Why, despite massive public concern, is child trafficking on the rise? Why are unaccompanied migrant children living on the streets and routinely threatened with deportation to their countries of origin? Why do so many young refugees of war-ravaged and failed states end up warehoused in camps, victimized by the sex trade, or enlisted as child soldiers? This book provides the first comprehensive account of the widespread but neglected global phenomenon of child migration, exploring the complex challenges facing children and adolescents who move to join their families, those who are moved to be exploited, and those who move simply to survive.

Spanning several continents and drawing on the stories of young migrants, Child Migration and Human Rights in a Global Age provides a comprehensive account of the widespread and growing but neglected global phenomenon of child migration and child trafficking. It looks at the often-insurmountable obstacles we place in the paths of adolescents fleeing war, exploitation, or destitution; the contradictory elements in our approach to international adoption; and the limited support we give to young people brutalized as child soldiers. Part history, part in-depth legal and political analysis, this powerful book challenges the prevailing wisdom that widespread protection failures are caused by our lack of awareness of the problems these children face, arguing instead that our societies have a deep-seated ambivalence to migrant children—one we need to address head-on.

Child Migration and Human Rights in a Global Age offers a road map for doing just that, and makes a compelling and courageous case for an international ethics of children’s human rights.

Jacqueline Bhabha is a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, director of research at Harvard’s François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, and the Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Lecturer at Harvard Law School.

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
PART I The Right to Respect for Family Life? Moving Children for Family 17
Chapter 1 Looking for Home: The Elusive Right to Family Life 19
Chapter 2 Staying Home: The Elusive Benefits of Child Citizenship 60
Chapter 3 Family Ambivalence: The Contested Terrain of Intercountry Adoption 96
PART II Youthful Commodities: Moving Children for Exploitation 135
Chapter 4 Targeting the Right Issue: Trafficked Children and the Human Rights Imperative 137
Chapter 5 Under the Gun: Moving Children for War 175
PART III Demanding a Future: Child Migration for Survival 201
Chapter 6 David and Goliath: Children’s Unequal Battle for Refugee Protection 203
Chapter 7 Demanding Rights and a Future: Adolescents on the Move for a Better Life 238
Notes 283
Index 349