CHILDREN UPROOTED in the CARIBBEAN How Stronger Hurricanes Linked to a Changing Climate Are Driving Child Displacement UNICEF CHILD ALERT December 2019

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UNICEF CHILD ALERT December 2019

CHILDREN UPROOTED IN THE CARIBBEAN How stronger hurricanes linked to a changing climate are driving child displacement UNICEF CHILD ALERT December 2019

Children Uprooted in the Caribbean

UNITED STATES

N Grand Atlantic Ocean Bahama

Great Abaco Gulf of THE BAHAMAS Mexico

Turks & Caicos Islands

CUBA ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, Cayman British THE BAHAMAS – ABACO – GRAND BAHAMA Islands HAITI DOMINICAN Virgin Islands TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS JAMAICA REPUBLIC Puerto Rico Anguilla Saint-Martin BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS Sint Maarten ANGUILLA ANTIGUA & BARBUDA SAINT MARTIN, SINT MAARTEN, SAINT KITTS & NEVIS Guadeloupe SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS Montserrat ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA HONDURAS DOMINICA MONTSERRAT Caribbean Sea Martinique GUADELOUPE SAINTSAINTLUCIA LUCIA SAINT VINCENT & DOMINICA Aruba BARBADOS NICARAGUA Curaçao THE GRENADINES MARTINIQUE ST LUCIA ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES BARBADOS COSTA RICA TRINIDAD & TOBAGO GRENADA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO PANAMA ARUBA VENEZUELA CURAÇAO PARAMARIBO (CAPITAL OF SURINAME)

GUYANA Paciﬁc Ocean COLOMBIA French SURINAME Guiana

BRAZIL

Note: This map does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers.

UNICEF CHILD ALERT DECEMBER 2019 CHILDREN UPROOTED IN THE CARIBBEAN 1

Overview

The 29 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the If they make landfall, these storms – such as Hurricanes Caribbean are home to a population of 43 million, Harvey, Irma, Maria and Dorian – can be deadly and including 12.6 million children. In recent years, cause catastrophic damage to homes, infrastructure these children and their families have become and economies. Some areas affected by Category 4 or 5 among the most vulnerable people in the world to hurricanes have been left virtually uninhabitable. being driven from their homes by drought, storms and flooding – events that are increasing in intensity Scientists agree that a changing climate means children and occurrence because of climate change and a and families who live in the Caribbean SIDS can expect warming planet. to experience an increase in the proportion of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the coming decades. As a result, In the past five years, the number of people inter- damage to infrastructure, agricultural land, essential ser- nally displaced by storms and flooding increased vices and livelihoods is expected to increase the level of six-fold in the Caribbean SIDS. From 2014 to 2018, population displacement within and across borders. 3.4 million people, including 761,000 children, were internally displaced. In contrast, more than 600,000 This forced displacement poses serious risks. For chil- people, including 175,000 children, were displaced dren, climate-related forced displacement places their in the preceding five-year period from 2009 to 2013. lives, health, education and well-being at risk.

The primary cause of this dramatic increase in forced This child alert takes stock of the link between a displacement was a series of catastrophic tropical changing climate, extreme weather events and forced cyclones or hurricanes that hit the region between displacement of children and families in the Caribbean 2016 and 2018 – including four Category 5 and two SIDS. It also outlines child-sensitive actions under way Category 4 storms. As categorized by the Saffir- to protect children and families. Finally, it calls on gov- Simpson Wind Scale, a Category 5 storm has winds ernments to take steps to help communities prepare of at least 157 miles per hour and a Category 4 and recover from catastrophic storms and protect chil- storm has winds of at least 130 miles per hour. dren displaced by disasters related to climate change.

