1. UNACCOMPANIED & SEPARATED MINORS (UASMs)
Approaches of the E.U., Latin America, and the U.S.
November 3, 2015
Eskinder Negash
Forum on Investing In Young Children Globally

2. REFUGEEs BY HOSTING COUNTRY (2014)
27% of global refugees reside in Asia and the Pacific region
64% of these were Afghans
26% of global refugees reside in Sub-Saharan Africa
From Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, the DRC, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea
22% of global refugees reside in Europe
Primarily from Syria, Ukraine, and Iraq
21% of global refugees reside in the Middle East and North Africa
Primarily from Syria
5% of global refugees reside in the Americas
In 2014, the top five countries hosting refugees were:
Turkey (1.6M)
Pakistan (1.5M)
Lebanon (1.15M)
Iran (982,000)
Ethiopia (659,500)
The top five nationalities of refugees were:
Palestinian (5.1M)
Syrian (3.88M)
Afghan (2.59M)
Somalian (1.11M)
Sudanese (666,000)
Map: UN Information Centre in Cairo

3. GLOBAL OVERVIEW
In 2014, the UN Refugee Agency reported 60 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide.
19.5M refugees
38.2M internally displaced persons
1.8M asylum-seekers
51% of refugees are under the age of 18
Refugee children are:
Vulnerable
Dependent
Developing
USCRI has a long history of working with UASMs and has developed a report on options for managing the flow of these children.
Forced migration has increased by 40% in the span of three years
42,500 individuals are forced to flee their homes per day
86% of the world’s refugees are hosted in developing regions
In 2014, only 126,800 refugees were able to return to their countries of origin (lowest amount in three decades)
Highest rate of refugees and refugee children since World War II
Rate of refugee children increased from 41% of refugees in 2009
UASMs submitted 34,000 asylum applications in 2014
The U.N. has established "child-friendly spaces" in Macedonia, Serbia, and Croatia.
50% of refugee children are not in school
The Convention on Rights of the Child ensures that adequate protection and assistance be provided for refugee children.
Only the U.S. has failed to ratify the Convention.
Za'atari refugee camp

4. UNACCOMPANIED & SEPARATED MINORS (UASMs)
International law defines “unaccompanied” children as those “under 18 years of age who have been separated from both parents and are not being cared for by an adult who, by law or custom, is responsible to do so.”
“Separated” children are defined as those “under 18 years of age who are separated from both parents or from their previous legal or customary primary caregiver.”
Separated children- broader group & includes those living with extended family members.
It is important to remember that while UASMs are a vulnerable population, they are not always refugees.

5. Syria Over 1 million Syrian refugee children 8,000 are URMs Map:
Syrian refugee children as of October 2013.
Over 5 million Syrian children are in need of assistance. And, as noted previously, over 1 million Syrian children have fled their country.
As of September 2013, the UNHCR had registered 2,440 URMs in Lebanon and 1,320 URMs in Jordan.
As of 2014, there were 232 refugees per 1000 inhabitants in Lebanon and 87 refugees per 1000 inhabitants in Jordan.
Lebanon has the highest refugee : inhabitant ratio in the world
Map: UNHCR

6. AFRICA
5 main countries of origin for refugees submitted by the UNHCR for resettlement
Democratic Republic of the Congo - 53%
Somalia - 23%
Eritrea - 8%
Burundi - 3%
Sudan - 3%
Collection of the required information and documentation in support of the resettlement of unaccompanied or separated children cases is not always easily available.
As of 2014, there were 3,690,700 refugees in all of Africa
Over 2.5M of these are located in the East and Horn of Africa
There is a very high rate of refugee children in Africa:
58% in East and Horn of Africa
55% in Central Africa-Great Lakes
56% in West Africa
47% in Southern Africa
Compared to only 35% in Europe

7. AFRICA 2013 South Sudanese refugees Additional UASM populations
7,000 UASMs are displaced
31,000 UASMs have fled to neighboring countries
19,138 South Sudanese URMs have fled to Ethiopia
In Kenya, 11,764 UASMs in the Kakuma refugee camp (63% from South Sudan)
Additional UASM populations
As of September 2015, 2,503 UASMs have been registered in Rwanda
There are 73,173 UASMs in Ethiopia
It’s estimated that 45% of refugee minors in Northern Uganda are unaccompanied
Conflict in South Sudan, which began in December 2013, displaced 1.6M people, 600,000 of them refugees.
Ethiopia maintains an open-door policy and is home to the largest refugee population in Africa. 
Recently, UNHCR has seen an influx of unaccompanied Eritrean children into Ethiopia.
“Eritrean youth flee forced indefinite military conscription as well as torture at the hands of an oppressive government.”

