Unaccompanied minors in Europe then and now: a comparative approach of the status of displaced children following World War II and the 21st century Mediterranean refugee crisis

Abstract

Over the last few years, especially after the Mediterranean refugee crisis, the discourse around the issue of unaccompanied children, who were within the numerous refugee flows destined for Europe, has increased. Nevertheless, this has not been the first time that Europe experienced the presence of such a huge number of unaccompanied minors on its territory. This is a rather obscure part of history, which deals with children that were left unaccompanied after the end of World War II. This thesis examines and compares the status of unaccompanied minors in the following periods: the period following World War II and the period of the 21st century Mediterranean refugee crisis. In an effort to analyse their interconnection through a comparative approach, it explores the several aspects that shape their status in both eras. These aspects under examination are the reasons that make children unaccompanied, the legal context, the decisions taken concerning the fate of these children, as well as the conditions of their life. The study concludes that these indicators as a whole, although not exactly the same, do not totally differ between these two time periods and that there is an obvious analogy between them.