In this Child Alert

Overview...... page 1

A changing climate...... page 2

Hurricanes and forced displacement...... page 6

Unicef in action...... page 9

Call to action: Climate change...... page 12

Call to action: Children uprooted...... page 14

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A changing climate

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate increase in the proportion of stronger hurricanes, Change (UNFCCC) defines climate change as “a change including Categories 4 and 5 storms. of climate attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmos- A 2012 study from the National Center for phere and which is in addition to other natural climate Atmospheric Research showed that since 1975, variability that has been observed over comparable time the proportion of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has periods.” Scientific evidence shows that human-caused increased by 25 per cent to 30 per cent per degree carbon emissions and other greenhouse gas emissions of global warming. In 2015, the United States are changing the temperature of the planet. Indeed, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration five years from 2014 to 2018 were warmest on record. and Princeton University predicted an “increase in average cyclone intensity, precipitation rates, and It is not possible to definitively conclude that climate the number and occurrence days of very intense change was the sole cause of the Category 4 and Category 4 and 5 storms.” Category 5 storms in the Caribbean SIDS since 2016 – or the resulting damage and displacement. But recent scientific studies indicate that rising sea levels and warmer ocean surface temperatures, both linked to BELOW: In November 2019, Alil Harris, 5, sits in his family’s climate change, are responsible for stronger and more tent in Codrington, on the island of Barbuda, which is part of the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda. Alil and damaging storms in the Caribbean. And scientists his mother have lived together in this tent since receiving it expect that climate warming will lead to a significant as a donation after Hurricane Irma destroyed their home in September 2017.

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ABOVE: Jacey Anselm, 9, hugs her dog Sassy close in September 2017, about a week after Hurricane Maria tore her family’s home apart in Loubiere, about 15 minutes’ drive from Roseau, the capital of Dominica. “I don’t even know where to begin to clean up,” said Jacey’s mother, Celine Fingall. “It makes no sense while the roof is off. You start to clean up now and the rain comes and soaks everything again.” On the heels of Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm that devastated the Caribbean region, Hurricane Maria – also Category 5 – took at least 38 lives in its path. It also increased the number of children in urgent need of humanitarian support, including an estimated 20,000 in Dominica alone. In Maria’s aftermath, UNICEF rapidly distributed emergency supplies in coordination with national authorities and partner agencies. UNICEF’s priorities in Dominica included providing safe drinking water to affected families, delivering psychosocial support to children and their families, and restoring education through the rehabilitation of schools and the establishment of child-friendly centres. UNICEF was engaged, as well, in post-crisis assessment and recovery operations in Dominica and other hurricane-damaged islands in the Eastern Caribbean. © UNICEF/UN0126524/Moreno

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INTENSITY ABOVE: A UNICEF worker helps evacuate Jahmaurae Moreau, 11, his sister, Katheleh, 4, and their mother (not Research also indicates that rapid increases in the pictured) from Abaco Island to Nassau in the Bahamas. intensity of hurricanes, which occurs when hurricane Their home was destroyed by Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm that slammed Abaco Island for 40 hours wind speeds rise by 25 knots in a 24-hour period, can in September 2019. be linked to the warming climate.

For example, a 2018 study found that rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Central and Eastern Atlantic Research conducted in 2018 concluded that super- increased between 1986 and 2015, likely due to a charged hurricanes linked to the effects of climate warming climate. The study also focused on the rapid change essentially “take heat” from the ocean, which intensification of Category 5 Hurricanes Irma and results in heavy rainfall and a high risk of flooding. Maria in 2017, which devastated parts of the Caribbean, The warming of oceans, the research concluded, was including Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Dominica, the caused by “human-induced climate change.” Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The study found higher probabilities of rapid intensification in the Gulf In 2017, Hurricane Maria had the highest total averaged of Mexico and the Caribbean than in the Central or precipitation of any storm to hit Puerto Rico since Eastern Atlantic. 1956. A study of the rain from the hurricane warned that extreme precipitation would likely continue because of “long-term trends in atmospheric and sea PRECIPITATION surface temperature.” Not only are hurricanes in the Caribbean becoming stronger, they are also causing more precipitation and There is also evidence that climate change is causing flooding, which can be particularly devastating for SIDS. atmospheric circulation in tropical regions to slow in the

