What does the Children's Convention say?

Every country that ratifies the Children's Convention must ensure that refugee children are well treated, and the countries must cooperate with organizations in this, says Article 22 of the Children's Convention.

The Convention also says that every child has the right to a name and a country from the time he or she is born, and that the countries must respect this (Articles 7 and 8). A child also has the right to be reunited with his or her parents, no matter what country they live in (Article 10), and the children must be protected from war (Article 38)

How many refugee children are there in the world?

Children make up over half of all the world's refugees. There are 7.4 million children under the age of 18 who live as refugees - away from their homes, their countries and sometimes also their families. The large number of child refugees is about 1½ times as many people as live in Denmark. The largest number of child refugees come from Afghanistan, from which 2.7 million children and adults have fled because of war.

How many refugee children are there in Denmark?

Each year an average of 1000 children come to Denmark as refugees. Most of them come with their parents, while a smaller number have travelled alone.

Refugee without your mother or father

Unaccompanied refugee children can be given permission to live in Denmark according to a special rule in the law about foreigners. But unaccompanied children do not have the right to bring their parents and the rest of their family here. If the parents come to Denmark, the children are no longer considered to be unaccompanied, and their "case" is treated together with that of their parents. If the parents are granted asylum they all stay in Denmark; if they are refused, they are all sent home.

Sources: UNICEF Danmark and Flygtningehjælpen