Thematic Focus: Children & Families

Short pieces:

The Missing Child in the Chișinău Declaration (RLI Blog, June 2026) [text]

Ukrainian families have been torn apart by the war – reunifying them is no easy task (The Conversation, June 2026) [text]

US immigration policies interfere with prenatal care and parenting choices, hurting people and communities (The Conversation, June 2026) [text]

Reports: 

Beyond Return: Child and Family Wellbeing among Refugee and IDP Returnees in Ukraine and Syria (World Vision, June 2026) [text via ReliefWeb]

Children’s Right to Family Life in the Context of Migration and Asylum Policies (Women's Refugee Commission, June 2026) [text]

- Submission to the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants regarding "Children’s right to family life in the context of migration and asylum policies."

Enforcing the Rights of Children in Migration: Final Report (International Law Association, 2026) [text]

Explainer for Parents and their Helpers Seeking Family Reunification (Women's Refugee Commission, June 2026) [access]

- Available in English and Spanish.

Family Reunification: A right, not a privilege (Caritas Europa, June 2026) [text via InfoMigrants]

A ripple effect of suffering: Children and young people’s experiences of parental immigration detention and deportation (Australian Human Rights Commission, July 2026) [access]

- See also related post on The Conversation.

Their Future, Their Voice: Centering Displaced Children in Global Protection and Policy (US Committee for Refugees & Immigrants, June 2026) [text via ReliefWeb]

Journal articles:

"Criminalización de menores migrantes no acompañados: una comparativa entre México y España," REMHU: Revista Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana, no. 34 (2026) [open access]

"The Impact of Intergroup Collaboration on In-Group Bias Between Rohingya Refugee and Bangladeshi Host Community Children," Developmental Science, vol. 29, no. 4 (July 2026) [open access]

"Normalization of abuse and barriers to reporting among adolescents and young people in settings of displacement in Nigeria," Conflict and Health, 8 June 2026 [open access]

"Syria, the Homeland. Feeling at Home in Rotterdam? The Multiple Feelings of Belonging of Resettled Syrian-Born Youngsters with a Refugee Background," Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, vol. 24, no. 2 (2026) [open access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families (11 June 2026)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families

Short pieces:

The administration has detained 400,000 immigrants: What do we know about their children? (Brookings Institution, May 2026) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

A Changing World: Time and the Impact of Aid Reduction on IDP Children (RID Blog, May 2026) [text]

- Focuses on the Philippines.

Legal Gaps in Protecting Children's Mental Health in Armed Conflicts (OpinioJuris, June 2026) [text]

What do Home Office reforms mean for refugee children growing up in poverty? (LSE British Politics Blog, June 2026) [text]

- Focuses on the UK.

Reports:

The Office of Refugee Resettlement Needs to Improve Its Monitoring of Unlicensed Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Care Providers’ Compliance with Background Check Requirements (U.S. DHS Office of Inspector General, June 2026) [text]

When Aid Disappears, Childhoods Disappear Too - Fifteen Years of Lessons in Somalia: Why Global Solidarity Must Return in 2026 to Protect Children (Save the Children, 2026) [text]

Journal articles:

"Coping among Afghan Former Unaccompanied Refugee Children in the UK: A Qualitative Study Exploring Barriers and Influences Over Time," Transcultural Psychiatry, OnlineFirst, 13 May 2026 [open access]

"Eroding Protections, Expanding Enforcement: Transformations in the Policies and Practices Governing the Treatment of Unaccompanied Children in the United States under the Second Trump Administration," Journal on Migration and Human Security, OnlineFirst, 4 June 2026 [full-text]

"Exposure to intimate partner violence against women and its association with experiences and perpetration of violence among children and youth in refugee camps in Ethiopia," Conflict and Health, 12 May 2026 [open access]

"'The Glucksman is like home': young asylum-seekers, belonging and the right to the city," Journal of Youth Studies, Latest Articles, 5 June 2026 [open access]

- Focuses on Ireland.

"Refugee rights, family reunification, and the protection of child refugees under the Refugee Convention at 75," International Journal of Refugee Law, Advance Articles, 5 June 2026 [open access]

"The role of family dynamics in (return) migration aspirations among Ukrainian protection holders in Germany," Comparative Migration Studies, 14:32 (May 2026) [open access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families (8 May 2026) 

Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 2

Reports:

Age as a verdict: Harmful age assessments of unaccompanied migrant children in Poland (Médecins Sans Frontières & Save the Children, March 2026) [text via ReliefWeb]

Age Assessment Practices in EU+ Countries (EU Agency for Asylum, March 2026) [text]

*Displaced Again: The compounding impact of repeated displacement on children in Lebanon (International Rescue Committee, April 2026) [text]

A Generation at Risk: Protecting Children in Conflict Zones (IMPACT Initiatives, March 2026) [text via ReliefWeb]

Guidance on Child Marriage: Programming for married girls and girls at risk of child marriage in forced displacement and crisis settings (UNHCR, Jan. 2026) [text]

“I am still looking for my daughter”: crimes against humanity committed by Russian authorities against children from Ukraine, UN Doc. No. A/HRC/61/CRP.8 (UN Human Rights Council, March 2026) [access]

- This paper complements the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine’s latest report to the Human Rights Council. Available in English, Russian and Ukrainian. 