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summer, which causes hurricanes to move more slowly, how the destruction in the Bahamas exasperated layers potentially creating more precipitation, flooding and of vulnerability. damage as they stall over land. Meanwhile, new data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology indicate “First, the worst impact is on countries with the lowest that more storms rapidly intensifying before they make greenhouse emissions; the Bahamas are a very good landfall are likely. Coupled with higher sea levels (also example of that,” Guterres said, during a visit to the linked to climate change), this intensification could be island after Hurricane Dorian. “Second, it is the poorest devastating for affected areas. and most vulnerable people in those countries who suffer most, and again, the same has happened with the communities in the Bahamas. And third, repeated VULNERABILITIES storms trap countries in a cycle of disaster and debt.” The island geography of the Caribbean makes the region especially vulnerable to extreme weather events, HISTORIC HURRICANE SEASONS including hurricanes. Because the Caribbean SIDS are relatively small, one hurricane has the potential to The Caribbean SIDS have been particularly hard hit by impact the entire area and the complete population of devastating hurricanes. However, the 2017 hurricane any particular island. In addition, people living in low ele- season stands out as historic in terms of storm strength vation coastal zones are generally at extreme risk from and damage. The season had 10 hurricanes, six of which storm surges and rising sea levels. developed into Category 3 storms or higher. According to the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Fourth The Caribbean SIDS also face economic vulnerabili- National Climate Assessment, in 2017, Anguilla, Antigua ties as they prepare for and respond to increasingly and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominica, intense weather events. Typically, Caribbean SIDS have Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint undiversified economies that rely heavily on tourism. Martin, Sint Maarten, the Turks and Caicos, and the A significant proportion of families in the region also United States Virgin Islands were all affected by suffer from economic marginalization and do not have Category 4 and 5 hurricanes with winds of 130 miles the means to ‘hurricane-proof’ their homes or invest in per hour or higher. The hurricanes displaced more than other preparedness and resiliency measures. Around 400,000 children and disrupted essential services for 21 per cent of the population in the Caribbean lives thousands more. below the poverty line. Youth unemployment ranges from 18 per cent to 47 per cent. Therefore, when a On 1 September 2019, Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 Category 4 or 5 hurricane makes landfall on an econom- storm with maximum sustained windspeeds of ically vulnerable island, many families are unprepared 185 miles per hour, made landfall in the Bahamas, it and the government may not have the capacity to was the strongest known hurricane to have impacted adequately respond. the island nation in its recorded history. Dorian devastated the island of Abaco, leaving much of it unin- Hurricane Maria, for example, caused an estimated habitable, and it trampled parts of Grand Bahama. US$930.9 million in damages to Dominica in 2017, The storm led to 69 confirmed casualties and destroyed which, when combined with US$380.3 million in 45 per cent of homes. losses, equals about 226 per cent of the island’s 2016 GDP. Hurricane Irma caused damages of US$155 The storm and its aftermath were “a demonstration of million and losses of US$2.6 billion in Antigua, Barbuda how dramatic natural disasters are becoming, increasing and the British Virgin Islands. The tourism, agriculture in intensity and in frequency and how vulnerable coun- and housing sectors were significantly affected in all tries like the Bahamas are in relation to these natural of these islands. In the British Virgin Islands, damages disasters,” United Nations Secretary-General Guterres and losses in the tourism sector alone were estimated said during his visit after Hurricane Dorian. to be US$1.2 billion.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian in 2019, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described

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Hurricanes and forced displacement

The International Organization for Migration defines maintain livelihoods,” according to the United Nations environmental migrants as “persons or groups of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). And persons who, for compelling reasons of sudden or when that happens, forced displacement may become progressive changes in the environment that adversely permanent relocation, particularly on atolls (rings of affect their lives or living conditions, are obliged to leave coral islands), adding pressures to the communities their habitual homes, or choose to do so, either tempo- where people seek refuge. The IPCC finds an increased rarily or permanently, and who move either within their risk of forced displacement for some populations, country or abroad.” including people in rural and urban areas with higher exposure to extreme weather events; low-income Increased migration – or forced displacement – will developing countries; and communities without the continue to be driven by the effects of climate change, resources to plan for displacement. including extreme weather events like strong hurricanes. Without development efforts to stem the effects of climate change on children and families, the scale of forced displacement will “ramp up” by 2050 and then ABOVE: In September 2017, a child stands outside her accelerate, according to the World Bank Group. family’s home, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma, in the Blue Hills settlement of Providenciales, Turks and As disasters occur more frequently and become Caicos Islands. The Category 5 storm endangered the well- more dangerous, “some local areas will become being of hundreds of thousands of children in the Caribbean increasingly marginal as places to live or in which to with its high winds, heavy rain and storm surges.

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ABOVE: Antown Beazer, 11, looks at pants piled high on a table in front of him at the Multipurpose Centre in St. John’s, the capital of Antigua, in September 2017. The pants were among the many clothes and other items donated by the public for children like Antown and their family members displaced from Barbuda by Hurricane Irma. “My mom took care of us during the storm,” said Antown. “It was bad, and we were hiding in the bedroom. I was very scared.” Irma was the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic when it struck. The Category 5 storm pummelled islands in the Eastern Caribbean, leaving a path of destruction – especially in Anguilla, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. More than 90 per cent of the buildings in Barbuda were destroyed, and much of its infrastructure was either destroyed or badly damaged. Officials quickly evacuated the vast majority of the population to Antigua, Barbuda’s sister island, ahead of another approaching hurricane. Pre-positioned UNICEF supplies in Barbados and Antigua – including tents, water purification tablets and hygiene kits for displaced families – were distributed rapidly in coordination with national authorities. © UNICEF/UN0121380/Moreno Gonzalez

