The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) urged European governments to agree on a region-wide approach to better protect refugee and migrant children who continue to face grave dangers and violations of their basic rights during dangerous sea journeys and on arrival to Europe.
UNICEF said an estimated 400 refugee and migrant children arrived on the shores of Greece, Italy and Spain during the first two weeks of January alone. It added that children were enduring especially perilous journeys due to freezing temperatures and rough waters during the winter months.
This past weekend, it was reported that an estimated 170 people either died or went missing in two separate shipwrecks on the Mediterranean. There are reports that children and a pregnant woman were on board. Last week, a nine-year-old girl from Iraq reportedly drowned in the Mediterranean while trying to reach the island of Samos with her family.
Earlier this year, at least six children were stranded on the Mediterranean aboard the Sea Watch 3 rescue ship because it was not permitted to dock. UNICEF said the children on board remained in limbo, some for up to 18 days, unable to access urgent medical care or other essential services until the vessel was eventually allowed to disembark.
It is estimated that 23,000 refugee and migrant children arrived by sea to Greece, Italy and Spain in 2018, the vast majority fleeing conflict, extreme poverty and persecution.
One of these children is 12-year-old Osama who fled the ongoing conflict in Yemen. Osama and his family were recently transferred from the Reception and Identification Centre in Moria, on the island of Lesvos in Greece to Athens. “I thought ‘it’s over, I’m going to die. This is how my life ends” he told UNICEF about crossing the sea to reach Greece with his family. Osama said his future in Yemen was uncertain and hoped to a doctor to help others.
UNICEF called for a region-wide predictable approach that allows rescue vessels to safely disembark as rapidly as possible to better protect vulnerable refugee and migrant children. UNICEF added that child rights compliant reception and identification facilities must also ensure children’s access to vital protection, health and psychosocial support and all children must have fair and timely access to due process, including legal aid and asylum procedures.
UNICEF stressed that more resettlement pledges that prioritize children as well as faster family reunification procedures from all EU Member States were also urgently needed.
Last year UNICEF appealed for USD 34 million to support refugee and migrant children in Europe, in total USD 15 million in funds were received, leaving a 55 percent funding gap~ UNICEF
