Children in the World

Macedônia

Palestina

Espanha

Eslováquia

Eslovênia

Papua Nova Guiné

Panamá

Paraguai

Filipinas

Coreia do Sul

Moldávia

Saudi Arabia

Paquistão

Emirados Árabes Unidos

Kuwait

Cazaquistão

Jordânia

Jamaica

Israel

Iraque

Irã

Omã

Indonésia

Índia

Nigéria

Islândia

Níger

Guiana

Nicarágua

Nepal

Guiné-Bissau

Namíbia

Guiné

Moçambique

Marrocos

Guatemala

Montenegro

Gana

Germany

Georgia

México

Gâmbia

Mauritânia

Gabão

França

Fiji

Mali

Etiópia

Malásia

Estônia

Malaui

Eritreia

El Salvador

Madagascar

Egito

Equador

Lituânia

Líbia

Libéria

Lesotho

Djibouti

Líbano

Letônia

Curaçao

Croácia

Costa do Marfim

Costa Rica

Congo

Colômbia

Hong Kong

China

Chade

Canadá

Camarões

Camboja

Burundi

Burkina Faso

Botswana

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bolivia

Benin

Belarus

Bangladesh

Bahrain

Bahamas

Azerbaijan

Armenia

Argentina

Algeria

Albania

Afghanistan

Brasil

South Africa

In situations of forced displacement due to a type of persecution, armed conflict, violence or violation of human rights, children are the most vulnerable victims. As asylum seekers, refugees, internally displaced persons, stateless or unaccompanied, torn from their homes and families, many lose their childhood in exile, risking abuse, neglect, violence, exploitation, trafficking or forced recruitment by armed groups. But even in these emergency situations, children can show strength and hope, finding ways to deal with and overcome trauma and suffering.

UNHCR has the demographic data of 62% of the population under its mandate (22.2 million people). Of this total, 33% are children between zero and twelve incomplete years (13% from 0 – 4 and 20% from 5 – 11). Among children aged zero to four, 49% are girls. Among children five to eleven, 51% are girls.

Asylum Seekers Children

The refugee children is one who consider theireselves to be the victim of persecution in their country of origin or who has been forced to leave due to armed conflict, violence and widespread human rights violations and formally request the protection of another government. The procedure for determining refugee status varies from country to country, as each establishes the legal situation and the rights and duties of the refugee in accordance with their legal system. In some countries not signatories to any international refugee instruments and at the request of national authorities, UNHCR can play the role of recognition of refugee status.

Of the total number of asylum seekers in 2012, 34% are children.

Refugee Children

Under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951), refugee children are those who have been forced to leave their country of origin because of a well-founded fear of persecution on grounds of race, religion, nationality, belonging to a particular social group or political opinion.

Broad definitions adopted by some countries also include as refugees children who have been forced to leave their country due to armed conflict, violence and widespread human rights violations.

Of the total number of UNHCR mandated refugees in 2012, 46% are children.

Internally Displaced (IDP)

The internally displaced child is one that, to flee because of armed conflict, generalized violence or human rights violations, does not cross an international border to find security while remaining within their own country and under the protection of their government. The original UNHCR mandate does not assist IDPs specifically.

Of the total of internally displaced persons of 2012, 47% are children.

Repatriated Children

The repatriated children is the one who returned to their country of origin voluntarily, usually with assistance, aid and monitoring of the UNHCR in the reintegration process.

Of the total refugee returnees of 2012, 52% are children. Of the total number of internally displaced persons who returned home in 2012, 50% are children.

Stateless Children

The stateless children are born without nationality or have their nationality withdrawn by the State, thus being without protection of a national State.

Of the world’s total of stateless people in 2012, 54% are children. Others: 54%.

Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC)

In situations of armed conflict or other disasters, especially when sudden population displacements or mass displacements occur, many children are eventually removed from their families.

According to the UN inter-agency guidelines, separated children are those separated from the parents or legal guardian, but not necessarily from other relatives. This category may therefore include children accompanied by other adult members of the family.

Unaccompanied children were separated from their parents and any other relatives, and were not under the custody of any legal guardian.

According to UNICEF, the separation may be accidental or intentional during states of emergency and occur in different ways:

The child was not with the parents at a time when people were forced to move suddenly, or;
Lost during displacement, at the beginning of the attack / while traveling to a safer location, or;
The child’s parents were murdered / died because of illness, or;
The child is entrusted to a neighbor / unknown for temporary custody, or;
The child is taken to an orphanage by the parents themselves, who felt incapable of providing the necessary care and protection, or;
The child is sent to the care of other family members allegedly living in safer areas, or;
The child is briefly left alone while the parents look for food / water, or;
They were under the care of other people and was forced to move before their parents’ return, or;
They were hospitalized.

According to UNHCR data, in 2012, 21,300 refugee requests were made by unaccompanied children in 72 countries, most of them from Afghanistan (7,000) and Somalia (1,300). It is the highest index registered by the agency since the beginning of the systematic collection of data in 2006 and represents about 4% of the total requests for refuge.

In 2011, 17,700 refugee requests were registered in 69 countries; in 2010, 15,600 were also distributed among 69 countries.

In 2012, Europe received 14,300 refugee requests (about two-thirds), mainly in Sweden (3,600), Germany (2,100), Austria (1,600) and the United Kingdom (1,200). In addition to the European continent, Kenya and Indonesia were two other major destination countries, receiving respectively 3,200 and 1,200 new refugee applications.

In 2012, 5,400 unaccompanied children were recognized as refugees or received some complementary type of protection. Europe accounted for 67% of all positive opinions. In 2011, 5,200 were recognized; In 2010, 5,400 and in 2009, 7,700.

Sources: UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), The Lost Ones: Emergency Care and Family Tracing for Separates Children From Birth to Five Years, April 2007, Available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/468e2f632.html

Children in the World

Asylum Seekers Children

Refugee Children

Internally Displaced (IDP)

Repatriated Children

Stateless Children

Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC)

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