Logo UNICEF Innocenti
Office of Research-Innocenti
menu icon

Children and migration: rights, resilience, and protection

Children and migration: rights, resilience, and protection

Children and young people move within and between countries in varying circumstances, both voluntarily and involuntarily. A wide range of interlinked factors—including economic, socio-political and environmental factors—influence decisions on how, when, and where to migrate.

Despite significant data on migration in general, little exists on the movement of children and young people specifically. Child-sensitive research is essential, not only to understand how the international community can better protect the rights and well-being of children on the move, but also to learn about migration journeys from children themselves.

UNICEF Innocenti builds the evidence base on effective strategies to protect the rights of children and young people who migrate or are displaced through mixed methods research. The work is structured across three pillars: (1) understanding the drivers, decision making and experiences of children on the move; (2) protection and well-being during transit; and (3) durable solutions for child migrant integration, return, or resettlement. Findings account for the distinct experiences of marginalized children and youth, including those living in humanitarian contexts; engaged in labour; and children living with disabilities.

 

Publications

Data and Research on Children and Youth in Forced Displacement: Identifying Gaps and Opportunities
Publication

Data and Research on Children and Youth in Forced Displacement: Identifying Gaps and Opportunities

Globally, the number of people being forcefully displaced is increasing. Among them is a large number of young people, including at least 31 million children living in forced displacement in their own countries or abroad. States are committed to protect the rights of these children under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Hence, meeting their needs through sustainable, impactful, and age-sensitive solutions – as well as supporting their talents, aspirations, and capabilities in the process – has become a defining challenge for the international community, and a key global policy priority. Data and analysis, in turn, are critical in ensuring that decisionmaking and programming to protect, support and empower displaced children and youth are grounded in sound evidence.
Access to Basic Services
Publication

Access to Basic Services

This series of briefs draws on the findings of multi-country research based on first-hand migration experiences of 1,634 children and young people moving between Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt.
Strengthening child protection systems and ending child immigration detention
Publication

Strengthening child protection systems and ending child immigration detention

This series of briefs draw son the findings of multi-country research based on first-hand migration experiences of 1,634 children and young people moving between Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt.
Vulnerability, Discrimination and Xenophobia
Publication

Vulnerability, Discrimination and Xenophobia

This series of briefs draws on the findings of multi-country research based on first-hand migration experiences of 1,634 children and young people moving between Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt,
Reimagining Migration Responses in Sudan: Learning from migrant children and young people’s experiences. Summary Report
Publication

Reimagining Migration Responses in Sudan: Learning from migrant children and young people’s experiences. Summary Report

Migration is a regular feature of life in Sudan and the broader region. It takes multiple forms and is driven by numerous factors, including personal aspirations, curiosity, problems accessing a livelihood in the context of poverty and economic exclusion, and forced displacement stemming from political persecution, armed conflict, or natural disasters. Children and young people make up a significant portion of the upwards of 3 million migrants in Sudan. Yet there is limited understanding of the ways in which children and young people view migration, or of the opportunities and risks that it poses for them. As part of a regional research series, 467 quantitative interviews were conducted with children and young people in Sudan. The data from these interviews provide insights from children and young people themselves. Building on the findings, the research suggests a number of principles and concrete actions to create a more protective environment for children and young people on their migration journeys.
Reimagining Migration Responses in Somaliland and Puntland: Learning from migrant children and young people’s experiences. Summary Report
Publication

Reimagining Migration Responses in Somaliland and Puntland: Learning from migrant children and young people’s experiences. Summary Report

Migration is a regular feature of life in the Horn of Africa. It takes multiple forms and is driven by numerous factors, including personal aspirations, economic exclusion and forced displacement as a consequence of inter-ethnic communal violence or natural disasters. As part of a regional research series and based specifically on 418 quantitative interviews carried out in 2019, with children and young people in Somaliland and Puntland, this report provides a deeper understanding of their perceptions and feelings around safety, well-being and their protective environments. It also provides a snapshot of their access to services and resources, and their trust in authorities and other service providers. The report concludes by offering policy and programme recommendations that can help rethink child protection approaches for migrant children and young people.
Reimagining Migration Responses in Ethiopia: Learning from migrant children and young people’s experiences. Summary Report.
Publication

Reimagining Migration Responses in Ethiopia: Learning from migrant children and young people’s experiences. Summary Report.

Migration is a regular feature of life in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa region. It takes multiple forms and is driven by numerous factors, including personal aspirations, economic exclusion and forced displacement as a consequence of inter-ethnic communal violence or natural disasters. As part of a regional research series and based specifically on interviews carried out in 2019 with 405 migrant children and young people in Ethiopia, this report provides a deeper understanding of their perceptions and feelings around safety, well-being and their protective environments. It also provides a snapshot of their access to services and resources, and their trust in authorities and other service providers in Ethiopia. The report concludes by offering policy and programme recommendations that can help rethink child protection approaches for migrant children and young people in Ethiopia
Reimagining Migration Responses: Learning from children and young people who move in the Horn of Africa
Publication

Reimagining Migration Responses: Learning from children and young people who move in the Horn of Africa

