Save the Children's Italy section has presented proposals for the full implementation of law 47/2017, the legislation for the protection of unaccompanied foreign minors in Italy.

At a conference held in Rome on June 22 the charity said that the following measures are key to protect unaccompanied minors who reach Italy: a European integrated system for search-and-rescue missions at sea, independent border patrols, as well as improved housing and education programs.

Over 6,000 in Italy from the start of 2023 until mid-June

The organization said that, as of May 2023, Italy was hosting 20,510 unaccompanied foreign minors, including 3,881 boys and girls under 14.

More than 6,000 unaccompanied minors reached Italy after crossing the Mediterranean between the start of 2023 and mid-June, the charity said.

Although over the past few years arrivals by sea have decreased (15.8% in 2021, 11.5% in 2022, 11.1% in 2023), in absolute terms the number of children and teens who have reached Italy so far this year has more than doubled compared to the same period last year (2,505 on June 13, 2022).

Daniela Fatarella, director general of Save the Children Italia, urged Italian and European institutions involved in negotiations for a new deal on asylum and migration to "create a structured European search-and-rescue system at sea, guaranteeing quick disembarkation in a safe port and safeguarding lives and sparing further suffering to the many children and teens who are often on board" migrant boats that cross the Mediterranean.

"Italy can boast one of the best laws in Europe regarding the protection of unaccompanied foreign minors, law 47 of 2017, which was strongly promoted by Save the Children and by the main organizations protecting the rights of minors, migrants and refugees and the sector's operators. However, as of today, it has not been fully implemented and critical issues continue to persist, starting with the situation at the border and first hosting," she added.

Importance of cooperation and first hosting

Save the Children, moreover, called for the promotion of bilateral cooperation between police forces of neighbouring countries to ensure the correct identification of children and adolescents, prevent pushbacks of minors.

It also called for a new mechanism to transfer minors ensuring they can join family members as quickly and easily as possible, including with siblings and other family members.

Finally, the organization urged authorities to provide for an adequate number of places for unaccompanied foreign minors across the territory, a "key issue", it said.

"We stress the need for an integrated national system of first hosting -- as provided by law 47, which has not been implemented yet -- with the activation of Centres of first hosting distributed across the national territory which are specifically devoted to minors for a permanence of 30 days maximum, which are functional to the definition of their subsequent inclusion" within the SAI network, Italy's system of reception and integration, managed by municipalities, "with a special focus on the promotion of foster care," stressed Raffaela Milano, Save the Children's Italy-Europe programmes and advocacy director.