Children make up 20 pct of refugee, migrant maritime arrivals in EU: IOM

Out of the over 870,000 refugee and migrant sea arrivals recorded in Europe so far this year, one in five are children, International Organization of Migrants (IOM) said in a statement Tuesday.

Figures released by IOM's Global Migration Data Analysis Center and UNICEF show the share of children is the largest in the Eastern Mediterranean route from Turkey to Greece and through the Western Balkans, where children account for over 25 percent of arrivals.

With statistics showing that children make up 26 percent of sea arrivals in Greece and 10 percent in Italy, IOM warned children are the most vulnerable group of migrants and refugees reaching European shores.

"The cold weather is a particular concern especially for children," said UNICEF representative Christopher Tidey, adding "children on the move are spending far too much time in the open."

According to the joint brief, babies and small infants, children with disabilities and special needs, children who have been separated from their families as well as unaccompanied and separated adolescents face sickness, injury, violence, exploitation, and trafficking.

A third of all fatalities in the Aegean Sea in 2015 are accounted for by children, many of them infants, IOM indicated. Despite high risks, the agency reported the flow of refugee and migrant children remains unabated.

While only one in 10 refugees and migrants located in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in June 2015 were children, October figures reveal children made up one third of total refugee and migrant numbers in the Balkan country. Endit