UNACCOMPANIED & SEPARATED MINORS (UASMS)

Transcription

1 UNACCOMPANIED & SEPARATED MINORS (UASMS) APPROACHES OF THE E.U., LATIN AMERICA, AND THE U.S. November 3, 2015 Eskinder Negash Forum on Investing In Young Children Globally

2 REFUGEES BY HOSTING COUNTRY (2014) Map: UN Information Centre in Cairo 2

3 GLOBAL OVERVIEW In 2014, the UN Refugee Agency reported 60 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide. 19.5M refugees 38.2M internally displaced persons 1.8M asylum-seekers 51% of refugees are under the age of 18 Refugee children are: Vulnerable Dependent Developing Za'atari refugee camp USCRI has a long history of working with UASMs and has developed a report on options for managing the flow of these children. 3

4 UNACCOMPANIED & SEPARATED MINORS (UASMS) International law defines unaccompanied children as those under 18 years of age who have been separated from both parents and are not being cared for by an adult who, by law or custom, is responsible to do so. Separated children are defined as those under 18 years of age who are separated from both parents or from their previous legal or customary primary caregiver. 4

5 SYRIA Over 1 million Syrian refugee children 8,000 are URMs 5 Map: UNHCR

6 AFRICA 5 main countries of origin for refugees submitted by the UNHCR for resettlement Democratic Republic of the Congo - 53% Somalia - 23% Eritrea - 8% Burundi - 3% Sudan - 3% Collection of the required information and documentation in support of the resettlement of unaccompanied or separated children cases is not always easily available. 6

7 AFRICA 2013 South Sudanese refugees 7,000 UASMs are displaced 31,000 UASMs have fled to neighboring countries 19,138 South Sudanese URMs have fled to Ethiopia In Kenya, 11,764 UASMs in the Kakuma refugee camp (63% from South Sudan) Additional UASM populations As of September 2015, 2,503 UASMs have been registered in Rwanda There are 73,173 UASMs in Ethiopia It s estimated that 45% of refugee minors in Northern Uganda are unaccompanied 7

8 THE AMERICAS Apprehensions of children at the U.S. border rose from 4,910 in 2010 to 51,705 in In 2014, the UNHCR in its Children on the Run report indicated 712% increase in asylum applications by Central American children in countries other than the U.S. December 2014: In-Country Processing Program for minors in the Northern Triangle began 8 4,300 have applied; not a single child has arrived.

9 COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN 9 Map: CBP

10 U.S. AND MEXICO Graphs by WOLA 10

11 THE EU 24,000 unaccompanied minors applying for asylum in Europe last year. UNICEF, Macedonia registered 3,857 in the last 4 months. Germany is expecting to see the highest number of UASMs entering its borders in six years. 11 Map: European Migration Network

12 ASIA 169,559 is UNHCR s total projected resettlement needs for No data on how many are unaccompanied children Many countries in the region are still not a part of the 1951 Convention. Iran hosts the largest number of urban refugees worldwide, mostly Afghan. 12 Map: UNHCR

13 ASIA The highest number of unaccompanied children are: Origin Afghanistan Burma/ Myanmar Bhutan Iraq Syria Host Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, India Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia Nepal Jordan Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, (Based on the UNHCR Global Trends Report and reports from partners on the ground) 13

14 RECOMMENDATIONS Recognize new forms of displacement. Grant Children Protective Status which makes them not removable for duration of the designation, granted travel authorization, can obtain employment authorization documents. Strengthen and create uniformity in regional and national frameworks which include child-welfare standards for ensuring protection. Encourage the UNHCR to work with additional resettlement countries to build their capacity to receive URMs and include slots for unaccompanied refugee minors. Increase resources for outreach, registration, and best interest determination processes for increased identification of unaccompanied children in need of resettlement. The U.S. Government must prioritize raising the number of URMs that it resettles annually. 14

15 REFERENCES THANK YOU About Unaccompanied Refugee Minors, ORR, (last visited Oct. 16, 2015). A. Makris, UN: Refugee Children in Europe Severely Traumatized, Greek Reporter (Sept. 26, 2015), Border Patrol: Family, Children Arrests at Border Jump 52 Percent, U.S. News (Sept. 21, 2015), available at Brian Parkin, Germany Shames EU for Failure to Shoulder Refugee Surge, Bloomberg Business (Aug. 23, 2015), available at Children on the Run, UNHCR (March 2014), available at David Crouch, Now They Can t Stop Running: Sweden s Sharp Rise in Child Refugees, The Guardian (Sept. 10, 2015), available at Erin Banco, Overwhelmed by Thousands of Children Traveling Alone, Europe Considers Adoption, International Business Times (Oct. 5, 2015) available at European Refugee Crisis Fact Sheet, Save the Children (Sept. 28, 2015), available at PDF. European Commission, Shaping a Common Approach on Unaccompanied Minors (Sept. 28, 2012), available at Facts and Figures about Refugees, UNHCR, Ingrid Carlqvist, Refugee Children Invade Sweden, Gatestone Institute (July 23, 2015), available at Kenya: Humanitarian Situation Report, UNICEF (Mar. 2015), Migration Policy Debates (last visited October 21, 2015). Rwanda: Humanitarian Situation Report, UNICEF (Sept. 2015), Refugee Children Crisis, Save the Children, (last visited Oct. 16, 2015). Refugee Crisis in Europe, UNHCR, (last visited Oct. 16, 2015). Parvathi Menon, Unaccompanied Minor Refugees on the Rise in Europe: OECD, The Hindu (Sept. 23, 2015), available at Policies, Practices and Data on Unaccompanied Minors, European Migration Network (May 2015), Southwest Border Unaccompanied Alien Children, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, (last visited Oct. 16, 2015). Tom K. Wong, Statistical Analysis Shows that Violence, Not Deferred Action, Is Behind the Surge of Unaccompanied Children Crossing the Border, Center for American Progress (July 8, 2014), available at The 2015 Refugee Crisis Through Statistics, European Stability Initiative (Oct. 2015), %20Refugee%20Statistics%20Compilation%20-%2017%20Oct% pdf. UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2014, UNHCR, Refugee Children: Guidelines on Protection and Care, (1994). Which European Countries Offer the Most Social Benefits to Migrants?, EuroNews, (last visited Oct. 19, 2015).