The UN children's organisation UNICEF published a report on Tuesday criticising the living conditions of refugee children in Germany. According to the authors, they enjoy far lower standards of safety, medical treatment and education than their German-born counterparts. It is also pointed out that they are treated very differently depending on their prospects for being allowed to stay in Germany.

The German government, as in 2014, is accused of neglecting to respect the rights of migrant children, and the recent influx of refugees has served to make the situation much worse. Not only do they lack access to the education system, the amount of time they have to stay in first arrival centers has doubled from three months to half a year. This creates a problem for children's integration when they eventually start school. UNICEF also criticised the "special facilities" for families with a low chance of staying in Germany. The children in these facilities may not go to school nor do they receive any other sort of educational opportunity. Read more

The organisation called on Berlin to implement refugee children's rights to be in a safe and hygienic environment with access to the learning opportunities and psychological assistance necessary to many young people who have experienced trauma in their country of origin. It also launched a petition.

Read the report

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