The plight of children who migrate to other countries in search of work and education has been documented in our new report, Children on the move: protecting unaccompanied migrant children in South Africa and the region.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Children on the move was written in response to increasing concerns in several southern African countries over the situation of unaccompanied migrant children.

The report gives recommendations to government, donors and non-governmental organisations in order to ensure that migrant children are better protected and supported in South Africa and neighbouring countries.

The report is based on the findings of four separate research studies undertaken in South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland in 2003, 2005 and 2007. More than 300 unaccompanied migrant children were interviewed on their experiences of migration.

Most of the children interviewed had crossed borders illegally from Zimbabwe or Mozambique and are now residing in South Africa, Mozambique or Swaziland with no documentation or legal status. Many children decided to migrate as a survival strategy in response to desperate poverty combined with the death of parents from AIDS. Once in the host country the children look for work and other opportunities with a view to saving money to send back home.

Not only is the actual crossing fraught with danger which can include crossing crocodile-infested rivers and abuse from informal guides, border guards and others, their marginalised lives as foreign, undocumented children has left them open to exploitation and abuse. Some of the girls have become sex workers, while some of the boys are living on the streets, scavenging or collecting bottles for money. Others work for long hours on low wages. Sometimes they are not paid by their unscrupulous employers, who threaten to report them to the police.

Julia Zingu, Save the Children UK's Country Director in South Africa said:

"Every country has an obligation to make sure that that migrant children are kept safe and given the support and assistance they need, whatever their nationality or status. In South Africa, the policies and legislation that protect children are so often not applied to migrant children because of the mistaken belief that these children do not have any rights."

The report calls on national governments, NGOs and regional bodies such as the Southern Africa Development Community to ensure that these children are not forgotten and that provision is made for them in legislation and policy frameworks. It also examines how xenophobia and a lack of understanding, capacity and commitment have led to migrant children missing out on the protection and services they are entitled to.


For more information, download the report here