On 16 May 2023, Coram International was honoured to be invited by the UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) to launch our findings from a multi-year research project on the situation of children affected by migration in the ASEAN region.
© UNICEF/2016/Lynch
Until recently, research has focused heavily on the experiences of adult migration in the region, with little known about the drivers affecting the movement of children and the protection risks that they face. This project, which was commissioned by UNICEF EAPRO and supported by the European Union, contributes towards filling this gap and provides evidence-based policy and programming recommendations to ensure that children affected by migration are protected from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
This research provides a comprehensive analysis of the drivers affecting the movement of children; the protection risks that children affected by migration face; and the steps that are being taken to integrate children affected by migration into national child protection systems in ASEAN Member States. The research also highlights strengths and gaps in national legal frameworks compared to international and regional standards for the protection of children affected by migration.
The situation analysis includes a ‘deep dive’ into five thematic areas of focus: (1) the protection needs of children remaining behind in Battambang, Cambodia and their access to protective services; (2) child labour and other protection risks of migrant children living on palm oil plantations in Sabah, Malaysia; (3) responses to the protection needs of internally displaced children and families in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines; (4) the impact of the lack of domestic legal status on the protection and wellbeing of migrant, urban refugee and unregistered stateless children in Bangkok, Thailand; and (5) drivers beyond poverty and the role of businesses in driving and protecting migrant children against exploitation in Viet Nam.
The research also integrates a unique ‘business lens’, analysing the role of the business sector in contributing to the protection risks that children affected by migration face and the steps that businesses are taking to address these. Coram International will be participating in additional events in the region over the next month to share and discuss these findings and provide recommendations on strengthening the response to the protection risks in which businesses may be involved.
The situational analysis report, country reports and policy briefs, and legal review are accessible here.