EARLIER THIS MONTH, an 11-year-old girl from Sierra Leone was found clinging to two tyre tubes off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy. After the boat she was travelling on from Tunisia sank in a storm, she had spent over 12 hours adrift in the Mediterranean Sea with no food or water. Around her, 44 other passengers, including her brother and cousin, drowned.
This girl’s miraculous survival is a rare contrast to the tragic and all-too-familiar loss of life in these waters. Over 31,000 people, including hundreds of children, have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014 — yet each year thousands continue to risk their lives on the same perilous route in search of safety and a better future.
As we approach 2025, which will mark the 10th anniversary of the start of the global migration crisis, we are reminded of the heartbreaking images of migrant children that once shocked the world. Among the most iconic is the photograph of Alan Kurdi, the two-year-old Syrian boy whose lifeless body washed ashore in Turkey in 2015.
Despite the outrage and promise of change, children have continued to bear the greatest burden. With every passing year, support for rescue operations and rehabilitation efforts has diminished, and harsh migration policies have deepened the suffering of vulnerable families.
Children now account for one in five of all those attempting to cross the Mediterranean. These children — and the families travelling with them — are often escaping extreme poverty, brutal conflicts and the mounting impacts of climate change. They have no other choice but to risk everything in search of safety and brighter futures. Driven by desperation and a lack of alternatives, they venture onto dangerous routes despite slim chances of survival.
The international community has a clear and urgent obligation to protect children at every stage of their journey — in their home countries, during transit and upon arrival. While addressing the root causes of migration is essential, so too is ensuring that there are safe, legal, and accessible pathways for children to seek protection and reunite with family. Streamlined family reunification programmes and humanitarian corridors can help prevent the need for children to make such hazardous journeys.
Humanitarian organisations like UNICEF and our partners have long called for coordinated search-and-rescue operations at sea. Timely, effective rescue operations can mean the difference between life and death, but these efforts must be met with greater investment. European nations must increase funding for rescue missions, safe disembarkation points, community-based reception centres and improved access to asylum services.
Upon arrival, children must have immediate access to basic services, including healthcare, education, psychosocial support and legal aid. Sadly, many children face a stark absence of these essential services in overcrowded reception facilities or poorly resourced host communities. These are not privileges, but fundamental rights that provide children with the opportunity to heal and begin building a future.
Ireland, as an EU member state with a long-standing humanitarian tradition, is in a strong position to lead efforts in responding to the migration crisis. This past summer, Ireland voted to opt into the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, committing to a new system to manage migration and asylum processes.
With member states now working toward fully implementing the pact by June 2026, Ireland has a critical window of opportunity to use its influence to push for policies that prioritise the rights and protection of migrant children.
The recent Irish general election demonstrated that support for far-right rhetoric aimed at stoking fear and division over migration has not gained significant traction with the public. This is a turning point for the incoming government to demonstrate leadership that rejects hate-driven politics in favour of human dignity and compassion.
Ireland has long empathised with the suffering of displaced people, having itself endured the pain of emigration, and understands the power of migration to enrich and strengthen communities. This empathy must now translate into leadership that holds European countries to account, ensuring that any action taken under the EU pact upholds the highest standards of child protection and are in line with international human rights standards.
The crisis in the Mediterranean is not just a European problem; it is a global issue that requires a collective response. We recently had International Migrants Day on 18 December, where we were provided with an opportunity to reaffirm our shared commitment to the fundamental rights and dignity of all migrants — especially the most vulnerable among them, children.
Migration is not just a political issue; it is a deeply human one. Ireland has a responsibility to lead with courage, compassion and a commitment to human rights, ensuring that every child, regardless of where they come from or where they seek refuge, has the chance to survive, heal and rebuild their life.
The survival of the 11-year-old girl rescued last week should not be seen as a miracle but as a call to action. Each life lost is a tragedy, and each life saved is a testament to what can be achieved when we refuse to turn away. As the next government takes shape, this is an opportunity to act boldly and show the world that Ireland will lead not just with words, but with concrete actions to protect the most vulnerable.
Aibhlin O’Leary is Head of Advocacy and Public Policy at UNICEF Ireland.
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