Beyond the shadow-line: accompanying the unaccompanied children in Europe towards adulthood

Abstract

After having briefly presented which are the guarantees that the international human rights law provides for unaccompanied minors, the focus of this work will be based on a cases-study approach in order to fully understand the effectiveness of these rights. In particular, three States will be taken into analysis: Greece, Spain and Italy as they are some of the most affected countries by the issue. One aspect will be especially taken into consideration: the legal representation/guardianship of the child because from my perspective, it represents the “hinge” to guarantee children rights. Finally, I will question what happen of these minors once they become adults and which responses can be given to them not only de jure but de facto as well.