The UNICEF released a statement yesterday from Geneva, Sitzerland, which criticizes the cnditions in which migrant children are finidng themselves at borders in Europe. The border stand-off at the Poland-Belarus border is the most recent flashpoint of an ongoing crisis that has severely affected children.
The picture of the Kurdish 3-year old toddler Ayan Kurdi six years ago brought renewed focus on and condemnation of the dire humanitarian conditions often facing migrants and children among them.
“Reports of children living in appalling conditions, being pushed back or detained at the eastern borders are shocking and a direct violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children and their families have the right to seek asylum and have their protection needs evaluated on an individual basis”, Afshan Khan, Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Response in Europe, stated yesterday.
She further said that “migrant children should not be instrumentalized for political purposes and their right to safely claim asylum must be guaranteed”. The policy of ‘push back’ against migrants is “shocking” and directly violates the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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