So I told myself I couldn’t stay here …Unaccompanied Children at the Belarusian Border and in the Polish Alternative Care System in 2024

The report is an attempt to capture the complex and difficult situation faced by unaccompanied children seeking international protection at the Polish-Belarusian border. It describes the legal and factual state of affairs in 2024.

In preparing this report, we aimed to accompany the children on their journey toward safety. Our ambition was to reconstruct this journey step by step: from the moment of crossing the national border, through the age assessment and recognition of minority status, appointment of a guardian, application for international protection, and finally, the reception of children into the Polish foster care system.

Our overarching research question is: Is the best interest of unaccompanied refugee children being upheld?

The report was created in cooperation with the Association for Legal Intervention, the Polish Migration Forum Foundation, and the We Are Monitoring Association, commissioned by Save the Children Poland.