Inaccessible legal pathways: Reuniting child relatives with family members with protection status in the UK (King’s College London, March 2026) [access]

Indefinite Separation: What Asylee Families Are Facing (USCRI, March 2026) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

Practical guide on the best interests of the child in the framework of international protection (EU Agency for Asylum, March 2026) [text]

What About My Children: Family Separation Among Parents Deported to Honduras (Women’s Refugee Commission & Physicians for Human Rights, March 2026) [text]

- Focuses on the US. See also related blog posts (here and here) and the recording of an interview with one of the authors.

Willing Accomplices: Gazprom and Rosneft’s Role in the Transport and Indoctrination of Ukraine’s Children (Yale Univ., March 2026) [text]

- Focuses on Russia. See also related Reuters article.

*UPDATED

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 1 (7 April 2026)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families

Opportunity:

Report launch: Refugee Family Reunion: ‘Inaccessible pathways for child relatives’ report launch, London, 17 March 2026 [info]

- Focuses on the UK.

Short pieces:

10 Facts about Children on the Move (International Data Alliance for Children on the Move, Dec. 2025) [text]

The EU’s new age assessment legislation: a persistent threat to the Fundamental Rights of the Child? (RLI Blog, Feb. 2026) [text]

Reports:

Family Separation as Policy: The Human Cost for Children (USCRI, Feb. 2026) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

Growing Up Displaced: Understanding and addressing child protection risks in Uganda (Danish Refugee Council, Feb. 2026) [text via ReliefWeb]

Ten alarming trends for children in armed conflict (Unicef, Feb. 2026) [text]

Journal articles:

"Advocacy and Assessment: Ethical Dilemmas and Practice Considerations in Pediatric Asylum Evaluations," American Journal of Bioethics, Latest Articles, 25 Feb. 2026 [open access]

- Focuses on the US.

"Exploring coping strategies among adolescents during COVID-19 and war displacement: A qualitative analysis comparing two crisis settings," Journal of Research on Adolescence, vol. 36, no. 1 (March 2026) [open access]

- Focuses on Ukrainian refugees in Germany.

"In the Rays of the Sun, Children Sway: Children’s Movement Processes During a Playful Holistic Movement Intervention in Asylum Centers," Social Sciences, vol. 15, no. 3 (March 2026) [open access]

- Focuses on Denmark.

"Protective Paradox: Caregiving in Protracted Crises Across 72 Countries," Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 26 Feb. 2026 [open access]

"Specialised Mental Health Care for Children in Humanitarian Settings: Integrating Local and Community-Owned Approaches," Intervention: Journal of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Conflict-Affected Areas, vol. 23, no. 1 (Dec. 2025) [open access]

"'You can’t just say you need to breastfeed': identifying barriers and solutions to appropriate infant feeding in emergencies," Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 11:5 (Feb. 2026) [open access]

Related posts:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 1 (10 Feb. 2026)

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 2 (Americas) (10 Feb. 2026)

New Issue of IJRL & Opportunity

The latest issue of the International Journal of Refugee Law (IJRL) has been published. Contents of vol. 37, no. 3, Oct 2025 include:

• Playing for Time: Temporary Status, Migration Control and the Human Rights of Forced Migrants to Family Reunification [open access]
• Legitimate Authority, Refugees, and Legal Black Holes [open access]
• An LGBTQI+ child rights-based approach to eligibility for international protection [open access]
• Administrative and judicial biopolitics—analysing the special prohibitions on marriage between Bangladeshis and Rohingya refugees [abstract]

In addition, readers will find case law summaries, the text of "Family Reunification for Refugees and Other Beneficiaries of International Protection: UNHCR Guidelines on international legal standards relating to family reunification for refugees and other beneficiaries of international protection," and three book reviews.

Separately, please note that IJRL and the Amsterdam Centre for Migration and Refugee Law (ACMRL) are co-hosting a Workshop for Prospective Authors that will be held online sometime in June 2026. The objective is to "enable those engaged in scholarly research in the field of refugee law to receive feedback on it from members of the journal’s Editorial Board in a collaborative and supportive environment. Whether you are looking to publish for the first time, or would like to improve your likelihood of a successful submission, our aim is to support prospective authors develop and improve their work, with a view to its submission to the IJRL." Interested authors should submit draft papers by 12 April 2026.

Tagged Periodicals.

Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 2 (Americas)

Short pieces & reports:

Orientaciones para la preparación ante el cierre o interrupción de servicios y programas de protección de la niñez y adolescencia (Child Protection Area of ​​Responsibility, Jan. 2026) [text via ReliefWeb]

- Focuses on Venezuela.

UN experts alarmed by child rights violations in USA immigration procedures (OHCHR, Jan. 2026) [text]

- See also related UN News story.

Journal articles:

"Families on the move – Latin American perspectives," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 22 Jan. 2026 [free full-text]

- Introduction to forthcoming special issue.

"Framing child refugee deaths across water borders: media narratives of Alan Kurdi and Valeria Martínez-Ramírez in Turkey and Mexico," Comparative Migration Studies, 2 Feb. 2026 [open access]

"Health status and living conditions of north-bound migrant minors in Mexico at place of origin and during the migration journey: A cross-sectional, mixed-methods study," Journal of Migration and Health, vol. 13 (2026) [open access]

"Is there a right to family reunification for refugees in Latin America?," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 22 Jan. 2026 [open access]

"Motherhood on the move: new evidence of vulnerability for central American mothers migrating with children," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 22 Jan. 2026 [open access]

"'They See It in My Eyes': How Undocumented Mothers Experience and Transmit Immigration-Related Far," Affilia, 23 Jan. 2026 [open access]

- Focuses on the US.

