[JURIST] The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) on Friday announced [press release] a new plea to raise $14 million in an effort to support the many children migrating to Europe from war-torn Middle Eastern nations. Over the last half-year, one quarter of European migrants have been children, totaling approximately 133,000 youths. On UNICEF efforts, Marie-Pierre Poirier, Special Coordinator for the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe, said:

With so many children on the move, and with winter in Europe approaching, our priority has to be caring for these children now. Working alongside governments and other partners across Europe, wherever our support is needed, UNICEF will do all it can so that refugee and migrant children are safe, healthy and that their rights and dignity are fully respected.

The rights of migrant populations has emerged as one of the most significant humanitarian issue around the world, as millions seek asylum from conflict nations. In September 2015 a number of European nations have taken legal action and asked for international support to address the influx of tens of thousands of refugees. Recently, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, gave the opening statement at the 30th session of the Human Rights Council [JURIST report] in which he addressed, among other pressing human rights issues, the migrant crisis. Two weeks ago, the UN’s special representative for migration urged countries worldwide to aid [JURIST report] in responding to the growing migration crisis in Europe. Earlier this month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged other EU countries [JURIST report] to assist in accommodating the influx of refugees from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, saying that the burden cannot fall on just a few countries. Two days earlier, the Hungarian National Assembly passed a number of emergency measures [JURIST report] to address the recent mass migration into Europe.