At a three day conference hosted by the US State Department's Bureau for Population Refugees and Migration and George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, UNHCR has called for the creation of asylum and migration practices which take greater account of the specific needs of children. The conference was aimed at improving the timeliness and effectiveness of protection for the more than 1.6 million children who – either as refugees, internally displaced persons or migrants – have become separated from their parents or guardians.
Many unaccompanied children have survived arduous and dangerous journeys to escape persecution, human rights violations and violence. An estimated 1.2 million children are the victims of exploitation by human traffickers, while an unknown number have been sent by care givers, willingly or otherwise, to countries that offer the promise of a better future.
But the procedures in place to respond to separated or unaccompanied children vary wildly from country to country. The lack of government appointed counsel or guardians for unaccompanied children was noted as a perennial problem around the globe. The system should be guided by what is in the best interest of the child.
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