Helping Unaccompanied Minors to Achieve a New Stability

ongoing

HUMANS project aims to study, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the legal framework applicable to unaccompanied foreign minors within the European legal space, from their initial reception to their full stabilization. Focusing on the Italian legal system, the analysis will examine the challenges of coordinating European and domestic regulations in light of supranational case law. The relevance of this topic stems from both the upcoming (June 2026) enforcement of the Regulations within the European Pact on Migration and Asylum and the recent trend towards securitization in Italian legislation. Three research workshops in English will be organized, each focusing on a different phase of migrant children's integration: 1. Initial Reception; 2. Family Reunification and Secondary Movements; 3. EU Treaties and Constitutional Rights as a Tool for Integration. In close connection, three summer schools in Italian will be held, adopting a practical approach and targeting university students as well as professionals such as policymakers, civil servants, school directors, third-sector workers, police officers and lawyers. A final conference is planned to present the guidelines drafted by the research group, aimed at assisting politicians and practitioners in applying Italian and European law in accordance with the best interests of migrant children. This document, together with the conference proceedings, course recordings, teaching materials and research workshop reports will constitute the project’s main outputs. All activities will be conducted in person, using innovative teaching methodologies, and will also be recorded for remote access. Each year, at least 250 participants are expected to be actively engaged in the project activities. The course seeks both to raise awareness and to provide training for academics and practitioners on the rights of unaccompanied migrant minors in relation to local authorities, the Italian Republic and EU Member States.