Increase in child migrants seeking refuge without parents

More than 11,600 children crossed the Central Mediterranean Sea to Italy without their parents or legal guardians between January and mid-September 2023 - an increase of 60 percent compared to the same time last year.

Evidence shows that unaccompanied children are at risk of exploitation and abuse on every step of their journeys, with girls and children from sub-Saharan Africa the most likely to suffer abuse.

In line with international law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF calls on governments to provide safer and legal pathways for seeking asylum; ensure children are not held in closed facilities; strengthen national child protection systems to better protect children migrating; coordinate search and rescue operations and ensure disembarkation to places of safety.