"Traveling Together, Traveling Alone: Experiences of Violence and Danger for Migrating Children and Families in the US–Mexico Borderlands," Social Sciences, vol. 15, no. 1 (Jan. 2026) [open access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 1 (10 Feb. 2026)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

Protecting Children on the Move in South Africa: Legal Frameworks, Lived Realities, and Systemic Challenges (On the Move Blog, Oct. 2025) [text]

Reports:

Child alert: Haiti’s children confront a polycrisis (UNICEF, Oct. 2025) [access]

Children Affected by Armed Conflict, 1990–2024, Conflict Trends, no. 1 (Nov. 2025) [text]

Children on the Move in North Africa and Along Key Routes: Trends, Vulnerabilities and Experiences of Migrant Children (International Organization for Migration, Oct. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Family Reunification for Beneficiaries of International and Subsidiary Protection, Fact Sheet, no. 40 (EU Agency for Asylum, Nov. 2025) [text]

*Family reunification of third-country nationals: State of play of law and practice (European Migration Network, Oct. 2025) [text]

- See also related EMN Inform.

"I Don't Have Family, I'm Not Breathing and I'm Not Alive": The impact of refugee family reunion on the mental health of refugees (Helen Bamber Foundation, Oct. 2025) [text via EIN]

- Focuses on the UK.

'I Returned to Life': Why refugee family reunion must be protected (British Red Cross, Oct. 2025) [access]

The Theory of Change: Prevent and Respond to Child Marriage in Humanitarian and Forced Displacement Settings (Plan International & Save the Children, Oct. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

*UPDATED

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families (7 Oct. 2025)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families

Short pieces:

America’s Forgotten Children: Why unaccompanied minors deserve protection, representation, and care (Psychology Today Blog, Sept. 2025) [text]

Family Separation 2.0: More Complex but Just as Harmful (Women's Refugee Commission, Sept. 2025) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

Trump administration says it will pay migrant children $2.5K to return to home countries (The Hill, Oct. 2025) [text]

Reports:

Generating Evidence on Internally Displaced Children, Afghan Child Migrants and Forcibly Displaced Children in Pakistan (UNICEF, Sept. 2025) [access]

- Follow link for report and policy brief.

Migrant and Refugee Children Via Mixed Migration Routes in Europe: Accompanied, Unaccompanied and Separated - Overview of Trends 2024 (UNHCR, UNICEF & IOM, Sept. 2025) [text]

Protecting Asylum-Seeking and Refugee Children Along Routes (UNHCR, Sept. 2025) [text]

What now for refugee family reunion applications? (Free Movement Blog, Sept. 2025) [text]

- See also related commentary from the Migration Observatory and UNHCR UK.

Journal articles:

"Experiences of forced migration and internal displacement: The case of adolescents in the East Ukraine conflict in 2014-2022," Routed Magazine (July 2025) [text]

"Family Reunification Claims of Refugee Children in the UK: Exploring the Potential of Article 8 ECHR Interpreted in line with the Best Interests of the Child," Journal of Immigration, Asylum & Nationality Law, vol. 39, no. 1 (2025) [postprint]

"From accompaniment to abandonment: unaccompanied migrant minors and adolescents in Andalusia (Spain)," REMHU: Revista Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana, no. 33 (2025) [open access]

"Immunisation coverage among refugee Afghan children in Islamic Republic of Iran," Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, vol. 31, no. 8 (2025) [open access]

"Playing for Time: Temporary Status, Migration Control and the Human Rights of Forced Migrants to Family Reunification," International Journal of Refugee Law, Advance Articles, 26 Sept. 2025 [open access]

- "[A]nalyzes a set of cases in front of the European Court of Human Rights."

"Reassessing Age Assessment: When the Violence of Age Meets the Violence of the Border," Human Rights Quarterly (Forthcoming) [postprint]

"A Scoping Review of the Role of Sensory and Narrative Processes in the Wellbeing and Belonging of Young Refugees," Journal of Child and Family Studies, Latest Articles, 17 Sept. 2025 [open access]

"Wayfinding in arts-based methods: Navigating home, belonging, and the future with children born of conflict-related sexual violence in northern Uganda," Migration Studies, vol. 13, no. 4 (Dec. 2025) [open access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families (4 Sept. 2025)

Thematic Focus: Solutions

Opportunity:

CFP: Special Issue Journal Proposal [info]

- Contributions sought for a special issue proposal on "Durable Solutions in Motion: Rethinking Return and Belonging from a South-South Perspective" that will be submitted to Comparative Migration Studies. Submit abstracts by 15 August 2025.

Short pieces:

Imagining a new way to do resettlement (Asylum Insight, June 2025) [text]

- Focuses on Australia.

"A Never-Ending Visa Queue for Refugees," Scoop News, 23 July 2025 [text]

- Focuses on New Zealand.

UNHCR and IOM Launch Organized Voluntary Return Programme for Syrian refugees in Lebanon (UNHCR, July 2025) [text]

New open access book:

Unequal Access: Categorising Refugees in European Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Programmes (McGill-Queen's University Press, July 2025) [open access]

- "Focusing on Europe and programs admitting people to Germany from Lebanon and Turkey, Natalie Welfens explores multilevel policy developments, from the national to the global. She follows the admission chain – from policy formulation, via refugee selection and pre-departure preparations, to refugee reception – and illustrates how policy categories transform based on intersecting social markers such as nationality, gender, and age. Unequal Access reveals the inequalities embedded in the categorization practices of resettlement and humanitarian admission programs, demonstrating how these practices profoundly shape access to protection for refugees."

