Children and Migration

Millions of children around the world are affected by migration. This includes girls and boys who migrate within and between countries (usually with their families but sometimes on their own), as well as children ‘left behind’ when their parents or caregivers migrate in search of economic opportunities. Be it forced or voluntary, by adults or children, migration affects children’s care situations and can entail risks to their protection.

Children on the move: Like adults, children often migrate in an attempt to build a better life – to escape poverty, discrimination or conflict, and to find education, employment and other opportunities. Others relocate due to an unstable or difficult family environment, such as the loss of a parent, or neglect or abuse from a caregiver. Children may migrate with or without their families, and their movements may be temporary, seasonal or permanent.

While migration can open up new opportunities for children, it can also expose them to harmful care situations, chronic poverty, violence and exploitation. During transit and at their destination, migrant children may end up in unsafe institutions, detention centres, on the streets or in overcrowded, poor-quality accommodation. Others who migrate to join households (e.g. for fostering, education, domestic work or apprenticeships) may be subjected to exploitation. Many migrant children, particularly those without documentation, end up without access to education, protection or basic services, while discrimination and language barriers make it difficult for them to reintegrate into new communities.

Children left behind. An increasing number of children around the world are also adversely affected when migrating parents leave home to seek out employment or economic opportunities (often in urban centres). While children may gain materially from remittances sent home, the absence of a parent may be detrimental to their social and psychological development. In particular, the nature and quality of children’s care relationships may suffer as they adjust to life without a loved caregiver and try to replace a physically and emotionally nurturing relationship with someone new.

Studies from around the world indicate that children left behind by migrating caretakers face education, health and psychosocial problems, including deteriorating academic performance and lower school attendance, greater risk of drug abuse, early pregnancy, involvement in criminal activities and social dysfunction. Left behind children may suffer from low self-esteem and feelings of abandonment, and in the worst cases may be vulnerable to violence, abuse and trafficking. While new or remaining caretakers can offer children a protective and caring environment they may also struggle to care for them without support, and breakdown of these relationships can sometimes result in children’s placement in harmful institutional care.

The documents in this section focus on the impact of migration on children’s care situations, and outline policy, advocacy and programmatic measures to enhance child migrants’ protection.

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Protecting the Lonely Children: Recommendations to the Australian Government and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child with respect to unaccompanied children who seek asylum and refuge in Australia

Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce, 01 Jul 2014

This report by the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce identifies problems with and makes recommendations for improvement of the current system of guardianship and care of unaccompanied children in Australia, which is inequitable and lacking in transparency and accountability.

Policy Brief: Household Mobility and School Drop-Out in Orphans and Vulnerable Children

RIATT-ESA, 01 Jul 2014

This policy brief provides an overview of research from 2002-2006 on whether children in Zimbabwe who recently migrated were at increased risk of dropping out of school, including research questions, findings, and conclusions.

Country Care Review: Indonesia

Better Care Network, 13 Jun 2014

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child as part of its examination of the third and fourth periodic reports of Indonesia (CRC/C/IND/CO/3-4) during its 65th Session at its 1890th and 1891st meetings held on 5 June 2014, and adopted, at its 1901st meeting, held on 13 June 2014.

Out of home care in Norway and Sweden - similar and different

Elisabeth Backe-Hansen, Ingrid Højer, Yvonne Sjöblom, Jan Storø, 15 Apr 2014

This article provides an overview of the current situation in the out-of-home care in Norway and Sweden. Development in later years is described and discussed, including the trends towards privatization of the welfare system in both countries and the role of private, commercial actors within the care sector including out-of-home care for children and young people.

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Exiling Children, Creating Orphans: When Immigration Policies Hurt Citizens

Luis H. Zayas and Mollie H. Bradlee, 08 Apr 2014

Deportation of immigrant, undocumented parents of citizen-children born in the United States is a practice that has caused the separation of families and a variety of negative effects on the children.

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Children on the Run: Unaccompanied Children Leaving Central America And Mexico and the Need for International Protection

UNHCR, 01 Mar 2014

This report, issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, examines the situation and needs of unaccompanied children who emigrate from Central America and Mexico to the United States, and offers recommendations based on those needs.

International Conference on Population and Development Beyond 2014 Report

UN General Assembly – Report of the Secretary General , 12 Feb 2014

This report was prepared in February 2014 pursuant to General Assembly resolution 65/234, in which the Assembly called for an operational review of the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development

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Remittances and Child Labour in Africa: Evidence from Burkina Faso

Olivier Bargain & Delphine Boutin - IZA, 01 Feb 2014

This paper explores the effects of remittance receipt on child labour in an African context.

Beyond Detention: A Global Strategy to support governments to end the detention of asylum-seekers and refugees

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2014

This report, authored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, calls for a global strategy to prevent the detention of asylum-seekers and refugees in countries around the world, with an initial focus 10+ "focus countries." Among the Strategy's three main goals is the call to end detention of children, which requires a new legal and policy framework, the implementation of the "best interests" principle, alternative and appropriate reception and care arrangements for children (including foster care), and the provision of age-appropriate information to the child.

War Child Holland: Syria Child Rights Situation Analysis January 2014

War Child Holland, 2014

Through participatory information gathering tools, War Child Holland implemented a Child Right Situation Analysis to discuss and analyze the issues identified by Syrian children as the most important to them.