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Indeed, a significant number of people are already IMPACT ON CHILDREN being displaced annually by weather-related disasters. Of the 28.1 million people newly displaced internally As noted, the devastation wrought by hurricanes can around the world in 2018, 16.1 million – nearly 60 per cause the displacement of thousands or even mil- cent – were forced from home by weather-related lions of children and families. This displacement can events. This figure included 7.9 million people displaced be relatively short term or last for longer periods as by hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones. communities rebuild homes, roads, bridges, power networks, agriculture, schools, hospitals, and water In 2017, more than 18 million people were newly and sanitation systems. displaced by weather-related events around the world. Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean was the year’s largest Children are particularly vulnerable during population disaster event worldwide, causing the displacement of displacements, especially if their parents are killed or more than 2 million people. they are separated from their families in the chaos of the event. Alone, children are at increased risk of vio- At the time, Hurricane Irma was the strongest hurricane lence, exploitation and trafficking. Displaced children are on record in the Atlantic, with maximum sustained also at increased risk from opportunistic diseases such windspeeds of 185 miles per hour. The hurricane as measles and respiratory infections, which can thrive affected more than 15 countries and territories and in overcrowded conditions in emergency shelters. displaced more than 1.7 million people in countries including Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, the Dominican In addition, children under age 5 are particularly sus- Republic and Haiti. Combined, Hurricanes Harvey ceptible to diseases that arise when water supply and (Category 4), Maria (Category 5) and Irma (Category 5) sewage treatment systems are damaged. Displaced left more than 3 million people displaced in the children are also at risk of having limited or no access Caribbean in under two months. to the essential services they need to thrive including education, protection and health care. In 2019, Hurricane Dorian forced the evacuation of about 5,500 people including more than 1,400 chil- Natural disasters also have devastating impacts on dren, to Nassau. Many more children and families fled migrant children and families with irregular migration to other islands or left the Bahamas. At the end of status – who often live in the most vulnerable con- November 2019, there were still more than 500 people ditions. When disasters strike, these children and living in officially designated shelters. While some families may not seek the support they need because people have begun returning to affected communities they fear deportation. in Abaco and Grand Bahama, many families have split – with some parents returning to rebuild while others Humanitarian assistance should always be offered to remain in shelters with their children. all those in need irrespective of their migration status. This assistance should be separated by a ‘firewall’ from Looking ahead, forced displacement caused by extreme migration control procedures. Even in humanitarian con- weather linked to climate warming is expected to texts, migrant children and their families should never increase in the coming years and decades. The rise in be deported without a thorough evaluation to ensure displacement is cause for extreme concern, since the that a possible return to their country of origin or a third top six countries and territories with the highest annual country is in the best interest of each child. average of internal displacement are Caribbean SIDS.

As a result, the Caribbean SIDS population is increasingly at risk of forced displacement from more intense hurricanes linked to climate warming.

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UNICEF in action

When disaster strikes, UNICEF works with partners nnIn Guyana and Suriname, UNICEF works in areas throughout the Caribbean to protect and support affected by climate change to provide support children. With climate change mitigation, development to local communities – including refugees from policies and resilience planning, UNICEF focuses on the Venezuelan crisis – by increasing access children and works to establish disaster-risk reduction to water sources and improving sanitation and strategies that limit forced displacement and shorten hygiene. We are also working on integrating rehabilitation time – so families can return home. climate change and environmental education and natural resource management into formal and non-formal education curricula. For example: nnIn the wake of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, UNICEF provided life-saving support and long-term care to affected and displaced children and families. We worked with partners to rehabilitate public services, including health, education and child protection. We continue to work to adapt and protect public BELOW: A child emerges from bathing in Loubiere, near services in preparation for possible future disasters. Roseau, the capital of Dominica, during the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Maria in September 2017.

