Report on PICUM’s International conference on undocumented children in Europe: Invisible Victims of Immigration Restrictions

PICUM, the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants, held an international conference in Brussels on 22-23 January 2009 to culminate its two-year project on undocumented children in Europe. For the first time in Europe, more than 150 representatives of NGOs, local authorities, social workers, policy makers, researchers and other actors came together to specifically address the situation of undocumented children and how control policies directed against irregular migration affect them. Representing more than 20 countries both in the EU and beyond, participants highlighted numerous examples of violations of undocumented children’s rights. Undocumented children face various obstacles when trying to access basic social services such as housing, health care and education, and several recommendations were made to address these issues. Participants called for more visibility of undocumented children and stressed the need for greater recognition of their inherent rights as children.