treated as children first and foremost, with full protection for their rights. For these reasons, the Special Representative considers that it is essential to redouble global, regional and national action to ensure the protection of all children on the move.

Displacement and migration on an unprecedented scale

Children are on the move all over the world on an unprecedented scale. According to the World Migration Report 2022 published by IOM, the estimated number of international migrants was 281 million, of whom an estimated 14.6 per cent were children. UNHCR estimated that as at June 2023, 110 million people had been forcibly displaced around the world, of whom 43.3 million were children. Between 2010 and 2022, the global number of forcibly displaced children more than doubled.

Displacement is being driven by a diverse range of factors. Conflict and widespread violence remain key drivers, resulting in 25.8 million children being internally displaced at the end of 2022. Climate change is another significant factor: over the past six years, there have been 43 million internal displacements of children linked to weather-related disasters exacerbated by climate change – approximately equivalent to 20,000 children per day. To these drivers can be added political instability, extreme poverty, structural inequality, food insecurity, and discrimination, among others. UNHCR indicated that the main drivers of forced displacement in the first half of 2023 were the conflicts in Ukraine, the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Myanmar; a combination of drought, floods and insecurity in Somalia; and a prolonged humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. In addition, at the time of writing of the present report, close to 1 million children had been forcibly displaced from their homes in the Gaza Strip, with UNICEF describing it as the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. For many children, displacement is not temporary: it is becoming increasingly protracted. Most children displaced today will spend their entire childhood in displacement.

Unprecedented risks

At every stage of their journey, children are exposed to heightened risks of violence and harm. These threats are often interconnected and interrelated and can be magnified further for unaccompanied and separated children.

Migrating or being displaced, and coping with the lack of regular avenues for migration, can be fatal. Since 2018, UNICEF estimates that around 1,500 children have died or gone missing while attempting the central Mediterranean sea crossing. This number accounts for 1 in 5 of the 8,274 people who have died or gone missing on the route, making it the deadliest according to the records of the IOM Missing Migrant Project. UNICEF has highlighted the fact that the number of deaths and disappearances of children on the central Mediterranean route tripled in 2023 in comparison to 2022, with 11 children dying every week attempting to cross. This is not confined to the Mediterranean basin: deaths and disappearances of children on the move are a reality in all regions, with a small number of particularly dangerous routes often accounting for most cases.

Children on the move – especially those who are unaccompanied or separated – are at heightened risk of violence, including being trafficked. Child trafficking is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon that continues to evolve, including with the development of technology-facilitated trafficking. Children account for 35 per cent of all identified victims of trafficking. They are trafficked for a wide variety of purposes, including for sexual exploitation, forced marriage, forced labour, illegal adoption, begging, or recruitment for criminal or violent extremist groups. Restrictive migration policies perpetuate the smuggling of migrants and make it increasingly lucrative.

A higher risk of experiencing sexual or gender-based violence is another reality for children on the move. There is significant evidence demonstrating pervasive and chronic sexual and gender-based violence against girls and women, in particular on migration routes the world over, though such violence is also increasingly experienced by boys. It can occur at all stages of a migrating child’s journey; in addition to occurring in contexts of exploitation by traffickers, children may be forced into “survival sex” to gain passage, shelter, sustenance or money for onward journeys. This is also an issue that has arisen in the Special Representative’s direct engagement with displaced girls and women in the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan, who stressed that early marriage became a widespread coping mechanism intended to ensure girls’ safety and to address poverty.

Children on the move are also deprived of their liberty. Whether detained themselves or impacted by the detention of their parents or guardians, children are particularly vulnerable to abuse and neglect in these contexts. At least 80 countries have laws and policies that allow children to be detained based on their legal or migratory status, and at least 330,000 children globally per year are deprived of their liberty based on their or their parents’ legal or migratory status. Lack of accurate data means this is likely to be a significant underestimate. An estimated 52,000 people are reportedly detained in the Al-Hol and Al-Roj camps in the north-east of the Syrian Arab Republic, 80 per cent being children under 12 years of age. While many countries have committed to end child immigration detention, the reality is that even in some countries where legislation does not support immigration detention, it continues to be used. The Special Representative has consistently emphasized that children must never be separated from their families and detained on the basis of their migration status or that of their parents, in any setting, as this is never in their best interest. She emphasizes further that authorities must respect the non-refoulement principle, particularly in relation to children, and that national security concerns do not negate the obligation to be guided by the best interests of the child.

