ACERWC African Committee of Experts on the Rights & Welfare of the Child Displacement in Libya as a result of conflict The conflict in Libya continues to displace a large number of the population. The number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) is currently estimated at 180 000 scattered across the country mainly on the eastern and western coast and near the borders with Sudan and Algeria. 51% of them are children; 11% aged 0-1, 16% aged 1-5 and 23% aged 6-18. 49% were males and 51% were females. 83% of IDPs surveyed by IOM said they left for ‘fear from conflict and arms groups’. Many children are displaced with their families but few are unaccompanied/separated (no specific figures are available). Most IDPs were however not living in camps but rather in self-rented accommodation (71%). Displaced children face a number of threats. Not only is their education often discontinued as a result of displacement and due to poor education infrastructure in areas to which they move but they also face sexual exploitation and are more exposed, especially if separated or unaccompanied, to the risk of being recruited by armed groups. For newborns, families also faced difficulties in registering them in a number of instances (29% of those surveyed by UNHCR during a survey covering 87% of estimated IDPs in Libya in 2016). This comes with a number of risks which can potentially see the child being denied some of his/ her basic rights as they grow up. Sources: IOM, 2018150 & UNHCR, 2016151 In West Africa, conflict is a major cause of cross-border movement for example the case of families fleeing Boko Haram.152 In Nigeria the IOM has established that about 2.2 million individuals, including about 1.5 million children (55 % of the total), have been displaced internally because of the conflict in North-Eastern part of the country.153 It is also estimated that almost 400, 000 Nigerian refugees are hosted in neighbouring states like Chad, Cameroon and Niger.154 In Central Africa millions of children are on the move because of conflict in the region. By 2018, it was estimated that about 2.5 million people, including 1.3 million children, would be in the need for humanitarian assistance in Central African Republic.155 Around one in every four people in Central African Republic is displaced, with 538,000 refugees living in neighbouring states and 600,000 internally displaced.156 In the Democratic Republic of Congo refugee families have camped in Goma for more than 20 years.157 In North Africa, the conflict in Mali, especially, has pushed some families to move to neighboring countries.158 This adds to the number of long-term refugee children in the region notably Sahrawi Refugees in the camps of south-west Algeria, currently estimated at 66 000 children (aged between 0-17).159 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 IOM. IDP & Returneee Report – Round 19: Libya. March-April 2018. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb. int/files/resources/DTM%20Libya%20-%20IDP%20and%20Returnee%20Round%2019%20Report.pdf Last accessed: 3 June 2018. UNHRC. 2016. IDP Protection Monitoring Assessment. http://www.reachresourcecentre.info/system/files/ resource-documents/unhcr_idp_protection_monitoring_libya_assessment_report_feb_2016.pdf Last accessed: 6 June 2018 UNICEF, ‘In Search of Opportunities: Voices of children on the move in West and Central Africa’ (2017) p10. Progress Report of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, Global Issue of Unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents and human rights A/HRC/33/53 16 August 2016 para 18. As above. ReliefWeb, Humanitarian Action for Children 2018 - Central African Republic, https://reliefweb.int/report/central-african-republic/humanitarian-action-children-2018-centralafrican-republic accessed on 9 November 2018 As above. UNICEF, ‘In Search of Opportunities: Voices of children on the move in West and Central Africa’ (2017) p10. International Organisation for Migration. 2013. Mali Crisis: A Migration Perspective. https://reliefweb.int/ sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Mali-Migration-Crisis_June-2013_EN.pdf Last accessed 2 June 2018. P14 UNHCR. March 2018. Sahrawi Refugees in Tindouf, Algeria:   Total InCamp Population. http://www.usc.es/ export9/sites/webinstitucional/gl/institutos/ceso/descargas/UNHCR_Tindouf-Total-In-Camp- Population_March-2018.pdf last accessed 2 June 2018 42