20, Dec 2017 | CJP Team

The United Nations’ children fund has reported that around 50 million children globally are in the process of migrating, with 28 million children being forced out of their homes because of conflict, Voice of America (VOA) reported. UNICEF spokeswoman Sarah Crowe told VOA that in 2017, “We have seen some 400 children, estimated 400 children who have drowned trying to make their way to Europe,” adding that there are “an estimated 32,000 children who are currently in detention in the hands of smugglers and traffickers in Libya. Of those, 11,000 are unaccompanied.” Crowe indicated that children in the process of migrating are vulnerable to detention, deportation, and drowning, and said that several thousand suffer abuse, enslavement and exploitation. Crowe called on countries to provide legal pathways for migrant children, like humanitarian and school visas.