In search of children's best interest
| Published date | 01 April 2023 |
| Author | Luigi Achilli |
| Date | 01 April 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13132 |
362 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imig Int Migr. 2023;61:362–364.
COMMENTARY
In search of children's best interest
Luigi Achilli
Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy
Correspondence
Luigi Achilli, Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute, Via Maffei 32, 50133 Florence, Italy.
Email: luigi.achilli@eui.eu
DOI: 10.1111/imig.13132
Received: 23 February 2023 Accepted: 24 February 2023
The peak of the ‘Europe migrant crisis’ has witnessed a record number of unaccompanied and separated children
crossing the Mediterranean Sea (UNICEF, 2017). It has been estimated that over hundred thousand minors from
Asia and Africa have arrived in Europe in 2016 alone (Eurostat, 2016). A third of them were classified by the rele-
vant authorities as unaccompanied or separated children, generally young men in their mid-teens who fled violence,
chronic economic stagnation, and political turmoil in their countries (Eurostat, 2016). Direct engagement with chil-
dren and youth impacted by humanitarian emergencies was crucial to ensure that their best interest was brought into
policy discussions. However, for a variety of reasons, children's voices were often not heard (Achilli, 2022).
By virtue of their age, minors should be entitled to special forms of protection; especially if we consider that the
1989 Convention for the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world, with
195 countries that ratified it. While lacking specific references to migration, the CRC provides specific guidelines
concerning the protection of children. Article 3 of the convention states: “In all actions concerning children, whether
undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative
bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.” In September 2016, the member states of the
UN reaffirmed their commitment to addressing the specific needs of children travelling as part of large movements of
refugees and migrants, especially children who are unaccompanied or separated from their families, in the New York
Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.
Yet, despite the emphasis on the “best interest” of the child, there is a clear absence of input from children
when migration decision-makers determine what is best for them. Numerous studies have shown how international
programmes have often interpreted the best interests of the child in terms of reflecting the priorities of donor coun-
tries rather than the child's own interests (Pupavac, 2001). Moreover, examination of the conceptualisation of the
best interests of the child by the CRC in recent decades has suggested that the factual disregard for children's voices
might be embedded in the dominant approach to child protection. Borne out of an era of humanitarian assistance
that was largely characterized by a paternalistic approach to child protection, the CRC would universalise a Western
conception of childhood that erodes individual autonomy and promotes dependency on professional intervention
(Boyden, 2015), as opposed to one that promotes the agency and capabilities of minors.
True to be told, while the opinion of the child should be at the centre of any programmatic response regard-
ing their best interests, engaging children and youth as research proves problematic for a number of reasons. The
child protection community is fiercely debating whether researchers should directly engage children affected by
forced displacement, conflicts, and other humanitarian emergencies. Some believe the risk of such interactions to
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
© 2023 The Authors. International Migration published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Organization for Migration.
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