The number of international migrants under 18 is rising, accelerated by complex and fast-evolving economic, demographic, security and environmental drivers. Based on interviews carried out with 1,290 migrant children and young people in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, this report helps address the evidence gap on children and young people migrating in the Horn of Africa by providing a better understanding of their protective environments; their access to services and resources; and their perceptions of safety, well-being and trust in authorities and other providers. It concludes by offering policy and programme recommendations to rethink child protection approaches for migrants in the region.
“No Mother Wants Her Child to Migrate” Vulnerability of Children on the Move in the Horn of Africa
Publication

“No Mother Wants Her Child to Migrate” Vulnerability of Children on the Move in the Horn of Africa

Children are moving on an enormous scale in the Horn of Africa. The report highlights how children’s movement is driven by different motivations, exposes children to different forms of harm, and presents multiple barriers to accessing services. As elsewhere in the world, many people in the Horn of Africa are forced or pushed to move by unaddressed vulnerabilities, including poverty, persecution, disruption of their families or exposure to human rights abuses. Once they move, vulnerabilities can be exacerbated by the disruption of social structures and coping mechanisms that would otherwise have a protective effect. Being on the move can disrupt access to services as individuals may be unaware of where to turn in a new location and service providers may, in turn, have difficulty accessing them. These dangers become acute for children, especially those travelling without families. This report is the first in a series of studies in the Horn of Africa aimed at building knowledge to improve Unicef’s programmes which support children on the move. This first qualitative study provides a better understanding of the experiences of these children. It draws on 282 individual interviews and focus group discussions with children and parents on the move, including internally displaced persons, refugees, migrants and returnees. Within each group, the researchers examined why children move and the problems they face when they do. The researchers also examined what structures exist to protect children and whether they are effectively reaching children on the move and responding to the threats these children face. The report also provides recommendations for strengthening child protection systems on the ground.
2018 Results Report
Publication

2018 Results Report

In 2018, significant gains were made in generating evidence to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged children, build organizational capacity to conduct and use quality, ethical research on children, and set a foundation as an important convening centre for expert consultation on next-generation ideas on children. 2018 marks the first year the UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti is reporting on the progress of research under the new UNICEF Strategic Plan (2018-2021). This plan is the first to clearly delineate the role of research and evidence as one of the eight priority change strategies for children. This report therefore is an account of the first year of work to generate critical evidence to inform programmes, policies and advocacy for children and young people around the world
Child-related Concerns and Migration Decisions: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll
Publication

Child-related Concerns and Migration Decisions: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll

Current times are characterized by unprecedented migration levels: millions of people are on the move worldwide. Thus, understanding why people decide to migrate is a major goal of policymakers and international organizations, and migration has become a prominent issue on the global research agenda. Traditional migration drivers can be divided into reasons to leave (‘push’ factors) and reasons to migrate (‘pull’ factors), and include income deprivation, dissatisfaction with public services and institutions in the home country, conflict and war, climate change, and social networks abroad. In this paper, we focus our attention on children’s well-being as a potential migration driver. We investigate it by using the Gallup World Poll, a repeated cross-section dataset of a survey conducted in more than 150 countries from 2006 to 2016. We estimate the association between planned and intended migration and children’s perceived well-being using logit models with standardized coefficients, robust standard errors, and year and country fixed effects. Estimates reveal a positive and statistically significant association between child-related concerns, migration intent and plans. In particular, the probability of individuals having migration intent and plans increases where they report lower levels of satisfaction with child-related issues, as measured by the Youth Development Index, an index driven by indicators of respect for children and satisfaction with the education system. Moreover, children’s well-being affects more individuals living in households with children than those without. Finally, migration is a child- and youth-related phenomenon: young individuals would like to migrate, and plan to do so, more than older individuals.
Towards a Child Rights-based Assessment Tool to Evaluate National Responses to Migrant and Refugee Children
Publication

Towards a Child Rights-based Assessment Tool to Evaluate National Responses to Migrant and Refugee Children

This paper examines a range of tools, guidelines and formats available to monitor and evaluate various aspects of national responses to migrant children and argues for the need to integrate them into a single coherent, child focused, rights-based framework. Their current disparate application leaves gaps in the child’s protective environment and is not consistent with a holistic, child rights-based approach. Building on an analytical framework adopted by the Council of Europe in March 2018 to support a child-rights based approach by local and regional authorities to migrant and asylum-seeking children, the paper puts forward for consideration an integrated evaluation framework that incorporates and links existing practice models in order to ensure quality child-centred monitoring at each and every stage of the migration process.
Protected on Paper? An analysis of Nordic country responses to asylum-seeking children
Publication

Protected on Paper? An analysis of Nordic country responses to asylum-seeking children

This research, commissioned by the Nordic National Committees for UNICEF, examines to what extent the rights of asylum-seeking children are respected and protected in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The report reviews relevant national legislative and policy frameworks; examines how these are implemented; documents good practices; and highlights gaps in national standards and their compliance to international standards. It makes some broad recommendations on how to strengthen and extend legal, policy and practice frameworks to ensure the full realization and protection of child asylum seekers’ rights and entitlements in the Nordic region. It further provides country-specific detailed, practical recommendations on how to ensure protection and welfare for asylum-seeking children. It makes country-specific recommendations on how legal, policy and practice frameworks can be strengthened to ensure full protection of children’s rights and entitlements.
Migration and Inequality: Making policies inclusive for every child
Publication

