A child-friendly version of the 2024 Report by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children to the Human Rights Council entitled ‘Children on the Move- They Have Rights, and their Rights Move with them!’ has been launched. This report incorporates the voices of 500 children on the move, which was presented at the ‘Global Refugee Forum’. According to research findings, in 2023, “43 million children were displaced due to conflict, violence, human rights violations, climate change, natural disasters, economic necessity or social security”.
The report encourages governments to legally register children upon arrival in a new country. This provides children with access to all needed services, such as clothing, housing, health services, education, and legal advice. A testimony from Refugee Boy, 12, from Iraq reads, “I think that the authorities in the country should enable us to be visible, that is, to have documents. I am now in the process of obtaining asylum. I don’t know how long that will take.”
Child Identity Protection (CHIP) welcomes children's voices on the move and petitions governments and other actors to restore identity documents to ensure children get access to all services.