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nnIn the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria nnIn the Dominican Republic, UNICEF is running a pilot in Cuba and Haiti, UNICEF and partners reached project on social support to protect communities more than 400,000 people with access to drinking from climate shocks. Following the pilot stage, water and water purification tablets. About the programme will be expanded into a national 21,000 children and adolescents continued their framework that will support communities across education as schools were reconstructed and the country. UNICEF in the Dominican Republic temporary centres were set up. In addition, 1,800 also provides psychosocial support to children children under age 5 had access to safe learning and families affected by humanitarian crises. environments. In Cuba, about 24,000 students UNICEF plans to work with the Government received educational materials at school. of the Dominican Republic, through the social protection system, on risk reduction strategies After the hurricanes, UNICEF and partners and humanitarian assistance programmes that launched a cash transfer system that benefited guarantee the rights of children and adolescents in more than 4,600 of the most vulnerable families. times of extreme weather events. Since then, UNICEF has been working to return the affected areas to normal, prioritizing water, nnIn Belize, UNICEF works with children and young sanitation and infrastructure reconstruction. people to empower them to become agents of UNICEF continues to prepare for more hurricanes change. The work includes a new air pollution pilot with the aim of minimizing potential damage in the programme that aims to reduce emissions and most vulnerable areas. create a greater awareness about ways to protect the environment.

nnThroughout the Caribbean, UNICEF works with governments to advocate for policies that mitigate climate change and its effects; invest in data and research; track disease and increase vaccine coverage; and promote cash transfers, public work schemes and other social protection safety nets.

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ABOVE: The concrete foundation and a small section of flooring are all that remain of the Cephas family’s home in Codrington, the capital of Barbuda, as seen in November 2019. More than two years earlier, in early September 2017, the family was evacuated from Barbuda to its sister island, Antigua, during Hurricane Irma – a massively destructive Category 5 storm. Gloria Cephas, mother of eight children ranging in age from 7 to 27, recalled that a friend took the family in for their first night in Antigua. Through another friend, they were able to locate an apartment to rent. Gloria and her children have moved three more times since, staying for a time in a hotel that served as a temporary shelter for Barbudans displaced by the hurricane. The shelter closed in April 2019, leaving Gloria with no choice but to rent a house for the equivalent of more than US$520 per month. Today, she lives from paycheck to paycheck. Gloria said she and the children would move back to Barbuda if only they had a house to which they could return. © UNICEF/UN0345645/LeMoyne

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Climate change

The worst impacts of climate change are not inevitable. But to mitigate the risk and impact of extreme weather events caused by climate change from uprooting children, UNICEF calls on governments to take action in four key areas:

Put children at the heart of climate change strategies and response plans. 1. Children and their rights should be recognized as part of governments’ and businesses’ climate change strategies and plans. Water, health and education must be made more resilient as children are particularly vulnerable to the diseases and environmental stresses that are worsened by a shifting climate.

As those who have contributed the least to climate change and yet will suffer its effects the most and for the longest, children should receive the strongest protections from its effects. Protecting children requires a holistic approach whereby departments or ministries of environment work together with other actors across public, private and civil society sectors to create partnerships, institutional arrangements and climate finance.

Recognize children as agents of change. Protect children from the impact of 2.Children and young people have already taken 3. climate change and environmental the lead on advocating for better policies to mitigate degradation. climate change and its effects; it is time for us all to join As with every disaster, children from the poorest them. To do this, we must listen to their perspectives communities are the hardest hit by extreme on environmental issues and work with them to identify weather events and other effects of climate solutions. With their passion for this issue, we must change. When a disaster hits, families from the see them as actors who can build community capacity poorest households are the most likely to be for disaster risk reduction and promote environmentally displaced for the longest time and with the least sustainable lifestyles. access to vital financial and social resources. Without action to reduce inequity, the depths of poverty and deprivation worsen. Reducing these Reduce emissions and pollution. inequities – providing the poorest children with 4.We need ambitious commitments and actions access to good nutrition, food security, strong from governments and businesses to reduce global and accessible health systems, functioning child emissions and pollution to levels that avoid the worst and social protection systems, and safe water impacts of climate change. Cutting emissions requires and sanitation – will create a stronger foundation low carbon development, a robust legal framework so that the most vulnerable children can better and more sustainable energy solutions such as solar, cope with climate change now and in the future. wind and hydro. Investment in sustainable practices We need to increase finance and implement across agriculture, forestry, and the livestock and fishery adaptation and climate resilience measures for the industries will help mitigate climate change and support services that children depend on most. adaptation to its effects.

