Pope Francis has appealed for better treatment of child migrants in comments made at the Vatican on Sunday.
Addressing those gathered in St Peter’s Square on the Roman Catholic Churches’ 103rd World Day of Migrants and Refugees, the Pope said “every possible measure” should be taken to ensure the protection and defence of migrant children as well as their integration into host societies.
“These, our brothers and sisters, especially if unaccompanied, are exposed to many dangers,” Vatican Radio reported. These dangers could include being taken and sold into sexual slavery.
The comments came as a new data from UNICEF showed that the number of unaccompanied children who have arrived in Italy by sea in 2016 was more than double that of the previous year.
The figures revealed some 25,800 unaccompanied or separated children arrived by sea in 2016 compared to 12,360 in 2015. A majority of them came from Eritrea, Egypt, Gambia and Nigeria.
Lucio Melandri, senior emergency manager at UNICEF, said the figure showed an “alarming trend” and called for a comprehensive “protection, monitoring system” to be developed to protect them.
“The presence of so many unaccompanied or separated children along the central Mediterranean route is unprecedented,” he said. “It is obviously clear that we have a serious and growing problem on our hands.”
