Report of PICUM's International Conference on Undocumented Children in Europe Invisible Victims of Immigration Restrictions
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PICUM, the Platform for International Cooperation on
Undocumented Migrants, held an international conference in
Brussels on 22-23 January 2009 to culminate its two-year project on
undocumented children in Europe.
For the first time in Europe, more than 150 representatives of NGOs,
local authorities, social workers, policy makers, researchers and
other actors came together to specifically address the situation of
undocumented children and how control policies directed against
irregular migration affect them. Representing more than 20
countries both in the EU and beyond (some participants travelled
from the United States, Canada and Morocco to attend the event),
participants highlighted numerous examples of violations of
undocumented children’s rights. Undocumented children face
various obstacles when trying to access basic social services such
as housing, health care and education, and several
recommendations were made to address these issues. Participants
called for more visibility of undocumented children and stressed the
need for greater recognition of their inherent rights as children.
This report seeks to provide a general overview of the conference
itself, what was discussed by the speakers and participants, and to
deliver the overall themes and sentiments shared during the event.