Migration and Inequality: Making policies inclusive for every child

Drawing on Europe’s experience, this brief provides a cross-country comparative overview of inequality affecting children in the migration pathway, who are often described as 'children on the move'. Following a brief overview of the policy and practice in relation to various categories of refugee and migration children in Europe, it reflects on the performance of the countries with regard to Target 10.7 of the SDG.
Not Refugee Children, Not Migrant Children, But Children First: Lack of a systematic and integrated approach
Publication

Not Refugee Children, Not Migrant Children, But Children First: Lack of a systematic and integrated approach

This brief takes a deep dive in the semantics and conceptual issues in the children and migration discourse, and highlights some of the key implementation gaps. It offers a summary of the risks, vulnerabilities and protection needs of children as refugees and migration in Europe. Using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child as the normative frameworks, this brief also emphasizes how the voices of children in migration pathway must be heard and respected.
Bottom-end Inequality: Are children with an immigrant background at a disadvantage?
Publication

Bottom-end Inequality: Are children with an immigrant background at a disadvantage?

The extent to which the socio-demographic composition of child populations drives inequality in child well-being depends on which children are most likely to do much worse than their peers. In this Research Brief we present evidence on the socio-economic vulnerability of immigrant children and highlight the relative contribution of immigrant background to the risks of falling behind in household income, education, health and life satisfaction.
Strengthening Child Protection Systems for Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Mozambique: A case study of the border town of Ressano Garcia
Publication

Strengthening Child Protection Systems for Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Mozambique: A case study of the border town of Ressano Garcia

This research sets out to understand the why, how and with whom of rural-urban internal migration of children to Ressano Garcia, a border town between Mozambique and South Africa. It addresses the overarching research question of how to strengthen child protection systems for unaccompanied migrant children. By identifying children’s reasons for migrating, it identifies the main risks they encounter once they start living and working in Ressano Garcia. These include: lack of access to educational opportunities, exposure to child labour exploitation, trafficking and smuggling.
Child Trafficking in the Nordic Countries: Rethinking strategies and national responses. Technical report
Publication

Child Trafficking in the Nordic Countries: Rethinking strategies and national responses. Technical report

The study was initiated with twin aims: improving understanding of child trafficking and responses in the region; and contributing to the international discourse on child trafficking by examining the linkages between anti-trafficking responses and child protection systems. Although the study was conceived with a primary focus on trafficking, its scope is much broader. It analyses how the general principles of the Convention of the Rights of the Child are applied in relation to those children vulnerable to trafficking and other forms of exploitation. The research finds that many existing gaps may be bridged by consistent and strengthened implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Child Trafficking in the Nordic Countries: Rethinking strategies and national responses
Publication

Child Trafficking in the Nordic Countries: Rethinking strategies and national responses

The study was initiated with twin aims: improving understanding of child trafficking and responses in the region; and contributing to the international discourse on child trafficking by examining the linkages between anti-trafficking responses and child protection systems. Although the study was conceived with a primary focus on trafficking, its scope is much broader. It analyses how the general principles of the Convention of the Rights of the Child are applied in relation to those children vulnerable to trafficking and other forms of exploitation. The research also finds that many existing gaps may be bridged by consistent and strengthened implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Children in Immigrant Families in Eight Affluent Countries: Their family, national and international context
Publication

Children in Immigrant Families in Eight Affluent Countries: Their family, national and international context

During recent decades most affluent countries have experienced large increases in the number and diversity of immigrants, and accordingly it is anticipated that children in immigrant families will play an increasing role in these societies. However, while their social, economic and civic integration is of critical policy relevance, there is little statistical evidence available on this segment of the population. The study helps to fill the knowledge gap by presenting internationally comparable statistics on children in immigrant families in eight affluent countries - Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Children in Immigrant Families in Switzerland: On a path between discrimination and integration
Publication

Children in Immigrant Families in Switzerland: On a path between discrimination and integration

Special Series on Children in Immigrant Families in Affluent Societies Public debate on immigration tends to be polarized in Switzerland around issues relating to admission policy. However, many children in well-settled immigrant families also appear to experience social exclusion. This needs to be addressed by policies and programmes aimed at fostering social integration.
Children in Immigrant Families in the Netherlands: A statistical portrait and a review of the literature
Publication

Children in Immigrant Families in the Netherlands: A statistical portrait and a review of the literature

Special Series on Children in Immigrant Families in Affluent Societies Of the total population of the Netherlands about 19 per cent are foreign born or are born in the Netherlands with at least one parent born abroad. Almost 800,000 children (22.3 per cent of all children) are in immigrant families. Over 15 per cent of these children are foreign born. The rest have been born in the Netherlands each to at least one foreign-born parent. The Antilles and Aruba, Germany, Morocco, Suriname and Turkey are the major countries of origin.
The Children of Immigrants in France: The emergence of a second generation
Publication

The Children of Immigrants in France: The emergence of a second generation

Special Series on the Situation of Children in Immigrant Families in Affluent Societies In 2005, 4.9 million immigrants were residing in metropolitan France. This was 8.1 per cent of the population. Children of immigrants represent close to one fifth of all children. Children with at least one parent from Algeria, Morocco, or Tunisia make up almost 40 per cent of these children, and children of sub-Saharan African origin make up one eighth. Of the 3.5 million foreigners living in France in 2004, 450,000 were children aged 0-17 whose parents were foreign born.
Review of the Circumstances among Children in Iimmigrant Families in Australia
Publication

