Over the past 10 years, about 3,500 children have died or missed on a migration route through the Mediterranean Sea to Italy – as if a child had died or disappeared every day, the UN children’s fund (UNISEF) said.
About 70 percent of children make a dangerous journey without parents or guardians. According to one of the surveys, more than half of the children and young people were subjected to physical violence on this route, and a third reported that they were kept in one place or another against their will.
Many children trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea run from war, conflict, violence and poverty, trying to find safe refuge and new opportunities in other places.
ten years ago, a shipwreck off the coast of Italy claimed more than a thousand people and caused a shock in the entire region, ”said Regina de Domominx, the regional director of UNICEF in Europe and Central Asia.
She called on the governments to protect the rights and interests of children in accordance with their obligations on national and international law.
The rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child do not end on the borders or shores – they travel with children when they cross the border, added dominance.
In addition, it is reported that at least 20,803 people died or disappeared on the Central Mediterranean route over the past 10 years.
After many shipwrecks on this dangerous path of migration from North Africa to Italy, there are no survivors, that is, witnesses, and some tragic incidents are not even registered, so the real number of dead and missing people, probably much higher, Yuniseph notes. The vast majority of those who died or went missing is very difficult to identify.
The UN Children’s Fund notes that the adoption of the EU Covenant on Migration and Transfer of Shelter can lead to a more organized migration management system, however, this agreement should be implemented in full accordance with the legal obligations of countries to protect the interests of children.
Unisef calls for expanded search and rescue operations to prevent the death of people in the sea. “Upon arrival, each child should be immediately provided with a legal representation. Restrictions on movement should never lead to the detention of a child in an immigration center- whether during the audit, border control, the procedure for providing asylum or return,” the press service of the organization said.