Reports:

Forecasting refugee return to Ukraine amid ongoing war and uncertainty (Brunel University London & UNHCR, July 2025) [access]

Global Refugee Resettlement: Background and Selected Issues (US Congressional Research Service, July 2025) [text]

A Way Forward as Aid Cuts Threaten Progress for Refugee Integration in Kenya (Refugees International, July 2025) [text]

Journal articles:

"Accessing social networks and support for Syrian refugees across Canada: categories and processes," Études canadiennes/Canadian Studies, no. 98 (2025) [full-text]

"Belonging After Empire: Displacement and Resettlement of Ugandan Asians and Vietnamese Refugees in Postcolonial Britain," Webster Review of International History, vol. 5, no. 2 (2025) [open access]

Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 48, no. 12 (2025) [contents]

- Special issue on "Refugee Resettlement as an Institution." The introduction is freely available and seven articles are open access.

"Harnessing Possibilities and Synergies to Refugee Complementary Migration Pathways in Australia," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Latest Articles, 18 July 2025 [open access]

"How introduction programs help and hinder refugee integration: evidence from Norway," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 27 July 2025 [open access]

"'I’m not Swedish, I’m not Arab, I’m a mother': narratives of fragile (un)belonging in a postmigrant society," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 24 July 2025 [open access]

"Legitimizing Integration Policies: National and Local Perspectives on Refugee Integration in Norway," Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, Latest Articles, 28 July 2025 [open access] 

"Successful Establishment Requirements within Canada’s Refugee Resettlement System: Historic Trajectory and Implications," Études canadiennes/Canadian Studies, no. 98 (2025) [full-text]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Solutions (21 July 2025)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 2

Journal articles:

"Accommodating Childhood in Immigration Removal Proceedings," Univ. of Illinois Law Review (Forthcoming, Spring 2026) [preprint]

- Focuses on the US.

"Family Separation Among Migrants in Need of International Protection: Anticipation, Duration, and Agency," International Migration Review, OnlineFirst, 5 June 2025 [open access]

- Focuses on Costa Rica.

"Friends from the Past, Friends for the Future: Exploring How Young Refugees’ Friendship Practices Change and Endure Through Life Transitions," YOUNG, OnlineFirst, 6 June 2025 [open access]

- Focuses on Finland.

"Governing Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children: Border Violence, De-Subjectification and Humanitarianism in Southern European Borderlands," Children & Society, Early View, 16 June 2025 [open access]

"Legal Protections for Children in Refugee and Migrant Crises in Central and Eastern Europe," Frontiers in Political Science, 3 June 2025 [open access]

"Post-crisis health reality and wellbeing of children within Syria: a scoping review of research from 2012 to 2024," Conflict and Health, 19:39 (July 2025) [open access]

"Protecting unaccompanied migrant youth in transit through Mexico: frontline perspectives on appropriate policy implementation," Health Policy and Planning, Advance Articles, 5 June 2025 [open access]

"State Interventions into Refugees’ Family Life: (Un-)Intended Consequences of Family Reunification Policies in Germany," Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, Latest Articles, 11 June 2025 [open access]

Multimedia:

Exploring children’s wellbeing in situations of mobility and displacement, 5 June 2025 [access]

- "This seminar explores how displacement and mobility shape children’s wellbeing, drawing on research with Syrian Armenian children and families who moved to Armenia following the Syrian war."

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 1 (3 July 2025)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families

Short pieces:

‘I’m always afraid for the future of my family’: why it’s too hard for some refugees to reunite with loved ones (The Conversation, April 2025) [text]

- Focuses on Australia.

UNHCR shares recommendations and calls for shared responsibility to strengthen the protection of unaccompanied refugee children (UNHCR, April 2025) [text]

- Focuses on the Canary Islands.

Reports: 

Family reunification rights: Refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection (European Parliament, April 2025) [text]

Global Impact of Funding Cuts on Children and their Protection in Humanitarian Contexts (Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, April 2025) [text via INEE]

Understanding Child Separation in Humanitarian Crises: Insights from Multisector Needs Assessments (2021-2023) (IMPACT Initiatives & UNICEF, April 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

"We also have a say": Experiences of children and adolescents affected by migration (IMPACT Initiatives, April 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

- Focuses on Venezuelans in Colombia. A Spanish version is also available.

What will deportations mean for the child welfare system? (Brookings Institution & Center for Migration Studies, April 2025) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

Journal articles:

"Navigating the in-between: social workers’ perceptions and experiences of facilitating sport for unaccompanied minor refugees in Norway," International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Latest Articles, 5 April 2025 [open access]

"Protecting Migrant Children in Thailand: Importance of Social Integration and Roles of Civil Society," Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 14, no. 1 (2025) [open access] 

"The Role of Organizational Place and Space on the Social Behavior of Unaccompanied Minor Refugees: Comparing Two Accommodation Centers in Switzerland," Yearbook of Swiss Administrative Sciences, vol. 16 (2025) [open access]

"'We don’t ask for a luxury life, just basic things': the experiences of mothers with babies in the UK asylum system," Wellbeing, Space and Society, In Press, 23 April 2025 [open access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families (9 April 2025)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families

Short pieces:

Family Reunification: An Unmet Human Right in Mexico’s Migration Policy = La reunificación familiar: un derecho humano pendiente en la política migratoria de México (Asylum Access, Jan. 2025) [access]

*"ICE Enforcement Official Tapped to Lead Unaccompanied Migrant Children Office, Triggering Alarms," ProPublica, 31 Jan. 2025 [text]

Lives at risk: Migrant children stranded at the Mexico-United States border and the lack of international protection (Border Criminologies Blog, Jan. 2025) [text]

- Also in Spanish.

