International Migrants Day is commemorated on December 18 to highlight the challenges, difficulties and adversities faced by migrants around the world. It is also a timely occasion to call on all countries to contribute to making migration a safe and dignified process.
The situation of migrant children
The number of children and adolescents in transit through Latin America increased during the year 2023. According to UNICEF estimates, one out of every four people in mobility in Latin America and the Caribbean is a child or adolescent, the highest proportion worldwide.
Many migrant children leave their countries with their families in search of a dream, trying to be reunited with their loved ones, fleeing situations of poverty, precariousness or violence. In transit, they miss school, do not always have a safe haven or a place to sleep, experience hardship, stop playing and seeing their friends, contract diseases and face multiple risks associated with violence, criminality, lack of essential services or adverse weather conditions.
On International Migrants Day, it is important to remember that children travel with their rights and that their needs should not be ignored. They deserve to grow up in a world where their dreams can be sown in fertile ground to be harvested, where no one is left behind regardless of their condition, origin or migratory status.
As the number of children and adolescents on the move increases, it is vital to urgently adopt more child-friendly national migration policies and stronger humanitarian responses, including age-specific health and child protection services.
Celebrating the contributions and opportunities of migration
International Migrants Day is a good occasion to highlight the invaluable contributions of millions of migrants around the globe. It also serves to highlight the increasingly complex environment in which migration takes place. Conflicts, climate catastrophes and economic pressures continue to push millions of people to leave their homes in search of safety or simply opportunities.
Last year saw record levels of internal displacement, increased humanitarian needs in new and ongoing crises and, unfortunately, the highest number of migrant deaths in transit.
However, among these situations, there are also stories of resilience, progress and hope. Safe and well-managed migration holds many possibilities. Migrants play a critical role in labor markets: they drive innovation and entrepreneurship and solve demographic challenges in aging societies. Migrants drive economic growth and are a lifeline for families and communities of origin, which in turn fosters development.
There is irrefutable evidence that when migration is managed safely and strategically, it can be a powerful and beneficial tool. By supporting regular pathways for migration, we can provide opportunities for migrants, better protect their rights and contribute to greater prosperity in the countries from which they come and in those that host them.
From all sectors of society, we can continue to build a world in which migration is safe, orderly and beneficial to all.
