Venezuelan migrants in Guatemala. UNICEF: Migrant children have the right to be with their families Refugees and migrants
A quarter of all migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean are children. And like all children, they have the right to be protected and to be with their families, said Karin Hulshof, UNICEF Acting Regional Director.
Many families in the region have had no choice but to flee their homes due to high levels of inequality, poverty and violence, exacerbated by extreme weather events and natural disasters.
They cross dangerous areas and find themselves in life-threatening situations in their search for a new home.
“Regardless of their migration status and wherever they are, children have the right to be with their family or caregivers, as set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” Hulshof said.
“UNICEF reminds governments of their responsibility to ensure that border crossing and reception processes do not separate families, intentionally or unintentionally,” she added.
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Hulshof stressed, That, whether they are travelling with their families or alone, migrant children have the right to due process. Countries must take their interests into account and seek optimal solutions, whether that means granting them a status for residence and integration in the country where they arrived, repatriating them to their country of origin, or resettling them in a third country. They also have the right to seek asylum and not to be returned to places where their lives or well-being are at risk.
“UNICEF calls on all governments in Latin America and the Caribbean to adopt best interests determination procedures [for migrant children] to preserve families and reunite children with their caregivers,” Hulshof said.
“UNICEF remains committed to working with countries in the region to protect children,” she concluded.