Children, Europe, Emergency. The protection and future of migrant children: a challenge for Europe!

June 27, 2016

migrant childThe Office of the Defender of Rights (Défenseur des Droits) France, together with ENOC and the Council of Europe are holding a one day special meeting dedicated to the current situation of migrant children in Europe. The meeting, taking place on 28 June 2016 in the premises of “Maison de l’UNESCO” in Paris, France, will gather delegates from the Council of Europe (and CoE monitoring bodies), UNHCR, UNICEF, FRA, European Commission, Red Cross, NGOs and a large number of Ombudspersons and Commissioners for Children and Mediators from across Europe.

Given the urgency of the situation of thousands of children affected by the ongoing migration and refugee crisis in Europe, the meeting of  28th June aims at drawing a clear picture of the current situation of migration in Europe and at providing a forum for participating stakeholders to share good practices related to the reception and protection of migrant children.

The first round table discussions will focus on conditions of immediate protection of migrant children with regards to human trafficking and risks of detention. The second round table discussions will address the issue of how to make more efficient existing legal migration procedures (humanitarian visas, family reunification, etc.)

Participating Ombudspersons, Commissioners and Defenders for Children and mediators are willing to strongly confirm their firm intention to put forward concrete actions aiming at guaranteeing the security of migrant children and the respect of their rights by the adoption of a common statement calling on States to guarantee the effective protection of migrant children.

Follow the Conference live on Tuesday, 28th June 2016,  at 9.30 am (Paris time) at enfantsmigrants.defenseurdesdroits.fr and on social media with the hashtag #enfantsmigrants