Ways into and out of exploitation Unaccompanied minors and human trafficking
Ways into and out of exploitation Unaccompanied minors and human trafficking

Author(s): Hilde Lidén, Cathrine Holst Salvesen
Subject(s): Geography, Regional studies, Criminal Law, Civil Law, International Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Family and social welfare, Demography and human biology, Migration Studies
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: UMA; migration; unaccompanied minors; exploitation; international law; UNHCR; national laws and policies;
Summary/Abstract: This chapter assesses whether national law, policies and practice in the field of unaccompanied asylum seekers are in compliance with international conventions including the UNHCR guidelines and UN convention of the rights of the child (CRC). We will discuss policy and practices on minors exposed to human trafficking, taking Norway as a case. The Norwegian Immigration Act of 2008 includes provisions and formulations intended to strengthen the legal position and rights of asylum-seeking children as children. The intention was to ensure that national regulations on immigration were in accordance with the CRC and in line with the Norwegian Human Rights Act 1999. The CRC as well as UNHCR guidelines mention human trafficking, including forced labour and sexual exploitation as one main threat to which children may be exposed. The chapter discusses three scenarios which represent distinct forms of how unaccompanied minors are recruited into exploitative relations on their way to or in Europe and how their cases are assessed when applying for asylum in Norway as unaccompanied minors. Ways into and out of exploitation may have decisive implication for how their asylum applications are assessed and for further access to rehabilitation measures.

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