Review of the Circumstances among Children in Iimmigrant Families in Australia

Special Series on the Situation of Children in Immigrant Families in Affluent Societies There were about 1.5 million children 0 to 17 years of age in immigrant families in Australia in 2001. This represented almost 33 per cent of all children. More than a quarter of these children were in families from the most consistent countries of immigrant origin, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Another 17 per cent were in families from other parts of Europe, while 10 per cent were in families from New Zealand, and 3 per cent were in families from other countries in Oceania.
The Situation among Children of Migrant Origin in Germany
Publication

The Situation among Children of Migrant Origin in Germany

Special Series on the Situation of Children in Immigrant Families in Affluent Societies Germany may be described as a country of immigrants. Resident foreign citizens alone number around 6.7 million. The share of children who are living with parents who are recent immigrants is quite large. More than 1 million children 0–17 years of age are foreign citizens. Counting German citizens, there are nearly 6 million children of migrant origin under the age of 25. Of all persons of migrant origin, nearly 30 per cent are in the 0–20 age group.
The Situation of Children in Immigrant Families in Italy: Changes and challenges
Publication

The Situation of Children in Immigrant Families in Italy: Changes and challenges

Special Series on Children in Immigrant Families in Affluent Societies According to 2001 census data more than 900,000 children aged 0-17, 10 per cent of all children in Italy, were born abroad or had at least one parent who was born abroad. One or both of the parents of about 500,000 children in immigrant families were born in less developed countries. Children now account for almost 23 per cent of the foreign population. In this report, we have analysed household composition and well-being of children in immigrant families with 2001 Italian census data and 2006 survey data. Inclusion and other social issues are reviewed through the most recent literature.
The Situation of Children in Immigrant Families in the United Kingdom
Publication

The Situation of Children in Immigrant Families in the United Kingdom

Special Series on Children in Immigrant Families in Affluent Societies The foreign-born population in the United Kingdom reached 4.9 million in 2001, representing 8.3 per cent of the total population. Around 2.1 million children (16.3 per cent of all children) were in immigrant families. A fifth of these children were foreign born. The remainder were born in the United Kingdom of at least one foreign-born parent. More than 40 per cent were in families from Asia, around 20 per cent in families from Africa and around 20 per cent in families from other countries in Europe. Bangladesh, Jamaica, India and Pakistan are some of the main countries of origin.
Independent Child Migrants in Developing Countries: Unexplored links in migration and development
Publication

Independent Child Migrants in Developing Countries: Unexplored links in migration and development

This paper focuses on independent migrant children, defined as below 18 years old, who choose to move from home and live at destinations without a parent or adult guardian. It summarises quantitative and qualitative research, and uses this to reflect on research agendas and global debates towards linking migration and development.
Child Migrants with and without Parents: Census-based estimates of scale and characteristics in Argentina, Chile and South Africa
Publication

Child Migrants with and without Parents: Census-based estimates of scale and characteristics in Argentina, Chile and South Africa

The paper defines child migrants as under 18 year olds whose usual residence was in a different country or province five years prior to census. The author estimates the scale of child migration, compares the relative magnitudes of internal and international migration, and considers sensitivity to alternative definitions of migration.
Children of International Migrants in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines: A review of evidence and policies
Publication

Children of International Migrants in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines: A review of evidence and policies

This paper considers three groups of children affected by international migration: (i) children left behind by international labour migrants from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand; (ii) children of Thai nationals in Japan; and (iii) children brought along by irregular migrants in Malaysia and Thailand. Based on the limited data available from published sources, the paper constructs preliminary estimates of numbers of children involved. It then synthesizes available evidence on problems and opportunities faced by the children, and on policies towards them.
Children and Families of Ethnic Minorities, Immigrants and Indigenous Peoples: Global Seminar Report, 1995
Publication

Children and Families of Ethnic Minorities, Immigrants and Indigenous Peoples: Global Seminar Report, 1995

The seventh Innocenti Global Seminar, held in Florence in October 1996, brought together participants with a wide range of experiences and perspectives to discuss discrimination against ethnic minorities, immigrants and indigenous peoples. The Report emphasizes participation, education and empowerment and calls for systematic attention to be paid to minority populations in all situation analyses.
Children of Migrants and Ethnic Minorities: An overview and conceptual framework
Publication

Children of Migrants and Ethnic Minorities: An overview and conceptual framework

Following the Second World War and particularly after the 1960s, many Western European countries experienced positive immigration. Migrations to each specific country differed in origin and were influenced by the historical ties between the sending and receiving countries, particularly in the case of migrations from ex-colonies. However, international economic conditions and political situations also caused similar migration trends across countries, in particular the "contract work" migrations of the 1960s and the new waves of immigrants from developing countries of the 1970s and 1980s.

Journal Articles

Gender Justice and (In)security in Pakistan and Afghanistan
Journal Article

Gender Justice and (In)security in Pakistan and Afghanistan

This article argues that gender justice becomes a politicised issue in counterproductive ways in conflict zones. Despite claims of following democratic principles, cultural norms have often taken precedence over ensuring gender-sensitive security practices on the ground. The rightness of the ‘war on terror’ justified by evoking fear and enforced through colonial methods of surveillance, torture, and repression in counter-terrorism measures, reproduces colonial strategies of governance. In the current context, the postcolonial sovereign state with its colonial memories and structures of violence attempts to control women’s identities. This article analyses some of these debates within the context of Pakistan’s and Afghanistan’s security dynamics. It begins with the premise that a deliberate focus on the exclusion and limitation of women in Muslim and traditional societies sustains and reinforces the stereotypes of women as silent and silenced actors only. However, while the control of women within and beyond the nexus of patriarchal family'society'state is central to extremist ideologies and institutionalisation practices, women’s vulnerabilities and insecurities increase in times of conflict not only because of the action of religious forces, but also because of ‘progressive’, ‘secular’, ‘humanitarian’ interventions.

