OECD Reports that Unaccompanied minor refugees on the rise in Europe

 

The increasing number of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in Europe is a “particularly striking and worrying characteristic” of the current refugee crisis, according to a new report on migration trends in 2015 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

In 2014, the 24,000 unaccompanied minors applying for asylum comprised 4 per cent of all asylum seekers in the European Union (EU).

Many of the children who arrive at 16 or 17 years old come with no formal schooling. With no knowledge of the language of the host countries, the challenge of integrating them is different and more difficult than for adults as they need housing, schooling and specialised support services. 

In 2014, the main origin countries of asylum seekers to the EU were Syria (21 per cent), Kosovo (9.6 per cent), Eritrea (6.4 percent) and Iraq (2.6 per cent), in 2015 the composition shifted. In the first six months of 2015, Syria, Eritrea and Iraq together represented only about a quarter of all asylum claims, a share that increased to one-third in June 2015.