Displacement undermines the protection of children by disrupting their family and community support, increasing their poverty, and reducing their access to services essential for their protection and well-being. This is especially true for children who are stateless or living in camps and camp-like situations, which generally operate as parallel systems in host countries that are not connected to or integrated into national child protection systems. Families trapped in such situations sometimes resort to high-risk coping mechanisms, such as coercing children into early marriage or sending them into child labour. This leaves children at even greater risk of exploitation and school dropout, which perpetuate poverty and make it more difficult to obtain a legal identity. Children may also go missing or end up in street situations.

Children on the move are very often subject to severe trauma. This trauma affects the capacities of these children to provide accurate accounts of the long impact of the violence suffered, which is often not considered by the authorities in contact with them on their journeys. This can trigger mental health problems that can last into adulthood, while limiting their social and emotional development as well as their health and their educational potential. As one child interviewed as part of research undertaken by UNICEF Innocenti observed: “I will never forget what I have experienced in my journey, it was full of awful moments. I felt sad whenever the brokers mistreated us. I feel sad whenever I saw dead body of my fellow migrants. That memory still hurts me.” The lack of adequate and specialized institutions that offer services and opportunities for such children can lead to hopelessness and exacerbate their mental health issues. It is critical to keep hope alive. In the words of another refugee child from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela: “My dream is to come back to Venezuela and see my family. I hope the global leaders consider our dreams.”

Responses to date: fragmented and insufficient

While important steps to ensure the protection of children on the move around the world have been taken by States, the United Nations, civil society and other stakeholders, measures to date are not sufficient and or at the scale needed at this critical juncture.

Past and ongoing efforts to address these urgent as well as chronic situations are laudable, yet we are observing increasingly differential treatment of children facing similar protection risks. The gradual global erosion of a shared obligation to protect all children, regardless of their status, everywhere and in all circumstances, requires prompt action in order to be reversed.

Alarmingly, across many humanitarian settings now, there is a blatant disregard for the protection of civilians and children’s rights. Humanitarian and protections systems are under pressure as they try to scale up their response, and ensure it is appropriate and effective in addressing the diverse protection challenges facing children who have been forcibly displaced.

Many children on the move remain invisible to national child protection systems, and the access to information for them is fragmented or simply neglected. They are often caught in a bureaucratic net of lengthy processes to determine their status, and this curtails their opportunities for a better future. Identification systems to register children are often inadequate, making it difficult to meet the needs of children on the move. In particular, prompt identification of children travelling alone as unaccompanied or separated from their families, and their effective protection, remains an important challenge. Age assessment procedures are often not comprehensive and protective, and do not provide the benefit of the doubt from the outset, resulting in gaps in the effective protection of these children. Procedures, systems and practices for asylum and access to international protection are often confusing and lengthy, with delays leaving many children in standby situations for long periods. In addition, children turning 18 will also lack protection because they are no longer considered to be children, even though they continue to need special protective measures.

Too often, children suffer from a lack of access to essential services on the basis of their legal status, location or other factors. The barriers may be legal, political or administrative, as well as cultural/linguistic and financial. Children and their families often lack information or support in overcoming these barriers. Discrimination and xenophobia can be compounding factors and were highlighted by children whom the Special Representative met in many countries. For example, during the Special Representative’s visit to an informal settlement in Saida, Lebanon, in 2021, difficulties were shared regarding access to education and medical care; the challenge posed by children’s births not being registered; children working from an early age; and the violence experienced by children and its huge impact on their mental health throughout their lives, including in the settlement.

Collaboration between domestic child protection actors is often inadequate and fragmented – often due to limited resources and overstretched capacities – which weakens the protection on offer. Cooperation between national authorities in addressing migration within and across regions also presents significant challenges. During several onsite visits across all regions, the Special Representative identified varying levels of vulnerabilities of national and cross-border systems of identification, referral and protection, as well as the challenges of coordination, between immigration and border control authorities on the one hand, and child protection services on the other, within and between countries.

Most of today’s displaced populations, including children, have been displaced for far too long in camps or settings that were set up to address short-term and urgent needs. Some have lived in such settings for generations. There is a need to reassess the way in which responses to crisis are provided, moving beyond the initial emergency phases – where the focus is on life-saving protection and assistance – to forward-looking efforts that identify from the outset durable solutions that are viable.

Children on the move are children first and foremost

Protection of children is possible and realizable, however it requires concrete and coordinated actions, including investing in a sustainable and integrated chain of services that are clearly identified and accessible to all children. The status of children on the move as children first – with all the protections to which they are entitled – should prevail over their migratory status. They must have access to child-friendly, integrated services that are led by the child and social protection sectors, rather than by authorities responsible for immigration and security procedures or border control.

