In 2023 they were approximately 157 thousand refugees and migrants arrived in Italy via the central Mediterranean route, including approximately 26,800 minors of which 17,319 unaccompanied foreign minors. This is what emerges from Annual Report of the Unicef Office for Europe and Central Asia in Italy in support of girls, adolescents and migrant and refugee families in Italy.
Throughout the year, the island of Lampedusa was the main arrival point by sea, accounting for around 70% of the total arrivals. A significant increase in landings was also recorded in other southern regions, such as Calabria and Puglia. Other entries involved the land borders of the North of the country with arrivals from the Balkan route, for which however no updated data is available. The Central Mediterranean migration route is still among the most dangerous: in 2023, approximately 2,476 people died or went missing in the Central Mediterranean, of which over 90 were minors. Although in the first months of 2024, arrivals decreased compared to the same period in 2023 – with 16,090 people including 2,351 unaccompanied foreign minors (UAMS) – However, the percentage of unaccompanied foreign minors out of the total number of people arriving is growing, equal to 14.6% compared to 10% in the previous year (same period).
Second data from the new report, Unicef last year it reached over 37 thousand people with frontal interventions, including: 29,406 minors with protection interventions (actions to protect rights and better standards of reception and protection) including prevention and response to gender violence; 295 adolescents placed in family foster care and/or supported by mentors; 7,587 minors had access to programs to develop linguistic, digital and transversal skills. Among the results achieved also through the support of digital platforms: 3,969 MSNA and young migrants and refugees registered on the U-Report On The Move platform for a total of 13 thousand members; 160,506 people reached with direct protection interventions including prevention, mitigation and response to gender violence through direct interventions and online information; A total of 829 thousand people were reached with prevention messages and access to services.
In continuity with previous years, in 2023 Unicef responded to the challenges linked to the need for protection of girls/adolescents, through legal support, health support, mental health support and psychosocial support in face-to-face and online modes. Systems based on community support such as family foster care, the model of mentoring and the system of voluntary guardians/teachers. The activities also include the strengthening of the offer and accessibility of services prevention and response to gender violence for refugee and migrant women and girls, including through safe spaces for women and girls and the establishment of a dedicated community of practice, to strengthen their action. Skills development and professional orientation programs were also promoted for the social inclusion of minors with a migratory background, the linguistic skills of newly arrived students were strengthened, and opportunities for participation and listening were promoted. The emergency intervention at the border was supported through “Protect”, the project financed by the European Commission through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (Fami), aimed at strengthening protection and inclusion interventions for girls and boys, adolescents, young people and women refugees/migrants coming to Italy.
“We are proud of the work carried out with institutions and partners in Italy, because it allows us to affirm that improving the condition of refugee and migrant minors is not an abstraction, but a viable option – he states Nicola Dell’Arciprete, Coordinator of the program in Italy of the Unicef office for Europe and Central Asia –. Even in a year in which the number of arrivals in Italy has increased considerably, Unicef, with its partners, has achieved unprecedented results reaching an ever-increasing number of refugee and migrant children. It is possible to ensure that every boy and girl has access to care and adequate care. It is possible to create paths that ensure full social inclusion. Our work shows that it can be done and that it is now more important than ever to systematize the solutions we are experimenting with.”
