NGO:s meet Academia in international conference
Children make up a large proportion of international migration flows. However, there is a need for more research and documentation focusing on children in migration. The EU estimates a number of 500.000 irregular migrants entering EU member states annually. The number of children, with or without families coming to Europe is estimated to increase. At the same time, the number of children left behind by migrating parents is also growing. Child rights organisations and scholars will meet on the 20-21 of March in Warsaw to discuss and present new research on children and migration in Europe.
Migration of children in Europe is a multifaceted and complex issue. It includes asylum seeking and refugee children, children forced or voluntarily migrating for work, children being abandoned when their parents migrate, as well as children being trafficked for various purposes of exploitation. According to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the departure of children to neighbouring countries is an issue of particular concern, not least since many children leave their countries without the company of their parents.
– There is a need for more and better research on child migration, particularly from a child rights perspective, says Eva Larsson Bellander, programme officer in charge of migration issues within the Europe programme of Save the Children Sweden and chair of the Separated Children in Europe Programme. Apart from questions on asylum-seeking children and children being trafficked, is it also very important to highlight the group of children left behind when parents are migrating to other countries to find work opportunities. This conference is an opportunity for Save the Children and other NGO:s to meet academic researchers and discuss these highly relevant questions.
Other issues of concern are the large number of separated unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who have disappeared from European reception centres, slow asylum processes, and the lack of adequate psychosocial services.
The conference ”Focus on Children in Migration- from a European Research and Method Perspective” takes place in Warsaw, 20-21 of March and is organised by Save the Children Sweden through the Separated Children in Europe Programme and the European Network of Masters in Children’s Rights.
From Save the Children the following persons participate: Britta Öström, Regional Representative, Europe Programme, Eva Larsson Bellander and Karin Johansson, programme officer, Europe Programme and Lars Olsson, programme officer, Domestic programme.
Contact for press:
Eva Larsson Bellander, programme officer, Europe Programme, Save the Children Sweden, phone: + 46 709 84 38 38
Facility: Hotel Lord, AI. Krakowska 218, 02-219 Warsaw, Poland
Attachment: Programme