There is a sound foundation of standards, guidance and examples of good practices on which to build. Drawing on this, an advocacy brief published by the Special Representative and other United Nations entities outlined the overarching framework for an effective response to the protection challenges faced by children on the move. This includes the importance of strengthening States’ preparedness and response in the face of crises to enable them to fully protect and respect children’s rights from the outset. Adequate mitigation measures need to be in place to ensure that all children and all their rights are fully protected, regardless of their origin, status and identity. In this connection, it is crucial to identify and respond to the acutely increased risks facing children in times of crisis. In addition, it is necessary to invest, as a matter of urgency, in the inclusion of displaced children in national systems and to move beyond emergency parallel responses, given the often protracted nature of displacement in many situations.

It is important to prioritize prevention and action on the underlying drivers of forced displacement and unsafe migration for children and their families by tackling violence, conflicts, climate change, discrimination, violence and poverty in countries of origin. More generally, investment in national child protection systems that include displaced children, rather than excluding them or creating separate services for them, has proven to be more sustainable and effective in the long term, from both economic and child rights perspectives. Parallel systems do not work. An integrated approach reinforces countries’ preparedness in an environment where forced displacement and migration are likely to continue because of conflict, violence, persecution, disasters and climate change.

Access to civil documentation and birth registration are often essential prerequisites to accessing social services. There have been important efforts by States to support children on the move in this regard, for instance in Ethiopia where revisions were made to extend the scope of eligibility of registration services to include refugees and other non-nationals living in the country. Around 1.6 million Venezuelans have received a temporary protection permit in Colombia out of the 2.5 million who have registered. A registration campaign was put in place in schools, which allowed 174,500 children to move forward in the process for receiving this identity card. Action to tackle statelessness is also needed. Rwanda, for example, has included protections against statelessness in its nationality code, especially for children born in the territory who cannot claim another nationality. It recognizes a child’s right to acquire nationality on the basis of birth and residence in the country until the age of majority. The Special Representative was particularly encouraged during her visit to Thailand by the pledge from the authorities to withdraw the country’s reservation to article 22 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which pertains to the protection of refugee and asylum-seeking children, as well as by the country’s engagement and pledged commitment to bolster action to resolve and reduce statelessness, including through the development of a national action plan.

All children need non-discriminatory access to integrated and accessible services adapted to their needs, including social welfare, justice, health, education, and child and social protection. A number of submissions from States highlighted steps taken to ensure access to education services, including from Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia. In Türkiye, a partnership framework was developed between municipalities and partners to enhance the delivery of community-based services for vulnerable children in the country through a network of safe spaces, community centres, outreach services and mobile teams. With regard to provisions on alternative care for children and on prioritizing the use of family or community-based care over institutional care, Indonesia can be observed as applying a promising practice, where the law provides that refugee children – among others – whose parents are unable to care for them and children who need special protection may be provided with care through guardianship or fostering. An inclusive and human rights-based approach that guarantees the availability and accessibility of integrated services for all children on the move can contribute to positive social, economic and cultural outcomes for these children and their families, communities and societies.

Mechanisms of early detection, referral and care, for example of unaccompanied children, are indeed essential, and help to identify those in the most vulnerable situations. A number of important, positive developments have occurred, for example in Greece with the establishment of the National Emergency Response Mechanism and the Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors, while in Spain, the Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo) played a key role, stressing the urgency of addressing the protection gaps faced by unaccompanied children. When mechanisms are set up quickly and are well coordinated, the chances to ensure early identification and better responses are higher, as the Special Representative observed during her visit to Romania. Robust case-management systems are also needed, along with a well trained, equipped and supervised social workforce, as well as clear and dedicated standard operating procedures that define the roles and responsibilities of all actors. Well-designed information management systems can contribute to family tracing and reunification, as well as the timely identification of missing children.

Strengthening the role of the justice system in preventing and responding to violence against children is essential and a prerequisite for the upholding of child rights and the granting of access to justice for children, as well as for ending impunity and ensuring accountability for violations of child rights. In addition, it is critical to ensure full compliance with international human rights law by prohibiting child immigration detention. Many States are taking action to end this practice.

Domestic and cross-border coordination is vital among relevant authorities – especially those responsible for child protection and well-being. Entities at the national and subnational levels – including, critically, police and security services – alongside civil society actors, international agencies and concerned Governments, must protect displaced children from all forms of violence. This requires support for the establishment and development of strong national protection systems, and appropriate coordination mechanisms within countries and across borders where relevant.