8. The Americas
Apprehensions of children at the U.S. border rose from 4,910 in to 51,705 in 2014.
In 2014, the UNHCR in its “Children on the Run” report indicated 712% increase in asylum applications by Central American children in countries other than the U.S.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection 2014 stats.
Multiple reasons have causes migration, but USCRI has heard directly from the children we serve through our Post Release and Legal Program that violence was the biggest factor.
Gang violence in the Northern Triangle causing migration
El Salvador is now the murder capital of the world, with Honduras and Guatemala not far behind.
The President of Guatemala is in prison for corruption, so the country is in flux.
Government protection is not an option because Northern Triangle countries have impunity rates of over 90%.
UNHCR’s “Children on the Run Report” found 48% of children from the Northern Triangle have protection concerns
Asylum application increase proves the surge is not because of “lax U.S. immigration policies”.
December 2014: In-Country Processing Program for minors in the Northern Triangle began
4,300 have applied; not a single child has arrived.

9. countries of origin Mayan Guatemalan children are the biggest group.
Children from El Salvador and Honduras are coming from very violent areas.
USCRI has worked with unaccompanied immigrant children since 2005.
Children began reporting to us their fears of persecutions a few years ago.
USCRI opened an office in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Map: CBP

10. U.S. And Mexico
Top Graph
Customs & Border Protection online public stats. Arrivals for children October 2014-August 31, 2015.
Overall, UASM apprehensions at U.S. Southwest border decreased by 46% in FY15
In the U.S., children face slow adjudication and backlogs.
No lawyer
Bottom 2 graphs
While U.S. apprehensions of UASMs have gone down, it is not because they are not migrating but because Mexico, due to U.S. pressure, is now enforcing its Southern border in a plan called “Frontera Sur”
Concerns with Mexican system: new, understaffed, no child welfare component.
Only 72 UASMs sought asylum in Mexico in all of 2014 (less than .05% of all UASMs detected and detained in Mexico)
Graphs by WOLA

11. Map: European Migration Network
The EU
24,000 unaccompanied minors applying for asylum in Europe last year.
UNICEF, Macedonia registered 3,857 in the last 4 months.
Germany is expecting to see the highest number of UASMs entering its borders in six years.
In 2014, 626,820 asylum claims were received by EU members
Germany received the most claims (627,780) followed by Sweden (202,815)
Asylum recognition rates in the EU have risen from 27% in 2008 to 46% in the first six months of 2015
18% of those seeking refuge in the EU are children
UASM asylum applications in 2014 are at an almost two-fold increase from 2011
An average of 19,000 refugee children arrive in the EU every month
From January - August 2015:
10,300 UASMs arrived in Sweden
10,000 UASMs arrived in Italy and Malta
6,000 UASMs arrived in Germany
2,200 UASMs arrived in the UK
Map: European Migration Network

12. ASIA 169,559 is UNHCR’s total projected resettlement needs for 2016.
No data on how many are unaccompanied children
Many countries in the region are still not a part of the 1951 Convention.
Iran hosts the largest number of urban refugees worldwide, mostly Afghan.
47% of refugees in the Asia – Pacific region are children
Map: UNHCR

13. ASIA The highest number of unaccompanied children are:
(Based on the UNHCR Global Trends Report and reports from partners on the ground)
Origin
Host
Afghanistan
Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, India
Burma/ Myanmar
Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia
Bhutan
Nepal
Iraq
Jordan
Syria
Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon,

14. Recommendations Recognize new forms of displacement.
Grant “Children Protective Status” which makes them not removable for duration of the designation, granted travel authorization, can obtain employment authorization documents.
Strengthen and create uniformity in regional and national frameworks which include child-welfare standards for ensuring protection.
Encourage the UNHCR to work with additional resettlement countries to build their capacity to receive URMs and include slots for unaccompanied refugee minors.
Increase resources for outreach, registration, and best interest determination processes for increased identification of unaccompanied children in need of resettlement.
The U.S. Government must prioritize raising the number of URMs that it resettles annually.
Central America is a great example of the changing forms of displacement. The 1951 Convention does not recognize criminal violence as giving a person the right to refugee status, but we must change our perspective to fit the times.
Protective Status could also be temporary until a durable solution is found. This would give children the opportunity to go to school and not have to live in the shadows, vulnerable to abuse.
Protection frameworks vary greatly, and uniformity would help guide governments on best practices for handling children. Comprehensive policies must be established. They must take into account the best interests of the child. These systems must focus on identifying children with international protection needs.
Few countries accept URMs, therefore the options for these children are limited.
Governments must increase the resources provided to the UNHCR and civil society organizations to do this work.
The US has the capacity and a strong resettlement system so it should take more URM cases.

15. THANK you
References
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