News & Commentary

Counting what matters: examining refugee inclusion in national education data systems
Article

Counting what matters: examining refugee inclusion in national education data systems

There are an estimated 12.5 million refugee children worldwide – a significant increase of 116% between 2010 and 2020. Of these children, close to half are estimated to be out of school, with data on refugee youth (aged 18-25) being largely unavailable. With the average length of displacement ranging from 10 to over 20 years, there is an urgent need to protect and serve these children by including them in national education systems.  UNHCR, UNICEF Innocenti Global Office of Research and Foresight, and UNESCO’s Section for Migration, Displacement, Emergencies and Education (EME) are working on several complementary research initiatives to better enable the inclusion of refugee learners into national education systems.
30 Years of Research on Migration and Displacement at UNICEF Innocenti
Article

30 Years of Research on Migration and Displacement at UNICEF Innocenti

Evan Easton-Calabria, Josiah Kaplan and Ramya Subrahmanian As global displacement rises, there is a pressing need to understand and respond to the migration experiences of children. This article provides key insights from a comprehensive review of Innocenti’s research on migration and displacement over the last 30 years. It provides a foundation upon which Innocenti’s current evidence strategy on child refugees and migrants is being built, blending past learning with research on pressing current and anticipated future needs and trends.  Context Today over 37 million children are displaced worldwide – the highest number ever recorded. These figures are consistent with the vast scale of global displacement, with over 100 million people in the world displaced due to war and conflict, extreme weather events, and other crises. Displacement has a compounding negative effect on the ability of families to access services and enjoy the stability needed to foster the healthy development and well-being of children.  The growing rate and impact of displacement is set to continue as conflicts remain protracted and climate hazards grow in frequency and severity. Concerted action is urgently needed to mitigate existing risks and identify the most effective ways to reduce disruptions to services, livelihoods, and child and family well-being, including for the estimated 31.7 million migrant children, who often lack similar safeguards and access to services to those who are displaced. There is a pressing need for data and evidence to guide effective aid responses; identify good practices for guaranteeing the rights of children, and to ensure the protection and well-being of children who migrate or are displaced. Children’s lived realities also need to be better understood.  Since 1992, UNICEF Innocenti has produced a wide array of rigorous, mixed-methods research studies on child migration and displacement in diverse countries and contexts. Within this work, studies have focused on the many different legal and other statuses that intersect with migration and displacement, including refugee, internally displaced, irregular and ‘voluntary’ migration statuses. Innocenti’s studies of and with these varied populations has reaffirmed that, regardless of status, migrant and displaced children are first and foremost children with rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Over 50 Innocenti publications have focused on topics including the protection and wellbeing of unaccompanied minors, how refugee children are situated within global and national policy frameworks, and the ways in which migrant child protection risks are related to exploitation, trafficking, and labour. Looking back over these 30 years of evidence-building, what are some of the key lessons from Innocenti’s child migration and displacement research – and where should this work lead us in the future?   What have we learned?    The impacts of migration on child well-being are complex, varied, and contextual    Migration is often viewed through simplistic and polarised lenses that position it as a ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ experience, especially when discussing child migrants. However, the impacts and outcomes of migration on children are complex, varied, and contextual - depending on how children migrate and with whom, or how they are affected by adult migration even if they remain in their communities of origin. Research from 2005 focusing on Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, for example, found that children ‘left behind’ (i.e. whose parents migrated without them) had improved material conditions. These improvements are likely attributable to parents sending income home, which positively affected both children’s health and their education.  However, positive impacts are not necessarily a given. The same 2005 study noted mixed evidence on the emotional and psychosocial impacts of children separated from their parents when the latter migrate. While some findings and an expert informant cited in the study described cases of child-parent estrangement occurring due to migration, the paper highlights other research that finds little or no evidence that children of migrants experienced more significant psychological problems than their non-migrant peers. Indeed, the paper discusses the importance of strong social connections as a mitigating factor in psychological distress, noting that:  Virtually all research on migration in the Philippines emphasizes that children and their parents do not have to cope with the effects of migration on their own. Just as the extended family plays a major role in the decision to migrate, in the preparations for migration, and in the spending of remittance money, it also helps fill the gap left by the absent parent. (p7) Migration may also not confer positive benefits on all migrant families and children. As evidence of the contextual nature of child wellbeing outcomes, research from Bangladesh and Vietnam on education, urban poverty, and migration conducted in 2012 found that: [R]ural-urban migrant households have fewer assets, live in worse housing conditions and in areas less well served by public schools, have fewer social connections in the area where they live, and contain adults with lower educational levels than for urban native households. Even conditional on these household characteristics, educational expenditure and grade attainment were both lower for children from migrant households than urban natives. (p4) Likely also negatively affecting children’s wellbeing was the finding that migrant households were generally unable to access assistance programmes such as school fee waivers.  This evidence illustrates the roles that policies and rights play in supporting or reducing opportunities and assistance for migrant children. Other Innocenti research points towards a strong interlinkage between students’ immigration background and family socioeconomic status in industrialised countries such as in Europe and North America. A 2016 working paper evaluated students’ educational achievements across 39 industrialized nations from 2000-2012. This research found that family socio-economic status is a key predictor of low achievement across different educational systems and across time, with students' immigration background strongly interlinked with family socio-economic status. However, immigration status is found to affect low achievement independently. The study identified that “‘language disadvantage’ is one of the possible channels through which immigration can increase risks of low achievement.” However, it is also important to note that many studies using census data in industrialised (and other) countries do not account for irregular migrants who may remain undocumented, and thus such research may lack comprehensive findings across migration statuses. This represents both a key methodological limitation as well as an opportunity for more targeted research on child migrant wellbeing and outcomes.   