Running to Safety

Children - regardless of their migration status - are entitled to realize their rights, including nondiscriminatory access to early childhood education, formal and non-formal learning settings, and vocational and technical training. Despite the fact that humanitarian assistance mechanisms are in place, demand often far exceeds the available resources The modern child refugee crisis is a humanitarian emergency that demands immediate action Whether these children are migrants, refugees, stateless or internally displaced people, they are all children first and they have a right to protection, such as health, education, and housing In addition, asylum-seeking children hold the right not to be detained or imprisoned, unless as a measure of last resort (Art 22 CRC) These rights apply to all children regardless of their background Children do not lose their rights simply because they have moved from one country to another Therefore basic principles such as the best interests of the child, the principle of family unity and family reunification are of particular relevance to this population, under international law Asylum-seeking children face many struggles to live a dignified life, such as lack of access to education, healthcare, housing, care from their main caregivers, as well as integration into their host country due to language, social and cultural barriers

Trafficked children or children who fear being trafficked may have valid claims to refugee status In this context, any recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation is a form of trafficking Whether the child consented or not is, therefore, irrelevant Refugee children often live in refugee camps and improvised settlements in different host countries that have extremely limited resources, despite the efforts of governments, organizations and international agencies to offer humanitarian assistance As a result, refugee children risk being exposed to work that harms their integrity, and obstructs their development and education

2021 set a record of 36 5 million children forcibly displaced worldwide However, these numbers don’t consider the newly displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine or the environmental disasters that are a product of climate change. Conflicts and violence forced children out of their homes, 13.7 million child refugees and asylum-seekers,and nearly 22 8 million internally displaced Today’s biggest refugee crises are in Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Syria, Venezuela, Palestine, Northern Triangle of Central America, Ukraine, South Sudan, Myanmar, Afghanistan

Even though humanitarian assistance aims to meet the most basic needs, some crises receive more support, diplomacy efforts, media coverage and attention than others Furthermore, it is a shameful fact that “the vast majority of the world’s displaced people are hosted by the world’s poorest countries Today, 85% of refugees live in developing countries while the richest nations host just 15%.” (Joshua Surtees, Guardian, April 15th 2022) States and the international community have a duty to share the burden of the world’s refugee crises equally, to identify local child welfare services and actively explore technical and financial contributions from host governments, specialized agencies and NGOs More recently, real-life actions from young concerned citizens to raise funds through social media campaigns have helped include and elevate the voices, experiences, and unique perspectives of refugees and other populations