The number of unaccompanied foreign minors in Italy has increased significantly. Since the start of the year, nearly 2,000 underage migrants and refugees have arrived in the country without their families – nearly three times as many as in early 2022.
SOS Mediterranee estimates it could take "four long days" for the 113 rescued migrants on Ocean Viking to reach the Italian port city of Ravenna. Pregnant women, three babies and dozens of unaccompanied minors are on board.
Nearly 200 unaccompanied migrant minors sleep in a makeshift tent camp set up under a bridge in a suburb of Paris. In the absence of support from the French government, NGOs like Utopia 56 provide help these young foreigners, who are considered adults, so they don't have to fend for themselves in the streets of Paris.
More than 2,000 Tunisian minors made the perilous Mediterranean crossing from the North African country to Italy so far this year, Tunisian rights group FTDES has said. Tunisians currently account for the greatest number of migrants arriving in Italy.
A police officer shot a 16-year-old unaccompanied minor several times with a submachine gun in front of a youth welfare facility in the German city of Dortmund. The shooting has prompted protests and questions in Germany.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has overturned a German rule on family reunification, thereby strengthening the rights of underage migrants. It ruled that the German practice of denying minors in Syria to reunite with their family in Germany violates EU law.
As of July, France Terre d’Asile will be in charge of evaluating the age of unaccompanied migrant minors in Paris. The association is taking over the role from the Red Cross, which has managed the evaluation system for six years.
The foundation 'Con i Bambini' (with children) is launching an initiative in favor of over 1,400 Afghan children in Italy. The 3.2 million euros project involves some 100 social organizations already working on the ground to host Afghan minors and promote their inclusion.
Bologna could pave the way for Italian citizenship granted to foreigners born in Italy. The proposed changes could affect more than 11,000 minors.
Following the deaths of nine migrants headed towards the Canary Islands in March 2021, two people have each been sentenced to nine years in prison. Two young children were among those who died.
A reported 48 people have completed a course in Sicily to become tutors for unaccompanied migrant minors, organizers said on July 13. They will support the education and training of foreign minors.
More than 4,000 refugees and asylum seekers have been relocated from Greece to other countries in the European Union since April 2020, according to various UN agencies. Meanwhile, the number of refugees and migrants on the Greek islands has fallen from 40,000 to less than 10,000.