Migrant children missing in Ireland

http://www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/press07/missing.html

The issue of migrant children missing in Ireland must be tackled urgently

Last year the HSE reported that 328 migrant children had gone missing from care in the period 2001–2005. Disturbingly, this figure is likely to have greatly increased since then, as, on average, one migrant child a week goes missing in Ireland.

Cases of missing children later found being exploited in brothels are an urgent call for better child protection measures to be put in place. These missing children are among the many “separated children” or “unaccompanied minors” who are under 18 years of age and who have arrived in Ireland in recent years without the company of their parents or legal / customary primary caregiver. Many have fled persecution and violence in their home countries and come to Ireland seeking safety and asylum.

The Irish Refugee Council urges that more concerted efforts be made in the identification and registration of separated children upon their arrival in Ireland. ‘More training and better inter-agency co-operation are needed as well as a 24-hour social work service to be present at points of entry for migrants arriving in Ireland' stated Jyothi Kanics, Separated Children's Officer at the Irish Refugee Council and former Programme Manager of the Separated Children in Europe Programme.

While early identification and registration systems may assist once a child has gone missing, providing suitable accommodation, care and guardianship are essential to preventing disappearances. As highlighted by the Irish Refugee Council's 2006 report, Making Separated Children Visible, separated migrant children currently receive a lesser provision of care and support than Irish children.

Additionally, separated children must have a guardian ad litem to ensure that all decisions taken are in the child's best interests and to ensure that the views of the child are heard.

"The incoming Irish government must prioritize fulfilling its international obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and provide better protection to these vulnerable children. Without stability and prospects for the future, children whom we protect today may fall prey to traffickers tomorrow when they leave residential care", Ms Kanics added.
END

Contact:

Ms Jyothi Kanics
Separated Children's Officer
Irish Refugee Council
Phone: 01-873 0042
Pager 01-209 7716
Notes to Editors

* Separated children are under 18 years of age, outside their country of origin and separated from both parents and from their previous legal/customary primary caregivers. In Ireland the term unaccompanied minors is often used.
* The Irish Refugee Council is a non-governmental organisation. Its mission is to pursue fair, consistent and transparent policies and to promote informed public attitudes in relation to people seeking refuge.
* Separated migrant children make up 3%-5% of the movement of peoples in the world and are of particular concern having no parent/guardian to care for them.
* 'Making Separated Children Visible' was published by the Irish Refugee Council in December 2006. See www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/pub06/children.pdf

Quotes from separated children

"We try to get to know this country but it seems like this country doesn't want to know who we are." - 19-year old 'aged-out minor' in Ireland.

"When you are scared, you don't have anyone to talk to." - 16-year old separated child in Dublin.

"Being an unaccompanied minor is not easy especially in a strange country all by yourself. At first the process of asylum is complicated for most minors especially because most of the time we are treated as adults when it comes to the asylum process and are expected to produce the same documents relating to our stories as adults would" - Robert (16-year old African separated child, Dublin)

"Even though I live in a safe country now, I don't feel safe enough as I don't have refugee status." - 16-year old African separated child in Dublin.
Statistics for separated children in Ireland

* In Ireland, separated children represented 3.2% of asylum applicants for the first half of 2006. A total of 643 separated children arrived in 2005. This compares with 877 in Austria, 1,470 in the UK and 2,131 in Belgium in the same period.

* The majority are adolescents aged 14-17.

* Over 4,500 separated children have arrived in Ireland since 1999. while over 300 have gone missing from their accommodation centres since 2001.

* From 2003 until the end of June 2006, a total of 279 separated children were recognised as refugees while 1,233 were refused asylum.

* The numbers of separated children presenting to the Social Work Service (HSE) is higher than the numbers presenting a case for asylum. Those who do not enter the asylum process remain in a legal limbo.

* According to the HSE: In 2005, a total of 643 referrals were made to the ‘HSE Separated Children Seeking Asylum Unit' in Dublin. 442 were reunited with family, while 201 were put in HSE care. Follow-up mechanisms for those children who are reunited are inadequate.