Some 60,000 unaccompanied young migrants and refugees who arrived in Italy between 2014 and 2018 and are reaching the age of 18 still need support to ensure their successful transition into adulthood, UN agencies said in a report released on Friday.
"As these children turn 18, the potential loss of support -- due to an artificial, age-based distinction -- will put them at additional risk of social isolation, violence, abuse and an uncertain future," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres,
The 92-page study commissioned by the UN Children's Agency (UNICEF), the UN Human Rights Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization of Migration includes recommendations for Italian authorities and the European Commission to better assist the young people.
It recommended the young men and women, 93 percent boys, be further supported by the Italian government services promoting social inclusion, protection, access to psycho-social support, health care and education, among others.
Around 70,000 young people, between the ages of 15 to 24, 83.4 percent of them 16 and 17-years old, reached Italy, many from Libya through Lampedusa, Sicily, and were listed as Unaccompanied or Separated Children (UASC), according to the report.
Efforts to locate families or repatriate the young people have been made, the study said.
SOURCE: Xinhua
