Summary:

Study carried out in Belgium, France, Spain and Switzerland on the disappearances of unaccompanied foreign minors placed in institutions.

http://www.crin.org/docs/Disappearing_children.pdf

An investigation was carried out in four countries on the disappearance of several unaccompanied foreign minors from the institutions in which the judicial or administrative authorities had placed them.

The findings of this investigation, which was undertaken between 2008 and 2009 by The Terre des Hommes - child relief Foundation, revealed that:

• The disappearance of children from institutions is not a marginal or rare phenomenon;
  
• The phenomenon is prevalent at local and regional levels, but the publication of consolidated national statistics is non-existent in the contexts investigated;
  
• It is difficult to determine the scope and seriousness of the phenomenon for a number of reasons: the criteria at local and regional levels for taking children into care and supporting them are not uniform, the services concerned operate in isolation, and the variety of terms used, such as disappearances, running away, departure without forwarding address, for example, are also problematic.
  
• Some of the people in charge of institutions consider the term 'disappearance' to be inappropriate, as for some this indicates the need to initiate a judicial investigation; a very small minority of these people consider the disappearance to be the child’s free choice.
  

Further information

• France: Lost in Transit: Insufficient Protection for Unaccompanied Migrant Children at Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport (October 2009)
  
• Europe: General Recommendations for EU Action in relation to Unaccompanied and Separated Children of Third Country Origin (September 2009)
  
• More on unaccompanied and separated children 
  

Previous Publication (general) items

• 05/02/2010: Guidance Note for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support: Haiti Earthquake Emergency Response
• 05/02/2010: Persons with Disabilities and the Humanitarian Response in Haiti
• 04/02/2010: VIOLENCE: Promotion of protagonist and meaningful participation of children and adolescents exposed to violence
• 03/02/2010: JUNE 2008: Annual Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
• 03/02/2010: JULY 2008: Report by the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

Organisation Contact Details:

Terre des Hommes, Suisse
Terre des hommes - aide à l’enfance
En Budron C 8 – CH-1052
Le Mont-sur-Lausanne
CCP : 10-11504-8
Tél: +41 21 654 66 66
Fax : +41 21 654 66 77
Courriel: info@tdh.ch
www.tdh.ch

Last updated 09/02/2010 02:05:49

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.