The new edition of Migration Policy Practice, guest-edited by Gabriella Sanchez from the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute, focuses on issues of child migration. It seeks to respond to the Call to Action launched earlier this year by UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Eurostat and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to prioritize actions to address evidence gaps in children’s migration data.  

While the visibility of children in migration has increased, this has not always translated into the collection, availability or production of sound data and research concerning children’s experiences and perspectives.  

This special issue of Migration Policy Practice brings together the perspectives, experiences and recommendations of scholars and practitioners working with children and on migration in different regions of the world. Authors include Bina D’Costa from the UNICEF Office of Research; Jasper Tjaden from the IOM Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC); Blanca Navarrete from Derechos Humanos Integrales en Acción (DHIA)) and Melissa Vértiz Hernández from Grupo de Trabajo sobre Política Migratoria; Alina Potts from the Global Women’s Institute at George Washington University; Jennifer Podkul and Cory Shindel from Kids in Need of Defense (KIND); and Gabriella Sanchez from the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute. 

Their contributions are in line with the Call to Action, which recognizes the importance of “reliable, timely and accessible data and evidence [as] essential for understanding how migration and forcible displacement affect children and their families – and for putting in place policies and programmes to meet their needs.”