Rising share of applications by unaccompanied minors

ByIon Ilasco

Rising share of applications by unaccompanied minors

In the EU migration context, an unaccompanied minor or self-claimed unaccompanied minor (UAM) is defined as “a third-country national or stateless person below the age of 18 years, who arrives on the territory of the (Member) States unaccompanied by the adult responsible for them by law or by the practice of the (Member) State concerned, and for as long as they are not effectively taken into the care of such a person.” The number of UAMs has risen consistently over the last few years making this a serious problem for the EU authorities.

March 2021

Over 40,000 requests for asylum in Europe were submitted in March 2021 alone, with the majority of asylum seekers originating from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Out of 53,313 applications processed in March 2021, only 27% resulted in a positive outcome. The number of applications lodged by unaccompanied minors in the EU+ for March 2021 was 1,400, representing 3% of all applications. It is important to mention that this number is to some extent in line with the trends of previous months but significantly lower than the levels at the end of 2020 (5%). The UAMs originating from Afghanistan accounted for about two out of every five minors (40%), followed by minors coming from Syria and Pakistan with 15% and 6% respectively.

2020

Although the total number of applications from all groups of asylum seekers for 2020 was far fewer at 461,300 or a 37.7% decrease compared to 2019, the share of applications submitted by unaccompanied minors was relatively high reaching an average of 4% or about 18,450 applications for the majority of 2020, moving eventually to 5% (approx. 23,060 applications) in the last quarter of the year. This in turn represents an increase of two percentage points from the previous year. Around 37% of all UAMs in 2020 originated from Afghanistan, followed by minors arriving from Syria (15%) and Pakistan (7%). It is also worth mentioning that approximately 10% of all Afghan and Egyptian asylum seekers were classified as unaccompanied minors.

2019

The total number of applications received from all groups of asylum seekers in 2019 was around 740,000, or 11% more compared to 2018. Interestingly, the increase seen during this period was caused in part by a sharp rise in the number of applicants arriving from the Latin-American nations, mostly Venezuela and Colombia. Around 17,700 applications for asylum in 2019 were submitted by unaccompanied minors, representing about 2.4% of the total. This in turn constitutes a 13% decrease in applications by UAMs compared to 2018. It is worth mentioning that during 2019 the number of UAMs arriving from Afghanistan almost doubled, showing a 46% increase compared to 2018.

Missing refugee and migrant children in Europe

At least 18,000 unaccompanied children and minors have disappeared from state care across Europe between January 2018 and December 2020. This is one of the main findings of an investigation undertaken by The Guardian in collaboration with the journalism collective, Lost in Europe. The data in the report suggests that on average about 17 children a day went missing in this time frame with 5,768 children disappearing in 2020 alone. It is feared that the majority of these minors will end up in the hands of drug gangs and human traffickers or being sold into the sex industry. European authorities have publicly recognized the issue and have promised to take action to curb this phenomenon. At the beginning of January 2020, the Parliamentary Assembly within the Council of Europe proposed a resolution listing a number of recommendations aiming to improve the level of protection of children and avoid further disappearances.

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