Safety and Fundamental Rights at Stake for Children on the Move

The number of people seeking asylum in Europe has risen drastically over the past years. Half of them are children. As children on the move, they are particularly vulnerable and at risk of violence, abuse, exploitation, trauma and even death. They are in need of specific protection measures.

This report was prepared by the offices of the Offices of the Ombudspersons of the Netherlands and Sweden to identify the risks children are facing when traveling to and from Europe.

Information for this report was gathered mainly by interviews with officials and advisors of institutions and organisations, as well as members of European parliament. The report opens with an overview of the main facts and figures concerning children on the move in Europe during 2014 and 2015. It continues by highlighting the safety risks that children face while on the move and the extent to which these children have access to their rights in their respective destination countries. How European countries are handling the influx of migrants is described in chapter 3. The final section lists the conclusions and recommendations for the international and European institutions as well as countries within the Council of Europe.