Regional collaboration across multiple countries affected by the same crisis is also essential in order to harmonize responses. An example of action at the subregional level is the ECOWAS strategic framework to strengthen national child protection systems and the establishment of the West Africa Network, which ensures that a continuum of services are delivered across the region as part of an eight-step procedure, ranging from identification of a vulnerable child to provision of emergency care to successful return and social reintegration. Another example was the event held in July 2023 entitled “Regional exchange on the implementation of stage zero of the route for comprehensive protection of the rights of migrant boys, girls and adolescents”, at which representatives of child protection institutions from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Panama shared experiences, including challenges and opportunities, and stressed the critical importance of interinstitutional cooperation across the region. The European Union’s Temporary Protection Directive enables member States to move rapidly to offer protection and rights to people in need of immediate protection and to avoid overwhelming national asylum systems in cases of mass arrivals of displaced persons in the context of the armed conflict in Ukraine. Although the Special Representative expressed concern that the standards of protection were not being applied to all international protection applicants equally, the responses and solidarity expressed have raised hopes for concrete progress on the overdue reform of the European Union’s migration and asylum procedures.

It is essential to engage children and young people on the move, safely and ethically, as key actors and partners in shaping the response. This means empowering them, listening to them and learning from them. In addition, children and young people on the move need to be involved in policy processes at global, national and local levels, with specific efforts to engage the children who are the most vulnerable and excluded. For example, the Malta Foundation for the Well-being of Society, in partnership with the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta and with the support of the Special Representative on Violence Against Children and the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, is undertaking a collection of the voices of children coming from and through different conflict zones to Malta, analysing their access to protection services and their views on areas that need improvement. The second Global Refugee Forum provided a further example. Child refugees from 11 countries across the world submitted their calls to global leaders, adding to the refugee children participating in person in the Forum, seeking to ensure that decisions were duly informed by the views and experiences of children, a process to which the Office of the Special Representative contributed.

Research conducted by UNICEF Innocenti, with migrant and displaced children and adolescents aged 14 to 18 in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan, provided an important perspective on children’s experiences and views of their migration journeys, displacement and return. The children interviewed showed a strong sense of agency in relation to their lives and the reasons for their migration. They first and foremost wanted to be able to support their families and ensure decent living conditions for themselves and their relatives. “I would like to be a very educated man in the future, who is able to support his family, and become a valuable member of community. But to become that person, I need support in terms of education.”

Children on the move with whom the Special Representative has met all over the world and during the intergenerational dialogue as part of the Global Refugee Forum have all been consistent in their concerns and requests for their safety and the protection of all their rights, as highlighted in the following manner by two refugee girls from the Syrian Arab Republic. One said: “As a 6-year-old, I prepared myself to be sent back to the war zone. I used to have nightmares, and fear for my life. How could adults tell me that I don’t deserve safety when I had no choice but to leave. You all need to gain my trust again and the trust of all children by implementing the policies and not using them just for show.” The other girl said: “We children are often overlooked, our contributions and views are not taken seriously. We need to be included in decisions that affect our lives.”

The way forward

Millions and millions of children are left behind. The world is facing an unprecedented child rights crisis. Violence against children in all its forms and in all settings continues to increase worldwide. Armed conflicts, the climate crisis and environmental degradation, food insecurity, poverty and social disparities have reached such levels that we are witnessing an unprecedented level of displacement of children. Protecting the rights of children on the move in times of crisis is needed more than ever. Investing in integrated child protection systems that are accessible to all children, including children on the move, is essential for the full respect and protection of all children’s rights, at all times. Protecting the rights of children on the move also means involving and empowering them more and more, by providing them with safe pathways to receive information, to express themselves freely and to participate in decision-making processes.

Against the background of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the second Global Refugee Forum and the high-level pledges made there, the way forward is to ensure their observance and implementation without further delays, as the children attending these events called for. The upcoming United Nations Summit of the Future, in September 2024, is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirming existing commitments, including to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Charter of the United Nations, and to move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people’s lives, including for all children. The action-oriented Pact for the Future, expected to be endorsed by Heads of State and Government at the Summit, showcasing global solidarity for current and future generations, must place the situation of all children, including the millions forcibly displaced, at its core.

The year 2024 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the establishment of the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, an opportunity to revamp and revitalize efforts to end violence against all children. Despite important strides made, the recommendations included in the Secretary-General’s study on violence against children – which was the origin of the mandate of the Special Representative – are still extremely relevant and pertinent.

Fewer than six years remain to honour the promise made to end all forms of violence against all children in all settings by 2030. The question to be asked is therefore: is it a vain promise or is it still achievable? We owe it to all children to keep the promise. It is possible if we move from reiterating commitments and pledges to concrete, integrated and sustainable actions for and with children, leaving no one behind.