UNICEF: Over 100,000 child refugees in Europe in 2015

Nearly 106,000 children have applied for asylum in Europe this year, UNICEF has revealed yesterday, calling on European countries to assume their responsibilities towards them.

The organisation said in a statement that children represent nearly a quarter of asylum seekers in Europe registering an increase of 75 per cent during the first half of this year compared to last year.

The statement pointed out that European countries have a short period of time to secure the requirements for tens of thousands of refugees and to ensure that they have adequate shelter before the onset of winter, noting that many of the refugee children are residing in crowded centres which lack adequate conditions for a decent life.

The agency called on the European countries to increase the number of refugee sheltering centres and speed up the processing of asylum applications and to increase the number of humanitarian visas for children and their families.