2. Mobility must be understood through a child- and family-focused lens   There is a longstanding gap in child- and family-centric approaches to studying child migration and displacement, with much of the current literature viewing children in silos without considering the many family and other systems to which they belong. However, our work on children migrating both alone and with their families illustrates the importance of understanding mobility through the behaviours, decisions, challenges, and opportunities facing the entire family unit within which a child is situated.  One key finding from Innocenti’s 2005 working paper highlighted the role of the extended family in minimising the social costs of parent-child separation. This also points to the potentially under-acknowledged role that the extended family plays in labour migration itself. The paper – focusing on Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines – examines how labour migration separates families, leaves children behind, or encourages children to move. The findings demonstrate how government migration policies ‘strongly influence family migration strategies and the ability of parents to maintain contact with their children,’ and how children’s labour migration options are the result of a collective, and at times contested, family decision-making process that must be understood holistically.  Building on the need to understand child migration through a family-centred lens, Innocenti’s 2009 discussion paper on comparative child labour migration trends in Argentina, Chile, and South Africa found much higher numbers of child migrants living separately from their parents in comparison to non-migrant families. In considering these findings, the paper’s authors challenge the literature’s common portrayal of children migrating solely as ‘a residual of adult labour decisions. Instead, they emphasise the importance of further researching South-South and internal migration when exploring rates of child labour migration: [S]ince migrant children generally do not work in the North, the debate [on independent child migration] fails to recognise the relationship between migration and children’s paid and unpaid work, and this applies to whether children migrate independently, with families or are left behind… the timing and organisation of migration by children and adults may depend on children’s labour potential and intra-family relationships. (p15) Other Innocenti work on unaccompanied migrant minors also considers the relevance of the family and individual characteristics of these children, the decision-makers, and the decision-making processes in these children’s migration, and, crucially why migration in fact occurs. A 2009 study exploring linkages between independent child migration and broader development reports that “children’s agency and purposes as migrants can make sense within the constrained options of some realities in developing countries, and potentially has positive and negative development implications for the children themselves, the places they leave behind and their places of destinations.” (p69) It places an emphasis not only on understanding wider contexts but also family livelihoods strategies and children’s positioning within households. Such studies reaffirm the value of both a child- and family-focused approach to understanding child migration. More recently, a 2018 Innocenti study examined the extent to which Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) respected the rights of asylum-seeking children. Drawing on legal analysis and qualitative data collection, the study found that while these countries attempted to undertake child-centric actions in receiving children seeking asylum, these actions did not always  fulfil the Convention on the Rights of the Child’s recommendation to treat all asylum-seeking children as children first and foremost and to act with the ‘best interests of the child’ in mind. These and other findings illustrate that, even in well-resourced host countries, much work remains to be done to not only view migration, displacement, and asylum through a child-centred lens but to act on existing child-centred commitments, recommendations, and legislation.   3. Children’s voices challenge our assumptions about migration and displacement    Innocenti’s work on unaccompanied child migrants has focused on the very real challenges these children face in terms of protection from violence, harm and exploitation, and lack of access to education and social protection services. Through direct interviews with children and young people themselves, this work has also captured the many ways in which unaccompanied minors express agency in their aspirations, adaptations to these challenges, and resilience in seeking and finding opportunities. As the 2009 study on independent child migration mentioned above notes:  ‘By giving voice to children and their families, research reported in this paper reveals degrees of some children’s agency, independent motives and organisation of movements. For many children, their movement is not under duress, deception or force, at least not any more than adults from similar places of low development...Abstract ideas about children’s agency need better-grounded empirical bases.’ (p69) Such conclusions highlight the need to conduct qualitative research, implement participatory research, and advocate for the inclusion of children’s voices in multiple areas of practice. This message has been a long-standing theme in Innocenti’s work. A 2008 report on child trafficking in South Asia, emphasised that ‘[c]hildren are seldom heard in legal and administrative procedures regarding their own cases, and the best interests of the child are not always considered in those procedures.’ Qualitative findings, gathered from detailed interviews with children themselves, ‘enhanc[ed] understanding of the local situation, risk factors and children’s views of services and options.’   In recent years Innocenti has expanded its research engagement with migrant children’s voices. In particular, the Reimagining Migration Responses research featured surveys and interviews with a total of 1,290 migrant children and adolescents in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, to better understand how children perceived their safety, wellbeing, and protective environments. The research studied their level of trust in authorities and service providers, and the extent to which they accessed services and resources.  