Regional Policy Review Report and Guidelines: Migration and Repatriation laws and Procedures for Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe

The movement of unaccompanied children in Southern Africa remains a great concern, both for countries which children migrate from and those to which children migrate to. Save the Children is particularly concerned that there is an absence or poor implementation of guidelines on the repatriation of unaccompanied migrant children and that this may be resulting in the deportation of children without due consideration for what is in their best interests. This report is based on desktop research founded in part on individual reports from Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe and commissioned by Save the Children in 2012 and 2013, which detail legislative frame-works and practices of the three countries in so far as the protection of unaccompanied migrant children is concerned.

The report begins with a detailed description of the applicable international legal framework, followed by individual country assessments which consider the law, policy and practice. It concludes with recommendations, which include draft guidelines for the repatriation of unaccompanied children on the move, which Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe should consider adopting to ensure the maximum cross-border collaboration and protection of these children.