Outlines the risks faced by separated children as they attempt to emigrate to the European Union (EU) and provides key issues and policy recommendations to protect them. Approximately 20,000 unaccompanied children per year seek asylum in Europe after fleeing poverty, war, abuse, or exploitation. Advances in recent years have ensured the rights of those children seeking asylum, but deficiencies remain including: a limited legal framework; lack of access to EU territory; inconsistent support for non-asylum seekers; lack of consideration for children’s issues during EU enlargement negotiations; analysis hampered by insufficient and incomplete population data; and, children’s advocacy programs not involved with the drafting of policy or legislation. Recommendations for improvement are offered: to promote the best interests of the child; to allow children to act as active decision makers; to strengthen children’s rights within EU Common Asylum and immigration policy; to aggressively prevent child trafficking; to ensure coherence in EU legislation; to monitor Member State implementation; to require new EU accessions adhere to child protection standards; and to improve statistical data collection and analysis. (IP)