Reports & book chapters:

The Effects of Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programs on the Socio-emotional Well-being of Children and Caregivers in Refugee and Forced Displacement Settings, Education Working Paper, no. 6 (World Bank, Nov. 2024; posted Feb. 2025) [text]

"Family generational relations in the context of refuge and asylum: Methodological reflections on the investigation of doing and displaying family," Chapter in Practicing the Family: The Doing and Making of Family In, With and Through Social Work and Education (transcript, Jan. 2025) [open access]

- Scroll to p. 245.

Refugee Family Reunion Project: Workshop Report (King's College London, Feb. 2025) [access]

- Focuses on the UK.

Reuniting Families: A Path Forward for Aotearoa New Zealand (Univ. of Auckland & NZ Red Cross, Jan. 2025) [access]

Journal articles:

"Adverse childhood experiences, social networks and help-seeking experiences of African-background refugee children in Australia: Towards a refugee children’s Network-Episode Model," Children and Youth Services Review, vol. 170 (March 2025) [open access]

"Child care use, preferences and access constraints among Native American, immigrant, refugee and Spanish-speaking families in New Mexico," Early Childhood Research Quarterly, vol. 70 (2025) [open access]

"Exploring the Resettling Experiences of Refugee Families in Norway Through the Lens of Children and Their Parents," Child & Family Social Work, Early View, 29 Jan. 2025 [open access]

"Family Ties: Vatican Humanitarianism and Family Reunification at the End of Empire," Contemporary European History, FirstView, 13 Nov. 2024 [free full-text]

"The fraudulent family: US refugee admissions, moral economies of kinship, and DNA testing in Africa," American Ethnologist, vol. 52, no. 1 (Feb. 2025) [open access]

"From waithood to alternative futures: unaccompanied children and young people’s temporalities of care in the UK’s migration regime," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 31 Jan. 2025 [open access]

"'Having children is like rain, as they say in our region': exploring refugees’ reproductive agency," Culture, Health & Sexuality, Latest Articles, 31 Jan. 2025 [open access]

- Focuses on the Netherlands.

"The role of volunteer guardians as a key actor in providing social protection for unaccompanied minors in Italy," International Journal of Social Welfare, vol. 34, no. 1 (Jan. 2025) [open access]

"Under the Watch of the State? Refugee Parents’ Experiences with Surveillance in Norwegian Early Childhood Education Centers," Nordic Journal of Migration Research, vol. 15, no. 3 (2025) [open access]

*UPDATED

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families (14 Jan. 2024)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families

Short pieces:

Communication in Migration: What is happening to children and young people? (MPC Blog, Jan. 2025) [text]

- Focuses on Europe.

A Novel Intervention to Meet an Unfortunate Need: Caring for Children Seeking Asylum (AAP Journals Blog, Jan. 2025) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

Reports:

Make a Plan: Essential Steps for Migrant Parents for Preventing Family Separation (Women's Refugee Commission, Dec. 2024) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

"We Need to Take Away Children": Zero Accountability Six Years After "Zero Tolerance" (Human Rights Watch, Dec. 2024) [text] 

- Focuses on the US.

What to Do If You Are Detained: Essential Steps for Migrant Parents for Preventing Family Separation  (Women's Refugee Commission, Dec. 2024) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

Journal articles:

"Beliefs and attitudes of Syrian refugee mothers in Lebanon regarding children vaccination: a cross-sectional study," BMC Public Health, 25:99 (Jan. 2025) [open access]

"Beyond here and there? A description and typology of multi-transnational extended family configurations of refugees," Genus: Journal of Population Sciences, 80:23 (Nov. 2024) [open access]

- Focuses on Germany.

"Forcible Transfers of Ukrainian Children: Indoctrination as a Tool of Russia’s Imperialism," German Yearbook of International Law, vol. 66, no. 1 (2023) [preprint] [embargoed postprint]

"Lived experiences of migrant and refugee parents: Challenges encountered during their journey and settlement in Europe," Journal of Migration and Health, vol. 11 (2025) [open access]

"Mind the empathy gap: An analysis of agency and emotional encounters in the asylum appeals of former unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors," Refugee Survey Quarterly (Forthcoming) [preprint]

- Focuses on the UK.

"Politics for Exclusion and Strategies for Inclusion: A Scoping Review of Nordic Family Reunification Policies, Practices, and Impact on Refugees," Nordic Journal of Migration Research, vol. 15, no. 1 (2025) [open access]

Related posts:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 1 (11 Dec. 2024)

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 2 (11 Dec. 2024)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

From shadow to recognition: how birth registration restores refugee identities (UNHCR, Aug. 2024) [text]

- Focuses on Rwanda.

Oversight Agency Says 32,000 Unaccompanied Children Are Missing. But Are They? (Immigration Impact Blog, Sept. 2024) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

"Tehran Children": How a Thousand Unaccompanied Child Holocaust Refugees Ended up in Tehran (Refugee History Blog, July 2024) [text]

New open access book:

Transmigration und Place-making junger Geflüchteter = Transmigration and Place-making of Young Refugees (Verlag Barbara Budrich, Sept. 2024) [open access]

- "Attribution of foreignness, (everyday) racism, social inclusion and exclusion - these are only few examples of the numerous challenges young refugees face in the context of flight and migration processes. But how exactly do young refugees position themselves and others in the hosting environments of Greece, Malta, Turkey, Germany and Switzerland? Within the framework of a migration and educational science analysis, this anthology examines the delimitations, limitations and localisations of migrating children and young people as they take place under the conditions of the migration policies of European countries. In addition, the authors take a look at transnational in-between worlds and shed light on the creation of new self-understandings and forms of action as well as the emergence of multiple affiliations." Chapters are in English or German.

