ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. This book is the result of research started three years ago, at that time not knowing that the issue of the migration of refugees to Europe would escalate to such an extent as it did in 2015, when more than one million refugees arrived in the European Union (EU). Among these refugees, nearly 90,000 asylum seekers applying for international protection were considered unaccompanied minors. The situation has not changed much since then in that many refugees are still waiting to start a new life in a safer place than their countries of origin. The case studies presented in the book build upon biographical stories, narratives and auto-perceptions of unaccompanied minors, and thus address the experiences of the children themselves. The rights of unaccompanied minor migrants are defined by two main international legal domains, United Nations human rights and humanitarian law and EU law.
