By dpa correspondents
Geneva (dpa) - The number of migrants who have arrived on Europe's southern
shores this year is climbing towards 900,000 and includes growing numbers
of vulnerable children, international organizations said Tuesday in Geneva.
However, arrivals in November dropped by more than a third to 140,000,
compared to October, marking the first month with a downward trend this
year, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNCHR).
The decrease was due to colder temperatures and Turkish efforts to stop
people smugglers, UNHCR spokesman William Spindler said.
Some 870,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean Sea since
January.
On the main sea route from Turkey to Greece, the share of children has
risen from one in six in June to one in three in October.
"Children are among the most vulnerable of the migrants and refugees
travelling to Europe," said Leonard Doyle, spokesman of the International
Organization for Migration (IOM).
Children are at risk of illness and injury, as well as exploitation,
separation from family, kidnapping and trafficking, IOM and the
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a joint report.
Along the Balkan route, Macedonian authorities have registered more than
15,000 unaccompanied minors since mid-June.
Italy has seen a sharp increase of Nigerian children who are in the hands
of traffickers seeking to exploit them, according to IOM.
Marie-Pierre Poirier, the top UNICEF official dealing with the European
migration crisis, said that "warm clothes, scarves and baby socks are not
enough."
"Children on the move have lived through war, deprivation and hardship; now
they need stability, protection and support," she added.
Reporting by: Margarite Clarey in Geneva, Albert Otti in Vienna
Editing by: Stephen Lowman
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