Mauritania - Project to support prevention and protection for children on the move

Context

According to Samu Social International, 40 million children and young people under 20 are migrants, fleeing violence and conflict, disasters or poverty, in pursuit of a better life. The most recent UNICEF report published in May 2017, "A child is a child", noted that hundreds of thousands of these children are travelling alone.

In Mauritania, where more than half of the population lives below the poverty line and whose geographical position makes it a transit country between Sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb region, and on to Europe, a large number of children are affected by migration or internal mobility. These children are vulnerable to a range of dangers, including exploitation and trafficking.

The NGO Terre des Hommes Lausanne has been operating in Mauritania since 1984. Terre des Hommes has become a key partner of government and civil society stakeholders in the implementation of a national system to protect children in compliance with Mauritania’s international commitments.

Since 2015, the Principality of Monaco has been supporting vulnerable children living in the streets, a flagship programme of its development aid strategy. A framework cooperation agreement was signed with Mauritania on 28 July 2016.

This project will primarily contribute to Sustainable Development Goal n°10 "Reduced inequalities" and more specifically to target 7: "facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people".

Project owner

Terre des Hommes – Lausanne.

Overall objective

In 2020, over two major migration flows which are both cross-border and internal, in Mauritania, Senegal–Morocco and Senegal–Mali, 70% of children identified as being on the move will benefit from coordinated protection and support systems in departure areas, along the routes and in arrival areas, in order to reduce their vulnerability on a sustainable basis, guarantee their rights, respond to their needs, and facilitate their access to development opportunities.

Specific objectives

In 2020, 7,500 migrant children in Noukchott and Rosso will benefit from an improved protection system to prevent and respond to their problems.

Beneficiaries

Direct beneficiaries:

• 7,500 migrant children

Indirect beneficiaries:

• 10,000 children in need of protection who will benefit indirectly from strengthened protection mechanisms in Nouakchott and Rosso
• Institutional and civil society stakeholders within the child protection system, who will benefit from capacity building (AFCF, community networks, public protection services and relevant ministries, etc.)

Anticipated outcomes

• The children targeted benefit from effective community protection mechanisms allowing them to understand and prevent the risks associated with mobility and to seize opportunities that will promote their development
• Policy, legislative and regulatory measures taken by the Mauritanian Government strengthen the policy, legal and operational framework for child protection, with synergy between local and national stakeholders
• Formal and informal protective support mechanisms used by the children targeted operate in synergy and complement each other in origin, transit and destination areas