Children on the Move - Status and programmes of support and protection of children on the move in the Republic of Serbia

This publication is produced within the project of Social Protection Reform of the World Fit for Children initiated by the international organisation Save the Children in 2012 in cooperation with the national organisations of civil society, NGO Atina
and Group 484, funded by the European Commission, Open Society Fund in Serbia and Save the Children Norway.
The initiative for the implementation of the project was motivated by the intention to enable children on the move in the Republic of Serbia have access to appropriate services of social protection system based on the rights of the child, and
the first step in achieving this goal was the establishment of the characteristics of children on the move in the Republic of Serbia, international standards in this field and adequacy and adaptability assessment of the existing protection system to the
dynamic phenomenon of transnational dimensions. The analysis shall serve the purpose of the starting point for the improvement of the protection system and services fit for the child, bearing in mind the specificity and complexity of position
of children on the move in Serbia.

The term “children on the move” although new, implies the well-known phenomena of migrating children who are exposed to various risks during these migrations. These are “children that for various reasons, willingly or forcefully, within
the country or across countries, with or without parents or guardians migrate, and who are exposed to risks of inadequate care, economic and sexual exploitation, negligence and violence while on the move”. The definition “Save the Children” also
implies the groups of children on the move: refugees, internally displaced children, asylum seekers, irregular migrants, victims of human trafficking, children involved  process.

NGO ATINA and the team of authors