The UN refugee agency says there is a sharp increase in unaccompanied Afghan children applying for asylum across Europe. According to the latest figures from the agency, there has been an increase of 60% since last year. There are more than 6,000 Afghans under the age of 18 that are seeking asylum. In 2008, the number was 3,800. The UN believes the number of unaccompanied minors is probably higher than the latest figures show. They suspect many unaccompanied minors do not apply for asylum because they fear detention and deportation.
UNICEF, the UN's children agency, says that there is an urgent need to protect children migrating alone, and that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires countries to protect children of all nationalities. A new UNICEF study revealed a lack of coherent policy within Europe towards child migrants and often a failure to protect them. For example, two Afghan boys, one only 13, died trying to hide in semi-trucks traveling from Greece to Italy. Another study that examined the care of unaccompanied minors by UK local authorities and found that the children often experience racism, are not believed when they try to tell their story to adults, and struggle with the mental trauma experienced on the journey to the UK. The UN agency says more research needs to be done on this growing phenomenon of unaccompanied child migrants, but the initial findings indicate that there is definitely a need for better protection for these children. (Full Story)
The UN World Food Program has reported that Islamist militants in Somalia are stopping convoys of food from reaching more than 360,000 displaced people. Trucks with food supplies traveling from the capital Mogadishu to the camps in Afgoye have been stopped by armed men. The insurgent group stopping the convoys of food, al-Shabaab, says that the WFP is ruining local farming by forcing Somalis to rely on imports. However, the UN says that farmers alone cannot supply enough food for those in need. Al-Shabaab also accuses the WFP of distributing expired food, and that the agency really has a political agenda and distributing food is just their cover.
A WFP worker said that the people in Afgoye haven't received a general food distribution from the WFP since November 2009. He said, "We fear that they are going very hungry. We fear they are suffering even more because food assistance cannot reach them, and some of them may be forced to leave Afgoye as conditions in the camp deteriorate." (Full Story)
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