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Children on the move
As of January 2016, an estimated 30 million children are on the move, both within and between countries, with or without their parents. They are part of large-scale population movements currently taking place in many parts of the world.
Children on the move are those children moving for a variety of reasons, voluntary or involuntary within or between countries, with or without their parents or other primary caregivers, and whose movement might place them at risk (or at an increased risk) of inadequate care, economic or sexual exploitation, abuse, neglect or violence.
Children on the move is an umbrella term that brings together a series of categories of children to highlight their common protection needs, including, children who have been trafficked, children who migrate (e.g. to pursue better life opportunities, to look for work or education or to escape exploitative or abusive situations at home, or because of other protection needs), children displaced by conflict and natural disasters and children who live and work in the streets.
Movement can help children and their families improve their living standards and life opportunities. However, children do not always benefit from such potentials. Child protection policies and interventions should refocus to place the protection of the child at the centre as well as the need to support the positive aspects of mobility.
Save the Children’s goal is that all children, including those on the move and in emergencies, have appropriate care either from their own families or community-based alternatives.
Photo: Pedro Armestre/Save the Children
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Balkans Migration and Displacement Hub Data and Trends Analysis: Regional overview (April-June 2018)
Data and Trend Analysis (DATA) Refugees and Migrants at the Western Balkans Route Regional Overview, covering period April-June 2018, describes key trends in migrations in the region, detailing information about the number of people on the move, demograph
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Balkans Migration and Displacement Hub Data and Trend Analysis (DATA): Regional Overview July – September 2018
Data and Trend Analysis (DATA) Refugees and Migrants at the Western Balkans Route Regional Overview, covering period July- September 2018, describes key trends in migrations in the region, detailing information about the number of people on the move, demo
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Parenting on the Move: Testimonies of refugee parents in Serbia
In the report, refugee parents tell about the burdens of the refugee experiences and challenges which they face in their parenting roles during the strenuous and unpredictable journeys they are taking hoping to find safety and better lives for their famil
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A Practice Handbook: For family tracing and reunification in emergencies
Since the onset of the current phase of the South Sudan conflict in December 2013, nearly 3 million people have been displaced. Two million people have fled to neighbouring countries, and another 1.9 million others remain internally displaced. The ongoing
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A Tide of Self-harm and Depression: The EU-Turkey Deal's devastating impact on child refugees and migrants
March 2017 marks one year since the start of the European Union (EU) Deal with Turkey. The Deal was introduced by the EU as a mechanism to reduce the number of “irregular” migrants and refugees arriving in Greece from Turkey, and continuing on to other pa
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Child Rights in the Global Compacts: Recommendations for protecting, promoting and implementing the human rights of children on the move in the proposed Global Compacts
This working document by the Initiative for Child Rights in the Global Compacts, a multilateral initiative supported by 26 organizations, sets out what protection and inclusion measures should entail with respect to six priority issues involving refugee a
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Youth Transitions in the Horn of Africa: A Study on Youth Migration and Save the Children Programming in the Arid Lands of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia
A major shift in humanitarian approaches to protracted crises began following the 2010/11 drought in the Horn of Africa (HoA). The scale of the suffering combined with the failure of the international humanitarian system and governments in the region to r
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Balkans Migration and Displacement Hub Data and Trends Analysis: Regional overview (January-August 2017)
More than 10,000 refugees and migrants are currently present in the Balkans countries (other than Greece). The number of refugees and migrants transiting through the Balkans has decreased since the conclusion of the EU-Turkey Deal, however, the movement o
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A Deadly Journey for Children: The Central Mediterranean Migration Route
Every day, thousands of women and children travel from the hinterlands of Africa and the Middle East, across the Sahara to the Mediterranean Sea in Libya in hopes of reaching safety in Europe. They flee war, violence and poverty. They endure exploitation,
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Endbericht Pilotprojekt Kinderfreundliche Räume im Empfangs- und Verfahrenszentrum (EVZ) Kreuzlingen
Between September 2016 and August 2017, Save the Children Switzerland together with the Swiss Migration Agency, ran the pilot project "Child-friendly Spaces" at the Reception and Processing Center (EVZ) in Kreuzlingen. The pilot project is based on the re
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The Refugee Children's Progress Report: Grading U.S. Refugee Policy from 2015-2017
The Refugee Children’s Progress Report gives grades to U.S. policy progress on four issues central to the health and well-being of refugee children: education, child protection, food security, and resettlement. Nearly half of the world’s 17.2 million refu
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Balkans Migration and Displacement Hub Data and Trends Analysis: Iraqis transitioning through the Balkans route (September-November 2017)
An increase in refugees and migrants from Iraq has been registered traveling the Balkans migration route for the period of September to November 2017. Relevant data for this period (number of children, unaccompanied and separated children, demography) are