At least 300,000 unaccompanied and separated children have been recorded in some 80 countries in 2015 and 2016, up from 66,000 in 2010 and 2011.
The UN Human Rights Council’s June 2017 panel discussion raised the issues facing unaccompanied minors – and the need to protect the rights of migrant children in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The discussion was chaired by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who concluded:
‘It was of utmost importance that further efforts were carried out to ensure that all States did a better job of providing protection and assistance for all migrant children.’