Reports & book chapters:

"Developing and Consolidating the Protection of Unaccompanied Minor Migrants in Europe: The Court of Justice's Role," Chapter in International Migration and the Law: Legal Approaches to a Global Challenge (Routledge, Aug. 2024) [open access]

"Enforced transnationalism: Refugees' family lives in Germany under conditions of separation and waiting," Chapter in Family Reunification in Europe: Exposing Inequalities (Routledge, Sept. 2024) [open access]

Mixed-status families and immigrant families with children continued avoiding safety net programs (Urban Institute, Aug. 2024) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

Procedimientos de Reunificación Familiar: Desafíos y Buenas Prácticas en las Américas en el Marco del Proceso de Quito (Proceso de Quito, Sept. 2024) [text]

"Right to Family Reunification of Migrants and Refugees in the Latin American System," Chapter in International Migration and the Law: Legal Approaches to a Global Challenge (Routledge, Aug. 2024) [open access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families (23 Aug. 2024)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families

Short pieces:

Childhood and Migration Blog Series (Childhood, Law & Policy Network Blog, July 2024) [access]

- All contributions to this series have been posted: "The blogs featured in this series cover topics related to family, belonging, and (lack of) access to resources. They discuss the challenges that children and young people face in new cultural, social, and national contexts, and children’s work (along with the efforts of family members, governmental agencies, and NGOs) to integrate into their new space. The blogs also highlight the resilience of children and young people. Collectively, these blogs illustrate the global relevance of childhood and migration, and advance our understanding of the circumstances, challenges, and opportunities of contemporary childhood(s)."

Reports:

Migrant and Refugee Children Via Mixed Migration Routes in Europe: Accompanied, Unaccompanied and Separated: Overview of Trends - 2023 (UNHCR, UNICEF & IOM, July 2024) [text]

Operational Guidelines on Facilitating Family Reunification for Persons in Need of International Protection (UNHCR, March 2024) [text]

La situación de niños, niñas y adolescentes en contexto de movilidad humana en Uruguay y sus derechos: Documento de sistematización (R4V, July 2024) [text]

Journal articles:

"Asylum spaces as spaces of nonrecognition: the ambiguities of welcoming and educating asylum-seeking children in Norway," Frontiers in Education, 30 July 2024 [open access]

"Children and war – vulnerability and resilience," European Journal of Developmental Psychology, Latest Articles, 30 July 2024 [open access]

"Conducting Research with Unaccompanied Refugee Minors within an Institutional Context: Challenges and Insights," Social Sciences, vol. 13, no. 7 (June 2024) [open access]

- Focuses on Portugal.

"Fammigration Web," Boston Univ. Law Review, vol. 103, no. 1 (2023) [full-text]

- Focuses on the US.

"Interviewing Asylum-Seeking Children: A Scoping Review of Research to Inform Best Practices," Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, OnlineFirst, 24 July 2024 [open access]

"Lifetimes of Instability: The Consequences of Excluding Syrian Boys on the Progressive Era US-Mexico Border," Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies, vol. 11, no. 2 (2024) [open access]

"Narratives from non-citizen former youth in child welfare care fighting crimmigration and deportation," International Journal of Migration and Border Studies, vol. 8, nos. 1-2 (2024) [open access]

- Focuses on Canada.

"Politics for Exclusion and Strategies for Inclusion: A Scoping Review of Nordic Family Reunification Policies, Practices, and Impact on Refugees," Nordic Journal of Migration Research, vol. 15, no. 1 (2024) [open access]

"A qualitative study on the challenges of Afghan child labourers in Tehran," PLoS ONE 19(7): e0306318 (July 2024) [open access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families (2 July 2024) 

Regional Focus: Europe

Short pieces:

Change We Can’t Believe in: A Bleak Review of Labour’s Promises on Asylum (RLI Blog, July 2024) [text]

- Focuses on the UK.  

The Door Opens for a New Chapter in European Cooperation on Migration (MPI Commentary, July 2024) [text]

The Gradual Emergence of the Refugee Issue in Türkiye (Australian Outlook, July 2024) [text]

*Labour promised to scrap the Rwanda policy. But its new approach aims to be just as tough on asylum seekers (The Conversation, July 2024) [text]

The role of Courts in the era of EU externalization policies: A focus on Libya, Tunisia, and Niger (RLI Blog, July 2024) [text]

UK Border Force returns migrants in the Channel to France – expert Q&A (The Conversation, July 2024) [text]

Warmth, Laughter, and the Smell of Buns: Perceptions of Home among Forced Migrants from Ukraine, Spotlight on Ukraine, no. 10 (ZOIS, July 2024) [text]

- Interviews were conducted with Ukrainians in Germany and the Czech Rep.

**For much more news and info on the latest developments, check out the ECRE Weekly Bulletin.**

New open access book:

Humanitarian Aid and Empowerment of Ukrainian Refugees: The Case of Visegrad Group Countries: Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia (Routledge, Aug. 2024) [open access]

- This volume "presents good practices in humanitarian assistance and empowerment of Ukrainian refugees in various areas: emergency aid to large groups crossing the border, organisation of support in places of temporary stay, learning local languages, inclusion of children in school and adults in the labour market, and inclusion in the local community. It indicates the forms of international protection and the scope of their application by migrants from Ukraine, and discusses the temporary protection status dedicated to Ukrainian refugees."

