The  present  publication  brings  together  the  main  conclusions  of  the  international conference “The Migration of Unaccompanied Minors in Europe: the Contexts of Origin, the Migration Routes and the Reception Systems” organized   in October 2007 by   the   research   centre   MIGRINTER,   University  of  Poitiers–CNRS  and  the  International  Juvenile  Justice  Observatory  (based  in  Belgium)  with  the  support  of  UNESCO’s  Social  and  Human  Sciences  Sector.

The  contributors  come  from  a  wide  variety  of  disciplines,  combining  mainly  legal,  sociological  and  anthropological  backgrounds.  They  generally  provide  an  analytical  approach  to  the  different  issues  from  both  a  descriptive  and  a  critical  perspective.  The  three  original  parts  of  the  conference  have  been  condensed  into two main parts in the book: the first five chapters describe the situation and treatment of unaccompanied and separated migrant and asylum-seeking children in the destination societies; and the following chapters analyse the main contexts of origin of migrant children and the different factors playing a role in migration choices.