Focus on Children in Migration
- From a European Research and Method Perspective
Warsaw, Poland, 20-21 March 2007
Migration of children in Europe is a multifaceted and complex issue, and
includes asylum seeking and refugee children, children forced or voluntarily
migrating for work, children being abandoned when their parents migrate, as
well as children being trafficked for various exploitative purposes. According
the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the departure of children to
neighbouring countries is a an issue of particular concern, and many children
leave their country unaccompanied by their parents. Trafficking of children
under 18, especially adolescent girls, for sexual and commercial exploitation
occurs in many countries and adequate preventive and protection measures are
not fully in place in all parts of Europe.
A large number of separated asylum-seeking children have disappeared from
European reception centres and these are vulnerable of abuse and exploitation.
The issues of slow asylum processing, violent incidents towards internally
displaced refugees and the lack of adequate psychosocial services are also of
great concern in Europe. There is furthermore a growing number of children
without legal documentations, partly due to stricter asylum procedures,
according to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The absence of relevant statistical data with respect to separated children,
as well as children being trafficked or leaving their country to work in
neighbouring countries, makes it difficult to assess the situation of children
in migration in Europe, and hence to answer with corresponding preventive and
protective actions in the practical support work.
Save the Children Sweden and the European Network of Masters on Children’s
Rights are pleased to announce the upcoming European Conference ‘Focus on
Children in Migration’ in March 2007, aiming to highlight the issues of
concerns listed above. The Conference is a two-day event and will include both
renowned European keynote speakers in plenary sessions and seminars in
parallel sessions, as well as panel discussions.
Preliminary keynote speakers include following example of topic: Children on
the move in Europe- UNICEF IRC Research, Unicef Innocenti Research Centre in
Florence, Italy with a European overview of the situation on children in
migration in Europe
CALL FOR PAPERS
Save the Children Sweden and the European Network of Masters on Children’s
Rights hereby open an invitation to researchers from a wide range of academic
disciplines as well as experts from practical field work to contribute papers
in one of the following fields:
- Latest research findings on children in migration from a child rights
perspective
- Methods and examples of how to relate research and field work with each
other in a mutual beneficial manner
- Meaningful child participation as a research tool
- Ethical considerations on working with children in migration
- Documentation of best practices that can be relevant for strategic expansion
Abstract deadline: 30 September 2006
Complete papers: 31 November 2006
Kindly send your abstracts to:
Save the Children Sweden
Europe Programme
Susann Olsson
107 88 Stockholm Sweden
or to: [log in to unmask]
For more information on Save the Children Sweden, visit www.rb.se. For more
information on the European Network of Masters on Children's Rights, visit
www.enmcr.net.
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