Protecting the rights of migrant and refugee children in Egypt
Kanako Sakae (Japan) served as a UN Volunteer Child Protection Specialist with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Egypt from 2020 to 2021. Her UN Volunteer assignment was funded by the Human Resource Development Programme for Peacebuilding and Development.
Egypt hosted more than 250,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers in 2021. Most came from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and Syria, and about 38 per cent of these refugees were under the age of 18.
Commonly, refugees and asylum seekers live in rented apartments in urban centers in Egypt, making them vulnerable to fluctuating economic conditions and poverty. Many child protection issues exist in these circumstances, such as insecure accommodation, increased risk of detention, discrimination, physical and sexual violence and inaccessible essential healthcare.