A record number of unaccompanied migrant minors separated from their parents have traveled through different parts of Latin America and the Caribbean so far in 2024, reported the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The institution warned in a report about the danger to which these children are exposed, by being at the mercy of sexual exploitation, human trafficking and violencefor which he called for the collection of more than 800 million dollars to protect them and their families.
“UNICEF is concerned about the increasing number of unaccompanied and separated children on the move in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Anne-Claire Dufay, UNICEF OIC Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The official also warned that “when traveling alone [los menores] experience a higher proportion of violenceincluding sexual violence, abuse and exploitation, with detrimental effects on their physical and mental health and well-being.”
In a report this week, the entity noted that At least half of Haiti’s gang members are children.
“We estimate that children represent up to 50% of members of armed groups, while the total number of children recruited by armed groups has increased by 70% over the past year,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on Monday.
The alert in figures
According to UNICEF records, in the period between January and October 2024, some 3,800 unaccompanied and separated children crossed the dangerous Darien Gap route between Colombia and Panama.
For comparison, in the entire year 2023, less than 3,300 minors were registered.
Further south on the continent, the trends were similar, the entity assures, as around 312 unaccompanied and separated children arrive in Brazil monthly. In total, UNICEF counted more than 3,100 between January and October 2024.
Children are now one in four migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean, explains UNICEF.
Armed violence, a driver
In addition to armed violence, the climate change crisis in the region joins the causes exposed as the driving forces of this phenomenon, the report indicates.
In Colombia, in particular, society faces the consequences of the armed conflict that dates back several decades, together with the increase in “serious violations against children, such as recruitment, sexual violence and attacks on schools.”
“Armed violence is not only one of the triggers for migration, but it also seriously disrupts the lives of children,” explains Dufay.
The senior official said that this also directly affects the rights of children by depriving them of access to education and making them targets for forced recruitment by criminal groups.
In an analysis of this 2024 published by the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF), it indicated that 18,805 cases of sexual violence against girls, boys and adolescents have been attended to in the coffee-growing nation.
Urgent help
Taking into account the serious situation, UNICEF estimates that by next 2025, $819.8 million is needed “to support emergency preparedness and response to emerging and ongoing crises”, with the aim of offering vital services to people. vulnerable people affected by armed violence.
The aid is designed to enhance well-being even in the migrants’ places of origin as well as in their reception places.
The appeal for aid includes Haiti – affected by gang violence and a power vacuum -, Venezuela, Colombia and other Latin American and Caribbean nations.
In that sense, UNICEF extended the call for aid worth $9.9 billion to reach 109 million children in 146 countries around the world by 2025.
“The magnitude of children’s humanitarian needs is at a historically high level, and more children are affected every day,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
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