Italy law gives comprehensive care for solo young migrants

ROME – Italy’s parliament has given final approval to a law outlining comprehensive standards of care for unaccompanied migrant children arriving in Italy, including a strict prohibition of turning them away at the border.

The U.N. children’s agency and Save the Children praised the law’s passage Wednesday saying it was the first of its kind in Europe. The law covers all aspects of care for minors arriving in Italy alone, reducing the amount of time they can spend in preliminary welcome centres, setting a 10-day window to confirm their identities and guaranteeing access to health care.

Save the Children says more than 25,800 unaccompanied minors arrived in Italy by sea last year, more than twice as many as 2015. At least 3,000 unaccompanied minors have arrived so far this year.