24 Member States provided information on national laws and practices regarding the detention of families with children in migration procedures, the possibility to detain one of the parents and detention in the context of the age assessment process.

These studies explore the types of national protection statuses existing in Belgium and the EU, as well as their key characteristics in terms of procedures and rights.

The phenomenon of unaccompanied migrant children going missing has increasingly been in the focus of public attention in the EU. Several international organisations and European NGOs have raised concerns that the disappearance of unaccompanied minors is not always addressed in an effective manner. What policies and procedures are in place to register and follow up on cases of missing children, and how is data on missing children collected in EU Members States, Norway and the UK? The new Inform from the European Migration Network (EMN), in collaboration with international organisations, EU agencies and NGOs, offers a comprehensive picture of how the phenomenon is tackled currently in the EU.

The PROTECT – Preventing sexual and gender-based violence against migrants and strengthening support to victims project aims to support the coordination and/or adaptation of support services for sexual and gender-based violence victims and potential victims among refugees, migrants and asylum seekers (children and adults, including LGBTQI people). It is funded by the European Union's Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020).

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) published a report on the protection of unaccompanied and separated children in Belgium. The report describes the current state of affairs and provides policy recommendations to reinforce the protection of this vulnerable category of foreign nationals.

This final report, realised by the Study and Policy Unit of the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil), describes the reception of vulnerable applicants for international protection with specific needs. It discusses how (field) staff define, identify and respond to vulnerability in practice. The objective is to develop a better understanding of the way in which Fedasil and its reception partners fulfill the requirement of Belgian and European legislation to meet the specific needs of applicants for international protection.

As independent National Rapporteur on trafficking in human beings for Belgium, for over 20 years Myria has carried out a yearly independent policy evaluation. In its latest report on Human Trafficking and Smuggling Myria focuses on underage victims of trafficking and smuggling of human beings.

22 (Member) States provided information regarding their definition of the concept of vulnerability and their practices regarding the identification and the care of vulnerable applicants for international protection with special reception needs.  

This Inform summarises the main results of the EMN study on “Approaches to Unaccompanied Minors Following Status Determination in the EU plus Norway”.

This EMN study focuses on the approaches to Unaccompanied Minors following status determination in the EU plus Norway. The study covers the period 2014-2017, thereby following up on previous EMN research on unaccompanied minors.

The GRETA report, covering the period from 1 January until 31 December 2018, stresses that labour exploitation is on the rise across Europe. Also in Belgium, labour exploitation appears as a predominant form of trafficking.

Over a period of two years, a UNICEF Belgium team collected the testimonies of 170 migrant and refugee children from 36 nationalities in reception centres and schools. The children talk about their experiences in their country of origin and their new environment, the disaster they fled for, the trials they endured on the way, their joy and sorrow. With this report UNICEF wants to build a bridge between the words of these young people, who are very keen on participation, and policy makers who are often far removed from their reality.