WASHINGTON—The growing number of refugees who are children fleeing Central American countries because of violence, abuses and hardships is a top priority for the U.N., United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said Wednesday.
“Even if we have to sacrifice other things, this is a part of our core mission,” Guterres said. “Children are one of the most vulnerable groups who are in need of international protection.”
Last year more than 40,000 unaccompanied children fled Central America and more than 60,00 are expected to do so this year, he said.
In a report released Wednesday, the UNHCR analyzed why an increasing number of children are fleeing their homes and seeking safety on their own across international borders.
The report found that 58 percent of the children showed a need for “robust international protection, compared with 13 percent in 2006, said Leslie Velez, the senior protection officer at the UNCHR regional office
The children’s reasons for leaving were both “complex and multifaceted”, said Velez, but the main reasons included violence in society, abuses in their home, deprivation and family or opportunity.
The UNHCR interviewed more than 400 unaccompanied children held in federal custody who fled from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.
Velez quoted a 17-year-old boy who fled Honduras as saying, “My grandmother is the one who told me to leave. She said, if you don’t join, the gang will shoot you. If you do, the rival gang will shoot you, or the cops. But if you leave, no one will shoot you.”
The increase in children asylum seekers along with their need for protection has caused the UNHCR to call on governments to take action to keep children safe from human rights abuses, said Guterrers.
“We have to do more, we cannot be happy with these numbers,” said Javier Sagredo, an Advisor on Democratic Governance and Citizen Security at the United Nations Development Program.