A key finding emerging from this work was the high level of agency – defined as the personal capacity, or self-belief in the capacity to act and make free choices or to have control over their actions – that children and adolescents report exercising within their migration journeys as well as in crafting of their migration narratives. In particular, the findings highlight that many children and young people believe that they have some choice in their migration decisions. This, however, does not mean they do not face risks or harm. “I am planning to try to emigrate again, as I don’t have opportunities here. I know that it is dangerous, and I am scared, but I don’t have anything here and no reason to stay.” – Interview with female returnee, aged 15, Hargeisa, Somaliland, April 2019 This research within and across the Horn of Africa also identified that children’s perceptions of a lack of safety were linked to having few trusted reliable authorities to turn to when in need. This in part could be traced to the fact that many authorities either enforce or are perceived as enforcing anti-migrant policies. Instead, migrant children placed more trust in ‘alternative’ service providers, such as faith-based and local community-based organizations, than in government officials. Findings such as these illustrate the much-needed contribution that children’s voices can bring to migration policy and practice, as well as to our overall understanding of migration decision-making processes.  While much of the literature on child migrants and refugees is about these children, still far too little of it places their voices, capacities, and needs, at the centre of research. Participatory research and the inclusion of children’s voices in research on displacement and migration is growing but remains an under-utilised practice. Innocenti will continue to champion a participatory research approach that highlights children’s voices through qualitative methods and evidence generation, to both broaden its existing methodological base and seek to address gaps identified in past research.   4. The importance of a focus on gender dynamics and intersectionality    Various aspects of intersectionality, including gender identity and migration status, have long been central topics within the Innocenti evidence base on migration and displacement. For instance, one of the first Innocenti research projects on migration and displacement (conducted in 1992), focused on young women moving from the Philippines to Western countries as domestic workers or nurses. These women joined with other ‘poor female-headed households’ already settled within North American and European host communities. Their children, in turn, faced additional multiple burdens tied to limited income generation and educational access. A more recent academic article explored the notion of ‘gender justice’ in the contexts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, illustrating how girls’ and women’s vulnerabilities in the region are exacerbated by both persistent cultural norms and through humanitarian interventions themselves.  In a 2020 consultation brief on the linkages between migration and the sale and sexual exploitation of children, intersectionality and compounding vulnerabilities are discussed as key considerations in understanding how children are affected by migration and sexual exploitation. The brief explains, Age, gender, sexual identity and disability are all intersecting factors that determine a child’s experience and vulnerability to sale and sexual exploitation…For instance, girls’ journeys are affected by structural factors including patriarchal values and gender norms that tend to favour boys and men. Moreover, when children are forcibly displaced or decide to migrate, the overarching social and normative structures as well as connection to family and community are disrupted, potentially enhancing their vulnerability and risk of being subjected to sale and sexual exploitation. (p3) These and other considerations remain key when examining the gendered experiences of child migrants and refugees, and the risks and opportunities that may come with migration. Alongside this, there remains a strong need for research and evidence on the intersectionality of gender and other identities. Equally important is the need for robust conceptual frameworks that explore different aspects of gender and how it plays out at different stages of children’s and young people’s migration journeys. These are some of the key areas that Innocenti is currently expanding on in its growing portfolio - including in Afghanistan and Pakistan - building on its past work in the region.   Next Steps      As part of these key research areas, Innocenti is committed to producing research that uses a child- and family-focused lens to offer critical and holistic insights into the experiences and impacts of migration for children and their families.   Recent and forthcoming publications from UNICEF Innocenti are building key insights around several key areas, including:  Barriers to inclusion facing children and youth engaged in migration and displacement journeys, including the challenges of stigma and xenophobia; Access to services and systems, such as child protection, education, and health services; and institutional, normative, and capacity barriers to inclusive service delivery.  Understanding the challenges of migration and displacement in contexts of humanitarian crisis and fragility, such as in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ukraine, and throughout Central and Latin America. These topics are explored through Innocenti’s large-scale studies of child migration in the Horn of Africa, and forthcoming studies on topics ranging from the return and reintegration of child migration in Afghanistan and Pakistan; the inclusion of refugee learners in national education systems; alternative models for conceptualizing child refugee mental health and resilience worldwide, and a systematic review of global evidence on preventative healthcare access for children in displacement contexts.  Other areas where a child- and family-focused lens could shed important light on the outcomes and experiences of these two groups, include: refugee livelihoods and self-reliance, the work of grassroots refugee-led organisations, and broader patterns of circular migration and displacement. An emerging Innocenti research area in this regard is the well-being of children migrating or displaced due to extreme climate events and other impacts of climate change.  Innocenti will also continue to leverage its unique role as a connector of knowledge partners from across academia, practice, government, civil society, private sector and – critically – members of migrant and displaced communities themselves, by continuing our long tradition of bringing together colleagues through convening. To this end, we will continue to offer a wide diversity of fora to collaboratively co-develop and share evidence, and work together on ensuring children and young people are central to wider migration and displacement agendas across our respective sectors. As this research agenda continues, Innocenti seeks to show the reality of children’s migration, drawing attention to complex realities and the ongoing need to view child migration and displacement within larger systems and spheres. We will study the themes and areas of enquiry captured above through a variety of rigorous cross-cutting approaches. These include participatory, mixed-methods and interdisciplinary research, with a focus on ethics and the inclusion of children. Through viewing migration holistically as a long-term process that may last years or in fact be cyclical, our research can challenge abstracted legal categories and frameworks of migration status that rarely match the nuanced and multi-faceted realities that children experience in their migration journeys. In doing so, Innocenti will build, with the support of key partners, on a long and rich history of research on migration and displacement in thematic and geographic areas that remain highly relevant today.       Further information on UNICEF Innocenti’s work on migration, here.  
Children’s voices critical for effective migration response
Article

