European Union

Written by Maria Margarita Mentzelopoulou.

Between 2021 and 2023, at least 51 433 unaccompanied minors were reported as missing across Europe, averaging nearly 47 children a day. Over 18 000 migrant and refugee children were reported as missing across Europe between 2018 and 2020. It is feared that many of these children may have been exploited and abused for sexual or labour purposes. The European Parliament has repeatedly stressed the need to address this issue.

Background

The number of migrant children has been growing, both globally and in the European Union (EU). According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 40 % of the world’s displaced people are children. Lost in Europe, an investigative journalism project, has reported that 51 433 migrant children have disappeared after arriving in European countries between 2021 and 2023. This investigation builds on research published in 2021, showing that more than 18 000 migrant and refugee children went missing in Europe between 2018 and 2020. Overall, the reasons for children’s disappearance include: poor reception conditions; lack of child-friendly information; inefficient family reunification and guardian-appointment procedures; fear of detention or deportation; the desire to join family or friends in another country; and violence and abuse, including illegal adoption and trafficking.

EU Member States do not have a common definition for the concepts and terminologies related to the rights and protection of children. For instance, there is no consensus on how to define a ‘missing child’. According to Missing Children Europe, migrant children are considered missing ‘when they are registered with state authorities and go missing from the reception/accommodation centres provided for them’. While most missing migrant children are understood to be unaccompanied minors (UAMs), separated children and children that were travelling with family are also included in this group.

In 2023, 170 children lost in migration were never found. According to the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), the issue of UAMs going missing from first reception facilities is a significant concern in many EU Member States. However, regular data collection and sharing is fragmented, making it difficult to fully grasp the picture; a single contact point would arguably facilitate finding information about such children at a cross-national level. In fact, registration is particularly relevant in the case of children, as it lessens the risk of them going missing while also helping families reunite. For instance, reports by EU police forces warn about the exploitation and trafficking of African children by organised crime groups, such as drug trafficking networks, mainly based in western Europe.

European action to protect children in migration

In recent years, the EU has adopted a set of policies on children in migration. Under EU law, the European Commission has launched a hotline number (116000) for missing children, including UAMs of third-country origin, which is now active in 32 countries. The enforced disappearance of children is addressed under Article 8 of the European Charter of Human Rights (ECHR). In a communication from 2017, the Commission laid out a list of priority actions aimed at contributing to the protection of children in migration. Moreover, in its 2020 communication on a new pact on migration and asylum, the Commission stressed that ‘the reform of EU rules on asylum and return is an opportunity to strengthen safeguards and protection standards under EU law for migrant children’. It furthermore identified children’s rights as a priority that is part of a broader range of initiatives, such as those set out in the 2020 action plan on integration and inclusion 2021-2027 and the 2021 EU strategy on voluntary return and reintegration.

The 2021 EU strategy on the rights of the child stressed the vulnerability of migrant children, who are often deeply traumatised by what they have had to endure in their country of origin or on a migratory route. The strategy notes that migrant children are more likely to be victims of abuse and violence, and that the risk of going missing increases ‘when children travel unaccompanied or are obliged to share overcrowded facilities with adult strangers’. The pact on migration and asylum, adopted in 2024, introduced several provisions regarding children and UAMs with the goal of protecting them and preventing the risk of them going missing or falling victim to criminal networks. For instance, the Eurodac Regulation calls for the collection of biometric data from children to be able to identify them, while introducing additional safeguards for minors who will be registered under it. Recital 42 of the Reception Conditions Directive calls for the early appointment of representatives for UAMs, and Recital 23 of the Anti-Trafficking Directive touches upon the exploitation of children by criminal groups. In 2020, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called on EU Member States to do ‘whatever is necessary and required in the best interests of the child’ to prevent the disappearance of child refugees and migrants globally. In April 2025, PACE organised the parliamentary conference on ‘Envisioning effective public policy to prevent and address cases of missing migrants’ as a follow-up to PACE Resolution 2569 on missing migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers. Additionally, a toolkit for parliamentarians to take action on this issue will be released by the end of 2025.

In focus: The situation of missing Ukrainian children
More than half of Ukraine’s children are believed to have been displaced as a result of the war. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Magnolia has recorded more than 2 100 children as kidnapped, abducted, forcibly disappeared or simply missing inside Ukraine. Similarly, NGOs and public authorities have been warning about the risk of violence and trafficking facing children outside Ukraine, stressing the importance of proper registration, and there have been reports of children disappearing after arriving in EU countries from Ukraine. The Council of Europe’s group of experts on action against trafficking in human beings (GRETA) has also warned of the danger faced by people fleeing Ukraine of falling victim to human trafficking and exploitation. In March 2022, the Commission presented a 10-point plan for stronger EU coordination on welcoming people fleeing the war, with a focus on strengthening children’s protection. The plan includes: ‘standard operating procedures and uniform guidance for the reception and support of children; specific procedures for the transfer of UAMs’; and measures on recording and exchanging of information. The plan also supports the development of an anti-trafficking plan and the ‘Safe Homes’ initiative. Finally, the Bring Kids Back UA action plan unites the efforts of Ukrainian government agencies, partner countries and international organisations aiming to trace and bring back home the forcefully deported children of Ukraine.

European Parliament position

The need to tackle the disappearance of migrant children has been highlighted in several Parliament resolutions. In a November 2014 resolution, Parliament stressed that many UAMs had disappeared or absconded after arriving in the EU, and called for full respect of migrant children’s rights across the EU. In two December 2016 resolutions, Parliament urged the Commission to take preventive measures against the disappearance of UAMs and to develop a strategy for that purpose and for locating missing children. Parliament also recommended reinforcing the existing tools for finding missing children. In May 2018, Parliament called on the Member States to place all children and families with children in non-custodial, community-based accommodation while processing their immigration status. It also stressed the need to host UAMs in separate facilities from adults to prevent any risk of violence or sexual abuse. In November 2019, Parliament called on the Member States to improve the situation of children in migration and reiterated the significance of child protection as a fundamental principle for the EU.

In March 2021, Parliament underscored that the EU strategy on the rights of the child needed to include measures to improve the situation of children in migration and safeguard their interests throughout every stage of asylum procedures. In April 2022, Parliament adopted a resolution on the protection of children and young people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Most recently, Parliament also raised concerns about the risk of Ukrainian children falling victim to human trafficking. In April 2024, the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) conducted a joint exchange of views on the feasibility of establishing a European centre for missing persons, including children. Additionally, ‘Lost in Europe’ was awarded the 2024 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism for its investigation into the disappearance of unaccompanied child migrants. Finally, the European Parliament’s Vice-President, Ewa Kopacz, who is also Parliament’s Coordinator on Children’s Rights, collaborates with various organisations working on the issue of missing children, such as the Amber Alert Foundation and Missing Children Europe, and consistently expresses concerns over forcibly displaced Ukrainian children.

This updates an ‘At a glance’ note by Maria-Margarita Mentzelopoulou published in May 2023.

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘Disappearance of migrant children in the EU‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

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