Safeguarding refugee children’s Best Interests
© UNHCR Niger / Harandane Dicko, April 2013
Around 60% of the refugee population in Niger is under 18. This means that most of the people placed under our protection mandate in the country are actually children. Because of their young age, they are also the most vulnerable, and often suffer from risks of forced recruitment during conflict, family separation during the flight, lack of access to education, child abuse, neglect and other violations. So far in Niger, there are some 710 children that have been identified as separated from their parents and placed under the responsibility of a caregiver. More than 3,120 children are considered at risk and benefit from UNHCR’s protection monitoring and solutions to respond to their specific needs. UNHCR aims to protect and promote the rights of all refugees including the children. To achieve this, UNHCR is supporting and strengthening the national child protection systems in Niger.
During a workshop between 17-20 December 2013 in Niamey, the Government of Niger, UNHCR, UNICEF and all key stakeholders discussed the child protection framework, and UNHCR’s Best Interest Determination (BID) guidelines and the mechanisms of conducting a “BID” in Niger. The workshop resulted in the establishment of the first BID panel for the office that will act as a safeguard for children’s best interests, in particular for the resolution of child protection individual cases.