Children’s voices critical for effective migration response

(Florence, 13 April 2021) A new study highlights the importance of reframing the experience of children and young people based on their own motivations and lived experiences in order to adequately protect their rights. UNICEF Innocenti’s new report Reimagining Migration Responses: Learning from children and young people who move in the Horn of Africa captures the experiences of 1,290 migrant children and young people in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan in an effort to paint a more accurate picture of migration in the region. “There was nothing good about my life before I left. If you don’t have an education, you don’t have a future. I left because I wanted to change my life and that of my family.” – quote from 20-year-old Somali male interviewed for the study A growing number of children and young people worldwide are migrating in search of a better life—1 in 8 international migrants is a child. In the Horn of Africa, migration has long been a key coping strategy, with children and young people leaving home, alone or with families or friends, for a variety of reasons—from job prospects, to joining loved ones, to ensuring their own safety. The study looks beyond legal definitions of “migrant” to document the real experiences of those who move in the region. “Migration is often framed in terms of risk rather than opportunity,” explains Ramya Subrahmanian, Innocenti’s Chief of Child Rights and Protection. “The reality is that a lot of these children and young people decide to move or are compelled to move, despite being aware of the risks involved. For them, it’s a better alternative than staying at home.”Visit our dedicated microsite on children on the move in the Horn of Africa The study lays bare the complexities of migration and calls for a multi-dimensional and adaptive approach to understanding and providing for the needs of children and young people who move. “International frameworks outline distinct categories of migration—refugee, migrant, asylum seeker, internally displaced person—but what this research shows is that young migrants define their own migration narrative and many do not ascribe to any of these categories,” Innocenti’s Director, Gunilla Olsson, explains. “Designing policies that take their views into account can help to ensure that children who move can access the services they need.”A recently arrived Somali family looks out the window of a bus taking them to the Buramino refugee camp in the Dollo Ado area of Ethiopia's Somali Region.  Not only are more integrated definitions required to protect children on the move, but other factors which make the journey unsafe should also be addressed. A lack of trust in authorities means children who move may resort to unsafe routes to avoid them, including using smugglers at the risk of exploitation and violence. Age and gender also play an important role in shaping children and young people’s migration experience. Access to services is already limited, but additional barriers, including language and location, further undermine the system’s ability to adequately provide for children and young people on the move and deny them the means to improve their lives in the long-term.The research suggests three actions governments and stakeholders can take now to improve the situation for children and young people in the Horn of Africa. “First, we must put children’s migration experiences at the heart of policies. Listening to and including children’s experiences is crucial to better policymaking and investments,” explains Subrahmanian. “Second, we must protect and provide for all children, regardless of their reasons for migrating. And finally, we must better coordinate and integrate approaches to child protection services.” Read the multi-country synthesis report. Explore the dedicated microsite. Stay tuned for individual country reports.  

Events

#BOURE2020 webinar series
Event

#BOURE2020 webinar series

From 2014 to 2018, more than 70,000 unaccompanied and separated children arrived in Italy by sea. To better understand how to ensure their protection and social inclusion, this research presents an overview of trends and possible pathways to adult life for this group of children in Italy. Children’s voices are amplified by the participatory and youth-led approach, allowing them to express their views on decisions that affect them personally.

Project team

Josiah Kaplan

UNICEF Innocenti

Ramya Subrahmanian

UNICEF Innocenti

Evan Easton-Calabria

UNICEF Innocenti

Mark Gill

UNICEF Innocenti

Lucy Hovil

UNICEF Innocenti

Zeudi Liew

UNICEF Innocenti

Satoshi Watarai

UNICEF Innocenti

Videos

Research watch

Children on the move

Topics

Migration

Conference and meetings

Annual Meeting Human Rights, Migration and Global Governance (ACUNS)

ASEM Seminar Human Rights and Children

Second Global Meeting on Children on the move

The Migration-Deportation Nexus

Blogs

How voluntary guardianship for unaccompanied minors took root in Sicily

Children and Migration Decision: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll

Migration, hate speech and media ethics

Why research should be a priority in the global response to the child migration crisis

Migrant and refugee children face higher rates of bullying

Podcasts

Protected on Paper? An analysis of Nordic country responses to asylum-seeking children

Bina D'Costa on migrant and refugee children and the role of research

Commentaries

Syrian refugees and child marriage

Life (and death) of Rohingya children - No place to hide

Asia’s Child Migrants

Related Innocenti publications

Economic Transfers and Social Cohesion in a refugee hosting setting

No Lost Generation - cash transfer program for Syrian Refugees

What's new

Forced Displacement of Children in the Italian Context

Knowledge pages

Children and Migration

Related external links

Economic Transfers and Social Cohesion in a refugee hosting setting

External website

Children Uprooted campaign

UNICEF Agenda for Action for Children on the move