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ABOVE: Tiquanisha Lewis, 5, pushes her sister Tiquania, 2, on a swing tied to a tree outside their home in South Hill District on the Caribbean island of Anguilla, which was hard hit by Hurricane Irma. The children play near fallen trees, a destroyed structure and other debris. Tiquanisha, Tiquania and the rest of their family were at home and awake when the Category 5 storm hit around 2 a.m. on 6 September 2017. The parents – who had rebuilt their house with concrete after Hurricane Luis devastated Anguilla more than 20 years ago – ventured outside the next morning and saw the extent of the damage: palm trees uprooted, corrugated-iron roofs torn off homes, and debris and rubble everywhere. “The kids have seen everything turned upside down,” said their mother. “Somehow, the swing was pretty much the only thing left standing.” Following the hurricane, UNICEF accelerated its efforts to help children in affected areas cope with their experiences. Together with local authorities and partner organizations, UNICEF worked to provide children with access to psychosocial support services, as well as safe spaces in which to play and participate in activities such as art therapy. © UNICEF/UN0120823/English

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Children uprooted

Around the world, millions of children and families flee their homes to escape disaster, conflict, persecution and poverty. Many of these children face danger, detention, deprivation and discrimination. World leaders must stand up for them.

UNICEF calls for six actions to protect all refugee and migrant children:

Press for action on the Help uprooted children stay Keep families together and 1. causes that uproot 2. in school and stay healthy. 3. give children legal status. children from their homes. Many refugee and migrant Children who are travelling Disasters, protracted conflicts, children miss out on an education alone or have been separated persistent violence, and extreme – and many lack access to from their families are more poverty and disadvantage drive health care and other essential easily preyed upon, and more millions of children from their services. UNICEF calls for vulnerable to violence and abuse, homes. UNICEF calls for greater increased collective efforts by than those who are accompanied efforts to protect children from governments, communities and by parents or guardians. UNICEF conflict and to address the the private sector to provide calls for stronger policies to root causes of violence and uprooted children with access prevent the separation of children poverty. Such efforts should to education, health services, from their parents and other include increasing access to shelter, nutrition, water and family members in transit and education; strengthening health sanitation. A child’s migration faster procedures to reunite and child protection systems, status should never be a barrier children with their families, and social safety nets; expanding to accessing basic services. including in destination countries. opportunities for family income All children need a legal identity and youth employment; and and should be registered at birth. facilitating peaceful conflict resolution and tolerance.

End the detention of Combat xenophobia and Protect uprooted children 4. refugee and migrant 5. discrimination. 6. from exploitation and children by creating practical Uprooted children are often violence. alternatives. victimized by discrimination, Refugee and migrant children Detention is harmful to children’s xenophobia and stigma – both are extremely vulnerable to health and well-being and can during their journeys and at violence and abuse, and to being undermine their development. their final destinations. We all preyed upon by smugglers and UNICEF calls for practical have a part to play in welcoming even enslaved by traffickers. alternatives to detention for all uprooted children into our cities UNICEF calls for more safe children. Unaccompanied and and communities. UNICEF calls and legal channels for children separated children should be on local leaders, religious groups, to migrate and seek refuge. placed in foster care, supervised non-governmental organizations, Cracking down on trafficking, independent living or other the media and the private sector strengthening child protection family- or community-based living to combat xenophobia and systems and expanding access arrangements. Children should nurture a greater understanding to information and assistance can not be detained in adult facilities. among uprooted children, help keep children safe. Children families and host communities. and families should never be Governments should also set up returned to face persecution or stronger measures to combat life-threatening danger in their discrimination and marginalization countries of origin. in countries of transit and destination.

UNICEF CHILD ALERT DECEMBER 2019 CHILDREN UPROOTED IN THE CARIBBEAN 15 Published by UNICEF Division of Communication 3 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017, USA

Website: www.unicef.org

Suggested citation. United Nations Children’s Fund, Child Alert: Children Uprooted in the Caribbean, UNICEF Child Alert, UNICEF, New York, December 2019.

ISBN: 978-92-806-5078-5

FRONT COVER: TJ Hickson, 5, stands outdoors near a partially destroyed brick building in South Hill District on the island of Anguilla, which was hard hit by Hurricane Irma in September 2017. © UNICEF/UN0120828/English

For further information, please contact: Laurent Duvillier UNICEF Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Office [email protected]

Georgina Thompson UNICEF Media Section, New York [email protected]

Christopher Tidey UNICEF Media Section, New York [email protected]

Child Alert is a briefing series that presents the core challenges for children in a given crisis location at a given time. This issue examines the impact of a changing climate on the rights and well-being of children in the small island developing states of the Caribbean region. UNICEF CHILD ALERT DECEMBER 2019