Abstract
This article highlights the exploitation of unaccompanied and separated child refugees in Europe. Critically, the European Union has a manifest responsibility to child refugees, as outlined in both the Geneva Convention (1951) that frameworks the Status of Refugees (1967 Protocol), along with the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Moreover, as signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, Europe has a moral and legal responsibility to act in the best interests of the child. Unfortunately, EU has failed to comply with the obligations and tens of thousands of children are staying in appalling, exploitative and negligent conditions. At present, at least 170,000 unaccompanied and separated child refugees (UASCR) throughout the European Union are living in extreme duress, violence and/or sexual exploitation.
Highlights
This article seeks to highlight the exploitation of unaccompanied and separated child refugees in Europe, hereinafter referred to as child refugees
There were around a hundred thousand child refugees among the 1.3 million people who had applied asylum in Europe during 2015.2 Critically, the European Union has a manifest responsibility to child refugees, as outlined in the Geneva Convention (1951) that frameworks the Status of Refugees (1967 Protocol), along with the Charter of Fundamental Rights
The European Union has a responsibility to protect the lives of the hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied and minor child refugees in their borders
Summary
This article seeks to highlight the exploitation of unaccompanied and separated child refugees in Europe, hereinafter referred to as child refugees. An important contextual reality behind the upsurge in the global refugee issue is war This is relevant when considering the harrowing factors that compel parents to peril their children’s lives and send them on a treacherous journey to Europe. In war-torn countries like Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan, where most refugees originate, basic necessities of life are missing In such catastrophic conditions, desperation compels parents to secure the lives of their children by sending them to a faraway place. No single image encapsulates the deadly journey of child refugees to Europe the heart-wrenching image of deceased 3-year-old Alan Kurdi, found motionless, face first on a beach at Bodrum, Turkey.34 What this means is that, Europe’s calculations are not based on the best interests of child refugees, nor by EU official policy.
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