First International Conference on Children on the Move to shed light on invisibility of migrant children

Barcelona, October 5th, 2010. The I International Conference on protecting and supporting Children on the Move opened today in Barcelona hosted by the Global Movement for Children with the support of the Catalan Government  and Save the Children as a first step in the process of re-examining policy responses to the protection and support of children on the move.

From 5-7 of October, the Conference will gather a number of international experts to bring to the fore this highly invisible and vulnerable group within national and international debates on migration policies. “The conference aims at  promoting a comprehensive understanding of the issue of children on the move, based on the best interests of the child and stimulating South-South and North-South collaboration and joint initiatives to improve the protection of these children” Miquel de Paladella, Executive Coordinator of the GMC, has said.

Participants will include representatives from international agencies, UN agencies, such as UNHCR, UNICEF or ILO, NGOs, among which World Vision, Terre des Hommes or Intervida, and national and regional governments.

Furthermore, the Conference aims at promoting active child participation by inviting eight children from the developing world (Burundi, Benin, Costa Rica, China, India and Eritrea) to meet and exchange their experiences and giving them the opportunity to put forward their own opinion before the attendants.

Millions of children are on the move, both within and between countries, with or without their parents. Children have become an important part of large-scale population movements currently involving millions of people and will be increasingly affected in the next decades as a result of globalisation, socio-economic change and climate change. Yet, in debates on both child protection and migration, children who move or who are left behind are largely invisible. As a result, policy responses to support these vulnerable children are fragmented and inconsistent.

The Global Movement for Children was founded at the UNGASS on Children in 2002 by Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel to help mobilize citizens and children alike from every nation within an active, influential and united movement. At a global level, today, the GMC is led by some of the world’s leading child-focused organisations and networks made up of ENDA Tiers Monde, Plan International, REDLAMYC, Save the Children, UNICEF and World Vision. At a regional level, the GMC is led by the Regional Platforms which are in turn integrated by National Platforms of organisations working for child rights.