Reports:

Country Report: Hungary (AIDA, July 2024) [text]

- Updated profile.

The Guarantees of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Respect of Legal Counselling, Assistance and Representation in Asylum Procedures (ECRE, June 2024) [text via Refworld]

Voices from the Camps: Living Conditions and Access to Services in Refugee Camps on the Greek Mainland (Mobile Info Team, July 2024) [text via ReliefWeb]

Journal articles:

"'Europe was a dream for me. This dream came true but remains unfulfilled at the same time': Navigating life aspirations among forced migrants in Austria and Italy," Migration Studies, vol. 12, no. 3 (Sept 2024) [open access]

"HIV-infected Latin American asylum seekers in Madrid, Spain, 2022: A prospective cohort study from a major gateway in Europe," Eurosurveillance, vol. 29, no. 29 (July 2024) [open access]

"The role of sub-national actors in coordinative Europeanisation: insights from the digitalisation of asylum services," Comparative European Politics, Latest Articles, 16 July 2024 [open access]

"Time and displacement: changed temporal experiences of refugee families after reunion," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 23 July 2024 [open access]

- Focuses on the UK.

Resource:

Ukraine is Home (UNHCR) [access]

- "This online portal aims to provide timely and impartial information to millions of people displaced by the full-scale war. It is designed to help Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced make informed decisions regarding potential return—or continued stay in host countries or host communities.  Users can find guidance on accessing the Government’s compensation mechanisms for destroyed or damaged homes, and eligibility requirements when applying from abroad; personal documents to obtain before and bring when returning to Ukraine; and access to free legal aid and cash assistance provided by UNHCR and its local partners, amongst others."

*UPDATED

Related posts:

- Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 1 (12 July 2024)

- Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 2 (12 July 2024)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families

Short pieces:

Government’s Move to Terminate Flores Agreement Could Leave Immigrant Children Unprotected (Immigration Impact Blog, May 2024) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

New open access books:

‘Am I Less British?’: Racism, Belonging, and the Children of Refugees and Immigrants in North London (UCL Press, Feb. 2024) [open access]

- This book "focuses on the children of refugees and immigrants in North London, whose parents migrated from Turkey. Providing a rich ethnography of the lives of the children, the book studies their sense of identity, belonging and their transnational experiences. It aims to understand how the children position themselves within a range of locations (London, North London and Turkey), where they face class hierarchy, racism and discrimination, and explores how they think about their sense of belonging within the contemporary political context in Britain and Turkey. De-identifying themselves from national identities and holding onto the oppressed identities appear as new forms of resistance in response to racism and exclusion."

Crisis for Whom? Critical Global Perspectives on Childhood, Care, and Migration / ¿Crisis según quién? Regímenes fronterizos globales, «minorización», (in)movibilidad y cuidado (UCL Press, Jan. 2023) [open access]

- "Children feature centrally in the ubiquitous narratives of ‘migration crises’. They are often depicted as essentially vulnerable and in need of special protections, or suspiciously adult-like and a threat to national borders. At the same time, many voices, experiences, and stories are rarely heard, especially about children on the move within the global South. This bilingual book, written in English and Spanish, challenges simplistic narratives to enrich perspectives and understanding. Drawing on collaborations between young (im)migrants, researchers, artists and activists, this collection asks new questions about how crises are produced, mobility is controlled, and childhood is conceptualised. Answers to these questions have profound implications for resources, infrastructures, and relationships of care."

Reports:

Children at Risk at the Border: Evaluation of the Protection and Care of Unaccompanied Mexican Migrant Children (Appleseed, April 2024) [access]

- Available in English and Spanish.

Displaced and Alone: Protections for Unaccompanied Children from Haiti (USCRI, June 2024) [text]

A Path to Evidence-Based Services for Unaccompanied Children (USCRI, June 2024) [access]

- Focuses on the US. A related webinar will be held 25 June 2024. Follow the link for details.

Safe Routes to Nowhere: The UK’s Broken Promises on Family Reunion (RAMFEL, June 2024) [text]

'They have to believe what we say. We have to chase our dreams. We have to be steady. We have to be alive': The Psychological Impact of the Age Dispute Process on Unaccompanied Children Seeking Asylum in the UK (Helen Bamber Foundation & Young Roots, June 2024) [access]

- A second related report is also available via the a/m link: 'They made me feel like myself': A joint Young Roots and Helen Bamber Foundation report on age disputes and supporting young people.

Toolkit: Context analysis on child marriage in crises and forced displacement settings (Plan International & UNHCR, Dec. 2023) [access]

- Follow link for toolkit in English and Tool 1 in English and French. Additional French and Arabic translations are forthcoming.

Vulnerability of unaccompanied and separated child migrants (European Parliament, June 2024) [text]

Journal articles:

"Continuous chains: childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence victimization among displaced women in a war context," BMC Women's Health, 24:319 (June 2024) [open access]

"Denormalizing Harm to Migrant Children in the U.S. Immigration System: A Comparative Perspective," Children's Legal Rights Journal, vol. 43, no. 2 (2023) [full-text]

"Denouncing Medical Practices That Imperil Unaccompanied Youth," Harvard Public Health Review Journal, no. 74 (2023) [open access]

- Focuses on age assessment in the US.

