While all children have common needs, some face increased protection risks, such as unaccompanied minors and separated children. 

During the long and often dangerous journey they get separated from their family or are sent alone with smugglers. Some have already become orphans back at home. The traumatic experiences, poverty, lack of education most of them may have suffered while at home together with the hardships and danger of their journey make them all the more vulnerable. 

In Central Europe, on average, some two to three percent of all asylum claims are lodged by unaccompanied minors and separated children a year. In some countries, such as Hungary or Slovenia, this rate sometimes rises to between seven and ten percent. 

UNHCR in Central Europe addresses the specific risks and needs of unaccompanied minors and separated children through its Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming (AGDM) strategy. During the participatory assessments, members of the Multi-Functional Teams lead separate discussions with children who arrive without their parents or primary caregivers. The team members also apply a special methodology when interviewing them. 

In the planning and programming UNHCR also applies its guidelines on the prevention of and response to sexual and gender-based violence in order to help avoid and reduce the potential occurrence of this type of violence among unaccompanied and separated children who are more exposed to it.

UNHCR also advocates for the zero-detention of unaccompanied minors and separated children and promotes alternatives to their detention. As also some Central European authorities detain refugee boys and girls, the UN Refugee Agency urges them to release the kids into the care of family members who already have residency within the asylum country. Alternatively, other care arrangements should be made available for them by the competent child care authorities. A legal guardian or adviser should also be appointed for unaccompanied minors and separated children.