Lost in Transition: The Issue of Vanishing Unaccompanied Alien Children in Europe

Unaccompanied migrant children are one of the most vulnerable groups at risk for human trafficking and slave labor. An average of 17 unaccompanied alien children1 go missing every day in the 27 countries of the European Union (EU-27). According to a recent report by the European Commission2,3 and the organization Lost in Europe,1 from January 2018 to 2021, a striking 18 292 unaccompanied migrant minors (90% boys) went missing after crossing the borders of the EU and while passing through to various destinations in Europe; 17% were under age 15. However, the magnitude of this phenomenon seems to be much greater, because not all EU-27 countries provided useful data to complete the report. In a 2016 editorial in The Journal of Pediatrics, the European Paediatrics Association Union of European National Pediatric Societies and Associations (EPA-UNEPSA) highlighted the risks faced by unaccompanied migrant children traveling through Europe, including the phenomenon of missing children and their poor health.4 This phenomenon seemed then limited to southern European countries experiencing a migration wave then considered exceptional because of conflicts in neighboring Mediterranean regions. However, just a few years later, the flow of unaccompanied foreign minors has not decreased, despite public order measures and laws adopted by EU-27 countries to limit the phenomenon. This finding suggests that unaccompanied minors going missing is not simply a manifestation of periodic migration flows, but also possibly the result of criminal activity in this form of child abuse. This article, prepared by the Social Pediatrics Working Group of the EPA-UNEPSA, briefly discusses the phenomenon of the disappearance of unaccompanied minors and its possible relationship to child trafficking within the EU. The purpose is to raise awareness among stakeholders, including lawmakers, public health authorities, and even pediatricians about this phenomenon of great social impact.