"The impact of humanitarian emergencies on adolescent boys: Findings from the Rohingya refugee crisis," PLOS Global Public Health 4(6): e0003278 (June 2024) [open access]

- Focuses on Bangladesh.

"Motherhood, Human Trafficking, and Asylum Seeking: The Experiences and Needs of Survivor Mothers in Birthing and Postnatal Care," Societies, vol. 14, no. 5 (May 2024) [open access]

- Focuses on the UK.

"Parents and children in resettled refugee families: What are determinants of informational parental support?," International Migration, Early View, 7 June 2024 [open access]

- Focuses on the Netherlands.

Related posts:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 1 (17 May 2024)

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 2 (17 May 2024)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 2

Journal articles & book chapters:

"Administrative control mechanisms in the descent-based family reunification of refugees," Ethnic and Racial Studies, Latest Articles, 1 May 2024 [open access]

- Focuses on Germany. 

"Empowering young voices: Using action research to combat xenophobia through children’s initiatives," Conflict Trends, no. 4 (2023) [text]

- Focuses on South Africa.

"Facilitating trauma-informed SEL with refugee youth in Uganda via an international research-practice partnership: Lessons learned from The Wellbeing Club," Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy, vol. 3 (June 2024) [open access]

"Factors Contributing to Child Marriage among Syrian Refugees in Domiz Camp, Kurdistan Iraq," Journal of International Studies, vol. 20, no.1 (April 2024) [open access]

"Precariousness, Sport Participation and Hope among Young People after Rejections in the Swedish Asylum Process," Nordic Journal of Migration Research, vol. 14, no. 3 (2024) [open access]

"Protecting Youth: The Dismantling of Youth as a Particular Social Group in Contemporary Asylum Law," Chapter in Critical Geographies of Youth: Law, Policy, and Power (West Virginia Univ. Press, 2023) [SSRN]

- Focuses on the US.

*"'We Hold on and Have Patience': Perspectives and Experiences of Migrant Fathers in Belgian Asylum Centres," Child & Family Social Work, Early View, 15 May 2024 [open access]

*UPDATED

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 1 (17 May 2024)

Thematic Focus: Children & Families - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

Biden administration Seeks Change to Flores Agreement Protecting Migrant Children (ImmigrationProf Blog, May 2024) [text]

More than 50,000 unaccompanied child migrants missing in Europe (InfoMigrants, April 2024) [text]

- The relevant data are provided on the "Lost in Europe" website.

"The 'overlooked children' of boat arrivals have only known life in Australia. Now they could be deported under proposed migration laws," ABC News (Australia), 2 May 2024 [text]

Refugee youth-led organisations: The under-explored impact and potential (UNICEF, Dec. 2023) [text]

The under-examined role of refugee-led organisations: Assisting refugee children (UNICEF, Dec. 2023) [text]

To understand Trump's family separations, we must understand how Obama set the stage (Border Criminologies Blog, May 2024) [text]

Reports:

Families belong together: Fixing the UK’s broken family reunion system (Refugee Council & Safe Passage International, May 2024) [text]

Healing Hands: A two-generation approach for migrant and host Community families in Ecuador (International Rescue Committee, May 2024) [text]

- Also available in Spanish. 

Operationalizing Protection of Children in Mixed Movements in the Route-Based Approach (UNHCR, May 2025) [text]

Research on Child Migration and Displacement in Latin America and the Caribbean: Understanding Evidence and Exploring Gaps (UNICEF, April 2024) [text]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Children & Families (21 April 2024)

Regional Focus: MENA - Pt. 1 (Gaza)

Focus on Gaza:

Famine imminent in northern Gaza, new report warns (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, March 2024) [text via ReliefWeb]

- See also OHCHR comment and related article in The New Humanitarian.

Gaza: Airdrops and sea routes are no alternative to aid delivery by land - 25 NGOs call on governments to prioritize ceasefire and ground-based humanitarian aid as deaths from malnutrition and disease rise (Amnesty International, March 2024) [text]

Gaza conflict: rising death toll from hunger a stark reminder of starvation as a weapon of war (The Conversation, March 2024) [text]

Implications of the International Court of Justice’s Provisional Measures in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), 27 Feb. 2024 [access]

Inflicting Unprecedented Suffering and Destruction: 7 ways the government of Israel is deliberately blocking and/or undermining the international humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip (Oxfam, March 2024) [text]

"No evidence from Israel to back UNRWA accusations, says EU humanitarian chief," Reuters, 14 March 2024 [text]

NZ can help people fleeing Gaza with emergency family reunification – will the government act? (The Conversation, March 2024) [text]

Palestinian Women in Gaza: Cruel Realities of Displacement (Sada Blog, March 2024) [text]

Section 620I: No Military Assistance to States Restricting U.S. Humanitarian Assistance (Just Security Blog, March 2024) [text]

Siege and Starvation: How Israel Obstructs Aid to Gaza (Refugees International, March 2024) [text]

- See also related article in Al Jazeera.

"UNWRA Chief Warns Agency’s Fate ‘Hangs in the Balance’," IPS News, 6 March 2024 [text]

- See also related article in The New Humanitarian. Note: Australia, Canada and Sweden recently announced they will resume their funding of UNRWA.

*"Why Isn’t More Aid Getting to Gazans?," New York Times, 20 March 2024 [text]

*UPDATED

Related posts:

- Regional Focus: MENA - Pt. 1 (Gaza) (29 Feb. 2024)

- Regional Focus: MENA - Pt. 2 (29 Feb. 2024)